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  What Went Wrong with Windows Vista?
Time: 09:50 EST/14:50 GMT | News Source: Microsoft Watch | Posted By: Kenneth van Surksum

December is the month for year-end reviews. We begin our first 2007 look back by offering 10 reasons why Vista failed to "WOW" consumers or businesses.

Make no mistake: Despite PR assertions otherwise, Windows Vista did not meet Microsoft expectations. The signs are everywhere:

  • Windows Vista advertising ended almost as abruptly as it started
  • Microsoft beat the drum a bit too loudly about the number of Vista licenses shipped
  • Windows Ultimate Extras became a real dreamscape of empty promises
  • Microsoft already is advancing plans for Vista-successor Windows 7

Some of these signs are bigger than Vista's early disappointment. There has been a change of management in the Windows group since Vista's launch. Also, Microsoft executives are feeling better about Vista today than in, say, March or April. Vista delivered good revenue results during Microsoft's 2008 fiscal first quarter, which ended Sept. 30.

That said, Vista has gotten off to a rocky start, which could have been avoided.

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#1 By 62611 (67.166.83.247) at 12/9/2007 10:40:25 AM
The problem is really all the linux elitists spreading FUD. There is alot of negativity in the community that is almost all untrue. People are just jumping on the Vista hate bandwagon, many of which have never used Vista.
It also doesn't help having so many versions of the OS. There should have been only one cheap version.
Microsoft also did a lousy job of advertising alot of the under the hood changes in Vista. They advertised the fluff which most people don't care about and now there is the impression that Vista is just XP with a new GUI when it is so much more.
And alot of people forget what it was like when XP came out. People bitched about how slow it was and went back to 98 to play their games. It took many many years for businesses to adopt XP which is really not unexpected. My company only switching to XP 2 years ago.

Once you understand Vista, the changes and why they were needed. How Vista uses ram, superfetch, etc. Once you use it for awhile on good hardware you come to love it. It's a self tuning OS and gets faster over time. There are also patches out there that are part of SP1 but are on the knowledge base and not windows update. These address many issues.

I've been using it since beta. For me it is very stable, never crashes, all my apps and games are fast too. I have yet to find an app/game that doesn't run or a piece of hardware that doesn't have drivers. And i'm using the 64bit version on my desktop, 32bit on my HTPC.

#2 By 3746 (72.12.161.38) at 12/9/2007 11:11:19 AM
I have to agree with the above poster. I have been using Vista pretty heavily and although it has issues I think it is a good operating system. This is not to say that some people haven't had a poor experience with Vista. Every new system will have people that don't like it or had a poor experience. I work in IT and I have had many people say that Vista is crap. When I ask them to explain why or how long they used it the majority have no experience with it. Another blogger called it a negative feedback loop. It is interesting because you have another new release (OS X) that had quite a few initial problems but like always apple can do no wrong. Every new system has issues and every new system will eventually mature and those things will be worked out. Saying this is just a Vista or MS issue is unfair. You only have to look as far as the first releases of OS X to see troubled beginnings that turn out okay.

#3 By 15406 (99.224.112.94) at 12/9/2007 11:21:11 AM
#1: Too funny. First you say that the problem with Vista is the FUD from Linux users, as if Linux users control the media or something. You then go on to say:

- the way that Vista was marketed was crap
- the Vista advertising campaign was crap
- Vista is slower than XP like XP was slower than Win98
- Vista requires obscure patches to fix its "many issues"

So what caused the problem again? You've got me confused.

#4 By 3746 (72.12.161.38) at 12/9/2007 12:18:58 PM
There is no perfect OS. Every OS including Linux, OS X, Windows, etc will need patches and fixes for issues. It has taken years of evolutionary upgrades for Linux distros to become usable for the average user. OS X was really in beta for it's first two releases even though they made people pay for the OS. This is not an issue endemic to MS. It is an issue when developing any complex system. I don't get why anyone is surprised when a new OS is released and it has growing pains.

#5 By 93110 (65.95.25.135) at 12/9/2007 3:47:46 PM
Anyone using Vista and having no problems is liar. Latch told me so.

Therefore I don't use Vista. He never used it either.

#6 By 92283 (64.180.196.143) at 12/9/2007 3:59:41 PM
#3 Its normal to be confused when you spend so much time discussing something like Vista when you've never used it.

The normal brain (even your tiny one) rebels at such contradictions.

#7 By 15406 (99.224.112.94) at 12/9/2007 5:15:53 PM
#5: I was under the impression that ActiveWin frowns on people creating multiple aliases, eh Parkkker?

#6: I told you that I've got Vista running on one of me secondary systems, but that was at least 7 days ago so I wouldn't expect you to remember.

#8 By 37047 (99.241.37.218) at 12/9/2007 6:26:59 PM
#7: Maybe you should do Parkkker a favour, and change your name to Latch: Running Vista on a Secondary Machine. That way, Parkker's limited memory stack wouldn't keep overflowing.

#9 By 92283 (64.180.196.143) at 12/9/2007 6:40:41 PM
#7 Don't believe you for a second. Your ignorance about Vista is too deep.

#8 Latch, your other account/stooge should at least pretend to have an independant thought in its head.

#10 By 16797 (65.95.25.135) at 12/9/2007 6:59:51 PM
Well.. works fine here.



This post was edited by gonzo on Sunday, December 09, 2007 at 19:00.

#11 By 37047 (99.241.37.218) at 12/9/2007 7:06:04 PM
#9: Still sucking up to Microsoft, I see. Keep up the good work. Microsoft needs all the mindless drones it can get to spew the company line.

12/10/07: Edited kiddie inappropriate language, since it would have been over Parkkker's head anyway.

This post was edited by MysticSentinel on Monday, December 10, 2007 at 10:55.

#12 By 28801 (71.58.231.46) at 12/9/2007 8:21:10 PM
#7: That's a very good point! I want to know why my Latch. and Uketchum accounts were locked out. I was just getting ready to cut a whole “Latch Is My Hero” post from MundaneSentinel when AW put the kibosh on me, and I never once used foul language. That’s fair! Here we’ve got Parker with at least 4 or 5 accounts and Sentinel posting euphemisms about sexual acts. Thanks for the double standard AW.



This post was edited by rxcall on Sunday, December 09, 2007 at 20:27.

#13 By 37047 (99.241.37.218) at 12/9/2007 9:33:19 PM
#12: At least I said what I did as my self, and not using a different fake account.

#14 By 16797 (65.95.25.135) at 12/9/2007 10:14:28 PM
#8: You think someone like Latch is actually running Vista (on secondary machine)?

After all the posts he (Latch) made -- how Vista sucks, etc, he then.. what, paid for Vista???

Something doesn't really fit, can't really have it both ways...

For example, for me, Linux is useless crap.. Would I then go and pay for it? LOL Man, I would not use it even if I was paid to do so :)

#15 By 17996 (66.235.18.153) at 12/10/2007 2:04:19 AM
It's funny how this guy says there isn't enough stuff in Vista for most people to warrant upgrading, but goes on to say that he thought XPSP2 should have been released as a separate product that people would have had to pay for...

#16 By 37047 (216.191.227.68) at 12/10/2007 7:18:37 AM
#14: At some point in the past, as I recall, he indicated that he bought a new computer, and it came with Vista of some flavour or other. He didn't go and buy it separately. My understanding is that he wiped it from that particular computer, and installed it on a slightly older PC in order to play with it.

#17 By 16797 (142.46.227.65) at 12/10/2007 8:14:57 AM
#16 And you believed that? I just can't.

I mean, someone with that kind of attitude toward anything related to Microsoft (Vista especially) went out and purchased new PC with Vista on it? Well.. It is not like you can't get new PC without Vista (or, even better knowing Latch, with Linux on it - Dell has them, right?).



Another thing --- you said: He didn't go and buy it separately. My understanding is that he wiped it from that particular computer, and installed it on a slightly older PC in order to play with it.

Uhmm... how is that possible? I mean is it not true that preinstalled Vista is already activated on that specific hardware? How did he move it to another computer then? Hmmm, is that one more reason not to believe him? I could be wrong, though.



This post was edited by gonzo on Monday, December 10, 2007 at 08:15.

#18 By 37 (76.210.78.134) at 12/10/2007 9:38:20 AM
" #7: That's a very good point! I want to know why my Latch. and Uketchum accounts were locked out. I was just getting ready to cut a whole “Latch Is My Hero” post from MundaneSentinel when AW put the kibosh on me, and I never once used foul language. That’s fair! Here we’ve got Parker with at least 4 or 5 accounts and Sentinel posting euphemisms about sexual acts. Thanks for the double standard AW."

Yes, we are banning additional user accounts created. The additional accounts are only good for the sole purpose of trolling/deceiving. It's common sense. We have monitored most of the regulars and banned their extra accounts. There just is no need for that on this site.

People can debate and exchange arguments (maturely) without the need of additional accounts. If regulars continue to create additional accounts, they are now risking the chance of getting their main account banned.

The upcoming AWIN will be much easier to monitor and censor (profanities, vulgarities, etc.). Keep in mind that it's not only adults that read this website, and post comments.

We ask everyone to try and refrain from posting inflammatory comments and any profanity.

This post was edited by AWBrian on Monday, December 10, 2007 at 09:40.

#19 By 15406 (216.191.227.68) at 12/10/2007 10:43:19 AM
#17: There is no conspiracy to deceive here. I received a $1500 Best Buy card early this year. They only sell a few types of systems (HP/Compaq, Gateway and Acer), so I bought an HP M8000N that came with Vista Home Premium. I wiped it and put XP back on after spending a few hours with Vista. My secondary system is running the NoPE release of Vista Ultimate that doesn't require any activation or WGA nonsense, dual-bootable with Ubuntu 7.10.

#20 By 3746 (72.12.161.38) at 12/10/2007 11:38:45 AM
#19

How is that any better? You are running a ripped off copy of Vista. Is the copy of XP you put on the HP system legit? I doubt it. Being such a big proponent of open source why are you running XP on your primary system? why not Ubuntu?

#21 By 28801 (65.90.202.10) at 12/10/2007 12:13:44 PM
#18: You have to admit that my uketchum posts were pretty dead on.

#22 By 15406 (216.191.227.68) at 12/10/2007 12:19:59 PM
#20: I have a valid XP license from the secondary system but I run a version of XP that has the activation & WGA nonsense removed, just like NoPE's Vista. Essentially, I've flipped the OSes around on my two main systems. Open Source != Linux, btw. I run a number of FOSS apps under Windows. I have been considering a switch to Linux on my main system for the better part of 2 years. My work is Windows-centric, and I can't get a Linux VPN client for my company's firewall and I need remote access. Plus, I play PC games which also negates Linux, but I've been playing a lot less games lately so that isn't so critical any more. No drivers for my HP USB scanner and no emulation mode either.

#23 By 3746 (72.12.161.38) at 12/10/2007 1:03:13 PM
#22

You didn't just flip the OS's around. The copy of Vista you bought was Home Premium. The one you are running is Ultimate. On top of that the license you bought was OEM attached to the HP system. The license you paid for does not allow you to run it on another computer. The same probably goes for XP. The only way you are doing it is by using illegal license keys for both. Don't make it into some BS about not wanting WGA/Activation. Not liking a component of Windows does not give you the right to rip off the software or break licensing agreements. So what I said still stands.

So you biatch about everything MS then rip them off because Linux cannot provide the platform you need to do your work. Bravo. Not only does that make you a hypocrite but also a thief who can't even pay to use products that make him money.

#24 By 15406 (216.191.227.68) at 12/10/2007 2:22:37 PM
#23: I fully admit I'm running warezed copies of Windows, I do so unapologetically and I really don't give a damn what you think of me. I refuse to have Microsoft's Sword of Damocles hanging over my head in the form of WPA & WGA. In your world, you would have me pay Microsoft 4 times to use Windows on two systems the way I want to. Sorry, but no.

So you biatch about everything MS then rip them off because Linux cannot provide the platform you need to do your work.

I've paid them twice for Windows on two systems. That's enough. I don't care what MS prefers. If there was true choice in the market, I would have gotten the new system with XP, but I can't, thanks in part to MS' control over the OEM market. And Linux has nothing to do with this. The maker of our firewall does not support Linux, so this is not a case of deficiency in Linux. That reminds me that I need to check if the VPN client works on Vista.

Not only does that make you a hypocrite but also a thief who can't even pay to use products that make him money.

I'm not clear on how I'm a hypocrite here. Care to elaborate? While I've been critical of MS' unethical & illegal behaviour and some of their products shortcomings, XP has evolved into a decent OS. I still advocate using Linux if you can, but the reality is that you must sometimes use Windows thanks to its ubiquitousness. And be certain that MS does not make me money any more than the road I drive on to get to work makes me money. My effort makes me money. Windows is simply a tool that performs a function which I use as dictated by my company. Nothing more.

#25 By 28801 (65.90.202.10) at 12/10/2007 2:41:23 PM
#24: Does you company know you are connecting to their network with a pirated version of XP? That would be grounds for dismissal at my company.

My point is, they should pony-up the money for a legit copy of XP/Vista (or a company laptop) or provide you with a means to VPN via Linux.

This post was edited by rxcall on Monday, December 10, 2007 at 14:44.

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