Dell offers Windows XP again but wants you to buy Vista

by Brad Linder Apr 20th 2007

Dell is paying attention to the feedback gathered from its IdeaStorm site, and it's making some changes. No, they're not offering a system with Linux preloaded just yet. But they are bringing back the option of ordering a new PC with Windows XP.

While Microsoft plans to kill off Windows XP by the end of the year, many users are still a bit nervous about running th newer Vista operating system.

There may be compatibility issues with software they need to run, or they might just not feel like learning a whole new operating system when they're perfectly happy with the one they've been using for the last five years. And most people remember that Windows XP got a lot better with Service Pack 2, so they might be holding out for Vista updates.

Anyway, Dell is offering new computer buyers the choice to buy a system preloaded with Vista or XP. But as you can tell from the chart above, they try to stack things in favor of Vista by pointing out all the things it can do that XP can't. Noticeably absent from the list? Boot up quickly.

[via CyberNotes]

Tags: dell, vista, xp

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Todd said 12:59PM on 4-20-2007

So few people want Vista, that a gigantic OEM ( first of many? ) is bringing back the previous generation operating system? Yet the operating system maker is going to kill of that very OS?

I think we are reaching "The Singularity"...

...where Microsoft's hostility and contempt towards its paying customers causes its own self-extinction.

Jean said 1:11PM on 4-20-2007

I think item 2 incompasses boot up quickly:

"Excellent speeds for Startup, Shutdown and Resume times."

Besides which I've found the boot up speeds faster than XP on my machine. But I can imagine it being slower on an older computer.

Brad Linder said 1:12PM on 4-20-2007

Whoops, you're absolutely right. That would cover booting up. I've found that Vista definitely boots slower on my system than XP. That said, the sleep function does work pretty well, so I rarely shut my machine down entirely.

Myron said 2:24PM on 4-20-2007

I'm amazed at how many programs don't work with Vista. I don't understand why this is, but its a show stopper for many businesses. Two examples:

Sonicwall VPN client

Trend Micro officescan client (enterprise anti virus)

Gyp Joe said 2:42PM on 4-20-2007

Its not their fault nobody fixed their crapplications/drivers on time and its not their fault that they are trying to make $.

XP is six-year old tech - get over it...

James said 3:49PM on 4-20-2007

"Its not their fault nobody fixed their crapplications/drivers on time and its not their fault that they are trying to make $.

XP is six-year old tech - get over it..."

It's not Microsoft's fault, per se, that some applications don't work on Vista -- that is, I think it would be unreasonable to hold them to 100% backward compatibility -- but it *is* Dell's fault for pulling the option of keeping XP even though they must surely be aware that some popular applications haven't been updated.

Try to put yourself in the shoes of a developer. You spend a lot of time and money making an application. You sell it somebody. Now, that same somebody comes back a month or a year later and wants you to spend more of your time and money updating it so that it will work with their new operating system -- and they probably expect you to do it for free. Why should you? You advertised that it would work in XP; you never said anything about Vista. It's basically an act of charity (or marketing/garnering goodwill) to update your product for free.

As for XP being "six-year-old tech"... what's so new about Vista? Oooh, sparkly! Wow, it uses a 3D card to accelerate rendering... that's, um, useful? Seriously, what does Vista do that XP doesn't, other than suck up extra RAM to prettify your environment?

spencer.r said 3:56PM on 4-20-2007

I think microsoft and the OEMs are realizing they came on a bit strong with the vista launch. basically, with all the developers being lazy (and YES it is third party developer's faults in most cases. In fact, if the developers weren't lazy in the first place their applications would still work on Vista and all we'd be waiting for is driver support) I don't think Vista is likely to meet a large portion of people's needs this early on.

Should people make the switch anyways and get used to the next generation of Windows? Yup. But should Microsoft or Dell be forcing it when it'll happen over time anyways? That's just bad practice.

This winter buying season's going to see the release of SP1, as well as ANOTHER year (video card delvopers have had a year and a half before the release with the new video stack...so maybe with 50% more time...) of updates and drivers and new versions of applications...

No, this won't be the corparte market, the one needed for vista to be a success, but the home market embracing it this winter will be the bit indicator of how quickly vista will take over.

And BTW: Ideastorm is one of the single worst and most abused sites on the internet. The fact that Dell is actually taking advice for from this gathering of rabid fanboys and evangelicals is disturbing. The vast majority of people requesting XP again are more than likely Linux people DESPERATE for Vista to fail.

spencer.r said 4:00PM on 4-20-2007

"Try to put yourself in the shoes of a developer. You spend a lot of time and money making an application. You sell it somebody."

Actually in almost ALL of the cases...programmers invest as little time and energy into a application as possible...which leads to bad compatibility when Vista asks for applications to use it's apis and libraries the way they were supposed to be used.

Todd said 4:10PM on 4-20-2007

"...The vast majority of people requesting XP again are more than likely Linux people DESPERATE for Vista to fail."

Vista HAS failed:

"...So while Microsoft spent millions to promote Vista in China, the company apparently sold just 244 copies of the operating system during the first two weeks it was legally available in China."

http://tinyurl.com/26bz25

spencer.r said 4:19PM on 4-20-2007

So you give ONE report of a country that is well known for it's rampant piracy having problems selling legitimate copies of Vista...ignoring the fact that the article is compleatly off topic to try to misrepresent the facts of the matter.

And actually comments on the next line that the PIRATED version of Vista is in HIGH demand on china's black market.

Vista has outsold XP in it's opening months world wide as a whole in the past few months. It hasn't failed. It isn't ME. It isn't Bob. It's a new operating system that comes with it's own collection of headaches. XP was almost the exact same way(bad drivers, incompatible programs, and frustrating restrictions), and the fact that most people don't remember that shows how short the memory span of the internet is.

debbie johnson said 8:49PM on 7-09-2007

i like the new vista but they need to do something soon about the downloads you cant get voice on messenger yet is it true there gonna do away wirh windows xp totally?

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