Bonum Certa Men Certa

John Dvorak: Vista 7 Was “a Face-saving Vista Re-do”

John C Dvorak



Summary: As Microsoft runs away to Vista 8 vapourware we take a look at its failure to spread Vista 7 in the market (less than 10% market share in business, almost a year after its release)

John C. Dvorak has not been much of an optimist when it comes to Microsoft. And who can blame him? Earlier this month a former Microsoft executive was alleged to have said that Microsoft should lay off 30%-40% of its workforce. Over the past week we have found no headline at all about Vista (containing "Vista" in the headline) and Reuters says that Dell estimated the percentage of commercial PC users who have updated to Microsoft’s Vista 7 as still in single digits.

This helps in debunking Microsoft's latest spin/lies about 'sales' numbers of "Windows 7" (it's almost the only thing that made headlines about Vista 7 in last week's news). About Vista 7, argues John Dvorak in a new column, "it was a face-saving Vista re-do." Within more context:

This particular series of ads was possibly the biggest blunder the company could have made. It revealed a monumental communications ineptitude. To make things worse, I think that Microsoft still hasn't realized what a bad idea the whole thing was. What the company did realize, however, was that Vista was not doing as well as it had hoped. Microsoft quickly ramped up Windows 7, selling it as though it was something different. Fact is, it was a face-saving Vista re-do. This time, everything was brilliant and on-time. This put the PC back on track, opening up the opportunity for upgrades without having to worry about "bad" PC systems.


But the thing is, there are more machines now that come preloaded with GNU/Linux. Based on market statistics, many businesss have no ongoing plans of leaving Windows XP, despite Microsoft's discounts and promotions. Here is one new example of it:

Windows 7 Professional is the Windows 7 SKU targeted primarily at small business users. To get these customers to bite, Microsoft is offering them a $100 Southwest Airlines voucher.


Microsoft is giving away unused licences to brag about fake 'sales' numbers (we explained this in detail before and also gave examples). Windows XP SP2 is being pushed off a cliff [1, 2], but it's a risky bet that potentially leads some customers to competitors such as GNU/Linux. "Microsoft sets out options as XP SP3 nears End of Life," says the headline of another report.

According to Ian Moulster, Windows product manager for Microsoft UK, Vista and XP users will have several options. "They can move to XP SP3 or to a later version of Vista or they can opt for Microsoft break-fix, which is a low level support. That's not recommended as a long term solution though."


So staying with XP is not an appealing option and people who picked Vista get burned. One person wonders, "Is Microsoft Windows in danger of becoming the "XP Mode" of the future app world?" (the lock-in modality persists and there is need for legacy compatibility).

Microsoft Jack (Schofield) writes about the imminent death of XP SP2 (can be replaced by Wine under GNU/Linux in many cases). Schofield is not quite retiring and maybe he was pushed out of the Guardian where he rarely writes anymore. That's the better explanation we have for the fact he writes for ZDNet UK now.

"Well the initial impression is how much it [Vista 7] looks like Vista. Which I think is…uh…the thing I’m not supposed to say."

--Jack Schofield



Those who still use XP may some day be barred from the Australian Internet because XP will never be secure (Microsoft does not really patch it).

ZDNet Australia has just published a reminder of this:

The Federal Government, alongside the Internet Industry Association (IIA), yesterday launched a code of practice that aims to reduce the amount of zombie-infected computers on the internet.

Zombie-infected computers are PCs connected to the internet that are infected with malware.


It is estimated that 1 in 2 Windows PCs is a zombie PC. In the next post we'll show (without linking) that Microsoft has begun another round of Vista 8 vapourware. It always means that Microsoft is struggling.

"In the face of strong competition, Evangelism's focus may shift immediately to the next version of the same technology, however. Indeed, Phase 1 (Evangelism Starts) for version x+1 may start as soon as this Final Release of version X."

--Microsoft, internal document [PDF]



Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

[Video] Richard Stallman's Talk in Spanish (in Peru Last Week)
Alternative URLs too
Gemini Links 03/11/2024: Fantasy Life Day and Worship
Links for the day
[Meme] Write Us Drivers and GTFO!
When you realise sanctioning BRICS devs goes against the community
GNU/Linux "Market Share" in Lebanon More Than Doubled in a Few Months
Maybe it's a reaction to something? Assassination in Haret Hreik was in July.
Wall Street Has Demoted Intel, Seeing There May be No Future to Intel
Intel's loss isn't a loss to us
Free Software Licence Compliance is About Security Too
Linux as de facto proprietary off-the-shelf platform
 
Gemini Links 03/11/2024: Election Thoughts, Plagiarism, and LLM Slop
Links for the day
Links 03/11/2024: Deere 'Right to Repair' (RoR) and "Threads Bans Anyone For Mentioning Hitler"
Links for the day
[Video] "El Movimiento del Software Libre y el Sistema Operativo GNU" by Richard M. Stallman
The footage is a bit jittery (taken with a phone apparently, and there's no tripod available), but the sound is OK and the words (in Spanish) are comprehensible
Android at New Highs (47%), Windows at New Lows (24%), Suggests Latest Data From statCounter
So the market share of Android is about double that of Windows
The Media Focuses on the Wrong Scandal
The real scandal at MIT was Gates
Decommissioning Copper Lines Makes Us Less Safe
We've essentially degraded the robustness or reliability of critical systems
Life of an Addicted Lolicon Who Can Also Code
Personal blog as an open diary
[Meme] Reporting Crime is Not a Crime
Obviously!
Manchester Party for Techrights
If you choose to come, of course we'll cover the cost of the food and treats (but not travel)
Privacy is Not a Crime (in Places Where It is a Crime the Regime is Typically Very Rogue)
Also, criminals lack "privacy rights" to hide their crimes from the public
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, November 02, 2024
IRC logs for Saturday, November 02, 2024
Nearly 40 Years Without Security Incidents
People who use Windows have come to sort of "accept" that security incidents are part of life or "normal"
[Meme] The Streisand Effect
Simon says, don't bother trying to suppress facts
Streisand Effect at IBM?
Trying to silence your workers isn't the best approach. It only makes colleagues even more curious.
Microsoft is a Gift That Keeps Giving (Future Stories to Techrights)
Microsoft has been trying to silence me using dirty tricks for nearly 20 years
Elon Musk Has Trashed Twitter for Ideological Reasons (and Propping Up Trump in Exchange for Financial and Political Favours Once in Public Office)
In case you didn't leave Twitter already, consider the fact that Twitter's (or "X"... whatever!) future is uncertain
Links 02/11/2024: Many Fakes in Social Control Media
Links for the day
GNU/Linux Usage Surveys: Up to 6.8% (With ChromeOS, Based on StatCounter) in Desktops/Laptops and Above 2% in Steam
Today StatCounter starts releasing graphs based on data for November
Gemini Links 02/11/2024: Petscop, Jokes, and RetroChallenge
Links for the day
Links 02/11/2024: Temu EU Probe and Shorts Trademark
Links for the day
The "Luddite" Complex
Sometimes simplest is best and sometimes "modern" is designed not with the buyers' interest in mind
SCO's Darl McBride Dead at Age 64
There's hardly any information about it, except we know he reached bankruptcy and 3 years later he died at a relatively young age
The 'Turning-Free-Code-Proprietary Foundation' (Linux/Microsoft Foundation)
LF will basically become just as sinister as its corporate sponsors
[Meme] Python Knows Its Bosses
Microsoft strings attached
Python Software Foundation is 'Cancel Culture' Rehomed
Python isn't grassroots and it doesn't really tolerate grassroots
DeVault "Closes Down His Mailing Lists Every Time There's a Scandal" and Also Censors Messages
Censorious code hosting platform
[Meme] Debt of About $20 Per Active User
Facebook isn't laying off tens of thousands for "efficiency" but for survival
What Social Control Media Really Is
Social Control Media, in a nutshell, isn't just bad if its controller is some foreign or hostile nation
Taking Ethics Lectures From Drew
Projection tactics
Links 02/11/2024: Facebook Stock Falls (Soaring Debt), Apple’s Quarterly Profit Down
Links for the day
Gemini Links 02/11/2024: Burnout, Emacs Bookmarks, and Smooth Migration
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, November 01, 2024
IRC logs for Friday, November 01, 2024
Facebook's Debt Has Soared to All-Time High of Nearly 50 Billion Dollars
But the corporate media pretends all is well (while mass layoffs continue and slop takes over the social control media)
Geminispace Makes It Past 4,200 Capsules on November 1st
At last!
Links 01/11/2024: Election Interferences by X/Twitter/Musk, Strava as Espionage Tool
Links for the day
The October 2024 Web Server Survey Shows a Further Collapse for Microsoft in the Servers Market
Microsoft experienced the next largest loss of 699,464 sites (-3.45%)
Gemini Links 01/11/2024: TLS Sucks, twytere.com Announced
Links for the day
Links 01/11/2024: Few Things Are Cheaper Than This Antenna and "Nothing Lasts Forever"
Links for the day
Technology: rights or responsibilities? - Part V
By Dr. Andy Farnell
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, October 31, 2024
IRC logs for Thursday, October 31, 2024
R.T.O. is Another Name (or Acronym) for Voluntary Layoffs
Amazon is trying to get many workers to leave on their own
Microsoft's Acquisition of Activision (to Fake Revenue Growth by Buying Revenue) Was a Failure
Of course the mass layoffs at Microsoft aren't just a Microsoft thing
Stagnant, Shrinking Businesses and "IBM's Corporate Culture Since the Late 1980s... Over 35 Years."
Recently, IBM was using share price as a talking point, insisting the company was doing OK while tens of thousands were being laid off
Links 01/11/2024: World News, Political Catchup
Links for the day