Software Missing From Vista's "Official Apps"

PetManimal writes "Microsoft has just released a list of 800 applications it says are 'officially supported' on Windows Vista. What's special about this list, however, are the programs that are not included: 'Popular Windows software that is conspicuously missing from Microsoft's list includes Adobe Systems Inc.'s entire line of graphics and multimedia software, Symantec Corp.'s security products, as well as the Mozilla Foundation's open-source Firefox Web browser, Skype Ltd.'s free voice-over-IP software and the OpenOffice.org alternative to Microsoft Office.' Another area in which Vista has found to be lacking is gaming, as discussed earlier on Slashdot."

Comments

If it won't work with what you need...

[pudding7]

...then don't use it.

Re:If it won't work with what you need...

[biocute]

Exactly.

I have heard statements like "If only Mac has this and that software, I would switch in a second" or "If only Linux has more games, I would leave Windows forever".

So now that Windows doesn't have support for this and that software, it has given users a chance to revisit those statements above and make a decision.

RTFA

[eln]

From TFA:

There are many applications that are compatible and work well with Windows Vista but that are not listed in this article. This is because such applications have not yet gone through the Windows Vista logo program or are still going though this program.

Has the Mozilla Foundation or OO.org submitted an application to undergo the testing program? Probably not.

This list is just the programs that are allowed to put that official Microsoft logo on the box that says the program will work with Windows. It doesn't mean that programs whose developers haven't bothered to go through the testing program aren't going to work in Vista.

Re:RTFA

[Undertaker43017]

Exactly! This is simply a "branding" program by MS, pay them money, run their tests, pass their tests, and you can put their logo on your product.

Must be a slow news day...

This is a non-story?

[MyNameIsEarl]

Doesn't this just mean that if you can't get an Adobe product to work on Vista you need to go to Adobe as you would under any other OS? Why should MS need to help you make an Adobe product work on their OS, Adobe should be the ones making it work. I use Adobe as my example so the Open Source fans don't get in an uproar about MS keeping the competition down (not that they aren't, but I don't feel they are here).

Wait for SP1

[jmorris42]

Oh course Vista is a turd now, like every other Microsoft release. Which is why anyone with a lick of sense waits until the first service pack before deploying. Then it will only suck, but that is about as good as Microsoft knows how to make a product so those stuck on Windows have learned to live with that level of pain.

Of course ya just gotta feel sorry for the poor schmucks who buy a new namebrand PC between the release of Vista and SP1 since they don't get a choice. Which is just one more reason why only the uneducated masses buy a namebrand PC.

Vista **does** work fine

[EmbeddedJanitor]

Wel from MS's perspective anyway. The main purpose of Vista is to generate huge piles of income and revitalising interest to keep MS "fresh" in the eyes of the investors.

Who says it doesn't work???

[moronikos]

Hell, they all probably work. Firefox sure does. They just haven't been certified. The certification process takes a while and you have to pay for it. Microsoft sets the requirements and some 3rd party company administers it. After the 3rd party company has certified your product, then you can put the Vista (or XP) logo on your product. You also get listed on Microsoft's web site as having a certified product. Not being on the list means you either 1) haven't bothered to be certified, or 2) you failed certification. It doesn't mean the software doesn't run on that platform.

Re:Who says it doesn't work???

[jimicus]

Exactly. "Unsupported" is a magic word used by tech support departments so they can wash their hands of the problem.

Your OS keeps crashing? You're running an unsupported application. Go away and don't come back until you've fixed that.

Still crashing? You must be running unsupported hardware. What's the exact make and model number of every single component in your PC? You don't know? Go away and come back when you do.

Hardware vendors are just as bad:

Your hard disk appears to have failed? Sorry, you're running an unsupported operating system. Go away.

Your power supply has exploded? Sorry, we only support people who don't actually ring up requiring support.

Your power supply has caught fire, destroying your house and all your belongings? [click]

No conspiracy, move along...

[Mr. Underbridge]

Microsoft isn't certifying the most popular competitors to it's own software. Pardon me if I don't appear shocked. I was a bit suprised to see Google's desktop search made the list though.

I don't think that's it - I think it's just a rubber-stamp list of whoever signed up, paid their fee, and jumped through the hoops. If they were excluding competitors, I really don't think Google Toolbar would have made the list.

What does Microsoft really have?

[EmbeddedJanitor]

Parent is utterly correct. The people that buy MS products are not the customers, they are Microsoft assets.

What does Microsoft have? They have market share (ie. a customer base). They don't have particularly innovative or high quality software products/services and their revenues are largely independent of their offerings. They have you (*). They just have to keep finding ways to repackage you (*) to keep generating income. If MS didn't make Vista, they'd keep selling XP. However, it is very hard to keep dishing up left overs and still keep a straight face. Vista is a statement more than a product.

Re:Suprised?

[KDR_11k]

Certifying Firefox would be pointless anyway, a certificate would be good only for a specific build and one patch would mess that up again.