Pender's Blog

Blog archive

PC Makers Offering Vista-XP Downgrades

Oh, we try hard, so hard, not to pile on with this Vista stuff. It's just that every time we think it's getting old to talk about what a, uh, "mitigated success" (yes, we're being kind) Vista has been, something else comes out that demonstrates that this operating system is about as popular as New Coke was once upon a time. (By the way, thank you, Internet and Wikipedia, for providing us with more information than we ever thought existed on New Coke. What was life like before the Internet? We don't remember...and we don't care.)

Anyway, it wasn't enough, apparently, for Dell to start selling PCs with XP (rather than Vista) pre-loaded. Now Dell, HP and Lenovo are all offering downgrades to XP for customers who buy machines with Vista pre-installed.

The linked article says that most of the downgrades are primarily for business customers rather than the retail set; the anecdotal evidence we've heard suggests that neither category of customer is happy with Vista, but the critical point here seems to be that Vista has drawn reactions not so much of apathy but almost of disgust and contempt. It's one thing for businesses to ignore a major Windows upgrade; it's another for them to actively dislike it.

Of course, we still maintain that we'll all be running Vista eventually, but with Office under attack from multiple sources, open source getting lots of press and the European Union putting the hammer down on the company, it sure would be nice for Microsoft if it could point to Vista as a bright spot in its current cloudy skies. Alas, that's not really possible.

Any leftover thoughts on Vista? It always seems to be a popular topic. Send your musings my way at [email protected].

Posted by Lee Pender on September 25, 2007


Featured

  • Report: Cost, Sustainability Drive DaaS Adoption Beyond Remote Work

    Gartner's 2025 Magic Quadrant for Desktop as a Service reveals that while secure remote access remains a key driver of DaaS adoption, a growing number of deployments now focus on broader efficiency goals.

  • Windows 365 Reserve, Microsoft's Cloud PC Rental Service, Hits Preview

    Microsoft has launched a limited public preview of its new "Windows 365 Reserve" service, which lets organizations rent cloud PC instances in the event their Windows devices are stolen, lost or damaged.

  • Hands-On AI Skills Now Outshine Certs in Salary Stakes

    For AI-related roles, employers are prioritizing verifiable, hands-on abilities over framed certificates -- and they're paying a premium for it.

  • Roadblocks in Enterprise AI: Data and Skills Shortfalls Could Cost Millions

    Businesses risk losing up to $87 million a year if they fail to catch up with AI innovation, according to the Couchbase FY 2026 CIO AI Survey released this month.