The results are in: Windows XP is the most popular OS among dotTechies
February 13, 2010 37
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A couple of weeks ago I asked dotTechies “What operating system do you use the most?” Now the polls have been closed and the results are in – Windows XP is the clear winner with Windows 7 following in second place:
[poll id="12"]
To be honest, I was expecting Windows XP is the most popular, but was a little bit surprised to see how many dotTechies have adopted Windows 7 so early after its release. Usually people decide to wait before upgrading to Microsoft’s newest products (so Microsoft has had a chance to iron out the bugs) but apparently pre-release marketing of Windows 7 was done exceptionally well. (It also didn’t hurt that Windows 7 received praise from pretty much across the whole board.)
Another interesting thing I was found was a comment:
Ashraf: “Indeed at my most recent job, it was very shocking to see that most of the computers in the building(s) were running Microsoft Windows 2000, even though – at the time – the Windows series was up to Vista.”
Is it so hard for you to figure out why?
“VERY SHOCKNG”, INDEED!! Well I’ve got news for you, Ashraf. I use Windows 2000 Professional; AND I LOVE IT! Of all Microsoft Operating Systems, Windows 2000 is THE BEST – very robust, very stable, very reliable, etc. And dare I say, Windows 2000 is a very smooth, and unintrusive, operating system. I guess You Did’t Know All That!!
That’s Why, Ashraf, “…that most of the computers in the building(s) were running Microsoft Windows 2000, even though – at the time – the Windows series was up to Vista.”
The women and the men behind those Windows 2000, understand TLC – the pricelessness of DEVOTION, BEAUTY, LOVE, FIDELITY, RELIABILITY. The secret behind UPS success!!!
I rest my case.
-Chindu.
It wasn’t the first time I have heard someone praise Windows 2000 in such a manner, but when I first heard it, I just dismissed it as someone who is unable to let go of things. Now, however, it seems Windows 2000 still has a strong following. Interesting. (Windows 2000 was “before my time” so I can’t say much about it personally.)
(BTW Chindu: the reason my work still were running Windows 2000 were not because they “loved” it as you say. It was because they couldn’t afford to upgrade =P.)
Thank you everyone that participated, and see everyone in the next Ask dotTechies poll!
@Samuel:
There are 2 more aspects you’d raised. I am just zipping away for lunch. I’ll be right back & address those two issues as well
Ramesh :)
@Samuel:
Teething Problem – How long should it last?
Analogically & just to inject some humour, just so the discussion does not get heaty due to any error on my part…… :)
Even the most affectionate mother weans her child “before” adolescence rather than “after” adolescence. How long should teething be allowed – 1yr, 2yrs or 3yrs?
Analogically I would suggest that Win7 either weans itself off mother’s milk faster or at least lives longer. Otherwise its daddy would feel most upset. :) I mean its like he kept changing nappies & paying for all those little baby things & still his child never really grew up………….but died at a very young age! Since daddy & mummy are still at an appropriate biological age they try to have another child instead? They’ll still feel bad for the one they lost.
Therefore if the company defines 2 to 3 years as the time period for OS then within that 2 to 3 year period how long is teething allowed to last? Have they defined “teething time” or is only “total time defined”
Is there a mandate which defines a time period within which SP has to get released? Why cannot security patches & hotfixes fix the problem? Why wait for an entire Service Pack to do so.
What happens to those consumers who bought it before its SP1 appeared? Have they done any wrong if they buy it before SP1 arrived?
Ramesh :)
@Samuel:
This adoption rate thing about Win7
As of Feb 23 2010 1822 hrs Wikipedia shows Win7 mkt share as 7.70%. Win 7 has completed more than 12 mths. Let us still consider this to be only its 12th month. In its first 12 months Vista had achieved a far far higher adoption rate than 7.70%
Friend I differ from you on placing the blame at Vista’s poor PR, “entirely” or “at least for the most part”. Here’s why:-
Some analysts ascribe Vista’s failure to the huge mass of anti-trust cases the company suffered when Vista was being conceived (aka being coded)or just delivered (aka launched). The caseload was so voluminous apparently that it kept Vista coders either occupied or at least distracted.
Win7 did not face that legal caseload. Why then is Win7 adoption rate lower than Vista adoption rate? How fair on our part would it be to blame a citizen belonging to an earlier generation for sins committed by a citizen belonging to a later generation? Its a “the buck stops here thing”.
I do not know if user agents mimic the OS as well rather than only Email Clients, Browsers etc. If OS also gets mimicked then Win7 shares could be even lower than 7.7% i.e. its adoption rate could be even lower.
In hindsight the company could have delayed Vista launch but didn’t. In foresight I am suggesting Windows 8 does not get launched soon. Rather Windows7 should be allowed to “live” longer. I do hope the second time around history does not again repeat itself.
Therefore to me Win XP being loved “longer” or “more” is the symptom of a problem rather than being a cause of one.
Sometimes tilting too much towards shareholders can be hurtful to consumers although in other situations tilting too much towards consumers can be hurtful to shareholders.
Perhaps in this context a balance still needs to be found.
Ramesh :)
@Ramesh Kumar: Like you, I’ll break my reply up so it makes it easier to read, and to know to what points I’m replying to.
I happen to agree with out on integration for the most part, though I admit I think there are things that should not be “baked-in” to the OS.
Now, yes the consumer may be getting less “bang for his buck”, but that same consumer complains about the built in features or that it’s integrated in the first place. And even if the consume likes it Microsoft then has to deal with the DOJ or the EU. IE is a prime example of both!
I’ll get to you other points later, since like you I’m typing this on a break that’s just about to end.
@Samuel:
Hi Friend! :)
Looking forward to your replies on the other aspects too.
Ramesh :)
@Ramesh Kumar: I planed to last night but I has some problems getting to dotTech. Working on them as I type.
@Ramesh Kumar: BSOD & Other Bugs related To Win7
1)Because depending on what’s causing the problem one must take appropriate action to fix the problem.
2)Who know, but Microsoft is not the first and defiantly not the last company to have orders exceed production. And while the consume may not like it a smart consume looks into why and if they find it’s just that the company got more orders than expected they will wait. If that’s not it or they can’t then they more to something else. A bit mean perhaps but true.
3)Possible true but while I could use my contacts to find out I know that doing so may lose me them so for now I can’t say either way, but I do agree that what you say does make sense.
4)I’m not saying that he should feel better because of that and if that’s what it sounded like I’m sorry for not being clear. What I was trying to say about the BSOD is that it is very hard to fix them without having the computer in front of you to work
with.
I agree 110% that a solution must be found, though I wouldn’t say every ones love them. :D
@Ramesh Kumar: An SP for the most part doesn’t contain any security patches and/or hot fixes that can’t be downloaded on their own, it just packs them all together. An SP may also contain big feature upgrades, like adding Blue-Ray stuff to Vista (I don’t remember what exactly but I remember that SP2 for Vista added some Blue-Ray features). As to how they decide when to release an SP I can’t say. They only thing I can say is that it will be released on patch Tuesday :)
@Samuel:
Chief, it’s always such a pleasure to interact with you. Earlier I knew you were as bright as honest. Now I know that you are as bright as honest as mature – I refer your post 32 point no.3. :) I wonder what else I’ll learn in your subsequent posts :arrow: :D Psst……the arrow is thanks to Locutus. I got it by typing : followed by arrow followed by : :D
Btw I am sure there would be MIS to find this out rather than having to use one’s old boy network. There are tracker software which form a part of companywide ERP which can flash the count differential to expose the number of orders in the order book versus number of deliveries made. It would also throw up how slowly the order book is getting serviced.
Ramesh :)
@Samuel:
Yes I do know those aspects about SP. But one thing still shocks me! Yikes!
*So the guys at Microsoft only define that an OS should be for 2 to 3 years but do not define 2 things at all :( :( :-
1) How much of those 2 to 3 yrs are “permissible teething time”. That’s unfair. It’s a “hiding from mummy” kind of thing isn’t it? “mummy” here means user. I would suggest that teething should complete at beta stage & not go on to “release candidate” version. The RC version should be bug free. Accountability has to improve. If closed beta testers are paid then those closed beta testers should be paid not as a flat fixed amount before “release candidate version” gets released but as variable compensation. That is a partial fixed fee is paid before “RC” version gets released & a partial variable fee gets paid after release of RC. The latter being correlated with “bug freeness” after release of the release candidate.
Like everyone else in life closed beta testers also need to pull their own weight rather than depending upon others to pull them along. This is also because many closed beta testers do beta mainly to get the app at a discounted price. Given that there are no free lunches in the corporate world its time these guys also fell in line (that is if some of them haven’t)
2) Within those 2 to 3 years it does not tell users how soon they would get the SP isn’t it. It’s a “I won’t commit to mummy how quickly I’ll complete my school homework” thing isn’t it? For the record “mummy” in this case is user & not Microsoft.
Ramesh :)
To answer the question of “how long is the teething period” I got and listed the release dates and SP release dates of Windows 2000, XP, and Vista. I then calculated the difference in time between point for each OS. What I got was:
2000
17 February 2000
-15 August 2000; 180 days-5 months, 4 weeks, 1 day
-16 May 2001; 274 days-9 months, 1 day
-29 August 2002; 470 days-1 year, 3 months, 1 week, 6 days
-26 June 2003; 301 days-9 months, 4 weeks
XP
August 24, 2001
-September 9, 2002; 381 days-1 year, 2 weeks, 2 days
-August 6, 2004; 697 days-1 year, 10 months, 4 weeks
-April 21, 2008; 1354 days-3 years, 8 months, 2 weeks, 1 day
Vista
November 8, 2006;
-February 4, 2008; 453 days-1 year, 2 months, 3 weeks, 6 days
-April 28, 2009; 449 days-1 year, 2 months, 3 weeks, 3 days
Now from this we see, mostly clear, two trends. The first is that in general later SPs take longer than earlier ones, which could mean that there are fewer problems to fix or it could mean that there’s more problems so it takes longer to get out. The other is that the later the OS the longer it takes to get the first SP out. Hate to say it but the numbers don’t seem so good for Microsoft.
@Samuel:
My Dear Dear Friend – Rarely if ever, do I say what I am now about to say – *I must have done some good deed to get a friend like you*. :)
You & others like you, sadly very few in number :( , do a “power of good”. Where there is a “power of good”, there is always a lot of “good in that power”.
I had intuited this “OS trend”& was persistent about it. I even thought I was “pestilently persistent” rather than just “persistent” but the intention from my side was always “only” positive in terms of both vibes & sense. In any case not a single one of us is so superbly educated as to become clever enough to fool ourselves……….always.
Friend, if a Microsoft employee happens to read these last 2 posts I fondly hope they revise their remuneration strategy towards closed beta testers (if not alpha testers as well) in the exact same manner suggested by me. It would improve Microsoft mkt shares & profits all the more & also benefit their customers all the more……….worldwide. Its “Win-Win” even for “Win” aka Windows.
Chief in various industries worldwide this is precisely why companies have revised their personnel remuneration policy – both for permanent employees & also for contract employees. They have changed it from “Fixed Remuneration” to what is called as “Varcomp”.
I won’t be surprised if Microsoft employees are already on “Varcomp”. I do hope “Closed Beta Testers” are also shifted to it.
Microsoft finance team, Microsoft shareholders, Microsoft consumers & even the owner of Microsoft would benefit from this suggestion. I say this with utmost respect, self confidence & affection.
Ramesh :)