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Windows XP Still Outselling Windows Vista
nandemoari writes with an excerpt from an InfoPackets article that says "While Microsoft excitedly tries to sway public opinion by touting that Windows Vista License sales top 180 Million units, Hewlett-Packard (HP) was busy smacking Microsoft down — reportedly shipping PCs with a Vista Business license but with Windows XP pre-loaded in the majority of business computers sold since the June 30 Windows XP execution date established by Microsoft — casting a lot of doubt over how many copies of Vista have actually been sold."
OK, I'm a zealot, but if you mostly use a computer to browse the web and get email and write an occasional document buy a Linux computer.
They just raised it... Two weeks ago when I ordered 6 new computers for two different clients it was only a $50 upgrade to get it with XP pre-installed.
Oh well, you can always exercise your downgrade rights under the EULA and use a privious Dell OEM XP Cd if you have one laying around from previous systems, and still be legal without paying the Down/Upgrade tax.
I'm not sure that avoidance of Vista translates into good news for Linux. If you have a volume licence to install XP on your whole site, then regardless of what hardware you purchase in the interim, the deadline for switching is 2014 when Extended Support stops. They can sit on XP for that long, I'm sure, by which point the "Vista alternative" being explored will be Windows 7. If you're buying an OS licence tomorow, then getting something other than Vista is a priority, but I wonder how much of MS' business revenue that accounts for.
No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
Nope, Any Dell OEM XP Cd shipped since 2000 will work on ANY Dell computer built after 2000. It looks at the BIOS codes... I routinely rebuild client computers and just use the first Dell OEM cd I grab that matches what version it has installed...
Used a Dell OEM XP Sp1 cd from like 2003 on a brand new Dell Laptop the other day after the person decided to open the box himself and go online before we installed antivirus or malware protection software...
Toshiba and HP do lock the OEM software to certain versions. And IBM and Dell lock the Server software to particular models, but not the XP home and Proversions.
You cant use an Dell cd on an HP box without having to call Microsoft and explaining and manually activating the machine.
From the latest Valve survey (Windows only):
Windows XP ------------- 80.77 %
Windows Vista --------- 15.08 %
Windows Vista 64 bit - 2.68 %
Windows 2003 64 bit - 0.70 %
Windows 2000 ---------- 0.61 %
Other -------------------- 0.15 %
So even in Windows Gamer Country, Vista has reached only 15% market share...
C - the footgun of programming languages
> this is true. they may just hit 3% market share in the uk before
> the end of the decade. woohoo!
I dunno, things are looking up lately. I know Amazon isn't exactly the first place people go to buy a computer but they publish a ranking chart in realtime. I looked at it yesterday and noticed some interesting figures on the laptop chart. These numbers are for the top 25 sellers:
Linux 9
WinXP 6
Vista 5
OS X 5
Even when you combine the Windows numbers you still have a very respectable 11/9/5 spread. And if you buy the Apple hype that OS X is a UNIX the Windows vs *NIX battle is 14 to 11.
The mininote has opened up a whole new front in the OS Wars. Of course if you ranked em by dollar volume Linux would be dead last since all of the Linux based machines are much less expensive than the fancy Sony and Apple kit.
Democrat delenda est
LOL. Nasty updates? I run Debian and it's easier to update Debian than it is any Windows machine I've ever run, as well as having more options to do so. I can update via a gui with auto-notification when updates are available, or I can run the very difficult to understand two commands: "apt-get update" followed by "apt-get upgrade" and all security patches are downloaded and installed, without rebooting.
If I want to switch to the next version of Debian it's simply "apt-get update" followed by "apt-get dist-upgrade". The same functionality is available through the gui too.
Now just tell my how "nasty" it is to upgrade a Linux system. I've upgraded a desktop of mine from starting with Woody, to Sarge, to Etch, to Sid and never had to do a reformat.
Now just go ahead and tell me one more time about how Windows has it all over Linux in doing updates and user-friendliness. You couldn't update directly from 98 to 2000 to XP to Vista if your life depended on it, let alone have it run smoothly and without any problems after the updates.
The depth of ignorance in this place about Linux simply amazes me at times. Geeks shouldn't ought to be that ignorant about technological issues.
The Windows machine that I keep around for those kinds of purposes has a retail box copy of Windows 2000 on it.
I don't need to read my Windows License. I know my rights.