It has been said that there are lies, damn lies and then there are statistics (occasionally called American political opinion polls, but that's a story for another post).
Microsoft has been bruiting around lately that the adoption rate for Vista is the same as XP when comparing product life-spans. They are pitching, but we ain't catchin', that Vista has penetrated the market at the same rate as XP had when it was nearing three years of age. That is probably true, assuming some negative facts Microsoft has not placed into evidence.
Now, there's another statistic out there that doesn't disagree, but extends the statistic a little bit more. One in THREE corporate Vista buyers is turning around and 'upgrading' those Vista licenses BACK to XP! So, for every 99 new Vista licenses sells, 33 turns back into an XP licence. At this rate of Vista gaining only 33 licenses on XP for every hundred sold, Vista will be used as much as XP by ... never.
It's not ALL bad for Microsoft though. Think about it. Steve Ballmer's company, the one Bill built, is now actually selling TWO licences per computer to those smart enough to avoid using Vista. That's pretty good for Microsoft, when you think about. And given that the under-development Windows 7.0 now looks more like Vista SP2, then it does something new (like Midori), the trend will undoubtedly continue. Contracts will force corporations to buy Win7, which most will immediately upgrade back to XP. Is this the LITERAL definition of 'license to print money?'
At any rate, you know my antipathy towards Vista. I won't work on a Vista machine, having gone insane with my experience with a laptop this spring. I'm not the only one. Here's a link to a rant by a fellow Delphi programmer who details the reasons why he uses and hates this horrible excuse at a money grab by Microsoft. Check out Barry Kelly's blog entry, Venting on Vista.
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