MS Dumping XP

[SMM]

Our CDW account rep told me something interesting today. All of the senior sales managers had to attend a presentation by MS. They were told that after 2007, they would not be allowed to sell any new computers with XP Home/ XP Pro. All new machines had to be Vista and special orders would not be allowed. Furthermore, they could not sell computers from the following vendors (list provided) without an OS. Finally, he told them that XP retail would only be for 'existing stock', beyond January 2008.

When asked why the product could not be purchased, when it had not exceeded its support life, he basically said, "It is important that we, who provide the technical expertise to the buyer, are able to demonstrate the benefits of Vista".

She told me that many of her customers (all corporate) were specifically not ordering Vista. Some learning this news, were buying XP and shelving it. She also told me, her Mac sales have been steadily increasing.

It looks to me like Redmond has not learned a thing. They have failed to make a competitive OS, so they rely on the only thing they do well, extortion.

 

[PlaceofDis]

i thought all versions of XP were not going to be available for purchase by the end of 07. swore i read this else where. i might have to buy another copy, just in case i need it. because i certainly don't want to deal with Vista since XP meets all my needs.

 

[zap2]

i thought all versions of XP were not going to be available for purchase by the end of 07. swore i read this else where. i might have to buy another copy, just in case i need it. because i certainly don't want to deal with Vista since XP meets all my needs.

seems fimilar too

 

[PlaceofDis]

seems fimilar too

maybe this means i'm not crazy. or not the only crazy one.

 

[erickkoch]

I just bought XP Home Edition yesterday for Bootcamp. It was the last copy at the local CompUSA (got it 1/2 price). Another customer asked me to let him have it but I declined. Boxes of Vista remain unsold, they were just sitting there at half-price but nobody wants them.

 

[balamw]

I just bought XP Home Edition yesterday for Bootcamp. It was the last copy at the local CompUSA (got it 1/2 price). Another customer asked me to let him have it but I declined. Boxes of Vista remain unsold, they were just sitting there at half-price but nobody wants them.

FWIW last time I stopped at mine (now closed, R.I.P.) they had lots of 70% off $30 Home Basic Upgrades, but everything else sold out. I picked up Vista Business for my Parallels VM earlier in the week.

B

 

[erickkoch]

FWIW last time I stopped at mine (now closed, R.I.P.) they had lots of 70% off $30 Home Basic Upgrades, but everything else sold out. I picked up Vista Business for my Parallels VM earlier in the week.

B

That figures. My local store is in its last week. Maybe I'll drop by on the last day if I can get Vista for $30.

 

[alana22]

When asked why the product could not be purchased, when it had not exceeded its support life, he basically said, "It is important that we, who provide the technical expertise to the buyer, are able to demonstrate the benefits of Vista".

I read some dodgy statement from Microsoft about this very issue, something along the lines of "Just because we will phase out XP by the end of the year doesn't mean we won't still support it."

Translation: the support will probably be along the lines of "Oh, you're having problems with XP? Well then, you should consider upgrading to Vista. Other than that, sorry, can't help"

I actually like XP (though Mac OS X is infinitely better). Truthfully, I'm stunned at just how terrible Vista is. I figured it'd be dismal, but it makes dismal seem like a walk in the park. My friend was using his brand new HP dv6000 and we watched him encounter 3 blue screens in less than 10 minutes, courtesy of Vista. He, the long time Mac Hater, ordered a MBP right after I left (then sheepishly called me to tell me the news). Ha ha.

 

[jim.arrows]

My friend was using his brand new HP dv6000 and we watched him encounter 3 blue screens in less than 10 minutes, courtesy of Vista. He, the long time Mac Hater, ordered a MBP right after I left (then sheepishly called me to tell me the news). Ha ha.

I don't know about all these anecdotal stories about how terrible Vista is; I've been using it since the fall and honestly don't remember the last time I had a bsod. The only issues I've seen are software compatibility, but that's to be expected with a new OS. And I'm running it on a 2002 P4 2.4 Ghz w/ Radeon 9600 & only 1GB of ram, it's still rock solid stable.

As for the main topic of the thread, really, how long are they supposed to sell their last OS? By the end of the year Vista will be on the street for over a full year (corporations got it in November); I think that's a reasonable cut off for sales of the previous version of their OS. How long did Apple sell OS9 after launching OSX? All I know is I've been wanting to become a switcher since last summer, but 9 months after I started looking (last August) the stinkin' mini is still core duo w/ 512MB of ram and integrated graphics. I'm no MS fan (though not a hater), but Apple hasn't done much to impress me either...

 

[alana22]

I don't know about all these anecdotal stories about how terrible Vista is; I've been using it since the fall and honestly don't remember the last time I had a bsod. The only issues I've seen are software compatibility, but that's to be expected with a new OS. And I'm running it on a 2002 P4 2.4 Ghz w/ Radeon 9600 & only 1GB of ram, it's still rock solid stable.

I have a pic of myself standing next to a display model Sony Vaio SZ at Office Depot showing the infamous blue screen of death (the computer was running Vista, of course). It bluescreened when I right clicked on the desktop and selected "Properties".

 

[jim.arrows]

I have a pic of myself standing next to a display model Sony Vaio SZ at Office Depot showing the infamous blue screen of death (the computer was running Vista, of course). It bluescreened when I right clicked on the desktop and selected "Properties".

And I've right-clicked my desktop hundreds of times since November and it never happened, so what's that mean? I'm not necessarily saying it didn't happen to YOU, I'm saying a lot of people (particularly on this forum, which is natural) go out of their way to bash Vista, and I don't believe all are being truthful given my actual experience with it. Breaking news, people lie on the internet... Post your picture, maybe MS engineers will see it and fix Vista based on the system dump.

Back to the topic at hand, honestly, how long are they supposed to sell XP? Is 2 years after releasing their current OS acceptable? 3 years?

 

[reflex]

I'm surprised they're still selling it at all. The company I work for tries to remove all boxes of the previous version of programs out of stores when a new version is released.

That said, I will probably pick up a couple of XP boxes before the year is through.

And to address another issue: Vista has been as stable as XP for me, on three different computers. Make of that what you will. A bluescreen when you right-click your desktop means there's something wrong with your computer, either drivers or hardware. Most likely not because of the operating system itself.

 

[DeaconGraves]

I can't imagine many other industries that would stop selling a product when it is still in demand. If people still want the older version, why not provide it? I would assume they are almost getting 100% profit on it now.

Granted, there is a cutoff date where its understandable if they want to pull the plug on supporting it. Just make a disclaimer somewhere that any further purchases will no longer be supported by tech support and to purchase at your own risk. Should be at least 18 months away still though.

I switched to Vista just to try it out before I jumped to a mac (in case I was making a total mistake). I've found it to be a very stable OS (just had my first blue screen a few days ago after months of use), but I find the interface clunky and heavy compared to xp. The security improvements are more hand-holding rather than actual protecting, and actually got so bad when I somehow inadvertently made a change that resulted in IE rejecting back almost every security certificate making browsing impossible for a while until I figured out what was going on.

When i switch to a mac this summer, I will probably buy a copy of XP to load using boot camp instead of Vista. After 5 years with it, despite its downfalls its an extremely usable OS that runs quick and avoids the useless bells and whistles that slow Vista down. Once SP1 or 2 arrives, I may reconsider.

 

[zero2dash]

I'd believe we'll see a SP1 for Vista by the end of this year, so by then things should have settled down somewhat.

I still won't touch it with a 10 foot pole though.

I'm not surprised they're cutting XP's cord. They've got to move on, even if it's not the right thing to do (in the public's eye). Most people want nothing to do with Vista...Microsoft appears to be fighting against that mentality, tooth and nail - and I think it will end up biting them in the ass.

 

[luminosity]

XP can't really touch Tiger, but at least it's the devil you know. It does work, more often than not.

 

[Spock]

I really think Microsoft should have eased into Vista, like Apple did when going from OS 9 to X. I remember the transition was not that easy Mac OS X was still buggy, and it lacked a lot of key features. Apple never really forced Mac OS X until 10.2 Microsoft should keep both on the shelves until most of the bugs are worked out of Vista and more software and hardware is compatible. And I said most of the bugs not all, if they waited till ALL the bugs were worked out XP would still be selling in 2029

 

[IJ Reilly]

I'm surprised they're still selling it at all.

Exactly. Microsoft always pulls previous versions of their operating systems when new ones are released. This is how they make every new OS release a "success."