The Computer Buzz

February 7th, 2008

Nome and Paul Van Middlesworth - owners - The Computer Factory
 

Vista, A Year Later

In late 2006 the PC world was atwitter anticipating the introduction of Microsoft's "Vista." This new OS (operating system) would lead us into the age of 64 bit processing, a giant leap forward. AMD and Intel converted their entire CPU product lines to 64 bits to accommodate the "brave new world" of 64-bit processing. The Universe held its breath, and then: KERPLOP. Vista arrived like the proverbial coprolite in the punchbowl.

In the months before Vista's release, PC sellers and "Beta" testers had major concerns. Vista's massive size and resource requirements made it run slower than XP. Without the availability of 64 bit versions of commonly used applications, there was little enthusiasm for a 64 bit OS. Without 64 bit applications, Vista held no tangible advantage over the faster, more agile, XP. Instead of spending R & D dollars to make their products "Vista compatible," software developers were starting to "wait and see." The fact that a 64 bit OS runs 32 bit applications more slowly than a 32 bit OS (like XP) was seen as a real liability.

Microsoft wanted "the majors" (Dell, Compaq/HP, Gateway/E-Machine et al) to include the Vista OS in all their PCs when it was released in January 2007. Because of Vista's serious shortcomings, the "majors" were reluctant to take the risk of making the 100% commitment Microsoft asked for. They agree to stand with Microsoft, but only if Microsoft released a 32 bit version of Vista and allowed PC sellers to offer XP based PCs for businesses and others who didn't want or couldn't use Vista.

When Microsoft released Vista in January 2007 they boasted to the financial community and media of Vista's popularity and brisk sales. In reality they were forcing the distribution channels to overstock Vista. When distribution channels became clogged, Microsoft found a new way to boost Vista sales.

Knowing that business and IT professionals preferred XP Professional, Microsoft decided to give a free XP Pro license with every purchase of Vista Business. Since XP Pro and Vista Business are the same price ($160), any one who needed a XP Pro could get a free one by purchasing Vista Business. A no brainer.

This is a win/win strategy. Microsoft can claim that Vista has wide acceptance in the business community and no business actually has to use it. We buy Vista business licenses every week and have yet to install one.

There is one inconvenient truth that no one wants to discuss. Over 90% of PCs sold with Vista have a 32 bit Vista that is not upgradeable to 64 bit Vista. After all the hype and hooey about Vista ushering in the 64-bit era, it didn't happen.

When our customers order a PC with XP Pro we can give them a choice. A free 32 or 64 bit Vista Business package to keep in their desk drawer. Who knows? It might come in handy some day.