Geeks got the powah!

    Many years ago I installed my mother’s first computer. Back then, computers were still running the Windows 95 operating system. Since then, my mother has owned several computers. Her most recent computer is a nice middle class, running Windows XP. With all those years of computing experience my mother is now quite capable of finding the Start button. And then she’ll call me for help.

    Of course, over the years she has had her share of computer problems. Who hasn’t? Some experiences were a bit daunting as she inadvertently wiped a disk, uninstalled whole software packages and downloaded lovely new screensavers with a complimentary virus, repeatedly. Fortunately for my mother she has a son who is a true geek and quite computer savvy.

    Recently she mentioned that it might be time for a new computer. These days all new computers come equipped with Windows Vista. It is unavoidable. And for a person such as my mother, what would be better then Windows Vista? It features better security then any other Windows operating system has ever had, and it is almost impossible to do something drastically stupid because you are asked a dozen times if that is really what you want to do. I think it would be enough to scare off my mother for sure!

    Indeed, Microsoft designed Windows Vista with users like my mother in mind. This new operating system protects you from bad things on the internet, shields you from things you don’t need to know about, and guides you along on anything that requires more then a single mouse click. It truly is a brave new world.

    So, do you think my mother will get a new computer with Windows Vista?
    Not if I have anything to say about it. And I do.

    My mother still has a son who is a true geek and quite computer savvy. And I don’t particularly care for Windows Vista, because Windows Vista is Microsoft newest piece of bloatware that is constantly harassing the user with pointless popup questions already answered a thousand times before. It repeatedly makes (wrong!) assumptions about what the user wants and how the user wants it. It even comes preinstalled with Microsoft spyware which will collect data on the use of Vista and send it over the internet to Microsoft every night. It can be disabled, but my mother would never find that option. And sure, the new Aero interface may look nice, but it doesn’t actually add to the usability of Vista. And it only runs well if you have the hardware to match.

    Because of all these issues, after a full year of being on the market, Windows Vista sales are nowhere near Microsoft's predicted outlook.  Microsoft claimed it would sell 400 million copies of Vista in the first 24 months (compare this to the 210 million copies of Windows XP sold in its first 36 months). The truth is harsher. Recent data from NDP indicates that Microsoft is shipping fewer copies of Vista in its first year then it did for XP in its first year, even though there are twice as many computers in the world now than when XP was released. And Gartner is reporting that many companies are postponing the introduction of Windows Vista to as late as 2009.

    A recent report by Pfeiffer Consulting focused on some of the user interface issues in Windows Vista. And their conclusion (page 7): “While the graphics of the new user interface are more sophisticated, Vista does not correct the User Interface Friction issues that plagued Windows XP. Windows Vista and particularly the new Aero user interface design, fared less well then in Windows XP.”

    So, what went wrong? The Windows Vista Aero interface is obviously ripped off from inspired by the Apple MacOS Aqua interface. Somebody at Microsoft decided to listen to the marketing department. Is that ever a good idea?

    As a result, Microsoft aimed Vista at the common user that makes up 99% of all Windows users. They made Vista look neat and slick and easy. Unfortunately, that last 1% of users is comprised of us: the geeks, the power users and the IT professionals. And we are the people who help and advise the other 99%. We are the people who do the installations for our mothers, do the software reviews, write the articles in the magazines, and decide on implementing Vista in the corporate environment. And this 1% does not like Vista.

    Next month Vista Service Pack 1 will be released. I believe I will sit back and wait and see what chaos that will bring. And if it's not too bad, then perhaps I may consider advising people to switch to Vista.  Eventually.  In another year or two. And my mother will just have to plod along with Windows XP until then.
 
Ps. Hi mom! Love you!