XP to Be Phased Out By Year's End Despite Customer Demand

[caravel]

Concerning the Linux/Windows debate, I got both Vista and XP set up in about an hour, Vista somewhat faster because it already has all the mandatory drivers, only ones I installed were graphicsdrivers. Well, bloodrast already described the hassles there can be with setting up Linux and I described some as well. In the end, both my Windows installations run very stable and so I don't really see the advantages of changing to Linux, especially since it cannot do anything more than Windows, in fact, it can do less and setting things up is a lot more hassle, at least concerning my demands. Now, of course there is pricing, but being a lucky western kid, I never payed for any Windows I had, I got the old ones from my dad until he had 2 XPs and nowadays I get them for free via university, so maybe I'm not qualified to talk about that yet, but I think once I earn my own money, spending one or two hundred euros every three years isn't all that much and the quality and stability of Windows has increased, I'd consider Win 98 or ME more of a ripoff than Vista.

What you are saying is that MS Windows simply is better because it's easier to install and configure? That is what is coming across to me as the essence of your whole argument in this thread and in others. I cannot see the logic in an OS somehow being better based solely on the fact that the installation is easier? Windows is easier to install and configure because the vast majority of it's configuration is automated. This is great for the average user, but for many it's very annoying working with an OS that is so inflexible and not easily reconfigured. Personally I've had few problems installing Linux or Linux drivers except perhaps ATI drivers, but that is mainly down to poor support from ATI (this has improved quite a bit now anyway). Installation of an OS such as, for example, FC6 or Ubuntu couldn't be simpler in fact and I find that it usually installs much faster and easier than any Windows. I also find that I rarely need to download any drivers at all, as many drivers ship with the OS. In fact the only driver I ever need is the ATI one.

With HDDs ranging in the hundreds of GBs these days, dual boot is also a nice option, and dual-booting two Windows is a lot easier than getting one Linux to work IMO.

Again, because you can't get "one Linux to work" doesn't mean that it is difficult for everyone. I know plenty of people that have installed Linux and are happy with what they've got. It simply, works, does what they want, no more viruses, BSODs, malware and it's all free of course which begs the question: do you look a gift horse in the mouth? It all depends on what you want out of your PC. Individual users' needs are very diverse.

[Watchman]

What you are saying is that MS Windows simply is better because it's easier to install and configure? That is what is coming across to me as the essence of your whole argument in this thread and in others. I cannot see the logic in an OS somehow being better based solely on the fact that the installation is easier? Windows is easier to install and configure because the vast majority of it's configuration is automated. This is great for the average user, but for many it's very annoying working with an OS that is so inflexible and not easily reconfigured.

...which is exactly what semi-computer-illiterate Joe Average needs and wants. Most people don't really need their computers for very complicated things and are only too grateful if they can get them to work with the minimum of hassle and learning curve.

[Xiahou]

Again, because you can't get "one Linux to work" doesn't mean that it is difficult for everyone. I know plenty of people that have installed Linux and are happy with what they've got. It simply, works, does what they want, no more viruses, BSODs, malware and it's all free of course which begs the question: do you look a gift horse in the mouth? It all depends on what you want out of your PC. Individual users' needs are very diverse.

Frankly, I think I've had more trouble installing XP lately than I have had installing the latest Mandriva distro... Boot from CD, pick you packages, done. Sound worked, video worked, it even pre-loaded drivers for my onboard NIC- XP doesn't do that. Nothing like installing XP, loading SP2 and then having a BSOD on reboot because it replaces your IDE drivers with incompatible ones.

But I also tried Gimp and I found the interface quite horrible and also got a lot of errors about missing plugins or whatever.

The Gimp is the only program I use for photo editing- I absolutely love it. For my purposes, it does everything Photoshop does, the main difference being it's completely free.

[edyzmedieval]

For GIMP, try the Photoshop skin. It's basically open-source Photoshop.

[Husar]

I cannot see the logic in an OS somehow being better based solely on the fact that the installation is easier?

My logic was that if I don't even get the necessary drivers to run, I don't see why I should use that OS, there is no use for me if YOU get those drivers to work because YOU live far away and can't help me to get them to run. I can also give just my opinion and one part of that is that I don't particularly hate Linux, I just think it's too much of a hassle from what I've seen, if it works for you that's fine with me, but if Linux works for you and not me while Windows works for me but not for you, how does that make any of the OSes better? And why does everybody always go out and call MS and Bill Gates bad and all that on every chance they get? If they are THAT money hungry, why did I get my Vista for free? Why do students generally pay less or nothing? I like getting things for free as much as anyone else but if someone wants money for their work, that's fine with me and if it's too expensive IMO, I don't buy it, but I don't blame them all the time. I'd rather pay 200EUR for Vista than for a jeans to be precise. It's just a pity there are no open-source jeans for free.
Concerning GIMP, I already got Corel Photopaint for free(my dad again ) and I like that very much, but I might try GIMP again someday, I just remember that it used to have error messages and crash last time I tried it and that kinda put me off, though a newer version may run fine of course. Thanks for the feedback anyway, now how about my DVD ripping problem? I'm talking about getting my legally bought movie onto my cellphone because that lacks a DVD drive, the phone is best simply synchronized via WMP, so, any ideas?

[Blodrast]

My logic was that if I don't even get the necessary drivers to run, I don't see why I should use that OS, there is no use for me if YOU get those drivers to work because YOU live far away and can't help me to get them to run. I can also give just my opinion and one part of that is that I don't particularly hate Linux, I just think it's too much of a hassle from what I've seen, if it works for you that's fine with me, but if Linux works for you and not me while Windows works for me but not for you, how does that make any of the OSes better? And why does everybody always go out and call MS and Bill Gates bad and all that on every chance they get? If they are THAT money hungry, why did I get my Vista for free? Why do students generally pay less or nothing? I like getting things for free as much as anyone else but if someone wants money for their work, that's fine with me and if it's too expensive IMO, I don't buy it, but I don't blame them all the time. I'd rather pay 200EUR for Vista than for a jeans to be precise. It's just a pity there are no open-source jeans for free.

Husar, I'm afraid you're confusing ease of use with quality. The ease of installation of the OS, or updating/installing drivers has NOTHING, absolutely nothing to do, and is not a factor in, the quality of the OS.
There are other things that make an OS "better", and if you want, we can engage in a nerd-fest argument deciding on what those are.

Oh, as for why MS gives free stuff to academia ?
Two main reasons:
1. publicity/marketing.
2. because the academia (esp. computer-related academia) overwhelmingly uses non-M$ stuff for research, and M$ is grasping at straws to make some impression in that market.
You don't have to take my word for it. Google any computer-related conference on the net, randomly pick a bunch of papers from there, let me know what OS they use.

[Lemur]

I wonder if this sort of thing had something to do with Microsoft's decision:

Microsoft spent millions of dollars advertising its next generation OS 'Windows Vista' in China, in fact the IT juggernaut threw up the biggest Vista Ad on the 421 meter high Jin Mao tower in Shanghai China. However after 2 weeks (Jan 19 to Feb 2) from launch Microsoft managed to sell a mere 244 copies of Windows Vista. Software piracy is rampant in the middle kingdom and a pirated version of Vista sells for a mere $1 on the streets.

[Bijo]

I wonder if this sort of thing had something to do with Microsoft's decision:

Microsoft spent millions of dollars advertising its next generation OS 'Windows Vista' in China, in fact the IT juggernaut threw up the biggest Vista Ad on the 421 meter high Jin Mao tower in Shanghai China. However after 2 weeks (Jan 19 to Feb 2) from launch Microsoft managed to sell a mere 244 copies of Windows Vista. Software piracy is rampant in the middle kingdom and a pirated version of Vista sells for a mere $1 on the streets.

[AntiochusIII]

Well, while it is funny to see Vista down in the dumps (until I have to adopt it someday...after America got out of Iraq or something), I think the real problem in China for Microsoft is software piracy.

See, I've been, ah, there. And every big Asian city except perhaps Japan always has this massive market of dirt cheap pirated software, more often than not in "durable" (not really) formats like CD's or DVD's. It's actually less "sophisticated" than p2p-ing and you get worse products (unpatchable and like) -- which makes me believe that they have been "competed" by torrenting in recent years. Much of those products are also the Universal Product, porn, some of which are of extremely questionable production methods and subject matters, to put it very mildly.

That and nobody really needs Vista right now.

[Oleander Ardens]

Ubuntu 7.04 runs so far like a dream, and 6.04 was far less troublesome to install than XP, with which I had huge troubles with my SATA RAID. Actually I like that I can't game on it, helps me to keep focused on my work. If we most of us wouldn't have been polluted by the MS experience we would have far less trouble to adjust.


Cheers
OA

[alman7272]

People won't switch to Linux when Microsoft does. they'll switch to Mac since it's the only other widely publicized operating system. Linux gets next to no press at least in the US.

[TosaInu]

I wonder if this sort of thing had something to do with Microsoft's decision:

Microsoft spent millions of dollars advertising its next generation OS 'Windows Vista' in China, in fact the IT juggernaut threw up the biggest Vista Ad on the 421 meter high Jin Mao tower in Shanghai China. However after 2 weeks (Jan 19 to Feb 2) from launch Microsoft managed to sell a mere 244 copies of Windows Vista. Software piracy is rampant in the middle kingdom and a pirated version of Vista sells for a mere $1 on the streets.

Why don't they build higher towers in China?