Windows XP – The OS that Just Won’t Die

Late next month, Windows Vista will turn two-years-old, at least on the consumer side, and what an interesting two years it’s been. The launch was rough, but things started to smooth out over time, and for the most part, Vista is more stable than ever, and a lot easier on the nerves to use. But, there still isn’t enough reason to make the shift for some people, so Windows XP continues to flourish.

As mentioned in the previous news post, Vista is gaining market-share, but XP is still the choice of many, gamers or not. Most of my family prefers XP, and even though I tell them that Vista has improved quite a bit since launch, they still don’t show interest in making the shift. That’s the case for a lot of people, but thanks to a recent change by Dell (and presumably, backed by Microsoft), the choice of XP is going to be made a lot more difficult.

Dell has offered XP “downgrades” on select machines for a while, with a small fee, but “small fee” it is no longer. Rather, it’s been bumped up to a staggering $150 (OEM Vista’s cost less than this), which is truly ridiculous. You have to realize that the $150 would be on top of what the Vista license would have cost, so you’re essentially paying almost twice for an older OS.

Analyst Rob Enderle said it perfectly, “that the desire is there at all should be disconcerting for Microsoft“. It’s true. If there are that many people still interested in XP, then there’s an obvious problem with Vista (or marketing). They can’t just sit around and wait for Windows 7 code to finalize, and punishing users who don’t like or understand Vista isn’t the way to go. Something tells me that this fee won’t last for too long, but stranger things have happened.

Enderle said the XP downgrade charge and the resulting pressure to move to Vista will put a magnifying glass on Microsoft in the coming year. “Instead of charging a penalty for XP, Microsoft should provide incentives for Vista,” he says. “They are too focused on margins for one product and are forgetting the damage they are doing to their brand.”