XP to be euthanised despite poor Vista sales

I’m appalled at what I’ve just read. According to InfoWorld (“Save Windows XP! The clock is ticking“):

“Microsoft will end OEM and shrink-wrapped sales of Windows XP on June 30, 2008, forcing users to shift to Vista.”

OEM stands for original equipment manufacturer and refers to the practice of incorporating another vendor’s product as a component within the main product. In the case of the IT industry this is a fairly common practice in which software or operating systems are installed on the computers as a value-add.

In terms of Windows XP, the fact Microsoft is placing a stop on both OEM and shrink-wrapped sales (packages of the Windows XP software itself) effectively pulls the operating system from the market completely as both options represent a huge proportion of PC purchases.

The InfoWorld article does state that white-box PCs can contain XP through December 31st 2008, but this arguably represents an insignificant number of units relatively speaking.

["White-box PCs" refer to clone computers assembled from off-the-shelf parts purchased separately and then combined into a single computer.]

I’m sickened by this news. Microsoft Vista is an absolute monstrosity which is torturous and painful to use. I owned a PC with the OS for about a week and after a disgusting 30 hours of trying to use it could not return it quickly enough.

The fact PC users have had choice completely taken from them borders on criminal.

First and foremost, MS Vista is a system hog. As I wrote while trying to use it:

“Despite featuring a 3.7 GHz CPU and 512 RAM, the machine has had noticeable difficulties keeping up with the Vista’s hoggish demands. Sure RAM isn’t expensive these days, but I’m unwilling to accept a spec that carries with it a 1 Gig of RAM MINIMUM on principle alone.”

I was astounded at how clunky the machine ran and livid about the fact I couldn’t revert to XP, despite owning a copy. It seems machines these days only allow for restores of the same exact version of the OS that comes installed on their store-bought systems. They cannot install different versions of Windows – and God forbid, different brands.

I tried installing both Windows XP and Ubuntu Linux, the latter of which would have ran like a Formula One racecar on the machine spec; but apparently Microsoft “knew” that I really wanted Vista and that was that.

Secondly, Microsoft Vista is so paranoid about security that it has rendered the machine unusable. You are literally prompted after ever click and every time you try to open a program to confirm you wish to complete this action; and there is no way to deactivate the prompts. It took no more than a minute for this to get old, and 10 minutes before I was starting to swear.

Security in a personal computer is a very important thing, but so is usability and a user-friendly experience. Microsoft Vista is neither usable nor user-friendly.

Prior to experiencing Windows Vista I had been a dedicated PC user for over 20 years. Yet in less than a week I have written off Microsoft almost completely. I dislike the new OS so much that I would rather go without a computer at all than use Vista.

Especially after reading the news that Windows XP is being put down like Old Yellar, my next computer will be either a Mac or Ubuntu Linux.

References:

• Save XP (InfoWorld) – “Join the 41,185 people so far (as of 5p PT on Jan. 18) who have had signed our online petition to demand that Microsoft not stop OEM and shrinkwrapped sales of Windows XP as planned on June 30, 2008, but instead keep it available indefinitely.”
• No more Windows XP as of 2008, CNET News.com, April 12, 2007
• Vista: The Final Chapter, Mike Bogle, Tech Ticker, 29 May 2007
• Vista the RAM Gobbler, Mike Bogle, Tech Ticker, 26 May 2007