The Death of Windows XP :-(

Well, we all knew that this was going to happen. Microsoft announced that as of January 31, 2008 No more copies of Windows Xp Pro or Home edition will be sold in any store.

According to an article that I read:

"Microsoft has confirmed that from 31 January 2008 large PC makers, such as Dell, HP and Toshiba, will no longer be able to buy licenses for the software so they can install it on new machines.

However, a poll released in early April suggests that Vista has yet to win over significant numbers of potential customers. The study of 2,223 web-using Americans found that although 87% had heard of the operating system only 12% of those who knew of it were planning to install it.

Microsoft is keen for consumers to start using Vista While the survey did find that some people waited for Vista before buying a PC, 60% said its appearance had no effect on their spending plans. It also found that 79% of those questioned were using Windows XP on their home PC."

According the article, Microsoft will support XP for several years longer. This comes as no surprise to me. Microsoft is trying to force the consumer and Industry to migrate to the new Vista Operating system. The main problem is that many will not want to have to upgrade their hardware to meet Vista’s minimum requirements that are much higher that those of Xp’s.


To compare the system requirements:

XP Professional:
PC with 300 megahertz or higher processor clock speed recommended; 233 MHz minimum required (single or dual processor system);* Intel Pentium/Celeron family, or AMD K6/Athlon/Duron family, or compatible processor recommended
128 megabytes (MB) of RAM or higher recommended (64 MB minimum supported; may limit performance and some features)
1.5 gigabytes (GB) of available hard disk space*
Super VGA (800 x 600) or higher-resolution video adapter and monitor
CD-ROM or DVD drive
Keyboard and Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device




Vista Requirements:
Home Premium / Business / Ultimate
1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
1 GB of system memory
40 GB hard drive with at least 15 GB of available space
Support for DirectX 9 graphics with:
WDDM Driver
128 MB of graphics memory (minimum)
Pixel Shader 2.0 in hardware
32 bits per pixel
DVD-ROM drive
Audio Output
Internet access (fees may apply)
Additional Requirements
Actual requirements and product functionality may vary based on your system configuration. Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor can help you determine which features and edition of Windows Vista will run on your computer.
While all editions of Windows Vista can support multiple core CPUs, only Windows Vista Business, Ultimate, and Enterprise can support dual processors.
Home Premium / Ultimate
TV tuner card required for TV functionality (compatible remote control optional).
Home Premium / Business / Ultimate
Windows Tablet and Touch Technology requires a Tablet PC or a touch screen.
Ultimate
Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption requires a USB Flash Drive and a system with a TPM 1.2 chip.

As you can see, it takes much more of a base computer to run the Vista package as compared to the XP Pro computer.



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Federal agency bans Microsoft Vista...

Well I for one knew that this was going to happen!!! No one wants to have to go to the new Vista Operating System. The American people are speaking out and are tired of being bullied by Microsoft. Most people are "happy" with their home computers and have way more power to do what they need to be able to do at home. Think about it, New MOBO, MORE RAM, NEW VIDEO CARD, NEW MONITOR...About $1200 for a baseline system.

Where as Xp with 2 gigs of ram will work wonderfully, Vista requires a minimum of 2 gigs to start with and if you go with the Vista 64 bit version, expect to need about 4 gigs of ram to start with. The only reason to upgrade to Vista is if your are a total gamer. The next version of Direct X being DX10 will only run on Vista, but if you are not a gamer and like your computer which uses Direct X 9.0c, then do not upgrade until you truly have to. I, for one, am not switching to Vista until I have to, or when they stop supporting Xp. They have plans to stop supporting Windows 2000 by 2008 and that will hurt a lot of companies. Our company uses 2000 for most of its applications...

DOT executive wary of software and labor costs, compatibility issues.
"WASHINGTON - At least two federal government agencies are refusing to upgrade their computers with Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Vista operating system, citing concern over costs and compatibility issues.In a Jan. 19 memo to staff, Dan Mintz, the Transportation Department's chief information officer, imposed an "indefinite moratorium" on upgrading desktop and laptop computers with the new operating system, Office 2007 and Internet Explorer 7."

Vista will bring most "current" machines to a crawl due to the new graphical interface and RAM requirements. Let’s take my machine for example. I have an AMD 3000+ Processor(2.12ghz) and 1.2gigs of RAM(366fsb) GeForce 6200(128 VRAM 8xAGP) I am VISTA compatible, but I would not be able to run the "FULL" Vista Media version because my video card will not support DX10. SO, why go to the "Next Best Thing" when I would reap none of the benefits? I did however upgrade to Internet Explorer 7, and Office 2007 which both I like. IE7 has some good new features as well as Office 2007. IE7 is a free upgrade, Office 2007 is not. It is well worth the money for the Office 2007 upgrade.

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New Vista Versions and Stuff...

A friend sent this link to me... LOL it is So Funny for you techie people out there.

Windows Vista to Ship in 33 Different Versions
By Russell Skingsley


Redmond, WA - Microsoft announced today that its new operating system Vista will ship in 33 editions to enable consumers to get exactly which version they need. Barry Goffe, a director of Microsoft's Windows client unit announced this innovative move from Microsoft earlier today.

"We're trying to make sure we have the right set of offerings for different customers," said Goffe. The impressive list of Vista Editions follows:

Vista Professional Edition
Vista Semi-Professional Edition
Vista Slightly Professional Edition
Vista Complete Amateur Edition
Vista Server Edition
Vista Server Premium Edition
Vista Server Not Bad But Not As Good As Premium Edition
Vista Server My Other Edition Is Premium Edition Edition
Vista 5 User License Edition
Vista Site License Edition
Vista Country License Edition
Vista Planetary License Edition
Vista Galaxy License Edition
Vista Universe License Edition
Vista Universe License Without Windows Media Player Edition*
Vista Home Edition
Vista Home Premium Edition
Vista Home Premium Edition With Some Server Features
Vista Home I Can't Believe It's Not Server Edition
Vista Away From Home But Have My Laptop With Me Edition
Vista Gamers Edition
Vista Mostly Play Games but Also Like to Surf the Net Edition
Vista Boot Straight Into World of Warcraft and Never Be Seen Again Edition
Vista Just Read Email And Clean Up Viruses Edition
Vista Downloaded Via Bittorrent Just Wait For The Subpoena Edition
Vista Erases Your iPod Edition (with Free Creative Player Voucher Included)
Vista Beginners Edition
Vista Intermediate Edition
Vista Advanced Edition
Vista Write My Own Drivers Edition
Vista One Finger On The Reset Button Edition
Vista Uninstall And Reinstall XP Edition
Vista ME Just Joking! Practical Jokers Edition

*Only Available In Europe

"There should be something there for everyone," said Goffe. When asked when the editions would be shipping, Goffe replied, "I can't really say, we haven't finished coding any of this yet."






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