Vista will still be the best selling Windows ever...

Story: IDC thinks Microsoft will drive people to LinuxTotal Replies: 2
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number6x

Dec 13, 2006
6:37 AM EDT
Vista will still be the best selling Windows ever because of the way sales will be counted.

All of the OEM's will sign deals that will give them the lowest cost per unit on installed Windows licenses. Windows will offer an OEM a lower price per unit if they sign the 100 Million license deal than if they sign the 10 Million license deal.

Microsoft will say they sold 100 Million units, even if the OEM ships fewer than 1000.

Every boxed unit sold to retailers is a sale to Microsoft, even if the box ' o' Vista collects dust on shelves in the retail outlet.

After Vista finishes it rollout, it will be the only OS available on the vast majority of pre-built machines.

And of course every computer sold with Vista, taken home, and loaded with Linux will count as a Vista sale, not a Linux sale.

So even if no one uses Vista, it will probably be the best selling version of Windows ever.
jimf

Dec 13, 2006
2:17 PM EDT
Which will keep the value of the stock up for the near term. But, the more Vista reaches the market, the more people are going to realize (between the EULA, controlling restrictions, DRM, and crappy service) there must be a better way. Look for some increasingly big time transitions to Linux and to Apple. Long term, this has to be a disaster for MS, and no clear way out for them. MS confused... oh yeah!
Libervis

Dec 13, 2006
5:20 PM EDT
Yes, even if they manage to make it appear as if they are winning that will be only short term as all deception is usually short lived.

There's nothing stopping GNU/Linux from growing to domination now. If major vendors refuse to listen and sell GNU/Linux PCs, smaller vendors who do pre-install GNU/Linux will start growing significantly.

All we really need is to continue boosting the mind share and awareness of GNU/Linux as a better way and people, the market, the community, will bring on the demand.

Who doesn't fill those demands ought to start falling off.

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