Windows Vista Failing to Catch Fire
New Operating System is Plagued by Bugs and Bad PR
Windows Vista was supposed to be a major upgrade. A slick new interface had plenty of high impact visual wow factors. New computers were configured to compliment the various versions of the software and all new personal computers came preloaded with the new operating system. It should have been a slam dunk for Microsoft, but six months after its release, there are rumblings that Vista may well go down in history as Millennium Edition II.
The first sign of trouble came when two federal agencies banned Vista on all computers on the network. The ban was extended to include Internet Explorer 7 and Office 2007 as well. In an unprecedented move, Dell backpedaled on its promise to install Vista on all new computers and began offering the older Windows XP on certain models. Microsoft claims that Dell offered the older system in response to a very small minority of customers.
Another major problem that has slowed the acceptance of Vista is perceived incompatibility with Apple's iTunes software. The most serious issue is the risk of iPod corruption by using the "Safely Remove Hardware" feature in Vista. With 73% of the portable music market wrapped up in the iPod, the tech savvy consumers that are the usually early adopters have been noticeably hesitant to adopt an operating system that could render their iPods useless.
When Vista was shipped, it included 3000 device drivers that offered compatibility for 1.7 million devices and more drivers are offered over week, but there are still many graphics cards, memory sticks and digital cameras that work poorly or not at all in Windows Vista. Major software packages, most notably third party security applications, have also failed to be fully compatible with Vista.
Microsoft has already issued its first service pack to address early bugs, but as far as the PR battle goes, it may be too little, too late. Many consumers have made up their minds and are steering clear of Windows Vista.
Published by Kari Livingston
Kari Livingston is a freelancer writer living and loving life in the foothills of the Arkansas Ozarks. She specializes in local restaurants, attractions and family events. Her work has appeared on HubPages,... View profile
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6 Comments
Post a CommentWhen I upgraded my computer I asked for an XP machine but the guy there convinced me into buying a Vista machine. I have regretted that decision ever since I bought it. Vista throws up blue screens, failed activations, programs that run and then just crash, screen freezing and numerous other problems. It then has the cheek to go and install patches without your permission, I hate it! When my warranty expires in a few months time I am going to get out my old XP CD's and replace Windows Vista forever!
I was a PC guy for seven years, swore by MCSFT. When VISA hit the market I watched and waited. I went out and bought a MAC. I've never been happier with a computer!
Indeed, I am a IT Professional and I am currently ripping Vista off of a brand new machine as I write this, the people I do deploy Vista too complain on a daily basis. It is ME II to say the least.
There are 0 reasons to switch to vista as of yet, be smart and switch at the VERY last second, hopefully something new will be out by that time anyway so we can skip over this trash.
I really want to like Vista. I am an MCSE, I have used every operating system since DOS 1. I feel Vista is MUCH worse than ME. I have had to replace most of my applications because the old versions are not compatible with Vista. I am trying to reinstall device drivers and Vista can't find ANY of them. We are talking 20 plus devices. This is NOT good. With XP, I would go into device manager, uninstall a problem device, then have XP reinstall it. Never a problem. Not so with Vista! I really did like the visuals in Vista when they worked, it was fun. But the fun is over, I am going to have to rebuild this computer from scratch and I am going to use XP - Not Vista Ultimate. Vista Ultimate is the Ultimate disaster.
I am an IT Professional and I hate Microsoft anyway, but I have to deal with them because the remainder of the world is still on training wheels. Vista is a joke and I stear all my clients away from this training wheel disaster.
I know I have steered clear. I have had enough experience with windows vista in the last few months to know that I never want to have to deal with that operating system again. Windows ME II is the truth!