Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

$100 Million Marketing Push For Vista

Posted by Zonk on from the everyone-gets-one-for-free? dept.

GecKo213 writes "Microsoft is touting a $100 million marketing campaign promoting Windows Vista and encouraging software developers to build new programs. With the longest gap ever between major releases of Windows operating systems -- the current version, Windows XP, was launched in late 2001 -- Microsoft is facing pressure from its partners and developers to deliver technology that will convince users to upgrade. If $100 Million dollars won't make you want to switch to Vista, what will?"

8 of 406 comments (clear)

  1. Couldn't they spend more than that? by Junky191 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Last I checked they had $40 billion in cash sitting around and are minting a billion in profit free and clear every month. That's just an insane amount of money.

  2. vista beta1 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    I've looked at beta1, and there's really nothing new here at all.

    A new theme.
    Windows explorer has been tweaked - say goodbye to the list view.
    IE7, tabbed browsing, ineffective popup blocking - and you can get it for XP anyway.
    The search feature is more integrated with the desktop. oooh. No why? cos they made everything harder to find!
    Recommended systems specs: 1.5GHz, 512MB ram. default install takes up 4.6GB. hmmmm OEMs are gunna love it

    1. Re:vista beta1 by ozmanjusri · · Score: 2, Informative

      Tell me what they AREN'T changing.

      A corporate philosophy that computer owners will not be allowed to control their own hardware and information.

      --
      "I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
  3. As soon as games require it. by Frogbert · · Score: 4, Informative

    As soon as games require it I'll be switching, I held off on Windows 95 until I got Diablo. I'm personally quite happy with XP and until I'm required to change so I can play my games I'll be sticking with it.

  4. Re:Microsoft = better by matria · · Score: 2, Informative

    You sound like my sister-in-law who didn't know how to take care of her new car, and after more than a year of heavy driving bitched about what a piece of junk it was; she's never changed the oil or did a tune-up or anything at all except put cheap gas in it, and then she wondered why it broke down. Even a toaster needs to get the crumbs cleaned out of it occasionally. I suppose you would just complain about it and buy a new one instead. I've lost count of the number of friends whose sewing machines I've "fixed" by oiling and cleaning the lint out of the feed dogs!

    Kind of dumb to blame a machine for your own ignorance.

  5. Re:Cost of OS by billsoxs · · Score: 2, Informative
    At a guess you've spent $800 on your operating system.

    Less than half of that. 10.2, 10.3 and 10.4 - each about $100

    --
    This message was brought to you by "Lack of Sleep."
  6. Some of your wishes are already granted! by linumax · · Score: 2, Informative
    Seems like some of your wishes will never be granted at all but anyways ... You want ext2 on Windows? check Ext2 IFS for Windows
    It provides Windows NT4.0/2000/XP with full access to Linux Ext2 volumes (read access and write access). This may be useful if you have installed both Windows and Linux as a dual boot environment on your computer.
    The "Ext2 Installable File System for Windows" software is freeware. It installs a pure kernel mode file system driver Ext2fs.sys, which actually extends the Windows NT/2000/XP operating system to include the Ext2 file system. Since it is executed on the same software layer at the Windows NT operating system core like all of the native file system drivers of Windows (for instance NTFS, FASTFAT, or CDFS for Joliet/ISO CD-ROMs), all applications can access directly to Ext2 volumes. Ext2 volumes get drive letters (for instance G:). Files, and directories of an Ext2 volume appear in file dialogs of all applications. There is no need to copy files from or to Ext2 volumes in order to work with them.
    For me, it just works fine!

    You do not like Windows Media Player? I beleive it's much better that crappy real player or damn Jetaudio or ... but anyway! This wish is again granted in Windows XP N Edition (Formerly known as Windows XP Reduced Media Edition) and don't say it does not work because I have checked it out and nothing was broke!
    Have you ever used XP? Device drivers are simply removable, you've also got other options like Rollback in case of a problem with new installation. In Vista the device driver model has changed a bit so that drivers are written in a way that theoretically they can NOT crash the whole system should they have some problem, MS says they will have limited access to the core of the OS.

    Depricate DirectX?!! OMG! So many of pre-Vista stuff won't work, so many software/game developers will have to make a big big switch and the most important of all, I will lose NASA Worldwind. This is not only impossible but also unfair ;)!

    Do not put Windows Messenger in the system tray by default,
    I definitely agree w/ this one :)
  7. Re:"...what will?" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    they're != their