Windows 8 surpasses Windows Vista: no worries

I am sure you are reading this blog because you are (still) using Windows Vista, the most misunderstood Microsoft operating system. Hopefully you are running it with SP2 installed, which marked the maturity of Windows Vista. The latest news is that the market share of Windows 8 surpassed Windows Vista, but you shouldn't be worried. If your system runs flawlessly as it is the case in a well maintained Vista set up, you need not rush to upgrade to another Windows version, but if you do, the natural path would be Windows 7 first, I you like the Aero interface with the transparent window borders, and other niceties as much as I do. One of the best kept secrets is that Windows 7 is practically Windows Vista (I would say, about 90% of it!). I know you are running Vista only because you may have a trusted and proven—old—computer. Otherwise, jump to Windows 8. You could try the Windows 8.1 Preview for free. Make no mistake, Vista was, is and has always been superior to Windows XP.

Windows Vista usage itself surpasses Mac OS usage

Windows Vista, the most vilified and misunderstood operating system in the history of the PC, mostly because of misinformation and misperceptions spread mostly by non-users, based on anecdotal situations, has an usage share of about 65% compared to the number of users of Mac OS X. This, according to Gartner, an information technology research firm, and to a Wikipedia usage share of operating systems article, which reproduces the findings. The combined Windows operating system usage (XP, Vista and Windows 7) amounts to 77.69% against a 7.31% for Mac OS and a 1.11% for Linux. These figures are estimates as at August 2011.

The only problem with the naysayers is and will be when...

...they are part of an IT department, the guys to whom (usually IT-clueless) management listens to. Let the rest of folks keep their sacred preconceptions about Windows Vista. Yesterday, while starting a casual conversation with someone in an office environment, out of the blue this person starts bashing Microsoft with the usual rants and how Google is more this and more that, yadda, yadda, yadda, and interspersed it came out a "Vista was cr**"...BUT he "really liked" Windows 7. I have to say to this, once again, what I said back in 2008: Windows 7 = The Mojave Experiment II. The whole issue is really amusing. And I also say it again: to each his own. Google, Apple, Microsoft, etc., all of them create good stuff. Luckily creativity and innovation will never be anybody's or any company's monopoly. Windows Vista will be around for many years to come. Check the official Microsoft Vista website.

The future of Windows Vista? Widespread use

...unbeknownst to the user, though. In fact, news of the demise of Windows Vista, after the welcome-by-a-majority Windows 7, have been greatly exaggerated in what seems to me like wishful thinking coming from Vista haters. What is most likely to happen is that Microsoft might offer a discounted version of Windows Vista with a future update to Windows 7 attached, so Windows Vista will not be stockpiled in a corner while Windows 7 takes all the accolades and all the buyers. The first misconception about Vista was born of a less than a stellar performance in 2007 before the release of SP1 and a lot of would-be buyers/adopters stuck to the perception (that is "buggy" or "slow" or "incompatible") rather than to the reality: that Windows Vista is indeed a good, a very good, rather, OS, SUPERIOR to XP. The second misconception circulating around now with the advent of Windows 7 is that it is not necessary to "go through" Vista when upgrading from XP or Windows 2000 (yes, there are still folks out there using that 10-year old OS) and that the "recommended way" is to skip Vista altogether and jump into Windows 7. I predict that companies that will follow this path will be involved in a painful process tantamount to upgrading from Windows 95/98 to Windows XP. Big jump!

Windows 7 = The Mojave Experiment II

In my view, that's probably true and it's amusing; kind of. Only that the 'unsuspecting' users did not attend a special session in a controlled environment but the 2008 Professional Developers Conference or through any other distribution channel, and willingly accepted and installed a pre-Beta version of Windows 7 to test it and, oh, marvel at it... We are now hearing good comments from the 'experts' who most likely have previously scoffed at Windows Vista. This time they were "struck by how fast Windows 7 is" and how "brilliant" and how it "runs well" in the now popular little brothers of the laptops, known as netbooks, priced at less than $500. The media abounds with positive reviews. Yet, what you see in Windows 7, both visually and under the hood, is mostly Windows Vista. I'm going to repeat myself: the best analogy is that Windows Vista is to Windows 2000 as Windows 7 is to Windows XP. This analogy will not escape those who are able to see the big picture.

Bad press castle in the air is vanishing

Finally, the Microsoft campaign to reconnect with its users is taking off in a big way. "Hello I'm a PC and I've been made into an stereotype" is the curtain-raiser line of a new video in which people from all walks of life, who use PCs, are going about their lives. The best advertising, I believe, is when you don't resort to showing "how bad" the competition is in order to show "how good" you are (worse! When the competition is not actually that bad and you are not actually that good). Like I've been saying all along, Vista IS ALREADY a great product and the only reason for these ads in to counter the ghosts created by deceitful ads and preconceived notions. The New York Times reviews how Echoing the Campaign of a Rival, Microsoft Aims to Redefine ‘I’m a PC’. And that's precisely how this episode of the campaign is called.

In a desert of misconceptions stands out reality

Mojave (pronounced Moh-hah-veh) is a desert in south California, to the
south-east of the Sierra Nevada and north-east of Los Angeles, where there is a center of aerospace technology. Microsoft used this name to "disguise" the "next Microsoft Operating System" and show it to people who have never used Windows Vista so they can see what it can do and decide by themselves. This "experiment", that started back in July in San Francisco, revealed that 94% of respondents rated the “new operating system” higher than they initially rated Windows Vista before the demo. The reality stands out: Vista is a great OS. This blog is sort of my own "Mojave experiment."

Hello, I'm a MAC switching to Windows Vista

It just came to my attention, just by chance, that some people are actually switching from beloved, cult computer, MAC to Vista. Well, right now I don't remember what I was googling for but I stumbled upon an article (and a very nice blog, by the way) in which the author, Kate MacKenzie, a 15-year Mac veteran, tells us candidly, among other things, that Macs crash more frequently and cause more problems than ever; software and hardware. My last five Macs have increasingly become less stable, less dependable. I wrote right there a comment to that article, nothing biased, nothing fanatical (that's not me), just reflecting on her decision, with a link to this blog. It was this morning, and now, late afternoon, I have not seen it. This news, anyway, are a surprise to me. Actually, yes and no. Vista is basically practical, useful and, last but not least, also good looking. Why not?! On the other hand, it is interesting to know why Windows users don't easily switch to Mac, as the author, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, put it "Most people looking to buy a new computer want a tool, not a religion." He got 860 comments/rebuttals/reactions! However, for some, that's what it is and when then try other avenues, they are pummeled, reproved, etc.: like this photographer, or this journalist (Vista being just released in 01/07), and other stories I don't actually care about. Really. But, how about these 50 Reasons to Switch From Mac to PC in response to a techie jester's 50 Reasons to Switch from Microsoft Windows to Apple’s Mac OS X. [Kate's blog is temporarily in my blog list, on the left].

Already meaningful, already relevant, Windows wants more attention

Microsoft has launched this week an advertising campaign that will promote and illustrate how Windows integrates consumer experiences across PCs, online and on mobile phones through Windows Vista, Windows Live and Windows Mobile. Bill Gates himself appears in a promotional video together with comedian Jerry Seinfeld, as the first and most visible sign of an ambitious effort by Microsoft’s Windows business to reconnect with consumers around the globe. This ad has perplexed some viewers and has also served as fodder for the usual biased "reviews" (e.g.) that exaggerate the initial flaws in Windows Vista in 2007, not taking into account the current and more robust SP1 version. What seems clear, though, this campaign is not about bashing the competition. It is not necessary.

So many users, so little time to complain

After conducting a (non-scientific) survey of Vista users, based on the evidence shown in the real world (libraries, cafés, public transportation, households, workplaces, etc.) it is fair to say that Windows Vista is already everywhere. I divided the group of Vista users and would-be users in four main categories: Power users (the ones who use their computer for more than playing solitaire, browsing the web and emailing); Die-hard XP users (this group includes those who failed to make Vista work, simply because their lack of knowledge and/or their lack of good hardware, and those who refuse to even try because they already "know" [Vista] is not worthy); Unsuspecting users (those who don't even know they are running Vista, because, like many car drivers out there, they're not supposed to know much about the car they driving and have usually null knowledge of what is under the hood); and last but not least "Users" of other Operating systems (who, like Die-hard XP users, "already know" it is not worth trying, and who categorically refuse to use anything that comes from MS, and others who at least tried). How do I know? Well, this is just my "illustrated" opinion. My figures are 10, 30, 58 and 2%, respectively.

Mea culpa from Microsoft after the storm

"We're going to tell our story, our story, the real Windows Vista story" said Brad Brooks, corporate vice president of Windows Consumer Product Marketing, during the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2008, held in Houston last week. And he went on to say "we're drawing a line right here on this stage that we're going to do things differently going forward." He was referring to how Microsoft has been straightening things up after the IT kerfuffle that followed when the initial version of Vista failed to deliver (before the advent of SP1, the redeemer). "We had an ambitious plan. We made some significant investments around security in this product," he said "and you know what, those investments, they broke some things. They broke a lot of things. We know that. And we know it caused you a lot of pain in front of your customers, in front of our customers." Brooks also introduced the new Windows Vista Compatibility Center a comprehensive Web site to see all of the devices and all the applications that are compatible with Windows Vista. Read his complete remarks. I find this PR move commendable (better late than never). Yes, I believe the storm is over. Vista is and will be inevitable.

Independence Day waving goodbye to the past

It's a fact: beginning this week, on June 30th, Windows XP, as a commercial product, has come to an end, after Microsoft made a tough choice. I personally won't miss an operating system that I used, struggled with, learned with and finally left, in a process that lasted about six years. Enough. And the main reason to leave that OS was not exactly under-perfomance, but the mere fact that I discovered something even better: Vista (hesitantly at the beginning, just because I was, like many people, badly influenced by rumors and misinformed reviewers' comments). Once you know better, you will never go back. Guaranteed. Like everything else in life. For more information, go to the source: Get the facts about Windows Vista, the future of Windows XP and so many relevant topics. Microsoft has promised to support Windows XP until 2014 (!), which is tantamount to having offered support to Windows 3.1 until 2004.

When XP was the villain

At the end of 2001, just after the release of Windows XP, users were already "complaining" about the incompatibilities, the slowness, the futility of upgrading... As they did in 1999 when Windows 2000 was released and in 1997 when Windows 1998 came out and in 1995 when Windows 3.1 and DOS were still commonplace in American corporations and homes. Ed Bott, co-author of the newly released "Windows Vista, Inside Out, Deluxe Edition" (recommended) remembers those early days of Windows XP...

Facts from Redmond: familiarity breeds more acceptance

In the chock full of information and links special edition of Microsoft TechNet newsletter (4 June 2008) to which I subscribe, the editor introduces some interesting facts and figures indicating that "over the past eighteen months, Microsoft and our partners have made tremendous progress in compatibility, performance, and battery life. Here are updates on a few key facts:

• Windows Vista now supports more than 77,000 printers, cameras, speakers and other devices.


• More than 2,700 software programs are “Certified for” or “Works with” Windows Vista-logoed; 97 of the top 100 consumer applications are compatible.


• 62% of small businesses said Windows Vista saves them time, and 70% said it makes them more productive, according to an independent survey.


• More than 140 million copies of Windows Vista have been sold, making it the fastest selling operating system in Microsoft history. Even Macs run it.


• 71 percent of Windows Vista customers like it better than their last operating system.


• People familiar with Windows Vista are two to three times more likely to have a favorable impression of it.

And perhaps the most intriguing fact: "Every 10 PCs that switch to Windows Vista is the equivalent of taking an automobile off the road, in terms of greenhouse gases." Should you be interested, there's a research paper that supports this fact: Windows Vista Energy Conservation. You can also link to Microsoft TechNet for a complete series of resources, including troubleshooting, about Windows Vista.

"Slow adoption..." it has happened before

...because people (and businesses) are used to a "comfort zone" (hey! it's a human thing, I know), it takes a while to adopt change, especially when it comes to a paradigm shift. Digging out old news from 2000 (!) I came across this jewel: Many analysts now project continued slow Windows 2000 adoption through the first half of 2001, in part because of sluggish U.S. PC sales and larger economic conditions. Sound familiar? And to think that now people not only clinch to XP but also to Windows 2000 desktop and server, almost 9 years after release (!) That piece of news of 15 December 2000 declared upfront that a "Slow adoption of new Office, Windows hurts Microsoft". Did it actually?