14 DAY TRIAL // There are two myths associated with the low market performance of Windows Vista in its first month of commercial availability. The muted reception that Windows Vista got at the retail outlets is related to the fact that the latest operating system from Microsoft "does not offer much more than Windows XP" and that the Windows Genuine Advantage is crippling user experience.
Well, first off, to claim that Windows Vista does not offer much more compared to Windows XP is a sign of sheer ignorance. And you have to read "ignorance" in this context as an euphemism. If you are still ignorant as to the features that Windows Vista brings to the table, then you can access a detailed comparison between Vista Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise and Ultimate I have put together at the end of January. And when I say detailed, that is exactly what I mean. And if you know your Windows XP well, then the rest should come naturally.
As for the Windows genuine Advantage... I actually have WGA Notifications installed on my machine. Yes, I downloaded it and installed it voluntarily from Microsoft. And yes, I do have a genuine Windows operating system. That being said, WGA is not a nuisance in the least. It did not make my life a living hell and it did not affect my Windows experience or workflow.
The fact of the matter is that Windows Vista's sales are suffering because Vista has been launched on a market saturated by Windows XP. And it needs to erode XP's dominance on the operating system's market in order to increase its own market share. Just look at the statistics... Windows XP has begun losing its grip on the market concomitantly with the release of Vista. Another downside of Windows Vista is the fact that the operating system implies some adjacent hardware costs, as it requires additional resources. And last but not least, Microsoft has to fight the customer perception that Windows XP is good enough. XP is five years old. While not being completely expired, XP and even SP2, you must keep in mind that they were developed in a totally different world than the one in which we live today. In conclusion... don't blame it on the moonlight, don't blame it on the sunshine...