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February 05, 2009
Ballmer: Stay on Windows XP and you will face a backlash
Migrate fast to Vista or Windows 7 urges Microsoft CEO
By Shane O'Neill
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is warning IT organisations that they risk provoking an end user backlash if they don’t move off the XP operating system.
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"If you deploy a four or five-year old operating system today, most people will ask their boss why the heck they don't have the stuff they have at home,” the Microsoft CEO said.
In an interview at an event to mark the extension of Microsoft's collaboration with EMC to help IT professionals improve virtualisation, security and content management, Ballmer touched on the progress of Windows 7.
He stressed that its faster performance, longer battery life and simplified security settings will be "a pretty good step forward in terms of what users care about."
For these reasons and others, Ballmer warned that, enterprises that stick with Windows XP too long risk complaints from impatient users who have been using newer computers running Vista and Windows 7 at home.
Microsoft recently revealed that it will move directly from beta 1 of Windows 7 to release candidate, implying a quicker release of the new OS than initially expected. Additionally, Microsoft announced yesterday that it will issue discounted upgrade licenses to customers moving from Windows XP to Windows 7.
Ballmer did say that it is too early in Windows 7's lifespan to "start beating the big drum," but emphasised that ease-of-use is a priority, particularly in "some of the improvements made in Vista on security." This is arguably a reference to the UAC pop-up security feature in Vista that has drawn ire from users for being annoying and inflexible.
In Windows 7, the UAC setting can be controlled by the user. For instance, the user can set UAC for "always notify me" at the most conservative level or "never notify me" if they don't want to use UAC. There are two moderate options in between that will notify users only about certain changes that take place on their computers.
According to a recent report by Forrester, Windows Vista is now powering just fewer than 10 percent of all PCs within enterprises in North America and Europe.
Nevertheless an uptick in Vista use may be on the horizon, as the report also states that 31 percent of IT decision-makers said they are beginning migrations to Windows Vista.
Ballmer admitted that compatibility issues have held Vista back. But he adds that they were a necessary evil in order for Vista to break new ground on security.
"Our enterprise customers basically are pretty happy with what we did with Windows Vista, with one notable exception, which we needed to do to improve security, which was to break compatibility," Ballmer says.
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Comments received
Andy Ward said on Thursday, 05 February 2009
It is the arrogance of Mr. Ballmer and Microsoft’s sale staff as well as some of their partners that is leading to a gradual albeit slow realisation among IT managers and executives that other OS’s are something that should be considered when upgrading systems.
Having recently trialled the Windows 7 system at a number of our offices I have first hand experience of the Bull S**t that Microsoft is spreading. The tactics of fear mongering from Microsoft is nothing new, but the manner in which they’re adopting it as a sales tactic is.
Having read this article and the comments from Mr. Ballmer I note that a number of our employees have requested other systems and questioned why we always choose Microsoft products. Their own home computers are either Apple or Linux based systems, which is usually as a result of their children deciding the type of computer bought or for our younger employees that system that they experience in college.
Its great that college students today are now a
Rusty said on Saturday, 07 February 2009
Sure - upgrade to Microsoft's latest virus and die a little every day.
Jenni Fled said on Saturday, 07 February 2009
If you deploy a four or five-year old operating system today, most people will ask their boss why the heck they don't have the stuff they have at home,”
um..no..business people don't even think like that if they hear that, a madeup recycled PR comment...hire a new PR guy Ballmer.
bEASTmAN said on Saturday, 07 February 2009
Steve Ballmer need to STFU, I have XP at home it much better the Vista. Vista is SO bad I have to use my personal laptop because the cooperate "Vista" laptop will not run any of our software. The company is in talks of going to a linux Desktop, because it runs our software better then Vista
Dan said on Saturday, 07 February 2009
As an "IT decision-maker" I deliberately don't pick the newest, greatest OS out there for obvious reasons. On top of the usual, Vista has proven to be a massive headache in a business environment where compatibility and stability is key and there is a lot of variation in hardware. If Vista had proven itself reliable and decent as XP eventually did (face it, that first year was tough but nowhere near as much as this) I would've deployed it. As it is, we keep one Vista machine just in case but that's it. Windows 7 will have to go through its trials.
My sentiment is by no means unique and Ballmer apparently has forgotten the process of every Windows release - let it go awhile and stabilize before deploying throughout an entire company or risk a destabilized system.
Azuraedge said on Saturday, 07 February 2009
This whole article = Buy our S#$t and make me as rich as Bill. Microsoft seems to be taking something like Sony's stand on the PS3. "You'll pay for our system because we say its worth 700$" You would think Microsoft would be a little less crass about some thing like this since Vista sucks so bad and 7 will be in beta till august. And when there are other things out there beyond windows, saying buy our newest system or face the consequences makes me think underhanded tactics might come into play. I think 7 better turn out really good or Microsoft will be hurting and Bill might have gotten out at a good time.
JC said on Saturday, 07 February 2009
I'm so sorry that their forced attempt to make obsolete the main operating system they currently have on the market isn't going well. maybe they should spend a little more time and research money on standing by what they have succeeded in doing rather than try to rewrite the world.
his whole premise is flawed... how would businesses receive backlash from one another if no one upgrades to Windows Vista/7? program compatibility more often than not has little to do with security. is that why so many printers don't work with vista? SECURITY? sure...
what would microsoft do if everyone agreed to boycott this silly attempt at profiteering? or to make it catchier, "What if they made an OS and no one used it?"
fblonk said on Sunday, 08 February 2009
As a person in the IT field, I can tell you that vista is broken and no repairs are on the horizon. If you want an operating system that works, stick with XP. I have multiple business clients and not one has switched to vista. The reason? It does not work. Mr Ballmer is doing what every good sales person does, He pushes the new product despite flaws and tells you "everyone is switching, why don't you?". He should be pushing Fords, not code.
fblonk said on Sunday, 08 February 2009
As a person in the IT field, I can tell you that vista is broken and no repairs are on the horizon. If you want an operating system that works, stick with XP. I have multiple business clients and not one has switched to vista. The reason? It does not work. Mr Ballmer is doing what every good sales person does, He pushes the new product despite flaws and tells you "everyone is switching, why don't you?". He should be pushing Fords, not code.
Chris said on Sunday, 08 February 2009
Funny, our employees just ask me how to get that piece of crap vista off their new computer and how to get their beloved xp on it instead
Stan Lee said on Sunday, 08 February 2009
People might have been used to the update treadmill, but XP was around way too long, and people forgot about it. Many have already bought 2 or 3 devices with XP on it.
Users are no longer used to the update treadmill, and it's Microsoft's fault. No new OS, no new browser for how long? Then when they delivered IE7 and Vista, it wasn't worth going for. Quit shifting blame, MS.
bobh said on Sunday, 08 February 2009
Time to get off of XP and move a an OS that works. Ubuntu for the desktop and Solaris for the server.
Ken said on Sunday, 08 February 2009
I have the Windows 7 beta and quickly lost interest in it. They have borrowed so many features from OS X that I'm left asking myself, "Why get a knock-off, when I can get the real thing?
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Microsoft absolutely adores Apple.
crash said on Sunday, 08 February 2009
After many years of dealing with MS BS, and seeing the vast improvements in the Linux distros, I switched all of my hardware to Linux, and only have 2 systems that are dual boot for demo reasons for the uninitiated.
Rob Blatt said on Sunday, 08 February 2009
"If you deploy a four or five-year old operating system today, most people will ask their boss why the heck they don't have the stuff they have at home,” the Microsoft CEO said.
In that case, why aren't they getting Macs? More people are starting to have those at home.
Roland Ansgar said on Sunday, 08 February 2009
Pure fear mongering as incentive. Terror marketing. What else would one expect from Balmer or that other guy who's suppose to be retired?
Anon said on Sunday, 08 February 2009
Unlike some of the trolls and marketing shills in here, I know that Vista is a good OS, and shoot, Windows 7 is shipping up to be great.
But the reality is in an organization, say a school district (true story, I'm dealing with) they still deploy XP because they have to uniformly deploy, and the cost of upgrading or buying new is crippling, especially since the state government (the President stole the Governor vetoing all the budget cuts) cut the education budget first thing.
Sure Windows 7 may run on 512MB of RAM, but XP runs on less, however crap, and that is what the school district will deploy. Upgrading is costly; the economy is crappy.
P.S. Windows is cheaper to deploy, another consideration; software "costs" are a joke compared to administration costs, which are cheaper with Windows due to MSCE and the larger market. This is why we don't use something else like FreeBSD.
mrinternet said on Sunday, 08 February 2009
Ballmer the IT Messiah that has commandered the genius loss of approximately 50% of Microfts valve over the past year as a result of the hostile takeover attempt of Yahoo - couldn't be more off-base!
I would venture an educated guess that the public perception of Microsoft under Ballmer's charge the past year is at an all time low.
Ballmer needs to step aside and led someone who listens to the consumer take charge.
Ballmer has become a big fat putz!
mrinternet said on Sunday, 08 February 2009
Ballmer the IT Messiah that has commandered the genius loss of approximately 50% of Microfts valve over the past year as a result of the hostile takeover attempt of Yahoo - couldn't be more off-base!
I would venture an educated guess that the public perception of Microsoft under Ballmer's charge the past year is at an all time low.
Ballmer needs to step aside and led someone who listens to the consumer take charge.
Ballmer has become a big fat putz!
Misty said on Sunday, 08 February 2009
OK, I'm someone who does support for a wide variety of clients running Windows. I never once heard an end user ask why they didn't have Vista at work, on the other hand I have heard users say, I have this piece of crap laptop with Vista that I use at home that I want to connect with through the VPN to my office computer. Then the next thing out of their mouth is some complaint about Vista. I think Ballmer is either flat out lying or has no clue what it's really like out there. I have never heard one person say what Ballmer says they will say.
Sean MacDhai said on Sunday, 08 February 2009
MS already lost me to Apple a year ago, and I am quite happy with OSX... and Windows 7 doesn't have enough appeal for me to make the switch back.
Sean MacDhai said on Sunday, 08 February 2009
MS already lost me to Apple a year ago, and I am quite happy with OSX... and Windows 7 doesn't have enough appeal for me to make the switch back.
Bob Harvey said on Sunday, 08 February 2009
Funniest thing I've read all day. Given any choice at all peopke seem to be voting for XP at home over Vista. Look at how many Upgrade to XP systems are sold.
Oh, and when did corporate IT take any notice of users? It's a 'use what you are given' environment.
This is nearly as comical as the 'dinasaur' campaign, knocking your own best selling products.
I give M$ 5 years at the most.
Dave said on Monday, 09 February 2009
Ballmer can kiss my hairy white ass.
Switch to a modern OS said on Monday, 09 February 2009
And more people have Macs at home because they are superior and people are paying for them with their own cash, not being forced by their companies to use Windows.
Bynrdskynrd said on Monday, 09 February 2009
Good job Ballmer: spite your consumer base by scaring them into a bad idea...hey, it worked here in the states with the bank bailout!
mouse said on Monday, 09 February 2009
But Vista is terrible; most of the people I know with Vista switched back to XP.
And don't think that quicker switch to release candidate has anyone fooled; we all know that hackers and code geeks will have to fix a ton of problems with Windows 7 when it comes out earlier than anticipated.
some dudde said on Monday, 09 February 2009
I'm going to get another 2.5 gig of extra ram I don't need, so I can install Vista on a partition, then write a two-line script called VistaRules:
echo "lulz"
sudo rm -ra /disk/vista
some dudde said on Monday, 09 February 2009
I'm going to get another 2.5 gig of extra ram I don't need, so I can install Vista on a partition, then write a two-line script called VistaRules:
echo "lulz"
sudo rm -ra /disk/vista
Thebes, Santa Fe, NM said on Monday, 09 February 2009
ROFLMAO!
If my boss deployed Vista today I'd ask him if he was a moron. Of the people I know using Vista, 90% of them HATE it with a passion. The 10% that like it have high-end gaming desktops which they mostly use for surfing the internet.
I know several people who have actually put off purchasing a new computer soley because they couldn't get what they wanted with XP on it and were unwilling to use Vista.
BLarkin said on Monday, 09 February 2009
Hmmm...I use XP at home because I don't have the time to learn to cope with the UI and issues of Vista. If 7 is anything like Vista, I'll be using XP for another generation of MS Operating systems.
Big G said on Tuesday, 10 February 2009
Wow..this guy runs Microsoft? This is a classic example of shitting your own bed. I have not heard ONE person quote what he has stated. Vista is terrible. The end. Doing a system wide upgrade to Vista where I work at would be comparable with... Windows ME
Willow Summerland said on Tuesday, 10 February 2009
Blow Microsoft and move to Linux. End the tyranny and free yourselves with open source software. Why put up with this garbage? Linux is such a great operating system that NASA uses it on its Mars explorer. Come on people! Why pay anything when you can get a great OS for FREE!!!!
Forward looking IT said on Tuesday, 10 February 2009
As an IT Manager of a large multinational organisation, I could not agree more, that at some stage we must move on,
That is why I am now training many of my team in the wonders of Linux, and in the very near future we will be implementing the safer system into our organisation.
Not only will this move save the company an extremely large amount of money, it will alleviate many of the security issues we are forever spending far to much time on, on a bloated and unsecured system.
Unfortunately Windows as a whole has passed its use by date. R.I.P. Windows.
Blowme Steve said on Wednesday, 11 February 2009
XP works, vista doesn't. Case closed.