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Why Windows XP must be saved

Steven Parker   on 14 January 2008 - 15:24 · 88 comments & 45509 views

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The clock is ticking for Windows XP, the tried-and-true Microsoft operating system that millions of businesses and individuals depend on. Soon, the only Windows option will be Vista, an operating system that businesses as well as individuals have disliked and often avoided. The lackluster changes to Vista, coupled with the high costs of switching tens of millions of computers to it, have convinced InfoWorld that XP should not be retired as planned on June 30.

Millions of us have grown comfortable with XP and don't see a need to change to Vista. It's like having a comfortable apartment that you've enjoyed coming home to for years, only to get an eviction notice. The thought of moving to a new place -- even with the stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, and maple cabinets (or is cherry in this year?) -- just doesn't sit right. Maybe it'll be more modern, but it will also cost more and likely not be as good a fit. And you don't have any other reason to move. That's exactly the conclusion people have come to with Vista. For most of us, there's really no reason to move to it -- yet we don't have a choice. When that strong desire to stick with XP became obvious in spring 2007, major computer makers such as Dell and Hewlett-Packard quietly reintroduced new XP-based systems (but just to business customers, so as not to offend Microsoft).


Above pic: How the industry perceives Windows Vista

View: Full Article @ InfoWorld

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(2 replies) #1 aStRaLgOd on 14 Jan 2008 - 15:27
How much articles on the same subject does it take?
#1.1 7Dash8 on 14 Jan 2008 - 16:02
As long as crap like this gets traffic, they'll keep milking it for all it's worth. One more reason to switch from Neowin to a real news site.
#1.2 Davebo on 14 Jan 2008 - 16:14
Quote - (7Dash8 said @ #1.1)
As long as crap like this gets traffic, they'll keep milking it for all it's worth. One more reason to switch from Neowin to a real news site.


I'm sured ILoveVistaUnconditionally.com would love your patronage...

BuhBye
(2 replies) #2 Neoauld on 14 Jan 2008 - 15:27
idk whats so scary about vista
works good for me
im finding it faster than xp the more i use it

if you have crappy hardware i guess xp is the way to go..but with my new system vista runs like a beast
#2.1 FusionOpz on 14 Jan 2008 - 18:14
My 4 year old p4 system runs vista better then it did XP :|
#2.2 Raa on 14 Jan 2008 - 23:05
And yet my iMac runs it better than my main pc - which has twice the amount of hardware almost.

Yes, Vista's to blame. XP on both? My system is way ahead.
(7 replies) #3 EL1TE on 14 Jan 2008 - 15:30
Are you guys happy with your OS? Fine, just use it and leave the others alone, because each one know what is better for their needs.
#3.1 Swordnyx on 14 Jan 2008 - 15:47
I know, why does everyone say XP is better without even trying? My new laptop was preinstalled with Vista, and I've used it for about 3 months. Last week I installed XP, and I was so surprised that XP was so ugly and old compared to Vista.
#3.2 Mike Frett on 14 Jan 2008 - 15:54
I hope you understand that you can't continue to use it permanently. Eventually you will be forced to upgrade to something due to the end of support for the product, and that's the problem.
#3.3 +Shadrack on 14 Jan 2008 - 16:11
Exactly.

Not sure why everyone is on a crusade to stop people from using Vista if they are perfectly happy with it. I for one, am perfectly happy with Vista, find it very cozy and comfortable, and using XP on my work computer is like getting my teeth pulled.

But I will leave the people who want to use XP alone. Use what you wanna use.
#3.4 hewitt s. on 14 Jan 2008 - 16:53
Quote - (Swordnyx said @ #3.1)
I know, why does everyone say XP is better without even trying? My new laptop was preinstalled with Vista, and I've used it for about 3 months. Last week I installed XP, and I was so surprised that XP was so ugly and old compared to Vista.


XP came out in 2002
#3.5 n_K on 14 Jan 2008 - 19:37
Quote - (Swordnyx said @ #3.1)
I know, why does everyone say XP is better without even trying? My new laptop was preinstalled with Vista, and I've used it for about 3 months. Last week I installed XP, and I was so surprised that XP was so ugly and old compared to Vista.

vista won't even install on my pcs, thats why I class it as ****, because it is
#3.6 briangw on 14 Jan 2008 - 19:43
Quote - (hewitt s. said @ #3.4)
Quote - (Swordnyx said @ #3.1)
I know, why does everyone say XP is better without even trying? My new laptop was preinstalled with Vista, and I've used it for about 3 months. Last week I installed XP, and I was so surprised that XP was so ugly and old compared to Vista.


XP came out in 2002


no, it came out in 2001
#3.7 hewitt s. on 14 Jan 2008 - 19:51
Quote - (n_K said @ #3.5)
vista won't even install on my pcs, thats why I class it as ****, because it is


I didn't realize that n_K's old PC was the benchmark for what makes a good operating system -- how dare Microsoft release an operating system that requires current technology!!!
(7 replies) #4 GreyWolfSC on 14 Jan 2008 - 15:41
WTF? Is this Neowin.net or AntiVista.net?
#4.1 +Frazell Thomas on 14 Jan 2008 - 15:46
Quote - (GreyWolfSC said @ #4)
WTF? Is this Neowin.net or AntiVista.net?


Agreed... No one is being forced to any version of Windows... People still run Windows 98!
#4.2 Hurmoth on 14 Jan 2008 - 15:51
We're presenting the news as it is, completely unbiased. If anything, we're proWindows (regardless of the version (excluding ME)). We've posted news bashing Linux, bashing Mac, bashing Windows XP even, but you guys don't come in here and ask, "WTF? Is this Neowin.net or AntiLinux.net?" Do you? If you don't agree with the information in the article, post why, but if all you're going to do is bitch and moan about people being anti-Vista, then why post? It offers nothing to the article's comments.
#4.3 GreyWolfSC on 14 Jan 2008 - 15:59
Quote - (Hurmoth said @ #4.2)
We're presenting the news as it is, completely unbiased. If anything, we're proWindows (regardless of the version (excluding ME)). We've posted news bashing Linux, bashing Mac, bashing Windows XP even, but you guys don't come in here and ask, "WTF? Is this Neowin.net or AntiLinux.net?" Do you? If you don't agree with the information in the article, post why, but if all you're going to do is bitch and moan about people being anti-Vista, then why post? It offers nothing to the article's comments.


No, THIS is an anti-Vista rant. It's a reference to a "keep XP, Vista's not good" InfoWorld source article with an anti-Vista cartoon that's not even related to the article.
#4.4 hewitt s. on 14 Jan 2008 - 16:54
Quote - (Hurmoth said @ #4.2)
We're presenting the news as it is, completely unbiased...


Just like Fox News! =)
#4.5 EL1TE on 14 Jan 2008 - 17:05
Unfornatly is true, but if you want even better visit CNET.
#4.6 Foub on 14 Jan 2008 - 17:27
Quote - (Hurmoth said @ #4.2)
We're presenting the news as it is, completely unbiased. If anything, we're proWindows (regardless of the version (excluding ME)). We've posted news bashing Linux, bashing Mac, bashing Windows XP even, but you guys don't come in here and ask, "WTF? Is this Neowin.net or AntiLinux.net?" Do you? If you don't agree with the information in the article, post why, but if all you're going to do is bitch and moan about people being anti-Vista, then why post? It offers nothing to the article's comments.


They're "bitching and moaning" because people dare to question their religion of consumerism. Old is bad, new is good to them... Its not just Neowin that posts so much against Vista, it is many others as well for the fact that Vista IS CRAP for a majority of users. I've tried it for around 6 months so I know what I'm talking about and my hardware wasn't low end either. One's hardware shouldn't matter if it isn't all that old to begin with.
#4.7 Eis on 14 Jan 2008 - 23:29
Quote - (Hurmoth said @ #4.2)
If you don't agree with the information in the article, post why, but if all you're going to do is bitch and moan about people being anti-Vista, then why post? It offers nothing to the article's comments.

Uh, yes it does? That's the entire point of these posts; their opinions. If people feel strongly enough about something like this, maybe you should start listening to them instead of just steamrolling out the same articles that make them angry.
(7 replies) #5 kazuyette on 14 Jan 2008 - 15:44
Vista works good for me too . XP was great, but it's time for evolution !
P.S. : Why don't we go back to DOS instead ? It should run lightning fast with today's hardware
#5.1 Swordnyx on 14 Jan 2008 - 15:48
It ran lightning fast with the old hardware too lol.
#5.2 nonick on 14 Jan 2008 - 16:16
Quote - (kazuyette said @ #5)
Vista works good for me too . XP was great, but it's time for evolution !
P.S. : Why don't we go back to DOS instead ? It should run lightning fast with today's hardware


Because it can't run **** of today's games/apps/etc? while vista brings nothing "new" ?
#5.3 +Shadrack on 14 Jan 2008 - 19:11
Quote - (nonick said @ #5.2)
Quote - (kazuyette said @ #5)
Vista works good for me too . XP was great, but it's time for evolution !
P.S. : Why don't we go back to DOS instead ? It should run lightning fast with today's hardware


Because it can't run **** of today's games/apps/etc? while vista brings nothing "new" ?


Not even dude. When I do alt-tab I can see little windows of everything and select them using my mouse. May not seem like much, but when I'm at work on XP and don't have that feature I get really frustrated. I'm use to having a LOT of windows open (often under the same program so they all have the same icon when I alt-tab in XP). There are a lot of new things in Vista. Maybe not one BIG thing, but all those small things add up to a lot if you find them useful. Most of them I do find useful.

It may just be too little too late for some users. If you're running XP and are perfectly fine with it, don't upgrade.
#5.4 ANova on 14 Jan 2008 - 20:31
Quote - (Shadrack said @ #5.3)
Not even dude. When I do alt-tab I can see little windows of everything and select them using my mouse. May not seem like much, but when I'm at work on XP and don't have that feature I get really frustrated. I'm use to having a LOT of windows open (often under the same program so they all have the same icon when I alt-tab in XP). There are a lot of new things in Vista. Maybe not one BIG thing, but all those small things add up to a lot if you find them useful. Most of them I do find useful.

It may just be too little too late for some users. If you're running XP and are perfectly fine with it, don't upgrade.


Most of those small features in Vista can be had in XP through third party programs, many of which are free.
#5.5 +Shadrack on 14 Jan 2008 - 20:55
Quote - (ANova said @ #5.4)
Quote - (Shadrack said @ #5.3)
Not even dude. When I do alt-tab I can see little windows of everything and select them using my mouse. May not seem like much, but when I'm at work on XP and don't have that feature I get really frustrated. I'm use to having a LOT of windows open (often under the same program so they all have the same icon when I alt-tab in XP). There are a lot of new things in Vista. Maybe not one BIG thing, but all those small things add up to a lot if you find them useful. Most of them I do find useful.

It may just be too little too late for some users. If you're running XP and are perfectly fine with it, don't upgrade.


Most of those small features in Vista can be had in XP through third party programs, many of which are free.


I would say some, not most. For instance the task manager is is leaps and bounds in front of XP's task manager. MS actually got it right with their reorganization efforts in the control panel, XP's reorganization was useless and I suspect most people just use the "classic control panel". Sure you can add prettier alt-tab function to Windows XP...at a performance cost. You can also add desktop search to XP...at a performance cost. I'm not saying that those features don't ultimately slow down Vista as well. But once you add all those "little things" to XP you'd probably be performing better in Vista.
#5.6 ANova on 14 Jan 2008 - 22:52
Quote - (Shadrack said @ #5.5)
I would say some, not most. For instance the task manager is is leaps and bounds in front of XP's task manager. MS actually got it right with their reorganization efforts in the control panel, XP's reorganization was useless and I suspect most people just use the "classic control panel". Sure you can add prettier alt-tab function to Windows XP...at a performance cost. You can also add desktop search to XP...at a performance cost. I'm not saying that those features don't ultimately slow down Vista as well. But once you add all those "little things" to XP you'd probably be performing better in Vista.


I stick to my opinion that most of those are available at least to some degree for XP. The improved task manager is definitely great in Vista, one of very few things I actually like about the os but like I said, there are programs available for XP that provide similar functionality. XP is much faster than Vista so adding a little alt tab functionality won't make much of a difference. It is primarily Vista's subsystem that makes it slow; Aero is slow, all the added processes use more memory, there are tons more scheduled tasks, it renders every icon individually, etc.

As far as organization, Vista is terrible imo. There's no cohesion at all, merely abstract small links in the side bar linking everywhere.
#5.7 +Shadrack on 15 Jan 2008 - 00:14
Quote - (ANova said @ #5.6)
Quote - (Shadrack said @ #5.5)
I would say some, not most. For instance the task manager is is leaps and bounds in front of XP's task manager. MS actually got it right with their reorganization efforts in the control panel, XP's reorganization was useless and I suspect most people just use the "classic control panel". Sure you can add prettier alt-tab function to Windows XP...at a performance cost. You can also add desktop search to XP...at a performance cost. I'm not saying that those features don't ultimately slow down Vista as well. But once you add all those "little things" to XP you'd probably be performing better in Vista.


I stick to my opinion that most of those are available at least to some degree for XP. The improved task manager is definitely great in Vista, one of very few things I actually like about the os but like I said, there are programs available for XP that provide similar functionality. XP is much faster than Vista so adding a little alt tab functionality won't make much of a difference. It is primarily Vista's subsystem that makes it slow; Aero is slow, all the added processes use more memory, there are tons more scheduled tasks, it renders every icon individually, etc.

As far as organization, Vista is terrible imo. There's no cohesion at all, merely abstract small links in the side bar linking everywhere.


I duel booted XP and Vista on my Pentium 4 3.0GHz (I've since upgraded and don't duel boot on my new machine) and didn't notice much difference in performance between games and applications :|. I'm not going to argue that other people don't see a noticeable difference in the things they run on their hardware. If it sucked so bad on my computer I'd be running XP as well, but that isn't the case.

Another feature that I like is the new audio mixer which allows you to control program volume as oppose to WAVE/MIDI/CD etc. in XP. I like the fact that I can mute my web browser, Firefox, and all those annoying ads that have sound.
#6 X'tyfe on 14 Jan 2008 - 15:44
wrong, there will always be a choice
i have made mine, and im sticking with it

try as you will, you will not stop me
(1 reply) #7 HoagieKat on 14 Jan 2008 - 15:53
I can't be alone in liking vista can I? It's a nice up to date interface, most newer hardware is supported. I have it running on a laptop and a desktop, and I can say I rather like it's aero interface. OK Photoshop was a nightmare to install, but that's more Adobe's fault than Vista's.
#7.1 hewitt s. on 14 Jan 2008 - 16:57
Quote - (HoagieKat said @ #
I can't be alone in liking vista can I? It's a nice up to date interface, most newer hardware is supported. I have it running on a laptop and a desktop, and I can say I rather like it's aero interface. OK Photoshop was a nightmare to install, but that's more Adobe's fault than Vista's.


Adobe introduced Vista support starting with CS3. I've found that most of the CS2 apps work correctly in Vista, but there are some minor issues.
#8 jstillion on 14 Jan 2008 - 15:57
I like vista but my computer (4-5 yrs old) does not run video or games as well as XP on the same hardware. Since Vista is not even SP1 (will be soon) and a lot of product have not been made 100% vista yet (there getting there) I think MS should hold off.

#9 Taliseian on 14 Jan 2008 - 15:59
I tested Vista and tbh I didn't really start using it full time until I got a hold of those Performance Updates just before SP1 Beta became public.

Now that I'm using the lastest SP1 Public Beta, I don't see a reason to go back to XP. The only issue that I have is sound based (no hardware sound effects from my Creative XFi), but the ALchemy software works ok for now.

I'll admit I have fairly new hardware (C2D, 4g ram, 7950 512mg) so I'm running the 64bit version. It has much more support than the 64bit XP ever had. But I've seen Vista on systems that are older with less memory that run pretty good as well.

I feel that Vista still has a ways to go before it will "feel" like XP does today (ie the comfortable chair in the Ctrl-Alt-Del comic above), but in time it will. I think alot of the FUD about the end of cycle for XP will fade in time, but most people are hesitant to change which is one part of the issue.

The other part is the hardware/driver support which will change as more companies get used to the way Vista does hardware. Vista did make a fundamental change in the way drivers are written - far too detailed to write here, just google it - and I think alot of companies *cough*Creative*cough* still have alot of re-learning to do when it comes to driver support. Once those changes are made there will be probably a slow but steady adoption of Vista support in the home user base.

Businesses are a completely different matter and it will take more than just drivers and performance changes to get them to switch. As an example, I know of some businesses that are still running Windows 98 because the software that they use for databases and record keeping has not been rewritten and to switch would be such a change that they could lose years of business data, account records, etc. Some businesses may never switch.


T
#10 Mr Fish on 14 Jan 2008 - 16:04
According to Microsoft's own roadmap http://www.microsoft.com/windows/lifecycle/default.mspx XP has had one the longest runs of any of it's OS's, so maybe it is about time people started moving to Vista. However, a lot has happened in the industry over the last 14 years. The old model might not be viable anymore. For many private and business users, XP does a good job and there really isn't any need to upgrade just because something newer is available. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
#11 LTD on 14 Jan 2008 - 16:04


Last edited by LTD on 14 Jan 2008 - 16:10
#12 rpgfan on 14 Jan 2008 - 16:05
Yeah, this is definitely important. At least the visual changes from Windows 98/2000 to XP weren't so drastic.

Keep XP alive!!
#13 JamesWeb on 14 Jan 2008 - 16:11
Collective rolling of eyes, anyone?
#14 Munkyman on 14 Jan 2008 - 16:14
Vista is a jump from XP. Just not a big enough jump in my opinion....

It takes a good month to really start to feel the improvment over XP though. It feels nicer.
#15 Andre on 14 Jan 2008 - 16:17
I totally agree with the comic. It won't be until SP2 that Vista will become as solid and popular as XP now. I like Vista for many reasons and it works great out of the box. But the lack of software compatibility and all sorts of little things that annoy me (ie. Win+1..9 keys being keyjacked by Vista for QuickLaunch, even if you don't use QuickLaunch and have it off), I am still with XP.
#16 atari800 on 14 Jan 2008 - 16:24
Even if MS stopped everything with XP, there will be someone/someplace that will have XP with SP3 slipstreamed into it along with the other goodies. Until some major applications go "VISTA ONLY" things will be the same
*Just my opinion
#17 vetneufuse on 14 Jan 2008 - 16:27
Sometimes I think one of the huge reasons is that fact MS sat on XP for 5+ years before a change... everyone kinda settled into it and thought well dont have to upgrade anymore... kinda like XP was perpetual OS that for the next 20 years you'd just patch... and never pay for again... now a big bad patch called vista cost money *gasp* no no every one runs crying we dont like it, it will cost moeny! keep us patching the stuff we already own!...


seriously I dont get what the huge deal is... by now places had a year to patch their applicatiosn to work in vista... the biggest complainers I've seen are ISV's that didn't write their code right to start with... depending on permissions to be in places they should not be... trying to store files in locations they shouldnt be... stuff like that, which don't want to rethink "humm is this really that secure?" and just fix the stupid thing to be secure... besides those people there isn't much of a problem... even drivers wern't that big of an issue...sure people like ATI and nVIDIA dragged their feet but that is mainly because the model changed and they didn't want to change how they thought stuff worked to work with the new model... people scream it has lower frame rates in vista... a lot of that has to do with these companies not really wanting to work with the new driver model completely and constantly optimizing the XP drivers and letting the vista ones get minor tweaks and such...

besides that I bet you most of the people that avoid vista are like the ones that were running rumors around here about office 2007.. when it was in beta I had people coming up to us saying "I sure hope we wont get that horrible new office 2007" when 1 they never used it... 2 never even saw it... and 3 based their opinnion off some news article from cnet that bashed it for no stupid reason.... now that they have seen it they are saying stuff like "why didnt we get this sooner?"... you just want to slam their head into a desk sometimes....
#18 rdmiller on 14 Jan 2008 - 16:28
Anyone who bought Vista from a big box retailers with one of those crappy last-generation AMD processors has grounds to complain. Retailers had to unload their inventory of AMDs and guess what, you got hosed.
(1 reply) #19 X'tyfe on 14 Jan 2008 - 16:37
i would like to point out that xp will be supported by microsoft until 2014
its not over for another 6 years, we are hear to stay whether you like it or not
#19.1 hewitt s. on 14 Jan 2008 - 16:51
Quote - (X'tyfe said @ #20)
i would like to point out that xp will be supported by microsoft until 2014
its not over for another 6 years, we are hear to stay whether you like it or not


Not entirely true... "Mainstream Support" is till 4/14/2009. "Extended Support" is until 4/8/2014.

http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/?LN...y=6&p1=3223
#20 hewitt s. on 14 Jan 2008 - 16:47
There is nothing wrong with Vista! I have been using it since it came out, and it works fine. It's a capable and stable OS.

It does have some performance issues, I'll give you that. But those are usually exagerated. It takes a long time to startup and shutdown, but once loaded the performance is fine. I play games all the time and there are no performance issues.

On the surface, the changes aren't as dramatic looking so people assume it's not a big upgrade. But under the hood, almost every subsystem was rewritten. This is the reason why a lot of old hardware doesn't work right. I guess you can blame Microsoft for not supporting every piece of hardware that ever came out.

Most of the negative press started by people who didn't do their homework -- they just assumed their old PC and old hardware would work with a brand new OS, and when they found it didn't, the wrote it off as being a failure.
(1 reply) #21 Dashel on 14 Jan 2008 - 16:50
If you search the houses of these people you'll prob find the same 'Save Win98/2000' banner they were flying when XP landed.
#21.1 SajuukCor on 14 Jan 2008 - 17:04
Exactly. I remember people saying that 128MB of RAM for a OS was way too much and were never going to upgrade from 98 to XP, the same song people sang about when Direct X9 came out and would need XP to run it. It's all the same tune, and I bet 6-8 years down the line they'll be complaining about giving up Vista for the next Windows OS.

XP is getting out of date. How long you cling to it is up to you, but don't start complaining about when programs start to be phased out of support and require a min req of Vista.
(1 reply) #22 winmoose on 14 Jan 2008 - 17:07
I'm running XP, but I'm scared Bill Gates might break into my house and install Vista. Can anybody help me!!

p.s. That cartoon is so lame.
#22.1 hewitt s. on 14 Jan 2008 - 17:42
Going door-to-door would be a new tactic, but then again Bill is going to need something to do when he leaves MS later this year...
(3 replies) #23 Foub on 14 Jan 2008 - 17:20
Microsoft makes a consumer product for a mass consumer society (America has around 5% of the world's population and uses around a third of its resources.). It is irrelevant if it is needed or not it is the fact that it is NEW with lots of eye candy that is the most important factor with it and some just are easily impressed by shiny things and not real substance and don't understand why so many would prefer something that didn't require one to constant upgrade unnecessarily.
#23.1 The Walker on 14 Jan 2008 - 20:52
Quote - (Foub said @ #23)
Microsoft makes a consumer product for a mass consumer society (America has around 5% of the world's population and uses around a third of its resources.). It is irrelevant if it is needed or not it is the fact that it is NEW with lots of eye candy that is the most important factor with it and some just are easily impressed by shiny things and not real substance and don't understand why so many would prefer something that didn't require one to constant upgrade unnecessarily.


+1.

People are only using it because it's new and shiny.. actual real performance and glaringly obvious problems don't factor for these distracted users.

When XP dies I'll be going Linux... Vista is a leash and muzzle for the PC.
#23.2 unkle stu on 15 Jan 2008 - 10:25
Quote - (The Walker said @ #23.1)
Quote - (Foub said @ #23)
Microsoft makes a consumer product for a mass consumer society (America has around 5% of the world's population and uses around a third of its resources.). It is irrelevant if it is needed or not it is the fact that it is NEW with lots of eye candy that is the most important factor with it and some just are easily impressed by shiny things and not real substance and don't understand why so many would prefer something that didn't require one to constant upgrade unnecessarily.


+1.

People are only using it because it's new and shiny.. actual real performance and glaringly obvious problems don't factor for these distracted users.

When XP dies I'll be going Linux... Vista is a leash and muzzle for the PC.


that's funny, the EXACT same things were said about XP when it launched... shouldn't you still be using 2000.. er.. linux
#23.3 Davebo on 15 Jan 2008 - 14:50
Quote - (unkle stu said @ #23.2)
Quote - (The Walker said @ #23.1)
Quote - (Foub said @ #23)
Microsoft makes a consumer product for a mass consumer society (America has around 5% of the world's population and uses around a third of its resources.). It is irrelevant if it is needed or not it is the fact that it is NEW with lots of eye candy that is the most important factor with it and some just are easily impressed by shiny things and not real substance and don't understand why so many would prefer something that didn't require one to constant upgrade unnecessarily.


+1.

People are only using it because it's new and shiny.. actual real performance and glaringly obvious problems don't factor for these distracted users.

When XP dies I'll be going Linux... Vista is a leash and muzzle for the PC.


that's funny, the EXACT same things were said about XP when it launched... shouldn't you still be using 2000.. er.. linux


Wrong - folks had some negative things to say about XP, but they were won over long before now.

Vista is the new Windows ME - like it or not, that's the perception. Crying "It's not" with all the venom of an angst ridden little bitch isn't going to change things.
(6 replies) #24 lbmouse on 14 Jan 2008 - 17:22
This article is not referring to all you little kiddies whose parents bought them their PC for Christmas. You were probably instantly and blindly happy with Vista and that is fine (while I have no real preference, my 13 yo son prefers Linux ).

This is mainly about Microsoft's bread-and-butter, the corporate licensing market and business users. Without (or until) success in that market, this type of product is a total flop. I've spoken with many IT managers from Fortune 500 companies to mom-n-pops and very VERY few have any plans of adopting Vista anytime in the near or in most cases distant future. Many are still upgrading from 2000 to XP. Hell, at my company we still have some legacy systems running DOS and OS/2; not to mention mainframe apps almost as old as I am! If it ain't broke, don't fix it. So it really doesn't make much ROI sense to upgrade to Vista for the vast majority of users.

I still have friends working in Redmond and the proverbial poop is hitting the fan (no matter what PR spinning foot Gates puts forward). The saturation and adoption rates are no where near what was budgeted for Vista. We can only hope that not too many heads will roll. I've been in the industry for over 20 years and I've seen a lot of failures, but very few (maybe Apple Lisa and MS Bob) have been as big and painful as Vista. Just one guy's opinion and I'll hopefully be proven wrong.

Last edited by lbmouse on 14 Jan 2008 - 17:22
#24.1 hewitt s. on 14 Jan 2008 - 17:37
It sounds to me like you don't actually know any of these IT managers personally, or anyone in Redmond for that matter. Your comments are typical of someone who has heard something "through the grapevine".

IT managers NEVER adopt a new version of Windows right when it comes out. It takes them years to make this transition, and there are many factors for that -- cost, incompatibilities with networking hardware or software, etc... Many businesses have just finally finished the migration to XP, which came out 6 years ago.
#24.2 lbmouse on 14 Jan 2008 - 18:20
Quote - (hewitt s. said @ #25.1)
It sounds to me like you don't actually know any of these IT managers personally, or anyone in Redmond for that matter. Your comments are typical of someone who has heard something "through the grapevine".

IT managers NEVER adopt a new version of Windows right when it comes out. It takes them years to make this transition, and there are many factors for that -- cost, incompatibilities with networking hardware or software, etc... Many businesses have just finally finished the migration to XP, which came out 6 years ago.

I still have a few friends working at MS that I personally keep in touch with. So, yes it is the grapevine, but a very dependable and short one. Being extremely active in the industry for over 20 years, I network and keep in contact with many management level IT professionals and there is none of the buzz that NT 4.0, 2000, XP, or even 3.11 sparked. Even if someone wasn't an early adopter, they at least where excited about the proposition and began planning. There is almost none of this with Vista. I have nothing against Microsoft (it is just a tech company) or Vista (it is just a tech tool) and really wish it would do well. Unfortunately it doesn't appear to be unfolding that way.

Last edited by lbmouse on 14 Jan 2008 - 18:21
#24.3 hewitt s. on 14 Jan 2008 - 19:43
Your exagerating the situation a bit... It took a long time for businesses to adopt XP, and Vista is in the same position XP was a year after it's release. XP did not fly off the shelves when it came out, and it too had negative press (though not nearly the amount that Vista has received).
#24.4 lbmouse on 14 Jan 2008 - 22:15
Vista press is akin to Bob or Me. This is not what your flagship product deserves or needs.

There were many more early and mid adopters of XP than Vista in the terms of industry saturation rates in both quantity and velocity. I was an IT manager for one of the countries largest insurance companies at the time of XP's release. I was amazed at how little resistance we had for upgrading from 2000 to XP (most of hardware could still only handle 98 though), because insurance companies are notoriously bad for being slow to adopt new technologies. I only know of a small handful of early large corp XP adopters that are even considering Vista and they moving extremely gingerly. So there is no exaggeration, unfortunately.
#24.5 Knight85 on 15 Jan 2008 - 02:17
Quote - (lbmouse said @ #24.4)
Vista press is akin to Bob or Me. This is not what your flagship product deserves or needs.

There were many more early and mid adopters of XP than Vista in the terms of industry saturation rates in both quantity and velocity. I was an IT manager for one of the countries largest insurance companies at the time of XP's release. I was amazed at how little resistance we had for upgrading from 2000 to XP (most of hardware could still only handle 98 though), because insurance companies are notoriously bad for being slow to adopt new technologies. I only know of a small handful of early large corp XP adopters that are even considering Vista and they moving extremely gingerly. So there is no exaggeration, unfortunately.


I work in the IT department of the 11th largest firm in the world. We are testing Vista on some machines and are planning to roll it out in 2009... Where do you get the "people are not upgrading"?
#24.6 lbmouse on 15 Jan 2008 - 17:07
Quote - (Knight85 said @ #24.5)
I work in the IT department of the 11th largest firm in the world. We are testing Vista on some machines and are planning to roll it out in 2009... Where do you get the "people are not upgrading"?

Most are not, at least from my observation. I'd have to say that your company is the exception rather than the rule. The company I currently work for has over 110,000 employees worldwide and the IT decision makers have no plans on touching Vista at the individual user level. It sounds like after they get everyone upgraded to XP, they plan on waiting for the next OS generation.
#25 AJCrowley Esq on 14 Jan 2008 - 17:31
I've always been an early adopter.

Tried Vista, and there were a number of issues around driver and software support (even for new hardware). The x64 version in particular was problematic.

I'm sure many of those have been resolved by now, but as nice as it looked, I just found it awful to use. I still run it on my second computer (mostly for IIS7), and still find it to be a pain.
(2 replies) #26 PegasusX on 14 Jan 2008 - 17:39
Come on Neowin, this aint some crappy blogger site
Stop spreading useless FUD about Vista!
#26.1 Foub on 14 Jan 2008 - 17:57
So, you don't believe in reporting the truth?
#26.2 unkle stu on 15 Jan 2008 - 10:29
Quote - (Foub said @ #26.1)
So, you don't believe in reporting the truth?


he doesn't believe in reporting OPINIONS
#27 GEIST on 14 Jan 2008 - 17:50
It's just what happens when users get so much time with an Os as with Windows XP. Everyone's so used to it by now and it had a lot of time to mature. Why would anyone give up on it just to move to a new OS just for the hell of it? Two or three years ago I might have switched to Vista (or Longhorn) as willingly as I moved to XP from 98SE, or to that from 95.
(1 reply) #28 petrossa on 14 Jan 2008 - 18:09
I have xp and vista installed on the same machine. xp pro 64 sp2 and vista ultimate x64. the xp is fully loaded with all my fav utils. the vista is clean. Processor load on my dualcore amd idling xp is around 3%, on vista it idles around 17%

nuff said
#28.1 Doli on 14 Jan 2008 - 18:16
17% wow the end is near.
Vista has services that run when your not using your computer to help with maintenance.
#29 soldier1st on 14 Jan 2008 - 18:23
when any new os comes out it will have problems,all oses have these,after a year or two these glitches are fixed,i was against xp when it came out cuzz i had 98 se but actulay tried windows 2000 and loved it then when xp came out i loved it after trying it(before sp1 it was buggy and crappy but after sp1 it was awesome)and indeed we will have xp support till 2014,after next year there wont be new stuff added only security fixes,xp will be around for along time along with the old oses,you cant force users to upgrade if they dont want to unless an app they use either does not work anymore it it does support what they need.i am actulay starting to like vista more and more the more i use it.

Last edited by soldier1st on 14 Jan 2008 - 18:23
#30 Felosis on 14 Jan 2008 - 18:45
xp does need to be saved, vista does not run well at all on most systems (though there have been some it just works) going from vista to xp has been the best choice ive made on both my desktop and laptop
#31 bobbba on 14 Jan 2008 - 18:45
Yawn, SSDD...
(5 replies) #32 abulfares on 14 Jan 2008 - 18:47
enough with these stupid articles. over and over and over again.

VISTA RIGHT NOW IS PERFORMING BETTER THAN PRE-SP XP. WAIT TILL VISTA IS SP1 AND THEN SP2 AND YOU WILL BE SAYING SAME THING ABOUT WINDOWS 7.

snap out of it for god sake.

Last edited by abulfares on 14 Jan 2008 - 18:49
#32.1 ANova on 14 Jan 2008 - 20:50
Vista performing better than XP? Ahahaha, NO.

XP pre SP was even faster than XP SP2.
#32.2 The Walker on 14 Jan 2008 - 20:54
Quote - (abulfares said @ #32)
enough with these stupid articles. over and over and over again.

VISTA RIGHT NOW IS PERFORMING BETTER THAN PRE-SP XP. WAIT TILL VISTA IS SP1 AND THEN SP2 AND YOU WILL BE SAYING SAME THING ABOUT WINDOWS 7.

snap out of it for god sake.


Fail.
#32.3 EL1TE on 14 Jan 2008 - 21:23
Quote - (ANova said @ #32.1)
Vista performing better than XP? Ahahaha, NO.

XP pre SP was even faster than XP SP2.

oh i'm sure about that, and i bet you use the pre-sp instead of the SP2.
#32.4 ANova on 14 Jan 2008 - 23:03
Quote - (EL1TE said @ #32.3)
oh i'm sure about that, and i bet you use the pre-sp instead of the SP2.


Actually, I have quite a bit of experience with XP as well as Vista and OSX. I have three machines, 2 of which are running SP2 and one SP1. Two dual booting.

You fail, thanks for playing.
#32.5 EL1TE on 15 Jan 2008 - 14:55
Quote - (ANova said @ #32.4)
Quote - (EL1TE said @ #32.3)
oh i'm sure about that, and i bet you use the pre-sp instead of the SP2.


Actually, I have quite a bit of experience with XP as well as Vista and OSX. I have three machines, 2 of which are running SP2 and one SP1. Two dual booting.

You fail, thanks for playing.

Really? So why are you so mad with Windows Vista? In fact if you think XP is better than Vista why are arguing about Vista? Who cares about what you and me, and the others think? Just use what is better for you.

And actually it's true that when Windows 7 come out the same will happen, it's only some months until the crap begin again.
(1 reply) #33 petrossa on 14 Jan 2008 - 19:10
doli, so has xp. and 17% is a heck of a lot for doing nothing more then xp does also and i haven't even installed my background apps. Didn't even begin to try after vista seized up several times. I leave it on the machine to fool around with but the serious stuff stays in xp till about 2012 when windows 2008 comes out
#33.1 Doli on 14 Jan 2008 - 22:32
Vista does do more than XP so idle usage wont be the same as XP.
#34 C_Guy on 14 Jan 2008 - 20:14
XP SP3 has not yet been officially released.

The likelihood that Microsoft will "retire" XP just a few months after SP3's release is very low.

There is no reason to read the rest of the article or get into a war about how good Vista is or isn't.
#35 mel00 on 14 Jan 2008 - 20:15
I just don't like vista period only thing i like is GUI being render in GPU stop sluggishness.. I will wait for next os maybe would be more nicer looking and cooler ****... Vista didn't not impress me .. I used it for couple of months.
#36 turtledude23 on 14 Jan 2008 - 21:40
Sorry to disappoint you Steven but this is not an issue of comfort since Vista has pretty much the same interface as XP just nicer and with more features - most consumers will go out and buy the newest whatever without thinking twice about "comfort" - this about people not wanting to dish out money for a needless upgrade and for people like me who dont wont a slower more bloated operating system. XP will be here for a long time.

Windows XP does not have to be saved, Windows Vista has to be saved.
#37 Raa on 14 Jan 2008 - 23:14
More than happy with XP, not going to switch to Vista anytime soon.

And so are a lot of my mates, and plenty of customers. Sorry Vista = Fail.
#38 +Shadrack on 15 Jan 2008 - 00:19
I bet that a lot of people who complain about Vista performing poorly, also run some lame Dock (like ObjectDock) .
#39 rdxg0d on 15 Jan 2008 - 00:56
Windows XP users, i cant wait until Vista SP1 gets released and XP gets eventually phased out.
#40 MvT Cracker on 15 Jan 2008 - 09:37
Its always time to upgrade so buy a new pc install vista yell at the company who has not upgraded their software
#41 AnalogRival on 15 Jan 2008 - 12:06
I still remember the same cries for 98 vs. XP when it came out.

No supported software
Very few drivers
Need a new computer to run it
Performance is terrible (gamers especially whined)
Can't figure it out
Too bloated

And yet, those people came to love XP because it got the spit-and-polish it needed after the first SP. And it turned out it ran games better than 98, woo!
Give Vista a little time, no OS is perfect.

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