"Broken Windows"

An opinion piece on Channel Insider titled "Ode to Broken Windows" describes Windows Vista as a failed experiment. True enough, it hasn't achieved the success Microsoft had hoped for, and there's a lot of buzz from consumers who don't like it for one reason or another. Personally, I prefer it over XP for the security enhancements, even though it means I have to click through some dialogue boxes now and then, but that's just me. the article however, also goes a step further, claiming that Vista marks "the turning point when Microsoft lost the operating system as the foundation of its business." My response: Not by a long shot. Not even close. Not gonna happen.

First of all, consumers--myself included--tend to be lazy. We go to the electronics store, and buy a computer with an OS pre-installed. Most of the time, it's Vista, because that's what is available. Say whatever you want to about Microsoft's technology, but they do have a strong channel and solid agreements with PC makers, and Windows--whichever version is currently on offer--will continue to be the default choice. Ordinary consumers will continue to see Unix and Linux as "geeky" and hard to use, and Apple as too expensive. When Windows 7 becomes available, it will not, as the article claims, be "too little, too late." At that time, XP will no longer be an option, and many of the drawbacks of Vista will be history with the new release. While Microsoft's market share did drop below 90 percent for the first time in ages, with the release of Windows 7 I predict it will go back over that level. There are hordes of users clinging to XP as opposed to deploying Vista, many of which are waiting for the new release; Windows 7 will make XP obsolete and will make users with short memories forget all about why they didn't like Vista.

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