Vista Compatibility Center still MIA

Apparently 20 months wasn't quite long enough to wait to introduce an online "Vista Compatibility Center."

The Web site, which was due to launch on Tuesday morning, still hasn't launched as of 2 p.m. PDT Wednesday.

The idea was to offer a Web site where consumers and small businesses could easily check whether their hardware and software are Vista-ready. Since yesterday afternoon, however, the site has greeted visitors with the message "The Windows Vista Compatibility Center will be launching soon, please check back!"

Well, I have been and it hasn't. No word from Redmond on what's behind the hold-up, but it's certainly not helping the company's efforts to put a better face on the oft-maligned operating system.

I'll keep checking back and let you know when it's up. In the meantime, here's a screenshot of what it's supposed to look like.

The Windows Vista Compatibility Center is aimed to be part of Microsoft's case that Vista is ready for prime time. However, so far the site has been down, only adding to the operating system's bad press.

(Credit: Microsoft)

Update, 2:42 p.m.:

Well, it's still not up, but recognizing that it's getting some hits, Microsoft has added some teaser text to the site.

"Did you know," the page now adds, "The Windows Vista Compatibility Center will provide information on more than 9,000 products."

It also directs small business customers with compatibility issues to check out its recently launched www.windows.com/assurance page.

[capfan12]

aparently you just don't get what BETA means.

I have been running vista since day one on several year old and brand new machines with 100% no compatibility issues. Don't get the big deal......

go bother apple on snow leopard

[Penguinisto]

...apparently MSFT hasn't figured out how to make announcements to the press ;)

[cnetcensorssuck]

...and apparently you (capfan12) don't get the difference between "beta" and a site not being available at all. Go bother people that are dumber than you.

[mrguard]

Ina,
Would you mind reading this article regarding your post

http://community.winsupersite.com/blogs/paul/archive/2008/07/08/tech-press-continues-bashing-windows-vista.aspx

[Penguinisto]

Read it, and... so what? Paul Thurott has a huge investment in Vista actually doing something in the market besides sucking mud. Little wonder he would leap to Microsoft's defense, no?

[BlackMicro]

Paul's an idiot...

[cnetcensorssuck]

Wow, quoting Paul Thurott, you're quite the Einstein aren't you?

[mrguard]

Ina,
Would you mind reading this one , please?
http://community.winsupersite.com/blogs/paul/archive/2008/07/08/tech-press-continues-bashing-windows-vista.aspx

[av3ng3r85]

I agree, let's stop with all the Vista bashing already.

[Vegaman_Dan]

If Microsoft hating trolls didn't have Microsoft to bash, they would wither up and blow away. Let them have their fun. Everyone needs a hobby.

[The_Decider]

Wouldn't it be better if MS actually produced a decent product? That would leave Vegetablehead without a job since MS pays him to mindlessly defend them, even though he has no technical abilities whatsoever.

[Save_Me_from_my_Govt]

Yep, I greeted the news of the discontinuance of XP/Pro by purchase two additional copies of it to cover my next laptop purchase and desktop purchase... Let's stop bashing Vista... I don't plan to use it anyway.

[dhavleak]

Ina -- stop being so stubborn! Admit you made a mountain out of a molehill and issue an apology.

If the beta is delayed by 1 week, will you issue an update every single day? Or are you just pissed that the beta was delayed and nobody told you? Or perhaps you were banking on something you'd written about the compatibility website and when it didn't launch on time you were left hanging -- so you decided to take them down with you?

Either way, this is very wierd behavior on your part.

[rcrusoe]

I agree, let's stop bashing Vista. As far as most businesses are concerned, Vista is Windows ME2. Let's let it die in peace.

[russkeller]

Well, there is the Upgrade Advisor. I still tells me I have no computability problems with the hardware but nope, Vista is still a lemon.

Maybe the US has just plain lost it's talent for this stuff and the companies outsourcing have the right idea. We suck.

[JCPayne]

It's funny how Microsoft lied.... Not more than a full 3 months ago Microsoft said they would continue to support Windows XP for as LONG as the public wanted them to continue supporting it..... So why the flip-flop now Microsoft???????

Looks to me like M$ is suffering a sever short term memory....
**********
Article: Ballmer: You want XP, we'll keep XP
Date: April 24, 2008 @ 7:10 AM PDT
Source: www.Cnet.com - CNET News

Link: http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9927721-7.html

[http:// . . . |http:// . . . ]
The death of Windows XP may have been greatly exaggerated.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said the company could re-evaluate its plans to phase out Windows XP by June 30, if customers demand that it stick around. So far, they have not.

"XP will hit an end-of-life. We have announced one. If customer feedback varies, we can always wake up smarter, but right now, we have a plan for end-of-life for new XP shipments," Ballmer said during a Thursday news conference in Belgium, according to Reuters.

Big-name computer makers are still scheduled to have to stop selling models with Windows XP installed by the end of June. Mainstream technical support will continue to be available for Windows XP through April 2009, and more limited support will continue through April 2014.[http:// . . . |http:// . . . ]

[Vegaman_Dan]

As pointed out in every other topic you've pasted this same lame comment in, you are missing the difference between supporting a product and selling it. Microsoft is continuing to support XP- they just aren't selling it anymore, something even your quoted content metions.

You owe Microsoft an apology.

[The_Decider]

You owe MS an apology as well VegetableHead, and you should consider giving back the money they paid you.

[suyts]

Turns out, nobody cares about a compatibility site anymore. Well, maybe a few MS haters.

[Penguinisto]

One would think that a user looking to get a Vista machine would care... but I digress.

[suyts]

Ina, please try to catch on to what is happening. No one cares about a compatibility site anymore. Every geek I know already knows what will or won't work with Vista (and watches for vendor updates). Everybody else gets a new (Vista compatible) PC and buy the new hardware. Or they keep their old one (and hardware) until they need to upgrade. Then they go and buy a Vista machine. It happens to work with all the required new stuff. "Jeez, I'm so disappointed in MS. My printer I bought in 2003 won't work anymore." :-(
Ridiculous. "Damn, I was sure my game I bought in 1997 would work. Dang MS.".....lollollollol

[The_Decider]

I partially agree. Hardly anyone needs a compatibility site because hardly anyone is moving to Vista. A few clueless people shopping in BB or Wal-Fart don't count.

[Vegaman_Dan]

Gotta keep the trolls happy. Let them bash Apple, Linux, and Microsoft. If you don't post something that generates the page views, then you really can't justify your job. And you know what? It's working. Look at the comments being posted.

[The_Decider]

Well, you get paid to bash the bashers, so who is worse? Those who know something is screwed up and complain or those who don't know anything about it so all they can do is talk smack. If you could actually make a informed technical argument, or hell even a slightly accurate argument about why Vista doesn't suck as bad as everyone knows, including corporate IT shops, then people wouldn't laugh at you so much.

[bjb.butler]

Its amazing that Ian Fried can write two blog posts about how Microsoft again is getting off to a 'rocky start' because their compatibility site was down. There are some problems with this:

The vista compatibility site was a BETA, and at the time of this blog post, there was NO WAY that a person would even know about the site, let alone go there and be disappointed that it was down. Even if it was up, who would be going to that site? Microsoft clearly stated that this is a BETA, but yet, she writes about how its MIA.

What about Apple? They tout their new Mobile Me service as this great thing, and it was down for over a day. Not only was Mobile Me non-existent, .Mac was unavailable as well. So not only was Apple preventing people from using Mobile Me with there new iPhone's, they were alienating existing users by having .Mac unavailable.

Where are your series of blog posts about this, Ina? You write about how Microsoft cant get a BETA site (that no one is even going to use) ready, but nothing about how Apple completely dropped the ball. AMAZING