Speculation, speculation… I wonder who’s going to take the Vista plunge…or not.

 

Over the last few weeks, there’s been a lot of chatter over operating systems.  Who’s ready for this SP, or that, on this OS or the other… Who’s going to install them or wait it out for a while…that type of thing. I’ve heard a people grimacing over XP EOL and Vista, as well.  What is even more interesting is that some of my IT management team has been saying that they may blow by Vista entirely in favor of Windows 7.

Some people have been wondering if Vista isn’t the Windows ME of the new Millennium.  What this means is that many users just don’t see the value in deploying an operating system on their business or home networks that has so many issues and problems. I wonder the same thing. Sometimes, the latest greatest isn’t that great…

While most home users will likely just grin and bear the pain, most corporate and enterprise users won’t.  I know many IT teams that are just waiting out the Vista SP1 issues as well as the release of the next operating system, currently coined Windows 7.  Windows Vista isn’t completely out of the question just yet; but you still have to wonder if and how it gets implemented in many of the enterprises.

Most IT Managers I know don’t like all of this speculation. As a Software QA Director, I’m not crazy about it either. I don’t like situations I can’t plan for…and this has "lack of planning," written all over it. I also saw an article (and unfortunately, I’m blanking on where I saw it…It was either BetaNews or Computer World)where Bill is hinting that the Windows 7 beta may actually start a lot sooner than everyone thinks…like in the immediate future.

That being the case, I don’t know many IT Managers eager to jump on the Vista band wagon.  Though it’s not totally out of the picture yet, its EOL may be a lot sooner than everyone thinks (though MS is still sticking with their original release date of early 2010)

However, Vista’s got a long row to hoe.  It was nearly 7 years between XP’s and Vista’s release.  Too many people are used to XP; and Vista is just so radically different and the public’s expectations set so high that it’s going to have a hard time getting adopted. Microsoft’s tried to release patches and updates; and though SP1 has gone a long way to right some of Vista’s wrongs, not everyone has the update yet. It has yet to appear for my MacBook Pro, via Windows Update’s Auto Update feature.  I suspect that has EVERYTHING to do with Apple’s Boot Camp drivers, though I don’t have 100% confirmation on that…it could be something else holding up the download (though I doubt it).

So who is going to hold out for Windows 7 (or what ever MS decides to call it…)? Why don’t you join us in the discussion area and let us know what you think?