One in Three Advanced PC Buyers Dumps Vista
I don’t want to keep hating on Windows Vista, but it’s hard to stop. Despite Microsoft’s insistence that users love Vista, it’s hard to find much good said about the operating system.
Now InfoWorld’s analysis of tracking data shows that, of those that install their performance tool, 35% switch away from Vista, most to Windows XP. The data comes from about 3,000 users of Windows Sentinel, a free program that monitors the user’s system and aggregates results.
Commenters have quickly pointed out that the sample probably isn’t a good glimpse of all Vista users. Only techies are likely to install Sentinel, so these are the same users who aren’t known for their operating system monogamy. Ma and Pa, buying a computer off the shelf, probably don’t even know what an OS is and certainly wouldn’t try changing it.
This techie group that is “downgrading” their version of Windows is an important barometer. Do you know who Ma and Pa go to when they have computer problems? There wouldn’t be nearly as many Firefox users if it wasn’t for people like me (and you?) installing it on family computers.
Microsoft knows who it needs to convince. It created a Windows 7 developer blog for its Vista-replacement. Any idea who might be reading its technical updates? Yeah, those same people Microsoft needs to like Windows 7, so that it can move the everyday user on from stable-but-stale Windows XP.
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