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Or more like Vista world. Microsoft has just announced that it will stop selling licenses to put Windows XP on new computers, beginning January 31st, 2008. This is in effort to push Windows Vista onto the world-wide computer market. While computer manufactures can still buy XP licenses until 2009 through third-party software suppliers, the majority of new computers will be sold with Windows Vista only.
Microsoft says it will continue to support Windows XP, as it has with its previous versions of Windows, but believes that limiting new licenses to Vista will insure “availability of brand new licenses for brand new machines.” In addition to this, all users who downloaded early versions of Windows Vista will be faced with a decision come June 1, 2008. The early testing versions of Windows Vista will stop working on this date, leaving users to decide to either return to Windows XP or upgrade to the expensive Ultimate edition of Windows Vista.
While Vista is my operating system of choice, I know many who hate the system. Microsoft is forcing new computer buyers into the Vista world, and one must wonder, what will the reaction be? Even though there will still be XP computers for sale for a while, it seems like pushing this product on a reluctant audience will just facilitate the switch from Microsoft to Apple.
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Microsoft told me two weeks ago that the XP that I bought in 2003 had been activated too many times and I could not activate it anymore. Because of all the Windows crashes and hardware failures I reinstalled it many times over the years.
Now I am using Ubuntu Linux and I am at peace with myself.I will never use another Microsoft product. No matter what!
Comment by bayoujim — January 26, 2008 @ 10:02 pm
I have also switched to a Linux based OS after enduring the Micro$oft BS for far too long.MS can take Windows (any version) and drop in into the nearest Black Hole,where it belongs.
Comment by boogerman — January 27, 2008 @ 2:23 pm
This step taken by microsoft is maybe smart product marketing, but they will face severe consequences for making this move because many people will move to iMac and linux as it is already happening because Vista is just a copy of apple and microsoft did not do a very good job in copying iMac.
Comment by Syed Balkhi — January 27, 2008 @ 10:00 pm
First, MS says we have until June 30, 2008 for XP licenses. Second, don’t bite the hand that makes Linux possible. If not for the WinTel platform, you wouldn’t have the opportunity to install Ubuntu or other flavor of Linux. You probably wouldn’t have Linux in the first place.
See, the PC market was developed by Compaq when they cloned the IBM PC way back when. Intel provided the procs and MS the OS. Companies by what works for them and that’s the WinTel platform. Right or wrong, WinTel developed the industry. Apple, Commodore, Sinclair, Tandy - they all had competing products and they all did a lot more than the stodgy WinTel platform. But WinTel drives business and most people are exposed to PCs through their workplace. When they want a computer, they’re going to go with what they already know. And it’s not Linux or Apple - it’s Windows.
Granted, Linux had a lot going for it. I’m typing on a dual-boot Tablet PC right now. It works well under both OSes and I frequently stay in Gutsy Gibbon all day. But when I want to play a game, I’m booting Windows. There’s no gaming to be found on either Apple or Linux in the quantity or quality as the Windows platform.
Frankly, I don’t think that anyone who isn’t already abreast of Vista and it’s issues cares. They’ll go to Best Buy or WalMart and buy whatever is on sale.
We’re the niche market, gang. We’re the minority. And while Vista isn’t being adopted all that quickly, neither was 2000 or XP. Business moves slowly. I recall XP had serious Group Policy issues when dealing with a NT domain and, to a lesser extent, a 2000 domain. What the resultant set of policies was for a 2K client was different in an XP client.
That really slowed the adoption for a bunch of businesses.
Comment by Mike — January 30, 2008 @ 12:28 am