100,000 Customers Tell Microsoft to Save XP
Many, many people have said that Windows XP is just fine, and while Vista's great (DX10 comes to mind), it's not necessary for most. Can an outcry of public sentiment save XP?
Windows Vista was supposed to be a shot in the arm for Microsoft, which had gone five years without a new desktop operating system. It hasn't worked out that way. Instead, Vista sales have been slower than XP's (when adjusted for market size) and there's been a distinct lack of passion for the new OS. In Vista's first year, InfoWorld detected a deep anxiety over Vista among technologists and consumers alike. We decided to do something about it, launching a petition drive to ask Microsoft to keep selling XP after the planned June 30 end-of-sales date. Nine weeks after that Jan. 14 launch, more than 100,000 customers worldwide have signed up. And that doesn't count parallel efforts by our colleagues in Germany and Canada.
Does anyone remember those old Steve Martin skits on SNL, when he would make a great proposal and go into great detail, saying "shouldn't we do such and such great thing!?" and then follow up with "Naaaaaaah." Well, can anyone see what Microsoft is likely to say?
Windows Vista was supposed to be a shot in the arm for Microsoft, which had gone five years without a new desktop operating system. It hasn't worked out that way. Instead, Vista sales have been slower than XP's (when adjusted for market size) and there's been a distinct lack of passion for the new OS. In Vista's first year, InfoWorld detected a deep anxiety over Vista among technologists and consumers alike. We decided to do something about it, launching a petition drive to ask Microsoft to keep selling XP after the planned June 30 end-of-sales date. Nine weeks after that Jan. 14 launch, more than 100,000 customers worldwide have signed up. And that doesn't count parallel efforts by our colleagues in Germany and Canada.
Does anyone remember those old Steve Martin skits on SNL, when he would make a great proposal and go into great detail, saying "shouldn't we do such and such great thing!?" and then follow up with "Naaaaaaah." Well, can anyone see what Microsoft is likely to say?
