Ballmer Offers To Keep Selling XP
Source: Tom's Guide | Keywords: vista, Windows, XP | Themes: Business
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has offered to keep selling Windows XP beyond June 30, when it is scheduled to come to the end of its life - if customers show that they truly want it. By truly want it, Microsoft means that sales of Vista will have to plummet and sales of XP will have to explode in the coming two months.
Speaking at the opening of a Microsoft innovation centre in Mons, Belgium, Ballmer said that "if customer feedback varies, we can always wake up smarter." He did point out however that most consumers are choosing to buy Vista over XP at this time. That of course includes all the PCs that are shipping with Vista, and the fact that most retailers are stocking Vista rather than XP makes it much harder to buy the older operating system.
There is a vocal group of people on the internet pointing out the inherent advantages of XP over Vista and pushing for the extension of the OS’s lifespan beyond June 30, which would presumably also see support for the OS extended beyond April 2009. Ballmer is tipping his hat to this group by saying that if the market were to demand it, Microsoft would acquiesce. The fact of the matter is however that sales of XP are not in-line with the vocal demand we’re seeing for Microsoft to continue selling it, and Vista – for all of its muted reviews – is selling well.
The issue isn’t really one of continuing to sell XP to consumers, it’s businesses who are choosing to keep XP until such a time as Vista is more compatible with all of the utilities they use on a daily basis. The fact that Microsoft has extended full support for XP into 2009 was a significant step that signified the company recognising that many people and businesses would not be upgrading to Vista if given the choice.
The problem for businesses now will be in obtaining copies of XP in the future, say if they expand their operation and need new machines for new staff. Microsoft will be continuing to sell XP with ultra low-cost PCs, at the very bottom of the market, but for anything else it will be impossible to buy XP after June 30. Ballmer’s comments may, however, be a lowering of the bar on Microsoft’s behalf; the company could continue to sell XP to business customers, citing the market feedback that Ballmer referred to.
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a lot of the problem with company staying with xp is not really microsoft's fault.
Like my clinet runs oracle application....it need the sun Jinit. java module to get it to run...however Sun refuse to make a new version for vista support....so now the company is stuck on XP because their application won't work for vista and oracle can't help if Sun is not creating new jinit for vista...
it's the third party's fault for not making their software work with vista.
The statement in the article "The problem for businesses now will be in obtaining copies of XP in the future" is incorrect.
Computers purchased with Windows Vista Business (as appropriate for a business computer) will have downgrade rights to go to XP, or heck, even W2k if so desired.
The way to do this is through Microsoft's volume licensing programs, the least of which, a business can get into with a minimum purchase of 5 licenses. Given that server cals are below $30.00, people can always use another copy of Office or two, it's very easy to get to 5 licenses!
The biggest bonus, is that once you feel confident to move to Vista, you can just use a restore CD and bounce that system back up.
You do NOT get this benefit if you purchase a PC with XP installed, to then move to Vista you would have to purchase the Vista upgrade.
It is very short sighted to purchase an XP pc today, when a business could easily get a '2 for 1' deal by starting with Windows Vista Business.
I work at a local PC shop and since Vista has been introduced we have seen a sharp incline of people buying XP. This is due to the fact the big box stores in the area only stock Vista PCs. Most of our customers who come in to buy XP or a computer with XP are doing it because they bought a machine with Vista and hate it.
I have a Vista based media center pc and have had a good time with it but the average home users seem to be having a large problem with Vista, mainly due to the fact of Vista's poor compatibility. This isn't all Microsoft's fault.
The average consumer, not just large companies, seem to be upset at the fact they can't use the software, printers or other devices they already have. Again this is all MS's fault but if MS want to sell more Vista based pc's, the average PC user needs to be educated on Vista's problems as well as what makes it good. Telling people it has great security and is really simple to use is cool, but when that customer gets home and they can't print a document or scan a picture they get mad and no longer care about its great security.
The average user expects their electronics to last forever and they dont like upgrading, every week I see someone come in my shop with a Pentium II or a K6-2 and want me to install more memory, hard drive or try to make it do something it was never designed to to and they get upset when I tell them the computer is too old. Imagine how they would feel when they buy a Vista PC and the software or printer they bought 2 years ago dosn't work and they have to get new stuff, it does not go over well.
If you let us know the model # of the 2 year printer that you can't get to work with vista, I'm sure we can help you find the appropriate driver. I'm running 64 bit vista (since beta) and my epson all in 1 printer has had a driver since day 1. A freakin' all in one!
I have to really wonder if it is in M$ best interests to keep XP sales alive when they've spent millions already on Vista as its successor. Yes, Vista is not perfect, it's a resource hog, things may not run on it, but it's the way technology consumes our lives. Hackers have enjoyed THE PAST 7 YEARS expoiting every nook and cranny on XP, the GUI needed a modern look and I was getting sick of seeing just blue, silver or olive all the time. Providing software updates, product support and product-activation services for two concurrent os'es serving the same platform is not the situation M$ wants to be in, from a business and technology standpoint.
MS guru, just a example of what I see in my shop. I personally like vista and being in the tech field I knew when I upgraded to Vista there was going to be issues, just like when I upgraded to xp from 2k. I just don't think the average person, the people who are buying new machines for their home, just dont expect problems. They just want it to work right out of the box, which because of XP's maturity and stability was they way it worked for a while but with a new os they just dont get that same experience. I think that is what most average users are having problems with.
Businesses on the other hand just dont want to spend their money, they want to make it. So if they are using a older utility or a program that is already in place and working that does not work with Vista and requires them to change their entire software suite as well as upgrade their computers to run Vista with the same speed as their 2k or XP machines, they are not going to make the switch.
Luscious, you are absolutly right it was time for XP to hit it's end but I don't think Vista is doing the job that MS had hoped. The past month I have heard of them extending XP availability and they plan on releasing a new windows in 2010? Ballmer calling Vista a work in progress. I think MS just isn't happy with Vista, makes me wonder how busy their phone support is with people complaining about Vista.
Seezur, Microsoft released figures last year in a study done by Roget Kay of Endpoint and measuring the first 100 days there were fewer calls overall, call volume decreased 4 times compared to the same period for Windows XP, including calls to OEMs. Obviously part of that is people using newsgroups and searching online and looking for help other ways.
Of all the hardware and software I test, leaving aside AV software that hooks at a fundamental level and changes with every new OS, the only things I've personally had a problem with were the iPass wifi/3G software and a Sony voice recorder and they've now produced a Vista driver for both. There are so many generic printer drivers in Vista I'm always surprised at people who find a printer that won't work; I wonder how much of it is people finding the interface so different they don't manage to get a driver even though it's there...
Now just give us DirectX 10 on XP and everything will be just dandy.