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We've all been hearing it -- Microsoft Corp.'s (NASDAQ: MSFT) failure to win over consumers and business users with the Windows Vista operating system is causing sales of the older Windows XP operating system to stay afloat. Microsoft doesn't want this, of course. It's true that the software maker has shipped more than 140 million copies of Windows Vista, but since Vista is the default operating system on millions of PCs, it's pretty easy to do that.Some corporate customers, though, have bypassed Windows Vista completely and will wait until the next round. This is Microsoft's Achilles' heel -- some companies won't fix something that isn't broke. General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) even says that "We're considering bypassing Vista and going straight to Windows 7," in reference to Microsoft's next operating system due sometime in the future. Yes, many large companies are indeed taking Windows Vista in -- but it's mostly due to not having much choice with changing out entire computing infrastructures for a global corporation. It takes a visionary IT leader to do that, and those are hard to come by in many cases.
And therein lies a big problem for Redmond. If customers aren't excited about its new operating system, why would they think Windows 7 will be any better? It's hard to fathom Microsoft pouring $5 billion into Vista and being shunned left and right. The software maker's operating system and Office productivity business subsidizes all its other products where it may make little or no money. But what if Windows is destined to become a slow-growth industry? If that's the case, where is Microsoft's growth engine going to come from in 2010? 2012? It's making gobs of money now. Will it last? When its main product underwhelms much of the market, the question has to be asked.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-28-2008 @ 1:47PM
Rick said...
Microsoft sucks. That's why Apple is soaring. Now the truth is out, the emporer has no clothes. Soon, we'll all be using the operating system that works: Apple OSX
5-28-2008 @ 2:30PM
Petkov said...
Micro$oft has been extending its tentacles into many other areas: the X-box, Zune, including its software into cars, creating home entertainment systems, etc. True, Windoze IS its bread and butter and even with slow future growth Windoze WILL still be number 1 OS on most PCs for several more decades to come. We have NO idea what will happen with computing 10 years down the road anyway. Quick example: Did anybody ever forsaw the rise of Firefox?
As much as I dislike Micro$oft and its evil ways, Linux is still NOT good enough for the masses to use(I have been trying it every few years and NO, Ubunto will NOT work properly on my system ans NO I don't want to learn a whole new way of doing the million things I have been accustomed to doing the Micro$oft way) and Apple will never have the market share Micro$oft has. Thus said, I have never paid Micro$oft any money because I build my own systems and yes I AM a pirate, yarrrrrrrr!
5-28-2008 @ 3:13PM
Sean said...
@Rick
We can all dream but corporate IT folks have been trained and have earned their certifications on Windows. Large corporations are so slow to change products that they have a hard time upgrading within software product lines let alone change those products. How would Apple even manfacture that much hardware? But keep dreaming...
5-28-2008 @ 4:18PM
gumbo koontz said...
What puzzled me the most about Vistas is that it comes in two flavors 32 bit and 64 bit. I thought that Vista would come in 32/64 hybrid as you know that Intel and AMD chips are actually 32/64 bit. I just dont see why they couldnt write code lines in 32/64 hybrid so that I can run both 32 and 64 bit applications. I am not a computer programmer but I am sure that we can have both 32 and 64 bit running togehter without much fuss. What I like about 64 bit is that it can search for files much quicker than 32 bit. Also, you can add infinitely more than the 32 bit RAM DDR limit of 4 gigabytes. I see no 64 bit home applications around to buy yet. Not even games!! Care to enligthen me, anybody?
5-28-2008 @ 4:22PM
gumbo koontz said...
Maybe this is the reason the computer industry came to a standstill as 64 bit applications probably take forever to develop as it will offer sheer automation and everything unimaginable to the faintest idea of ordinary users. 64 bit code is really awesome and so cumbersome to develop one application a time. 64 bit games would be eye popping!
5-30-2008 @ 8:39AM
yardman said...
Brian White,
enough with the windows bashing already...Vista is not a failure....do some research WinXp had the same problem with corporate customers...win 2000 was already on the market.
I built PC and i recommend every person i built them for to go VISTA it's so much better than XP...
You are just another one of the me too vista basher..