Should Microsoft abandon Vista? I don't see why not, considering the amount of damage that has been done to their upgrade path by this monstrosity. The only practical reason for any normal home user to ever upgrade to it in the first place is the new user interface, which is built on Direct3D. I have to admit that Vista RC1's user interface was generally faster and more responsive on my laptop than Windows XP's, but that's about it. What should Microsoft do to compete against Leopard?
They should bolt the new user interface onto Windows XP, get rid of the digital rights management software which was only good for slowing down I/O performance, and offer a free upgrade to every Windows Vista user. Then they should cut the retail cost of new licenses of Windows by at least twenty five percent, and pray that they can generate substantial interest from people who were turned off by Vista.
And just for the sake of ingratiating themselves to developers who had to use Vista as a deployment platform, they should throw in a copy of Visual Studio 2008 Standard with every copy of Windows XP Part Deux that the sell. Oh the wailing and gnashing of teeth I have heard from .NET developers who had to deploy onto Windows Vista!
Vista is so bad and it it has been recognized by so many companies that I have seen numerous references in Tech mags to how companies have actually banned upgrading to Vista without a direct business need and even then it is on a case by case basis.
Companies are also quite tired of paying millions to upgrade software when there is no benefit to it. I think that realization will hurt M$ quite a bit.
However, I disagree with you on providing free upgrades. Doing so would be to admit they f'ed up and worse (for them) it would set a precedent. I certainly will not be "upgrading" In fact my next M$ op/sys will be 2000 (downgrading, if you will, from XP)
Since you mentioned Leopard, are you familiar with it? Is it out? Would you recommend it and is there a "windows" skin that can be applied to it?
Thanks for reminding me why I break for Apples.
Why on Earth would you switch back to 2000? It isn't even supported anymore! Besides, Windows XP has all of the benefits of Windows 2000, but it's newer, faster and got better hardware support. Also, you do know it has a more efficient kernel, right?
But you can play Halo 2 on Vista.
You can also play Halo 2 on a XBox 360. In fact, I would recommend it...
Leopard is not out yet. As to a Windows skin... ummmm I seriously doubt that you could make it look enough like Windows to sneak it into work or wherever else you are thinking.
I know that XP "blows chunks" on my computer and that very soon XP will no longer be supported either. As for kernel efficiency, all I do is surf the web, play music and manage/edit photos so it really isn't a big deal. Oh yeah, I'd also have more free space on my drive.
As for Leopard, I dont want to sneak it in any where, it is simply that I, and most everyone else, have grown quite accustomed to the Windows style and would prefer to have the system continue to look more or less the same.
The reason I thought you were trying to sneak it in somewhere is because MacOS X is far better than Windows, but it would stand out like a sore thumb. The Mac interface is very different from the Windows one in look and feel. It is more intuitive, though. You shouldn't have any problem getting used to it within minutes of using it.
But you can play Halo 2 on Vista.
If you had Vista...
Or halo 2....
Or an XBOX.
You can also play Halo 2 on a XBox 360. If you have a XBox 360 you can also play Halo 3 and Gears of War. Why do you need Vista again?...