Nothing has been more shocking to me than to see my web page hits go through the roof when I published a guide to downgrading to XP. This, and just a few weeks later Microsoft announces that it will no longer be selling Windows XP to OEMs. Ouch!
It seems to me that people are voting Vista down--and they should be! When I buy a brand new PC, I expect it to zip--and not just bundle files together! I shouldn't be harassed every time I click on something. I shouldn't have to go out and purchase new software because of compatibility issues. And last, but not least, I shouldn't need a top-of-the-line computer to run it in 'pretty mode'.
No, I think Microsoft has really done it this time. I'm not predicting their doom, by all means, but when you deliver an operating system that was several years late and is dead on arrival--that speaks volumes about who they are. Granted, Apple has announced that they are delaying the delivery Leopard, the new upgrade to OS X, but they're doing it to ship the iPhone on time. What was MS doing that prevented Vista from coming out on time with all the features they promised?
So why do people like XP so much? Driver support. Applications work. No nag screens. An interface that any video card can run. Sure, the XP had a slow start too, but XP was a giant leap from ME (shudder) and Windows 2000. More security holes than Swiss cheese? Meh, at least my anti-virus and firewall work with it.
So, snap up all the licenses you can for XP, because you can expect to see it disappearing off of shelves fast--which is what should have been happening to Vista...