Microsoft Vista: Not 'People Ready' (and the date slips again)

Microsoft Vista slips again! Now it's going to be ready (in theory) in early 2007. Hmm.

Is it worth the wait?

(Is it worth the money?  ;> )

http://www.forbes.com/technology/2006/03/22/vista-microsoft-ballmer_cz_dl_0322microsoft.html

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Comments

[Alexander Kjerulf]

Ooooh, tough questions. Lemme think.

No and no.

But then again, that's not why people buy Windows or Office. Rational arguments don't much factor in here, or indeed in most buying decisions.

Malcolm Gladwell wrote an excellent post (http://www.gladwell.com/2004/2004_01_12_a_suv.html) on why people buy SUVs, showing that although SUVs are in fact much unsafer than regular cars they FEEL safer because they're bigger and heavier. (This is what Stephen Colbert calls truthiness :o).

Which makes Windows and MS Office the SUVs of the software business, because like SUVs they're big, clunky, unsafe and don't handle well :o)

[Dan Evans]

I think this offers a great opportunity for the OSS world this Winter's holiday shopping period-- sell PC's fully loaded with Ubuntu and loads of OS products (like Open Office) and market the machines as being "Vista Ready". They could even offer a coupon good for 10-15% off of Vista when it finally ships.

I'd bet they wouldn't have to cash in more than 25% of the coupons.

[Solveig]

Dan, that's a GREAT idea. Sure, just go ahead and use this machine until Vista comes, and THEN install it...you can install Vista whenever you want.... ;>

Wonderful!

[Solveig]

Hi Alex,

>> But then again, that's not why people buy Windows or Office. Rational arguments don't much factor in here, or indeed in most buying decisions.

Oh, you're absolutely right. I TOTALLY agree. See http://openoffice.blogs.com/openoffice/2006/03/what_i_would_do.html
(doing that web site and of course Oprah would be so much fun ;> )

Love Stephen Colbert. I think I clap spontaneously during most of his The Word of the Day.

Wonderful analogy. They seem safe, everybody has'em, and it's the easy, expensive, like-everyone-else decision.

Oprah, if you're listening, we need you to pass your magic wand over open source and make people FEEL how great it is.

Solveig