Will Vista SP1 change anything?

Oct 1, 2007 11:26 GMT  ·  By

Windows XP hit the shelves at the end of 2001. Windows Vista was made available to businesses in late 2006, and to the general consumers in early 2007. And yet, at the end of September 2007, eight months alter the release of Windows Vista and almost six years after that of XP, end users continue to prefer an operating system launched in 2001, rather than the freshest Windows version. There are a number of factors contributing to the continued success of Windows XP, an operating system that should have been expired by the delivery of Windows Vista. But does XP's success spell Vista's failure?

In all fairness, Windows Vista is not up against Windows XP. Had it been Vista vs. the original, 2001 breed of XP, there would have been no contest whatsoever. Vista however has to dislodge Windows XP SP2 from the market. This is quite a challenge, but Vista has already begun to erode XP's share, although it is doing so at a timid pace. According to statistics from Market Share by Net Applications, Vista has grown to over 7% of the operating system market since January 2007, while XP, in the same period dropped from a share of 85.02% to just 79.32%.

The main problem with Vista is of course the fact that the Wow overpromised and underdelivered. But this started all the way back in 2003, when Microsoft outlined its plans for the operating system designed to replace Windows XP. Vista is indeed an evolution when compared to XP, but is in no way tailorfitted to the original vision of XP's successor. During the development of Vista, the Redmond company managed to dump some of the best aspects of the operating system, and as such, the result is far from what it could have been.

XP has had an unnatural amount of time to dig in its roots. Until 2007, XP grew to an apex of over 85% of the operating system market, and with this ubiquity came software and hardware support, dedicated products, and a mature and healthy environment built around the platform. Vista in contrast had to struggle with software and hardware compatibility issues, missing or faulty drivers, incompatible devices, and lack of general support. The overall ecosystem orbiting around Vista is a poor equivalent to that of XP.

And when it comes to support, Microsoft is pouring a consistent amount of efforts into XP. The Redmond company has expanded support for Windows XP Home and Media Center editions in January 2007, before Vista dropped on the market, throughout 2014. Additionally, at the end of September, Microsoft also extended direct OEM retail license availability, taking the expiration date from the end of January 2008, all the way to June 30. And on top of this, the company will release Windows XP SP3 in the second half of the coming year.

Such moves are a gambit for Microsoft, and Windows Vista ends up paying. But at the same time Microsoft cannot afford to kill XP just to breathe life into Vista; after all, a Windows sale is a Windows sale, and as far, both Mac OS X and Linux have failed to take advantage of Vista's weak market position.

The limp Vista Wow can also be connected with luxuriant offerings of SKUs, a move that of course generated market confusion. The inherent complexity synonymous with Vista, as well as the mixed reviews to which it debuted on the market, and the very pretentious hardware requirements, contributed initially to slowing down the operating system's momentum. On the long run however, Vista was most affected by the negative comparable with XP in terms of support, compatibility, reliability and performance. And the fact of the matter is that there are areas where XP is running a marathon while Vista is limping along. These rough edges will of course be smoothened with Vista SP1 in the first quarter of 2008. But until then, customers are still opting for XP over Vista.

"Although our research with customers before and since launch has reaffirmed our belief that the previous plan to offer Windows XP through Jan 2008 would address the needs of most customers, we did get clear feedback that there was a set of customers who needed a bit more time. Feedback from our OEM partners and from customers is that the June 30, 2008 date will address those needs. Of course, our plan was and continues to be that our system builder partners will be able to offer Windows XP until Jan. 30, 2009," stated Mike Nash, corporate vice president, Windows Product Management.

What do you think, does XP's success spell Vista's failure? Will Vista SP1 change anything?