So it looks as if Microsoft it battling bad Vista PR with the same resource it usually does in bad times - MONEY! They are throwing lots of money at the problem in hopes that they can fix the “Vista perception” in the public eye. Personally, I think that they should just spend that money to speed along the new version of Windows more quickly. Oh wait - it was reported this week that Microsoft is pulling Windows 7 ahead early - possibly up to June ‘09!

Even though big company CIO’s are planning on skipping Vista altogether, Microsoft is working hard to get consumers to not want to downgrade to XP! The recent ads of the “Mojave” expirement are a joke - where MS shows consumers “Vista” but tells them it’s the new version of Windows called “Mojave” and they “love” it until they are told it’s Vista. You read new articles all the time like “Will Vista be the death of Microsoft that question whether or not a new operating system could become popular or not, and (in that article) the rumour is HP is working on one.

You still occasionally find the odd-person-out that says Windows Vista is not so bad. And there are still tips here and there available, like how to unlock Vista’s hidden boot screen. The ability to customize and remove certain features in Vista must be lacking, or at best difficult, give many companies have enabled groups of experts to help customers remove them.

Until next time - that’s what’s new in Vista in the News!

Everybody knows that Windows Vista is a dud and Windows XP is still viable. The hilarity of the “downgrade” option is absurd. How ironic is it then that Windows Vista good enough for new OEM PC’s to consumers, but it’s not good enough for Intel employees. Intel has more than 80,000 computers, but is only meagerly testing in a few departments Vista. The rest of the company is waiting until 2010 when Windows 7 comes out according to an anonymous source in The New York Times. If the failure of Windows Vista weren’t evident before, glaring examples come out more each day.

PC World has an article “Will Businesses Skip Windows Vista Altogether?” It’s been a year since Windows Vista has been released, and Service Pack 1 or SP1 isn’t even released yet - currently scheduled for delivery first quarter of 2008. They say the new version of Windows scheduled for release in late 2009 or 2010 is code named “Windows 7″. When SP1 for Vista comes out, Windows Server 2008 will be released at the same time. Microsoft is claiming that an all-time record number of companies have purchased or renewed their Windows desktop licenses in 2007. Of course their claim is “why would business do this unless they intended to deploy Windows Vista?” I’ll tell you why Mr. Marketing Genius - because businesses HAVE to have (at this point) licenses for Windows desktops period - just to function. To “renew” or purchase their licenses and support agreements is in NO way an indicator of Windows Vista desktop adoption in the Enterprise.

This eWeek article says that a record number of companies are beginning to test Vista. Get that? Test Vista. The same article talks about tools Microsoft has released to “accelerate the adoption” of Vista. Wow. They’re being really “pro-active” for a “record number of companies” having licensed or purchased Windows desktop licenses in 2007. It sounds more like they’re scrambling.

The Baltimore Sun reports that Leopard is huge in Japan, in fact it was only on sale 6 days in October and yet took more than 50% of sales for the entire month of packaged OS sales there. So far, it’s doing 40%+ in November. It’s nearest competitor, Windows XP Home, is only 10%, and Vista is (of course) less than that.

Yet another eWeek article states that less than 2% of businesses have adopted Windows Vista to date. Supposedly “more than half” of companies have concrete plans to deploy Vista, but slowly. They also state that inquiries of Linux desktops have sharply increased.

Looks like Microsoft is having a bad week when it comes to the United States Government. First the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced a formal ban on Windows Vista, Internet Explorer 7, and Office 2007.

In a memo to his staff, the DOT’s CIO Daniel Mintz says he has placed “an indefinite moratorium” on the upgrades as “there appears to be no compelling technical or business case for upgrading to these new Microsoft software products. Furthermore, there appears to be specific reasons not to upgrade.”

Then the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announces it may ditch Windows Vista for Google Apps and Linux Desktops from Dell.

In an interview, FAA chief information officer David Bowen said he’s taking a close look at the Premier Edition of Google Apps as he mulls replacements for the agency’s Windows XP-based desktop computers and laptops. Bowen cited several reasons why he finds Google Apps attractive. “It’s a different sort of computing strategy,” he said. “It takes the desktop out of the way so you’re running a very thin client. From a security and management standpoint that would have some advantages.”

Microsoft should be concerned, in fact they should be very concerned.? There have been lots of stories over the last few years about governments of foreign countries switching (or considering switching) from Windows based PC’s to Linux desktop environments.? They have been state and federal agencies in the United States that have researched the possibility of moving off the Windows platform to open source software.? It always seemed like it just “wasn’t ready for prime time”.

But Google apps may just be the missing link.? At only $50 per user per year (for Enterprise use) the cost is sooooo much less than any other Office suite AND that includes support!!? Think about it…google apps could be used in a company with any desktop - linux, apple, or even older Windows based pc’s (as they are phased out)…basically anything with web access.? Since google apps is a web based toolset, you wouldn’t need so much local storage, or crazy virus protection, or even local email and calendering servers (since email and calendar comes with the google apps suite).

If there is no compelling business reason or functionality to upgrade from Windows XP to Windows Vista - there’s no reason for a company to upgrade, especially if you factor in the cost of new hardware.? You need at least a gig of ram, a healthy processor, and (to run the graphics enhancements) additional video hardware to fully run Windows Vista.? But I still run a 1Ghz machine with 512MB of RAM at home with Ubuntu Linux 6.06 - and the system is pretty darn snappy (and now 5+ years old).

If you were an IT director of a government agency and you could:

• save money on email infrastructure
• save money on office suite licensing
• save money on help desk support
• save money on hardware upgrades
• save money on OS licensing costs

…how could you possibly justify upgrading to Windows Vista (in your company)??