Why hasn’t Vista sold well? | via Marco.org
Our industry has collectively taught average people over the last few decades that computers should be feared and are always a single misstep from breaking. We’ve trained them to expect the working state to be fragile and temporary, and experience from previous upgrades has convinced them that they shouldn’t mess with anything if it works. They’ve learned to ignore our pressures to always get the latest versions of everything because our upgrades frequently break their software and workflow. They expect unreliable functionality, shoddy software workmanship, unnecessary complexity, broken promises from software marketers, and degrading hostility from their office’s IT staff.
I’m disappointed/saddened by the last line in that quote. Disappointed that he said it and saddened that it’s probably true. But, in defense of the IT staff, it’s been my experience that the vast majority of users having problems with their home PCs also tend to vent their frustration on and blame whatever trouble they’re having on the IT staff or software supported by them, even though the problems they’re having are most often the result of their own inexperience/ineptitude. (Yes, I know that “ineptitude” is a strong, judgmental adjective to use in reference to users. Nevertheless, it’s too often true.)
Further, OS upgrades are not trivial for most users and Vista was not a slam dunk “must upgrade” from Windows XP. Having used it, I still don’t like it and don’t think that, especially for the home and small business user, it makes computing easier, especially if you’re making the transition from XP to Vista.