Mike Elgan at Computerworld published a post giving six reasons why you should not buy Windows Vista. Those reasons include:
1. Vista is incomplete and probably will not be truly ready until SP1.
2. Vista is expensive because most people will not want Vista Basic.
3. Vista wants a new PC because some of it’s new features require newer more powerful hardware.
4. Vista is time-consuming due to the chances that not all drivers for your hardware are available at this time.
5. Vista may be the best reason yet to buy a Mac. If you’ve got to learn a new OS anyway…
From what I understand of Windows Vista I agree with Elgan’s first three reasons.¬ I do however think that reason four could only be applied on a case-by-case basis. I’m sure many people will have no problem installing Vista and then others will find it a major challenge. It will depend on how new and “standard” their hardware is.
Reason five is taking much for granted. There are many unique deciding factors for purchasing either Windows or Mac OS X and I’m not sure that Vista swings the general decision in the Mac’s favor in any appreciable way.¬ I would say that this would be an opportunity for PC buyers to look at the Mac and make a responsible decision as to which best fits their needs.
As I was writing this it struck me that often journalist will recommend buying a Mac instead of Windows, or even Windows instead of a Mac,¬ but you seldom hear of someone suggesting Linux as a viable replacement.¬
The Linux community needs to ask themselves why.¬ Until Linux makes it into the mainstream conversation, they can’t hope to be a viable desktop client.
Technorati Tags: linux, OS X, tips, vista
“The Linux community needs to ask themselves why.”
I think the Linux community is already asking that a lot lately. I’m not sure it’s something any one party will be able to solve. It’s such a massively convoluted community that just getting consensus on what to do about it is almost impossible.
Some say it’s still too difficult to install but that is just one of many many reasons. Maybe it will just have to keep chipping away with better applications, better OS capabilities and educating the public about the ethical reasoning behind it.
We can’t rely on MS or Apple to shoot themselves in the foot (although that might just be what helps desktop Linux adoption the most). But don’t forget that there are many many linux users (not companies) that are quite happy chuggin’ along bucking the trends.
Is there a real impetus for me to want mainstream adoption? I think the free and open source model is the best one and will eventually gain market share simply on its merits. But my satisfaction with Linux doesn’t necessarily hinge on getting mainstream adoption.
PS – one other thing that shouldn’t be overlooked is the Google vs. Microsoft issue. If Google ever decides to enter the OS arena, they sure won’t be using Vista or OSX as their starting point.