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"Just upgrade please!" says Microsoft

Unknown
edited February 2004 in Science & Tech
The recent move by Microsoft to extend support for an older version of Windows underscores a new reality for the software giant... Convincing customers to upgrade is becoming much more difficult.

[blockquote]While many customers applauded the move, some analysts said that the decision may be more than an act of goodwill. According to recent surveys, about one-quarter of all PCs run Windows 98 or older versions of Windows. "Better to have people stay on Windows 98 than to start investigating things like Linux," said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at Jupiter Research.
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[link=http://news.com.com/2100-1012_3-5151137.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=news]Read more[/link]

Comments

  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited February 2004
    The people still running on Win98, on the whole, are:

    A) Idiots who are easily baffled by the subtleties of the start bar.

    or

    B) Massive corporations wherein a platform-shift to Linux or a derivative would be a ridiculous amount of man hours, bewildered users from point A, and a large investment in money. Yes, Linux is free, I'm aware of that, but the TCO includes deployment time. $$$$.
  • CammanCamman NEW! England Icrontian
    edited February 2004
    I agree with thrax about people still running Win98 and about the learning curve in terms of what would happen if a totally Windows-based company decided to switch over everything to Linux, how many lost hours in productivity and training would be seen there.

    Also, must comment on the interesting if not offensive subject title.
  • edcentricedcentric near Milwaukee, Wisconsin Icrontian
    edited February 2004
    Most of the boxes here still run 98. Heck our accounting software runs in DOS. Why upgrade when the apps are 10 years old.
    ( it is killing me)
  • kanezfankanezfan sunny south florida Icrontian
    edited February 2004
    i also agree that the majority of win98 installs will probably be corporate. if it works, why replace it right? and i also agree that win98 is just fin for the average dell/gateway/emachines customer, why spend $300 on winxp when win98 handles your chatting in the perten chat room jusst fine on aol?
  • drasnordrasnor Starship Operator Hawthorne, CA Icrontian
    edited February 2004
    Not to mention the 9x kernel hasn't been affected any of the DCOM RPC worms and is mainly vulnerable now only through IE and Outlook.

    -drasnor :fold:
  • mmonninmmonnin Centreville, VA
    edited February 2004
    I worked in the tech office at school and there are still a lot of 95/98 machines. It would cost them a forture just to upgrade all the 95 machines to 98. They are replacing more than reinstalling.

    I know some software is designed for 98 and will not work on XP. Honda is having problems upgrading because some of then software they use wont work on XP.
  • edcentricedcentric near Milwaukee, Wisconsin Icrontian
    edited February 2004
    Changed the title, this is nicer, but it isn't what MS is saying.
    They are saying that we will cut you off in an effort to force you to upgrade. Since we know that you don't have a choice.
    Maybe they should do the math. I am sure that they set software prices based on projected sales. What would the sales be if everyone actually upgraded? Maybe then the price would be low enough to entice people. When todays route is $150 or more it is a tough nut.
  • QCHQCH Ancient Guru Chicago Area - USA Icrontian
    edited February 2004
    My facility went through a MAJOR upgrade from Win NT 4.0 and Wind 98/ME to Win 2000. This was a little over a year ago. Why? Our facility had to wait for major bugs to be fixed and tested before we could test the OS. Then the servers had to be upgraded, the budget had to be approved, and then an action plan had to be implemented. We still have some stragglers that we keep finding that are running the older systems. We WERE to have the conversion by the middle of last year.... NOPE. The deadline was extended to the end of Dec. NOPE.

    Most of the problems we found had to do with old systems not being able to run W2K and all the interruptions due to viruses and other Urgent matters. When all is said and done... almost 3 years to convert to W2K and XP. THREE YEARS...

    Here are the stats... 2000 nodes... less than 50 support personnel... And still perform our other support duties. That's a lot of time and money.
  • GobblesGobbles Ventura California
    edited February 2004
    People still running 98 are people who use their pc only for email, surfing, and some basic office tasks. For those people what they are doing works just fine.

    Because your needs are different does not make them an idiot.

    Not only do you have the costs of installation of linux.. but now you are talking retraining all users to use not only a new OS but a new suite of office products and tools. Its just not cost effective.. The same applies for upgrading from 98 to 2000 or xp, there is enough of a difference in the software that some retraining has to occur.

    Gobbles
  • maxanonmaxanon Montreal
    edited February 2004
    I say that tech geeks get blinded by the fact the newest is the best. If it works, there's no point in changing it, especially if all your needs are currently met. Do you go home depot and look at the new tech in hammers and say to yourself that anyone using last generation Stanley is a buffoon? Well, I probably do, but I'm that kinda nut.

    I think the switch to Linux for a corporation would be less troublesome than the home user. Most interfaces can be customised to resemble the Windows environment. Thanks to the market domination of MS, most applications look the same and most of the basic functions (that most people use) are generally in the same place. Most users don't care about the background stuff (and corporations prefer that). Getting proper IT admins is a different story.

    The greatest barrier for the upgrades is software compatibility. Imagine having to change the whole sound system in your car because you bought a new head unit. Sure, each software creator salivates at the thought of a new OS tech change (DOS to 3x/NT to 98/NT4 to XP/2K) since they know a certain subset is going to replace all the furniture with the new carpets. But that would make me hesitate.
  • Straight_ManStraight_Man Geeky, in my own way Naples, FL Icrontian
    edited February 2004
    Thrax wrote:
    The people still running on Win98, on the whole, are:

    A) Idiots who are easily baffled by the subtleties of the start bar.

    or

    B) Massive corporations wherein a platform-shift to Linux or a derivative would be a ridiculous amount of man hours, bewildered users from point A, and a large investment in money. Yes, Linux is free, I'm aware of that, but the TCO includes deployment time. $$$$.

    Correct, but Linux servers can serve Windows boxes. Lots of major corps are staging conversions, servers first.

    john d.
  • drasnordrasnor Starship Operator Hawthorne, CA Icrontian
    edited February 2004
    I think it also comes down to the fact that everyone that upgrades their OS now has an OS license they aren't using. I know I've got two licenses for WinME, one license for Win98, one for Win95, and one for WfW3.11 that I'm not using at the moment.

    That's with certificates of authenticity. I guess the DOS 3 disks count too, since IIRC possession of the installation media counted as owning the license back then.

    -drasnor :fold:
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited February 2004
    Some of you seem to think that the home market has anything at all to do with Microsoft's decision.

    No, the three million licenses of Windows 98 that General Motors still own are the biggest factor in decisions like this. When entire NATIONS worth of governments own licenses to an OS, they have a bargaining chip to play against teh MS.

    Remember too that OS upgrades of this magnitude require hardware upgrades - the 32 and 64mb of ram that Win98 require are not gonna cut it for 2000/XP. Imagine having to requisition new computers for an entire company with 12,000 users and making sure the software works flawlessly with no downtime come monday morning.

    The home users mean nothing in this regard.
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