Vista dawns, world yawns

[Cybergypsy]

Vista dawns, world yawns

By Aidan Malley
Published: 09:00 PM EST

In spite of a marketing deluge, Microsoft's latest operating system has yet to see adoption by any but the most dedicated enthusiasts, news reports say -- and it may be scaring off potential customers through draconian licensing.


Although the Redmond-based developer crafted a series publicity stunts to promote Vista -- its first significant upgrade to Windows in well over five years -- first-day reactions to the much-ballyhooed system software were lukewarm at best. A skyborne dance routine in Manhattan and elaborate laser show in Shanghai did little to "wow" prospective owners as Microsoft's marketing campaign had promised.

Many stores that had planned midnight showings were surprised at the lack of devotees queuing up to buy Vista. CompUSA's premier store on San Francisco's Market Street only saw a fraction of the 500-plus shoppers its manager had hoped for at the stroke of twelve. And in an unintentionally hilarious piece of irony, many of those who came to shop -- including those at the head of the line -- were there only for discounts on gadgets rather than Microsoft's software darling. Similar stories surfaced in other parts of the US.

Indeed, Microsoft's claim to the biggest Windows launch ever were undermined by its own business. The size of the launch has already been dismissed as the result of natural momentum: with more Windows users already in the market, Vista is guaranteed almost by default to sell more units than XP as more owners exist to buy upgrades or replace old systems with new ones, The Washington Post learned from analysts.

"This is going to be biggest version of Windows ever. But that's just inertia," said research firm Gartner's Steve Kleynhans. "Will it really dominate the market or change the market in the way earlier versions of Windows did? It remains to be seen."

The software giant may even have inadvertently discouraged the technically savvy from buying into its plans by seemingly punishing those who buy upgrade copies of Vista. A thorough look at the End-User License Agreement for the Microsoft package has revealed that the license key for an existing version of Windows becomes invalid the moment a Vista upgrade is installed. This would all but make it illegal in the company's eyes to use the earlier software, even on the same system as part of a multi-boot solution.

Microsoft hadn't said in the EULA that it would deliberately block activations of new Windows XP installs, but has already taken heat from the Internet community for allegedly driving honest upgrade buyers towards full-sized (and thus more expensive) copies of Vista. When combined with the newly-added hassle of installing the old OS instead of simply validating the old disc as in the past, many are asking just who, if anyone, Redmond hopes to entice with its much-delayed refresh.

[phantazma]

I was just at an IT Microsoft Conference this morning on how to deploy Vista into existing workstations. They didn't mention anything about the old key becoming invalid when Vista is installed. Then again, we have a site license so that wouldn't apply to us. I'm downloading Vista from my university's server now and will be installing it tomorrow. I hope they fixed the bug with Lotus Notes that was in RC2.

[Cybergypsy]

My son had his 2 days now...Perks of working at Office Depot....LOL.. now he cant play ever crack...and is begging for another video card....LOL

[fg2k20z306]

WINDOWS VISTA ULTIMATE and Office 2007 FTW! I get hella hook up on those! :)

[arisenfury]

Why not just post all these in one thread..?

[vampiir]

i just don't want to get a new OS, when i went to xp it was exciting because millenium edition was such garbage. Nowadays I don't want to deal with the hassles of whether or not my programs will be compatible and what not. why couldnt they just update xp ><

[webby]

The test results from pc world were more than lack luster. They only had improvements over XP when they had over 2 gigs of ram and a dual core processor. Installing vista on their single p4 machines actually made their PC processing times around 20% ... WORSE. They basically knocked vista for being not much more than eye candy and slowing things down in photoshop, frames per second on games, and spreadsheet applications.

[yusk8te]

How to install vista. (very funny)

http://web.mac.com/opant/iWeb/Site/Windows%20Vista.html

[foolio_67]

Windows FTL

[Avenger]

Love the way it looks...........don't want to upgrade my old laptop because it's not that fast as it is. I DO want Vista.........and in order to get it, I'll probably just purchase a brand new PC that comes with it.

BTW, Office 2007 is an AWESOME program. I don't know if it's worth $700+.......but it's still awesome, I love it. Rated program of the year.

[moxom]

I'm getting Ultimate either through my company or I'll purchase the full OEM version for 2 Benjis.

I'm going to add an additional gig of RAM and I'll be set. My comp specs:
Core 2 Duo, 150 GB Raptor, 320 GB Caviar, 1 GB RAM, nVidia 7600 GS, 2-DL DVD burners, FusionHDTV Gold tuner, Gig E, 19" WS LCD, etc.

[Avenger]

Originally Posted by moxom

I'm getting Ultimate either through my company or I'll purchase the full OEM version for 2 Benjis.

I'm going to add an additional gig of RAM and I'll be set. My comp specs:
Core 2 Duo, 150 GB Raptor, 320 GB Caviar, 1 GB RAM, nVidia 7600 GS, 2-DL DVD burners, FusionHDTV Gold tuner, Gig E, 19" WS LCD, etc.

Wow, nice setup!

[moxom]

Originally Posted by Avenger

Wow, nice setup!

Thanks. It's not ultra hi-end but it meets my needs nicely. I convert batches of RAW image files to jpeg in Photoshop CS2, audio analysis, speaker design, rip DVDs for er-backups, and I watch and record HD OTA on my system.
I'm going to record the Super Bowl in HD so I can watch it later on.

[BLAZETIGER]

Originally Posted by fg2k20z306

WINDOWS VISTA ULTIMATE and Office 2007 FTW! I get hella hook up on those! :)

Can you spread the wealth? I could care less about Vista, but I'd be interested in Office 07.

[moxom]

Yeah, fg2k20z306, toss this bum some good old fashion 8thCivic love.

[skiddy]

I'm just waiting until my school gets it's copies of Office 2k7 and Vista in, which should be April.

$20 Vista 32/64bit and Office 2007 Pro ftw!

[[IVI]]

Cyber, I usually back you up on this because I'm not a Windows fanboy, but I don't quite agree with this article. First of all, there was no "marketing deluge" that windows put out. They did not tout is as the next end-all be-all system, they even said it was more evolutionary than revolutionary. Sure, they had a few stores open up at midnight, but it was nothing like when Win95 or WinXP came out. If they would have heavily marketed it like they did with previous operating systems, there probably would have been much more people saying "I gotta have that" just by sheer brainwashing. But they didn't and they got what they expected to get.

[firmhonda]

Originally Posted by arisenfury

Why not just post all these in one thread..?

I've already tried pointing that out.. it's a race to see how many pro-apple anti-microsoft threads one person can start..



[edit]

What site did this come from.. I'm just curious because the only other things I can find by Aidan Malley is all from Apple Insider. No wonder it's anti microsoft, that's her job.

[06si]

I just picked up a new HP computer today with Vista (the one above home basic). http://www.shopping.hp.com/store/pro...rowse2/PDP_PDP
I ended up installing an ATI 512 mb graphics card cause I need a new computer for gaming cause this one sux. I originally went there planning on building a gaming computer but realized just buying a prebuilt computer would be much cheaper and I can customize it slowly instead of rushing to buy everything I want.
I am going to keep my old computer for strictly downloads and everything except games. Figured I can't go wrong with 2048 mb of memory with 2 open sockets for additional memory

[BLU BY U]

Originally Posted by [IVI]

Cyber, I usually back you up on this because I'm not a Windows fanboy, but I don't quite agree with this article. First of all, there was no "marketing deluge" that windows put out. They did not tout is as the next end-all be-all system, they even said it was more evolutionary than revolutionary. Sure, they had a few stores open up at midnight, but it was nothing like when Win95 or WinXP came out. If they would have heavily marketed it like they did with previous operating systems, there probably would have been much more people saying "I gotta have that" just by sheer brainwashing. But they didn't and they got what they expected to get.

+1