Comments on: The balance sheet on Windows Vista

The OS is chugging along on strong PC sales and antipiracy efforts, but Microsoft still faces some grumbling and a long haul in corporate sales.

[Stormspace]

Vista..Not too good

I bought a Dell laptop a few months ago and the only option I had at the time was Vista, so I thought I'd try it. When it arrived the first thing I noticed was that it was running Vista basic. Why even bother? Vista basic has only two things of use that XP didn't. Wireless network management and a side bar. Everything else is a PITA. Since I've gotten the thing I've had to do a system restore on it half a dozen times because of poorly supported software and drivers. I have to set at least two apps to run as administrator because Vista won't give them access to the fonts directory otherwise. I find my frustration level with Vista to be much higher than XP and close to that of Linux. At least with the latter I know it's a learning issue, with Vista it's learning to live with restrictions and crippled software because I didn't pay for the expensive version.

Essentially I've decided to keep one Windows PC for compatibility and games and the rest are going Linux.

[AdamMoore]

Makes me wonder

I swear the people on this forum post just so they can hear themselves talk. They complain they can't get a PC without an OS, and i'm sure you'd get one without it if you could (yes the Linux story I know -- but the market is 'normal' user focused, not specific niche).

Apple is great, Microsoft is great (sorry if Vista keeps you up at night -- i've had it for months and had not a single issue with it, at all). Perhaps stop wondering why your 14 year old scanner doesn't work and buy a new one.

In the O/S work, sales are numbers, as are users, and as it stands Windows is going to trump all if they like it or not, until Apple gets a bigger foothold.

I like OS X, but i'm not going to post perfect 10s for an OS where the backup system consists of flying through space, or something else along those lines.

All in all, choose what you will, don't whine about what you're probably using as you posted your comment, it doesn't make sense, really.

[fred dunn]

What do you think a forum is for?

We will probably be deploying 5000 Vista systems before it over, because I want too? Not only NO but H3LL NO.
Why will have to put this bloated excuse of an OS out there? Because the way Microsoft has been keeping their timelines (that's a joke) the support for XP will be over before they release their next OS which from what I hear WILL be a decent OS.
Face it, MS also released Windows ME and a lot of people got stuck with it. MS knew after the fact that they had made a mistake. Vista is another Windows ME.

[bar86]

Killing feature.

I've tried Vista and found that Mail cannot work with Hotmail as Outlook Express does. As I use it for big e-mails, I cannot use it online.
Until this is corrected, I'll stick with XP.

[rkinne01]

Killing Feature

You can use outlook on vista

[chrisae]

This is more of an advertorial!

They only reason Vista is selling is because they are shoving it down people's throats! Not to mention that most big companies have PUBLICLY said it is not up to par.
Ballmer is trying to pull a Steve Jobs and make a product sound like it will solve world hunger when it is still in beta.

[bunkey91405]

Microsoft, What are the Numbers?

Microsoft and Balmer haven't released retail sales figures, in store purchases by consumers changing their present OS to Vista. They talk about new PC sales with Vista, so is this the only good sales point Vista has? MS just announced it will continue XP sales, which are still over 40%. Does this indicate Vista is a MS non-major OS release soon to be abandoned and forgotten, a clear indication of another poor selling "dog" MS OS release.

[richto]

They are 85 MILLION COPIES sold in 9 months!

They are 85 MILLION COPIES sold in 9 months!

And mostly the higher end versions too.

[lindenhawke]

Sure ? Actual PCs?

I was provided with a new laptop with Win XPSP2 installed but the restore DVD is a Vista Business. So MS can say they sold Vista OS that not many are using.

[jhencken]

Stuck with Vista?

I don't think Vista is "finding its way" on to thousands of systems, so much as most people who want a new computer are stuck with Vista. I have put off buying a new computer because I've been waiting for Leopard to see if I want to move to Mac. I certainly don't want a new machine with Vista on it, where I'll need much more hardware to have the OS run as slowly (or worse) than XP, which itself has slowed down with all the updates (even on a clean reinstall). I wish Apple would come out with an OS I can run on my existing PCs, which have a lot of life left in them!

[sjalsevac]

Vista is soooo sloooow and flaky

We installed our first Vista OS on a hot new Dell latitude laptop with 2GB ram. This was not a nice experience. The bootup was extremely slow and it took us weeks to get all the bugs out of the system (and lots of costly tech support)so that the user could be reasonable productive with it. The labour and consultant costs for the ongoing tweeking added hugely to the cost of the laptop.
I have since investigated other users' experiences with Vista and in general, especially those using the OS for work and complex graphics or AV purposes, have all had ulcer producing lengthy sessions trying to get all their programs to consistently work well with the OS. System crashes are very common.
What I don't understand is why on earth Microsoft released such a beast on its customers. And it is a beast, uses a huge amount of resources that even the new laptops are so far not doing a great job coping with. What is especially galling is that often the best high powered laptops on the market do not give the option to be ordered with XP Pro. I don't want Vista and yet I am not given a choice in these particular instances. The only reason Vista has reached the sales that is has is because most buyers have not been given a choice. The lack of any competition OS allow Microsoft to continue forcing its far from ready OS on the world. I wouldn't at all miss Microsoft it someone finally came up with a good alternative.

[ferretboy88]

Not with me

I built a vista pc with a intel dual core and 2gb of ram. It runs really
fast. I have had zero trouble with it. Sorry to hear about your
problems.

[rkinne01]

Dude you bought a Dell

Awful computers and even worse support.

[mike-allen]

vista

I bought a new laptop a couple of weeks ago could i get one with XP on NO I had to have vista as i needed a laptop i bought it. However I was told I could NOT change the operating system without invalidating the garentee when that runs out in one year its linux time.

[Phillep_H]

Hmmm

Can you pull the hard drive and install to a blank drive without invalidating the warranty?

(I don't recall ever buying something with a warranty, LOL.)

[44lefty]

VISTA

What a bunch of self-serving BS about consumers "choosing" VISTA! They don't have any choice in the matter.

It would be nice if these people who make these fabulous salaries could do their job right the first time.

No wonder everyone else is eating ou lunch...they deserve it; they're building better mousetraps!

[The_happy_switcher]

vista a CPD

Who wants a chrome-plated turd? Get Leopard instead and join the 21st century of computing.

[rkinne01]

CPD

No thanks as buggy as Vista was Leopard is even worse.

[mattumanu]

Didn't the same thing happen with windowsME?

I know a lot of people removed windowsME and replaced it with windows98 as early as 2000. I had a laptop that had one of the last builds of ME, it wasn't too bad, but jumping to XP was like night and day. 98 and XP have this in common.

[fred dunn]

You hit the nail on the head...

Good examples, and I think right now that Vista is the current Windows ME. When new users and even some seasoned user first got WinME they thought it was just fine until they ran into driver problems, software incompatibity...sound familiar? Then the wise ones moved back to Win98SE and then upgraded to WinXP.

[Rimer]

Meh...

I am probably the only person here who really does not have any issues with Vista at all, I prefer XP, but thats because as said already, Vista is like your bloated half-sister who has nothing new to say but just takes up more room.

Mac's just never did it for me, the UI isn't for me, that and most of the software I use on a day to day basis have no mac equivalents and linux just has no appeal to me as a OS. So I will stick with my windows XP and probably upgrade fully to Vista Professional when SP1 releases. It was rushed, looks like the new Mac OS had some rushing issues also, thats nothing new, its been happening in the gaming industry for years and yet we don't rag them for producing half-rate software because of deadlines the dev's can't meet.

Give them a chance to fix it and they will do the damn best they can, but don't expect a miracle either with SP1. However don't at the same time assume another OS will save you from corp. bull because in the long run its all about big business and they do whats best for themselves and generally not for the consumer.

[dsw0718]

Windows Vista

My experience with Vista has been pretty shabby. I first did an upgrade install. Immediatly most of my software would not work. I had no choice but to thenn do an install from scratch, having to reinstall all of my software. That was better until installed Norton's new "360" product. Most things run okay now except that my Audiovox 6600 PDA and the Mobile software that works with Vista will not do a sync, and Outlook gets hung in an unending loop when trying to do a send/receive. Blaming Vista may be responding to a red herring, but, for me so far (2 weeks), Vista has resulted im more problems than improvments.

[jogiba]

Only two people on the planet want Linux

on a new PC and that is why companies don't waste time posting Linux systems on their website.

[fred dunn]

Yeah, the smartest two...

The two (x millions) that know how to program and truly administer a system. Not let MS into their systems to shut them down when they decide they want to upgrade their systems, but you wouldn't know anything about that because you are not one of the TWO.

[bdaughtry]

Windows is a.....

Dog with fleas....a house that never takes out the trash....a girl that doesn't brush her teeth....and elephant in a tutu! Catch my drift? :-)

Windows market share is proof that very few people truly understand how PCs work. If they did, they never would have supported this POS. If you must use Windows, then XP Pro is the least offensive. It appears to be more reliable because Microsoft appears to have figured out how to crash and survive (refresh the desktop) without the "blue screen of death", which was a major feat not accomplished prior to XP.

Let's face it. Any product that crashes on live television at every major release should never see the light of day. But, never underestimate stupidity in mass!

[JRFeeney]

Your mouse has moved; please reboot.

Most people do not understand technology. They think they do when they push all the buttons and know what will happen.

[paperjohns]

window vista

Beside the annyoing memory hog of their software and long boot up time. Why do they make the back and forward buttons so small in window Vista internet explorer. How is that change improve the user experience? Even the hibernate and sleep buttons are very small compare to Win XP. What's wrong w/ making it bigger so I can see it easier?

[JRFeeney]

Your mouse has moved; please reboot.

I am starting to hate Steve Ballsmer almost as much as I hated Bill Gates. These guys think they can dictate to the public what you will have to put up with and you are going to like it.

I wish the DOJ would grow some balls and rein these guys in. Monopolies are supposed to be illegal in the US of A. Where do you want to wait today?

[wildchild_plasma_gyro]

Good competition between AMD and Intel

With AMD hot on Intels heals and Intel hot on AMDs heals the price of the hardware required to get good use from Vista looks Quite tasty. There Is however the Concern that Nvidia might be fast becomming the Dominant force in the GPU market which i hope is addressed over the comming years because that could stagnate progress and costs a little in area of extension processors.

[keyscritter]

VISTA is a total POS

Because my old laptop had physical damage (I dropped it) I was forced to purchase a new one. I bought a Dell Inspiron 1720 with Core2 Duo, 2GHz and 2 gig RAM (plenty of horsepower). It came with vista. I didn't have a choice.

I had problems right from the start. Major incompatibilities with MICROSOFT OFFICE 2007! Their own software for *&*(&(*& sake! Not to mention the fact that you have to manually configure spyware/antivirus so that it doesn't completely screw up your system.

Software like Quickbooks, Quicken, and proprietary business software I rely on everyday either had major incompatibility issues or wouldn't function at all.

The only thing it did well was wireless connectivity.

Over a 2-3 week period the performance degraded so badly that I eventually had no choice but to wipe the disk and LOAD XP Pro!

The only reason I don't use Macs is because the business software I rely on is only written for MS OS. Talk about a monopoly. It would be so bad if the freaking software wasn't such a total POS.

I think I see a Linux in my future!

[cross platform]

I'm Running Vista Right Now On My 4 Year Old PC

Yup! I've got a P4 with a Nvidia 7800GS OC and 2 Gigs of RAM. Home Premium. It works fine. It was a bit of trouble to install. I won't color that part but now it runs fine. If it will run this well on a 4 year old computer I just have to think that a lot of what I hear about Vista is over blown. I think that any OS when new has growing pains. I used to be a Mac user and OS X wasn't the perfect OS at the start. It was slow and had compatibility problems. However it had the classic OS 9 layer which made thing simpler. I think it's like this. I discussed this with a friend and asked why MS didn't have something like that when they came up with a new OS. His reply was " Well MS doesn't need customers ". There's a certain ring of truth about that in that I think Apple cares more about customer reaction than MS. However I like Vista better than Xp which was getting a little long in the tooth.