Windows Now

Agreed, some of the coverage has been awful. Comparing Vista to the Playstation 3 or Wii launches (which was in a Associated Press article on Yahoo News I believe) is bizarre. The supply is high, there isnt a rush because Vista isnt going anywhere; but yet people try and compare it.

>You couldn't fit half of the local Windows user base in the nearest sports arena

Indeed. Which means that even though there's a lot more retailers, there's also a LOT more users that those retailers need to service. Does your math take that into account?

As I recall, there were plenty o' lines for the Windows 95 release, which also had lots of retailers. I suspect that the lack of lines is due to the fact that a) many of the folks who REALLY want Vista already got their hands on it, and b) Vista isn't the compelling upgrade MS would like it to be (especially given the extra hardware requirements).

Don't get me wrong, it's nice, I like it. I've already ordered my copies. And it doesn't really matter anyway - all the new PCs will be going out with Vista, and MS will grow their Vista market share that way primarily.

Personally I wish more people were standing outside of the stores buying Vista.   But from what I heard so far, Vista out beat OSX sales in one day.  But that is not saying much since Windows owns 95% of the market.

Well, if you're going to go down that path, then let me ask this:

If you assume that that "overflowing sports arena of local Windows users" consisted of both business users as well as consumers, and that those business users got their installs from their IT department and don't need a retailer, that would cut the user Windows population that might have run to a retail store in half.  Then subtract the folks that downloaded the OS from Windows Marketplace or any of the distribution sites on the Internet.  And subtract the pre-orders on Amazon, Buy, NewEgg, and particularly every other online commerce site that isn't an Apple-authorized Mac OS reseller but is a Windows reseller.  Now take that number and divide by 30,000+.  Does your math that take into account?

I've heard this comparison before and regarding the launch, a Win95 analogy simply doesn't apply.  Stating that the number of software retailers back then is anywhere close to the number available these days is crazy.  Walmart sells Windows these day for god's sake.  It's a different decade with far different distribution & marketing dynamics.  The fact is, when Win95 launched, the only way to get it was as a retail box at your local Egghead Software.  OEM installations were far less common.  (Being that I was with a major OEM at the time, I should know.)

That's because PC users are smart, I ordered my copy of Vista Business OEM off of zipzoomfly.com.  My copy of Vista Ultimate is going to be installed with my Dell XPS M2010.

I made a similar comment in the Tennessean today (under 'mrcommonsense') and I actually dug out the 'osx release' article from CNET where they noted the following:

- apple limited osx rollout initially to 10 locations to create 'buzz'

- cd & dvd drivers were not working (advice; reboot into os9 to play DVDs) and firmware update wasn't expected until SUMMER (this was in March)

- 'memory issue' where something like 20% of the RAM in your computer disappeared once osx was installed.

The verdict?  These were classified as "minor hiccups".  Article below.  Enjoy.

http://news.com.com/Mac+OS+X+hits+some+marks,+misses+others/2100-1040_3-254965.html

The fact is, anybody who stands in line at midnight to buy an operating system (Whatever make or model) is out of their mind :).

I converted to OS X after 14 years of working with Windows and I'm 120% happy with my decision.   My everyday computing activities are now fast, safe and pleasant.  

Could you stop the Mac-Bashing please?

I enjoy using both operating systems and most of the articles on this site are pretty good, but all this "my operating system is better than yours" crap is a bit juvinile. If you prefer Vista, thats your perogative, but don't criticise other peoples choices.

Hey man, I'm just reacting to the reaction. I have nothing against Macs, and I never criticized a choice. I fully recognize that Macs are great hardware, and that OS X is a great piece of software.

What I can't stand is BS zealotry without thought or context. OS X has like 4% marketshare. If Apple converted a million people over to OS X, they'd have like 4.5% marketshare. So it's not like the dynamics of the situation are going to change anytime soon. I just wish that Mac users would just enjoy their OS and stop feeling like they have to be on defensive all the time.

Sorry about that Rob, blame it on me being in a bad mood before my early morning coffee. Didnt mean to take it out on you mate. After re-reading the article, I realise I must have been half asleep when I posted that :)