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Windows Operating Systems Software Microsoft

Ballmer Says Vista Selling Really Well 692

An anonymous reader writes "Steve Ballmer is in no way disappointed with Windows Vista. It is selling 'incredibly well,' he told a press conference in Herzeliya, Israel today. 'Vista sells on almost 100 per cent of all the new consumer PCs around the world,' the Microsoft CEO proclaimed. He added that the operating system was also selling on '45 percent of all of new business PCs.' Which is enlightening, since business users are about the only buyers of new PCs that get a choice." Anyone know anybody who bought Vista except as bundled with hardware?
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Ballmer Says Vista Selling Really Well

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  • by westbake ( 1275576 ) on Saturday May 24, 2008 @10:55AM (#23527722) Homepage

    Even Time magazine has notice Microsoft is "an Empire in rapid decline" [time.com].


    Who's this message directed at? The last people he's going to fool are corporate users. Home users continue to avoid buying new computers because what they have is working just fine. Even if he could convince them to go buy, they have a giant selection of $500 and less Vista failure laptops to chose from if they don't just buy a $300 EEE PC with GNU/Linux.

  • The Question (Score:2, Informative)

    I have 2 computers running Vista. Neither of them came bundled with it. I am very happy with Vista... I haven't had any problems at all (even though I will likely be modded as such, I am not trolling).
  • Bad Vista (Score:5, Interesting)

    by awarrenfells ( 1289658 ) on Saturday May 24, 2008 @10:58AM (#23527748) Homepage
    I don't know anyone that bought vista unbundled with any hardware, but I think it is interesting to note that of all the customers I provide technical support for, nearly 90% of them have all stated how much they hated vista. The consumers speak for themselves. Maybe they should be given a choice as well. Though, given the current trend and opinion, that may very well cause Vista sales to bomb.
    • Re:Bad Vista (Score:4, Insightful)

      by LBArrettAnderson ( 655246 ) on Saturday May 24, 2008 @11:03AM (#23527794)
      of all the customers I provide technical support for, nearly 90% of them have all stated how much they hated vista

      so... 90% of them have stated whether or not they hate vista? You do realize that your phrasing would include satisfied people in those 90%. But I'll assume that you meant that 90% hated it. You are providing technical support for those people! Of course they aren't happy with something. They screwed something up on their computer, and they are blaming Vista for it.
      • Re:Bad Vista (Score:4, Informative)

        by awarrenfells ( 1289658 ) on Saturday May 24, 2008 @11:13AM (#23527878) Homepage
        Let me rephrase, of the Vista Customer's I have worked with, 90% of them have stated that they hated vista. As far as the technical support side, I don't support Vista, just their "internets" :P And usually the reason they don't like vista is because it runs so darn slow, and for strange reasons it plays magic tricks with people's NIC around windows update time =D
  • by ctid ( 449118 ) on Saturday May 24, 2008 @10:58AM (#23527750) Homepage
    Most PCs come with Vista by default (it is a bit of a hassle to buy without) so new PCs are sellng well.
    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Sentry21 ( 8183 )
      I can only assume that by 'selling really well' he means that commercial transactions involving Vista have a high probability of success, and not that the amount of such transactions is by any means impressive.
  • "Anyone know anybody who bought Vista except as bundled with hardware?"

    Yes.
  • I believe it (Score:5, Insightful)

    by aggie_knight ( 611726 ) on Saturday May 24, 2008 @10:59AM (#23527756)
    And in other news, President Bush says the War in Iraq is going "really, really well".
  • faint praise (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Dolohov ( 114209 ) on Saturday May 24, 2008 @11:00AM (#23527768)
    Note that he didn't say that he's proud of it because it's good software, but because it "has had a good unit volume market reaction." In other words, he's not proud of his programmers, he's proud of his marketers.
  • Come on, editors:

    Anyone know anybody who bought Vista except as bundled with hardware?

    You can make that into "... bought any version of Windows except bundled...".
    There will be some people who buy the boxed version, but very very few. The vast majority buys Windows only with a new computer. Oh sorry, make that gets Windows with a new computer. There is after all no separate pricing for Windows, it is simply included. And by many users thus perceived as free.
    Windows you get with your computer, Windows you don't buy. And it will be a very very long time before that idea is g

  • by Hankapobe ( 1290722 ) on Saturday May 24, 2008 @11:03AM (#23527792)
    âoeWhat we have learned is that maybe our customers care a little bit more about compatibility and a little bit less about securityâ he ventured.

    Absolutely not! This isn't an either or choice. Your customers want both! That's why, many of your customers are moving to patforms that offer both. 45% businesses choose Vista? What about the other 55% of businesses?. What did they choose - hmmmmm?

    • by Kjella ( 173770 ) on Saturday May 24, 2008 @11:25AM (#23528012) Homepage
      Uhh... Windows XP? You know, most businesses are very conservative and would rather stretch their experience on XP rather than cause hardware upgrade, software upgrades, training, system administration changes, possibly new incompatibilities and instabilities and so on and so forth. Making sure your employees have the latest version of clippy is hardly what improves margins...
  • by Undead NDR ( 1252916 ) on Saturday May 24, 2008 @11:04AM (#23527796) Homepage Journal
    If it sold more than zero copies, that qualifies as "incredibly well" for me too.
  • by Flavio ( 12072 ) on Saturday May 24, 2008 @11:05AM (#23527806)
    I don't know anyone who actually bought Vista unbundled, but I know plenty of people who got it pre-installed and kept using it.

    They experience Vista's problems and huge system requirements, but they keep using it anyway. Maybe it's because they don't want to admit to themselves that they indirectly bought garbage. But I think it's because they want the newest, shiniest product, regardless of whether it's better.

    Fact: most people are MORONS.
    • I always hear about vista problems.. What are they exactly? Never used vista myself though, thank you, I'll stick with my oem xp on laptop and pc and occasionally linux. But soon I'll be moving to core 2 duo and want to know if it's even worth to bother or it's fine?
  • I'm somewhat ashamed to admit that I recently bought an OEM copy of Vista.

    About a month ago I started getting random video corruption issues when waking from hibernate on my 2yo XP machine (it only happened when waking from hibernate). I narrowed it down to a software issue, and the only fix after a while was a reinstall. The machine was a refurb HP box, so the only XP install media I have are the restore CDs I burned, which contain all the crap I spent a month or so clearing out when I first got the mach
  • Anyone know anybody who bought Vista except as bundled with hardware?

    Yep.

    The better question is "Anyone know anybody who bought Vista except as bundled with hardware, and doesn't regret it?".

    I don't.

  • by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 24, 2008 @11:06AM (#23527824)

    I bought a copy for compatibility testing that I run in a virtual machine. A side benefit is that I get to compare versions of Windows side-by-side. It's enlightening. Vista is slower in every respect than its predecessors, and it's more difficult to use.


    On the other hand, it is shinier.

  • Not willingly.. (Score:5, Informative)

    by crossmr ( 957846 ) on Saturday May 24, 2008 @11:08AM (#23527832) Journal
    Not all business users have a choice. Dell gives you a choice. HP does not.
    We're an HP value-add reseller and we can't get xw4400 workstations without vista. We had to request a downgrade kit (they will only give 1 to each business address, even though we order hundreds of these a year) and then downgrade them to XP.

    I had some friends who have it on their new laptops...
  • boughtVista (Score:5, Informative)

    by Paradise Pete ( 33184 ) on Saturday May 24, 2008 @11:11AM (#23527850) Journal
    Anyone know anybody who bought Vista except as bundled with hardware?

    I know two people. One is now using XP, and the other got so mad he bought a Mac.

  • by gilesjuk ( 604902 ) <giles.jonesNO@SPAMzen.co.uk> on Saturday May 24, 2008 @11:11AM (#23527858)
    Saying Vista sells with new PCs is like saying people want junk mail because they choose to have a letter box.
  • Volume licenses (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Robber Baron ( 112304 ) on Saturday May 24, 2008 @11:12AM (#23527868) Homepage
    I bought volume licenses of Vista. Of course I promptly installed XP on all the boxes the licenses were for.
    Same goes for Server 2008. I bought a Server 2008 open license edition and promptly installed server 2003. I needed it for an accounting app, but I wasn't going to install 2008...I don't trust it. Besides, servers should NEVER require activation or validation! EVER! That's a deal-breaker IMO.
    (Don't worry, that server 2003 instance is only a VM running on a linux box.)
    So what have we learned? That just because their FUCKED UP licensing model REQUIRES you to buy the new license in order to use the older, more functional versions doesn't mean that the product is a success. That ambulatory heap of festering dogshit that calls itself "Steve Ballmer" really has nothing to crow about.
  • by RCSInfo ( 847666 ) on Saturday May 24, 2008 @11:15AM (#23527898)
    HP and Dell are both willing to sell you a business PC with a Vista Business edition COA label on the side thats preloaded with XP Pro. Since the Vista Business and Premium edition EULA allows this "downgrade", its a pretty good deal all around. Business customers can get XP out of the box, but have the option to re-image the PC with Vista down the road if they feel the need. I'd guess that Microsoft still chalks up the sale as a Vista machine, so they can continue to spin the PR story of Vista's success.
  • me.

    I made a conscious decision to purchase a copy of vista home when building my recent box from parts. For what its worth I use linux extensively at work and dual boot and I like linux. Vista was frustrating at first but actually its pretty much like XP but fractionally better in a few areas. What I dislike about it is that they didnt push the boat out enough with the ui candy, I would kill for multiple desktops and expose (features both Mac and Linux have). And would it freaking kill them to have an "
  • Seriously - Vista Media Center is very well done. Couple it with the excellent HDHomerun () and you will have a pretty awesome Hi-Def DVR setup. And as to the question posed, yes, I *purchased* a copy of Vista Home Premium for my son's machine. He likes it a lot. Incidentally, he was upgraded from Win2K, not XP, so there were quite a few new features for him to explore/try.
  • Counterfeit sales (Score:5, Interesting)

    by clarkn0va ( 807617 ) <apt...get@@@gmail...com> on Saturday May 24, 2008 @11:20AM (#23527960) Homepage
    My brother-in-law works for a small company (~60) and informs me that they recently bought some corporate vista licensing for the sole purpose of the continued right to install xp on new machines. So if by 'vista sales' they mean 'a sale of the right to continue to use xp on new installs' then yeah, I can account for a few of these 'vista sales'.

    Or at least that's how I understood the deal. Correct me if I'm wrong.

    db

  • I sell computers and parts to over 4000 schools, universities and gov't agencies... Other than bundled Vista, which they all want Ultimate or business so they can downgrade to XPP... Not 1 purchase of Vista other than an experimental copy in which the head of technology for a 330 school district used Vista for 2 days then erased it and put XPP back on... Microsoft is fooling themselves and trying to pull the wool over our eyes. Vista is a load of crap and MS thinks we are so stupid enough to fall for thei
  • Riiiight (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Drakin020 ( 980931 ) on Saturday May 24, 2008 @11:29AM (#23528050)
    Yes because guy's like me who purchases new computers for our company who are forced to buy Vista, don't just reinstall XP once we get it.

    Sure you sold a copy of Vista, that doesn't mean were using it.
  • Ten Percent (Score:3, Interesting)

    by braindead_in ( 933655 ) on Saturday May 24, 2008 @11:35AM (#23528110) Homepage
    I distribute a moderately popular software for windows (simple call recording tool for Skype called Call Graph). But from my stats, only 10 % of my users are on Vista. :)
  • by gadget junkie ( 618542 ) <gbponz@libero.it> on Saturday May 24, 2008 @11:37AM (#23528126) Journal
    I've been using computers in business for 20 years now, and I was what is commonly defined a "power user"

    Why am I using the past here? because, for the first time since I started 20 years back, I see absolutely no use changing to a new machine. I use Excel. I use Access.there are some other apps that work well on XP. my machine is 3 years old, in the prime of an optimized and no nonsense life. I do not play big computer games at work. THAT's the real problem with Vista. Users have to change/upgrade machine to use Vista. what for?

    I think that business users might go to Linux, but what they'd really want would be to stay as they are for years to come.
  • by dalmiroy2k ( 768278 ) on Saturday May 24, 2008 @11:39AM (#23528146)
    Keep in mind that a lot of people:

    1) Use pirate versions of Vista, mostly in Latinoamerica and Asia.
    2) Downgrade right away to XP or Ubuntu, usually wasting the license that came with the PC.

    So I wouldn't take sales as a factor here.
  • by stewbacca ( 1033764 ) on Saturday May 24, 2008 @11:43AM (#23528188)
    100% of new PCs eh? So Microsoft has started bundling Vista in OSX Bootcamp partitions?

    Back in, oh, 1983-ish, I realized that PC stood for personal computer. Maybe Balmer will start calling Windows-based PCs IBM compatibles...that'll really show us how on top of the industry he is.

  • by trifish ( 826353 ) on Saturday May 24, 2008 @11:47AM (#23528230)
    If you don't believe what Balmer says, maybe consult some trustworthy third-party statistics [hitslink.com] and see that... he's actually right.

  • by Xibby ( 232218 ) <zibby+slashdot@ringworld.org> on Saturday May 24, 2008 @04:23PM (#23530880) Homepage Journal
    Under our enterprise agreement with Microsoft we get downgrade rights for any OEM purchase of Windows Vista Business. Everything we purchased since Vista's release has come with a Vists Business license, but has the corporate Window XP image installed. I suspect other organizations with Enterprises/Select agreements have similar practices.
  • by loopkin ( 267769 ) on Saturday May 24, 2008 @04:41PM (#23531040) Homepage
    I work for a software editor. Several months ago, we had to port a part of our software to Vista. Since our software is web-based, the only part at stake was an ActiveX.
    It was the worst nightmare we ever had. After finguring out for several months what was going on, we came to the conclusion that it simply wasn't possible. To summarize (sorry for simplifying):
    - UAC is the worst design/implementation ever. Windows has several execution environments (unlike UNIX, which has... 2: user(s) and root), and UAC asks you for permission each time you cross a fence ! (in UNIX, sudo at leasts reminds the password for several minutes or so)
    - ActiveX are simply impossible to use under Vista+IE7. Problem is that Microsoft didn't care to offer a replacement technology.
    The consequence of all this is that our application was no longer available under Vista/IE. It worked well under Vista/Firefox, though.
    Finally, we hired an ex-microsoftie, who re-implemented the ActiveX part entirely, using MS _private_ APIs, and now it works - more ore less.
    Going through all this, i wonder if the NT platform can be secured at all. Since we also have a support department, i can tell you that users have fare more problems with Vista than XP.
    This is going to kill MS. Almost all techies i know, plus lots of "power users" are switching to Linux or OSX (even the ex-microsoftie we hired was using OSX as his primary OS). Only big companies are sticking to MS, because of the total lack of competence that reigns there.
  • MS goes on and on about how many licenses they've sold.

    But the question is: How many of these are actually in use?

    The thing is, MS knows this number - it's the number of copies pinging the Windows Update servers.

    Could journalists please start asking them this question? And keep asking until they answer.

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