June 30, 2008 | Comments: (0)
The final plea to save Windows XP
Last Friday, we FedEx'd the Save Windows XP petition to Steve Ballmer. I have to say that sliding the memory stick into the envelope was an emotional experience: More than 210,000 users have made their voices heard to the world's largest software corporation. I think there's still a slim chance that Microsoft will change its mind about making XP available after today, particularly if we get more major media pickup and another wave of signatures today. Meanwhile, here's the full text of the cover letter I sent along with the petition:
Steve Ballmer
Chief Executive Officer
One Microsoft Way
Bellevue, WA 98052
Dear Steve,
On Jan. 2, 2008, InfoWorld launched the Save Windows XP campaign. As of June 27 at 2 p.m. Pacific Time, we have gathered 210,562 signatures from passionate users who demand the right to purchase Windows XP after June 30, the deadline beyond which Microsoft has said it will no longer license Windows XP through most sales channels. The Save Windows XP petition is enclosed as a CSV file.
We began this campaign because our readers compelled us to do so. Those of us who have been in the industry for a long time have never seen anything like the negative reaction to Windows Vista. Our readers have frequently voiced their frustrations about software incompatibilities, arbitrary UI changes, expanded hardware requirements, and altered security business rules. On the other hand, we've also heard from many users who are clearly satisfied with Vista.
Our point from the beginning has been that Microsoft customers should have a choice: For a reasonable period, those who want to license Windows XP should be able to continue to do so just as easily as they can license Windows Vista.
The typical interval from the introduction of a new version of Windows to the end-of-sale date for the previous version is two years. Given the disruptive nature of many Vista upgrades, we feel that Microsoft should continue to make Windows XP available for at least that long, rather than ending the sale of Windows XP after 18 months. Now that the ship date for Windows 7 has been moved up to January 2010, why not make Windows XP available until then?
We recognize and appreciate that during the past several months Microsoft has decided to allow OEMs to sell "low-power" laptops and desktops with Windows XP pre-installed until June 2010. We are also aware that many hardware vendors, including Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and Lenovo, are offering "downgrade" options that enable customers to replace preinstalled copies of Windows Vista with Windows XP. We hope that Microsoft will continue to enable vendors to present those options, as well as allow Vista Business or Vista Ultimate customers to "downgrade" Vista installs using site-licensed versions Windows XP Professional.
Our ultimate aim, however, is for Microsoft to reverse its decision and keep licensing Windows XP through all normal channels. At work and at home, Windows XP has become a familiar and reliable part of the lives of millions of users. We respectfully ask that you continue to offer the best operating system Microsoft has ever produced.
Sincerely,
Eric Knorr
Editor in Chief
InfoWorld
Posted by Eric Knorr on June 30, 2008 03:00 AM
April 28, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Steve Ballmer wants your "feedback" -- so let's give it to him
Last week we almost broke out the champagne. At an event in Belgium on Thursday, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said that the company might reconsider its decision to stop selling Windows XP on June 30. An Associated Press report quoted him as saying: "If customer feedback varies, we can always wake up smarter."
This news broke after we spent three months of campaigning for a stay of execution for XP, and we were elated. Microsoft was finally listening to the outcry over the unnecessarily disruptive effects of customers being pushed to upgrade to Vista. Victory was at hand.
Our joy lasted only a couple of hours. According to a subsequent report from Reuters, the second half of Ballmer's quote was: " ... but right now, we have a plan for end-of-life for new XP shipments." A Microsoft spokesperson later confirmed that (aside from already existing exceptions), the June 30 end-of-sale date was not going anywhere.
Ballmer tells users: "I can't hear you." So let's turn up the volume
Apparently, the 180,000-plus signatures collected for our Save XP campaign are not enough "customer feedback" to matter. The company says it's aware of InfoWorld's Save XP campaign, but we have been rebuffed in our attempts to deliver the petition -- so much for listening to customers.
Microsoft is content to ignore 180,000. But can it ignore 1 million? How about 10 million? With just two months to go before XP goes off the market, it's time to turn up the volume and get everyone you know to sign the petition.
And just to show we're not a bunch of drudges -- and to prove there are actual living and breathing human beings involved in the Save XP campaign -- how about uploading your own Save XP video plea to the InfoWorld section of FaceBook? You can also upload them directly to the InfoWorld site using our BrightCove player form. We'll show off the funniest, most creative appeals to save XP on our "Save XP" video home page.
Experience dictates that it's going to take everything we've got to get the message to Microsoft. Last week, a general manager for the Windows group looked me straight in the eye and said that Vista was the most successful Microsoft operating system ever released. What about the outcry over performance and compatibility problems, the likes of which is unprecedented in the history of IT? His stare grew harder. He was a true believer. To him, whatever negative reactions had occurred were overblown.
Dell shows another way, but how long will it be viable?
Meanwhile, Dell has already announced plans to offer Windows XP beyond June 30. Dell is ingeniously exploiting a licensing option in Vista Business and Vista Ultimate that lets computer vendors sell XP under the Vista license -- what Microsoft calls a "downgrade" license. Dell will basically do the "downgrade" for you.
Who knows how many other vendors may take that route -- or how long Microsoft will allow the "downgrade" option to be used in such a fashion. Are such licensing acrobatics really necessary? Maybe not. If millions of people sign up to Save XP, can Microsoft really afford to ignore us? Let's find out.
Posted by Eric Knorr on April 28, 2008 03:00 AM
January 28, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Since InfoWorld launched its petition drive to save Windows XP two weeks ago, we've had over 75,000 people sign up. That's a strong message to Microsoft that people don't want to be forced to into buying Vista if Windows XP goes belly up on June 30, 2008 (check out the exceptions here). If you haven't added your voice to the chorus yet, do it now.
The point of all this is not to slam Vista. The aim is to keep XP alive, because businesses should be able to choose where they put their resources. If they want to upgrade to Vista, they should go right ahead. If they have other priorities they feel will yield more bang for the buck, then they should be able to continue to buy XP licenses and put their resources into something else.
In an interview at CES, Bill Gates even admitted to "lessons learned" about Vista and alluded to the forthcoming Windows 7 version the company is working on. You can rely on InfoWorld's Randy Kennedy, who writes our Enterprise Desktop blog, to keep you in the loop on Vista’s successor.
Making developers happy
Microsoft may have its ups and downs on the desktop, but when it comes to serving its developer base, the company knows its customers and keeps trotting out more crowd-pleasing goodies.
Just check out this week's in-depth review of Visual Studio 2008 by InfoWorld's Martin Heller. Is there another IDE that even compares with Visual Studio in its vast scope and emphasis on ease of use? As Heller says, Visual Studio has become "so big it's hard for any one person to keep it straight in his mind."
In this version, the highlights are support for Vista, .Net Framework 3.5, and Web 2.0 technologies (including Silverlight and Windows Presentation Foundation). Developers will also be glad to learn that data queries have been integrated into .Net languages.
Heller, who has watched Visual Studio evolve from the beginning, believes that the 2008 version is greater than the sum of its zillion parts. "This is the version that gets everything synced up," he says. "It's completely stable, graphical, and usable. They've gotten the whole story straight for Windows Presentation Foundation."
See? Microsoft can still hit the nail on the head. Let's hope for more of that good aim in the future.
Posted by Eric Knorr on January 28, 2008 03:00 AM
January 14, 2008 | Comments: (0)
I vividly remember the first time I used Windows XP. My first reaction: Ugh, these primary colors make Windows look like kid's software. Then I started using it.
It didn't take much mousing around to make me feel right at home. And after a while, I felt relieved. There were the nice, common-sense UI tweaks, but above all, XP felt rock-solid compared to any previous Windows version, so much so that it relieved me of years of worry and anger. Plus, it seemed just as snappy as Windows 98. On my laptop, wireless networking went from being an iffy proposition to a no-brainer. At last, despite the heavy burden of backward compatibility, Microsoft had built a Windows version that was as comfortable, functional, and reliable as my (aging) Honda.
Unfortunately, that model is about to be stripped for parts. On June 30, 2008, Microsoft plans to stop selling XP retail, either shrink-wrapped or on OEM PCs. But here at InfoWorld, we don't think an operating system that has lots of miles left in it should be headed for the scrap heap. That's why we're launching a program to save Windows XP.
The idea is simple: we're hosting a petition to convince Microsoft to keep selling Windows XP indefinitely rather than force users to upgrade to Vista. To help us gain critical mass, go to SaveXP.com and sign our petition. We'll send your name to Microsoft -- without your e-mail address, of course -- as a verified cosigner in our mission to keep XP alive. If you'd like to help publicize the Save XP campaign, e-mail us and we'll send you some code snippet you can put on your own site.
Lest you think that XP is already a lost cause, consider that an increasing number of organizations appear to be staying put and refusing to upgrade to Vista. The momentum is already there; we're just providing another way for your voice to be heard. We sincerely hope you'll chime in and sign up to Save XP. Together, we could have a huge impact.
Posted by Eric Knorr on January 14, 2008 03:00 AM
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