Subscribe by EmailMicrosoft Windows “about to collapse”?
April 11, 2008 by Mark O'Neill |By Mark O’Neill
Analysts at a consulting firm called Gartner have concluded that Microsoft Windows is perilously close to collapsing, as the default operating system on most computers has become more and more “bulky” and “ill-equipped” to cope with the rapidly changing needs of computer users.
Now before all you Linux geeks start cracking open the champagne and start chanting “Burn Windows Burn!”, I just want to stress that these views are only the views of two Gartner Vice-Presidents (from what I can make out) but they probably speak for their company. Plus Microsoft obviously strongly disagrees (they’re hardly going to plunge the sword into their own flagship product).
So it’s not as if there is universal agreement on this right now. As such, We’re certainly not going to see Wolf Blitzer in the CNN Situation Room pronouncing the death of Microsoft Windows and the rise to power of Linux anytime soon.
I have linked to the Times of London story in the first paragraph but here are some others. Here’s ZD.net, InformationWeek and Techcrunch.
So what do you think? Is Windows dangerously close to being a has-been? Or is it all a load of smoke and hot-air?
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And then again, in what way exactly are my needs “rapidly changing,” anyway?
These Gartner guys never cease to amaze me. They’re even worse than the sensationalistic Ziff-Davis reporters who often are little more than the tech industry’s version of Us magazine.
Perhaps I have a greater than normal appreciation for Windows (XP) because I come from the ancient, pre-mouse days of computing and have used & supported every version of Windows.
So I think Gartner is basically saying that Windows is in danger of becoming obselete in its current form if it doesnt change fast. The computing landscape is changing rapidly as users want things faster and cheaper - and that isn’t the way Microsoft does things.
Windows XP has been working fine for 6 years and they could’ve kept it working fine for another 6 via subscription-based update patches. Because, as I asked, really, what is it that Windows XP won’t do for you? What “rapidly changing” needs exist that XP isn’t capable of meeting?
Vista is just so much fluff. And with hardly any real added functionality, it’s simply not worth the effort to make the move. And that’s just for me personally. I’ve been thru several enterprise-wide OS upgrade rollouts in the past decade & a half. The average corporate user is certainly nowhere near bumping into any real limitations of the OS. So, where’s the incentive for the corporate world to spend the massive amount of money to bump up to Vista?
Windows has lost its OS monopoly and it needs to realise that. If it tries to strong-arm people, everyone will just move to Linux. I mean, look at Ubuntu. Ubuntu are handing out free installation CD’s to anyone who asks for them. Installing it seems to be a cinch. So the days of Microsoft holding everyone to ransom by saying “give us a few hundred bucks and upgrade!” are gone forever. Whether or not they actually realise that is another story altogether.
We’re still bogged down with enterprise-wide, mission-critical web-based apps that are coded for and/or only officially supported (by the vendors) under IE 6. if vendors can’t even keep up with incremental browser updates - much less develop browser-independant apps - what hope is there for them to develop all-new versions of their stuff for a whole other OS?
Windows XP is here to stay. MS missed the boat by not acknowledging that and figuring out how to work within that constraint. I agree that they’ve certainly shot themselves in the foot by trying to strongarm us into Vista. And like you said, that may very well be their undoing, as far as profits are concerned. Nonetheless, Windows isn’t going away.
Windows XP’s problem is that it is too good and humanity now has too much information to digest. It’s easier to stick with what works. I’ve just put too much time into this to switch. Thinking about it makes me feel sick.
Yes, a lot of people dont like buying a new computer infected with vista, but most of them end up replacing it with XP, another windows product.
The desktop is running Win XP pro and running SIGNIFICANTLY better than it was under Vista. My laptop is running Ubuntu Hardy. I tried installing Win XP on here (I have 2 legit Win XP Pro licenses) but the install wouldn’t even get past “checking hardware,” so me thinks Sony put something in the BIOS of the machine to prevent people from loading Win XP on here. (They’ve publicly stated it’s not possible to install XP on this model of computer.)
Come to think of it, I’ve had problems getting Linux live CDs to load on here too. Ubuntu Hardy is the first one that (almost) got all of my hardware correct. I still had to download and install the ndiswrapper and use the Windows driver for my wireless card. Oh and I don’t think the built-in card reader works under Linux. No biggie, though. I have an external Dazzle box that works just fine for reading the cards that come out of my digital camera.
Honestly, I am starting to think that Windows’ days are numbered not because Vista is a horrible OS, but because MANY corporate customers REFUSE to support it. I know that our corporate IT has told our local IT that Vista is not allowed on our computers AND that computers running Vista aren’t allowed to connect to our network. Sadly, though, iNews won’t run under WINE or on a mac, so we’re stuck with Windows. (I know an IT guy who DID try to get it running under WINE.) Honestly, if Microsoft were smart they’d extend the life of XP for everyone. But then again, this is the company that brought us Windows ME.
It’s been almost 4.5 months since I became a full time Visa user and I can’t think of a single instance where I had to find a missing dll or manually install a missing driver. Both of these issues are quite common under XP.
Mark, as for the next version of Windows that’s due in 2010, what will it do for you that Windows XP cannot? I mean, really, what more do we need from our OS? Plenty of people whine about XP’s supposed instabilities, but if you’re running a reasonably standard system - that is, not the latest & flashiest video card cobbled together with some fresh-out-the-door mobo (complete with semi-tested, flaky BIOS) - XP is solid as a rock. I haven’t rebooted my Dell Optiplex 755 with Xp Pro at work in like 2 months… and then it was due to a power outage caused by an automobile accident that took out a multi-block grid.
@Adam - Sony did indeed do some kind of deal with Vista for new laptops. First, no XP drives anywhere. My bf eventually made a custom install cd and I got XP working for a while, but it crashed miserably. I run Vista and Ubuntu on it right now.
In today’s world you can’t say one is better then the other it is all about personal preference. Also those mouses that come with new Apple’s are the worst mouses ever designed. As well if you are into gaming at all Apple is the worst, although it is getting better slowly.
So far from my experience is that I hate Vista because all the programs that I need were built for Vista first so the are incredibly unstable with XP.
Anyways the point I want to make is that Microsoft needs to forget about releasing a new OS every 6 or 7 years and concentrating on getting it right the first time and not after two service packs. Take an extra 2 years and get it right and people will love them for it. Well I would still hate Microsoft with a passion for similar reasons to why I hate EA, Wal-Mart, and our government.