Vista - Poor OS means poor sales, says Acer boss

http://www.techworld.com/news/index....nterfriendly=1


Acer: PC industry 'disappointed' with Vista
Poor OS means poor sales, says Acer boss
Matthew Broersma, Techworld
23 July 2007
Acer president Gianfranco Lanci became the first major PC manufacturer to
openly attack Microsoft over the Windows Vista operating system in the
Financial Times Deutschland on Monday.

Lanci said the operating system was riddled with problems and gave users and
businesses no reason to buy a new PC, according to the report. Taiwan-based
Acer is the world's fourth-largest PC manufacturer, after HP, Dell and
Lenovo.

"The whole industry is disappointed with Windows Vista," Lanci said.

Despite the long wait between Windows XP and Vista, the latest operating
system still lacks maturity, he said. "Stability is certainly a problem," he
said.

Users are voting with their feet, Lanci said, so that the Vista launch has
had the smallest impact on PC sales of any version of Windows in the history
of PC manufacturing. He added the situation didn't look likely to change in
the next six months.

Many business customers have specifically asked for Windows XP to be
installed on their new machines, Lanci noted.

While industry pundits have detailed user problems with Vista over the past
few months, including sluggishness, the expense of acquiring hardware
powerful enough to run the OS and lack of support for many critical
applications, PC makers have so far looked on the brighter side.

HP, Dell, Lenovo and Toshiba have continued offering XP-equipped machines,
but these are generally aimed at consumers or small businesses, not large
corporate clients.

Microsoft itself says Vista has been a smashing successs, saying it had
already sold 20 million Vista licences by March.

Last week the company said its quarterly income was $13.4 billion ($6.5
billion), up 13 percent from the same quarter last year, growth it said was
partly due to strong Vista sales.

The company has said most Vista users are satisfied and that nearly all
software and hardware is compatible.

On the other hand, the company recently told analysts it expects Windows XP
to make up a significantly larger part of sales than it had previously
expected, at Vista's expense.

Chief financial officer Chris Liddell has told analysts that he expects XP
to make up 22 percent of sales in Microsoft's new fiscal year, up from the
previous estimate of 15 percent. Vista would make up the remaining 78
percent of Windows sales. Windows XP sales will, in other words, be nearly
50 percent higher in the next 12 months than Microsoft had estimated
earlier.

Michael Cherry, analyst with Directions at Microsoft, said part of the
problem is that users prefer lower-cost machines that might not work well
with Vista.

"Most of the machines I see pitched in catalogues are in the $700 range,
certainly under $1,000," said Cherry. "Computers with that amount of
hardware are a better fit for XP. With Vista's requirements, people may be
thinking about sticking with XP, and putting less money into the hardware."

It's possible, Cherry added, that Microsoft might find itself forced to
recognise more reality in the future. "At some point, they might have to
consider limiting the availability of XP," to push people to Vista.

The software developer has made at least one move in that direction already.
In mid-April, it announced it would terminate sales of Windows XP to
resellers and retail after January 2008. User reactions were almost
unanimously negative.

Gregg Keizer of Computerworld contributed to this report.

"carl feredeck" <carlferedeck@wizzmail.com> wrote in message
news:46a7c7de@newsgate.x-privat.org...
> http://www.techworld.com/news/index....nterfriendly=1


"The whole industry is disappointed with Windows Vista"


The fundamentalists don't seem to be able to see this.

ss.

Here we go again kids, another Kevin Panzke - Brain dead as usual, Just
FYI.


"carl feredeck" <carlferedeck@wizzmail.com> wrote in message
news:46a7c7de@newsgate.x-privat.org...
> http://www.techworld.com/news/index....nterfriendly=1
>
>
> Acer: PC industry 'disappointed' with Vista
> Poor OS means poor sales, says Acer boss
> Matthew Broersma, Techworld
> 23 July 2007
> Acer president Gianfranco Lanci became the first major PC manufacturer to
> openly attack Microsoft over the Windows Vista operating system in the
> Financial Times Deutschland on Monday.
>
> Lanci said the operating system was riddled with problems and gave users
> and businesses no reason to buy a new PC, according to the report.
> Taiwan-based Acer is the world's fourth-largest PC manufacturer, after HP,
> Dell and Lenovo.
>
> "The whole industry is disappointed with Windows Vista," Lanci said.
>
> Despite the long wait between Windows XP and Vista, the latest operating
> system still lacks maturity, he said. "Stability is certainly a problem,"
> he said.
>
> Users are voting with their feet, Lanci said, so that the Vista launch has
> had the smallest impact on PC sales of any version of Windows in the
> history of PC manufacturing. He added the situation didn't look likely to
> change in the next six months.
>
> Many business customers have specifically asked for Windows XP to be
> installed on their new machines, Lanci noted.
>
> While industry pundits have detailed user problems with Vista over the
> past few months, including sluggishness, the expense of acquiring hardware
> powerful enough to run the OS and lack of support for many critical
> applications, PC makers have so far looked on the brighter side.
>
> HP, Dell, Lenovo and Toshiba have continued offering XP-equipped machines,
> but these are generally aimed at consumers or small businesses, not large
> corporate clients.
>
> Microsoft itself says Vista has been a smashing successs, saying it had
> already sold 20 million Vista licences by March.
>
> Last week the company said its quarterly income was $13.4 billion ($6.5
> billion), up 13 percent from the same quarter last year, growth it said
> was partly due to strong Vista sales.
>
> The company has said most Vista users are satisfied and that nearly all
> software and hardware is compatible.
>
> On the other hand, the company recently told analysts it expects Windows
> XP to make up a significantly larger part of sales than it had previously
> expected, at Vista's expense.
>
> Chief financial officer Chris Liddell has told analysts that he expects XP
> to make up 22 percent of sales in Microsoft's new fiscal year, up from the
> previous estimate of 15 percent. Vista would make up the remaining 78
> percent of Windows sales. Windows XP sales will, in other words, be nearly
> 50 percent higher in the next 12 months than Microsoft had estimated
> earlier.
>
> Michael Cherry, analyst with Directions at Microsoft, said part of the
> problem is that users prefer lower-cost machines that might not work well
> with Vista.
>
> "Most of the machines I see pitched in catalogues are in the $700 range,
> certainly under $1,000," said Cherry. "Computers with that amount of
> hardware are a better fit for XP. With Vista's requirements, people may be
> thinking about sticking with XP, and putting less money into the
> hardware."
>
> It's possible, Cherry added, that Microsoft might find itself forced to
> recognise more reality in the future. "At some point, they might have to
> consider limiting the availability of XP," to push people to Vista.
>
> The software developer has made at least one move in that direction
> already. In mid-April, it announced it would terminate sales of Windows XP
> to resellers and retail after January 2008. User reactions were almost
> unanimously negative.
>
> Gregg Keizer of Computerworld contributed to this report.
>
>

"Spanky deMonkey" <spanky@deMonkey.com> wrote in message
news:uCw7kmxzHHA.5476@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> Here we go again kids, another Kevin Panzke - Brain dead as usual, Just
> FYI.

Indeed. If Acer is so "disappointed" with Vista they can always start
selling Linux machines. I'm sure those would just *fly* off the shelves!

Mike

Part of Acer's problem is of their own making. Before Vista was released
they were aggressively marketing "Vista Ready" computers (especially
notebooks) that barely met the specs for Vista Home Basic. Customers that
tried to upgrade these computers to Vista were not happy with the results.
After Vista was released they re-imaged many of these machines and sold them
with Vista Home Premium. They used beta drivers in a bid to be first to
market with Vista. These underpowered (even for XP) computers with buggy
drivers and buggy "free" programs like an incompatible version of Norton AV
are absolutely horrible to use. Their current machines actually aren't bad
but I imagine they have had a lot of returns, complaints, and unsatisfied
customers with their early Vista computers. It's really too bad because I
actually like some of the Acer notebooks. I'm typing this on one that runs
Vista very well.

--
Kerry Brown
Microsoft MVP - Shell/User
http://www.vistahelp.ca


"carl feredeck" <carlferedeck@wizzmail.com> wrote in message
news:46a7c7de@newsgate.x-privat.org...
> http://www.techworld.com/news/index....nterfriendly=1
>
>
> Acer: PC industry 'disappointed' with Vista
> Poor OS means poor sales, says Acer boss
> Matthew Broersma, Techworld
> 23 July 2007
> Acer president Gianfranco Lanci became the first major PC manufacturer to
> openly attack Microsoft over the Windows Vista operating system in the
> Financial Times Deutschland on Monday.
>
> Lanci said the operating system was riddled with problems and gave users
> and businesses no reason to buy a new PC, according to the report.
> Taiwan-based Acer is the world's fourth-largest PC manufacturer, after HP,
> Dell and Lenovo.
>
> "The whole industry is disappointed with Windows Vista," Lanci said.
>
> Despite the long wait between Windows XP and Vista, the latest operating
> system still lacks maturity, he said. "Stability is certainly a problem,"
> he said.
>
> Users are voting with their feet, Lanci said, so that the Vista launch has
> had the smallest impact on PC sales of any version of Windows in the
> history of PC manufacturing. He added the situation didn't look likely to
> change in the next six months.
>
> Many business customers have specifically asked for Windows XP to be
> installed on their new machines, Lanci noted.
>
> While industry pundits have detailed user problems with Vista over the
> past few months, including sluggishness, the expense of acquiring hardware
> powerful enough to run the OS and lack of support for many critical
> applications, PC makers have so far looked on the brighter side.
>
> HP, Dell, Lenovo and Toshiba have continued offering XP-equipped machines,
> but these are generally aimed at consumers or small businesses, not large
> corporate clients.
>
> Microsoft itself says Vista has been a smashing successs, saying it had
> already sold 20 million Vista licences by March.
>
> Last week the company said its quarterly income was $13.4 billion ($6.5
> billion), up 13 percent from the same quarter last year, growth it said
> was partly due to strong Vista sales.
>
> The company has said most Vista users are satisfied and that nearly all
> software and hardware is compatible.
>
> On the other hand, the company recently told analysts it expects Windows
> XP to make up a significantly larger part of sales than it had previously
> expected, at Vista's expense.
>
> Chief financial officer Chris Liddell has told analysts that he expects XP
> to make up 22 percent of sales in Microsoft's new fiscal year, up from the
> previous estimate of 15 percent. Vista would make up the remaining 78
> percent of Windows sales. Windows XP sales will, in other words, be nearly
> 50 percent higher in the next 12 months than Microsoft had estimated
> earlier.
>
> Michael Cherry, analyst with Directions at Microsoft, said part of the
> problem is that users prefer lower-cost machines that might not work well
> with Vista.
>
> "Most of the machines I see pitched in catalogues are in the $700 range,
> certainly under $1,000," said Cherry. "Computers with that amount of
> hardware are a better fit for XP. With Vista's requirements, people may be
> thinking about sticking with XP, and putting less money into the
> hardware."
>
> It's possible, Cherry added, that Microsoft might find itself forced to
> recognise more reality in the future. "At some point, they might have to
> consider limiting the availability of XP," to push people to Vista.
>
> The software developer has made at least one move in that direction
> already. In mid-April, it announced it would terminate sales of Windows XP
> to resellers and retail after January 2008. User reactions were almost
> unanimously negative.
>
> Gregg Keizer of Computerworld contributed to this report.
>
>

"Mike" <no@where.man> wrote in message
news:B0DAE00F-EC9F-4A82-BD81-76553B58DA8D@microsoft.com...
> "Spanky deMonkey" <spanky@deMonkey.com> wrote in message
> news:uCw7kmxzHHA.5476@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>> Here we go again kids, another Kevin Panzke - Brain dead as usual, Just
>> FYI.
>
> Indeed. If Acer is so "disappointed" with Vista they can always start
> selling Linux machines. I'm sure those would just *fly* off the shelves!

Yes, stack them by the beard, sandals & lentil shelves
(and far away from the soap)

"Julian" <Julianlzb87@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:CEF5BE16-9F71-476B-A033-163DA6BCBBE1@microsoft.com...
>
>
> "Mike" <no@where.man> wrote in message
> news:B0DAE00F-EC9F-4A82-BD81-76553B58DA8D@microsoft.com...
>> "Spanky deMonkey" <spanky@deMonkey.com> wrote in message
>> news:uCw7kmxzHHA.5476@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>>> Here we go again kids, another Kevin Panzke - Brain dead as usual, Just
>>> FYI.
>>
>> Indeed. If Acer is so "disappointed" with Vista they can always start
>> selling Linux machines. I'm sure those would just *fly* off the
>> shelves!
>
> Yes, stack them by the beard, sandals & lentil shelves
> (and far away from the soap)


Jeez, Julian, was that supposed to be a hippie joke?
Wow. I'll bet that wasn't even funny in 1966, when, say, Don Rickles might
have come up with it.
For you younger folks, see, the story was that hippies wore sandals and had
beards and didn't like to bathe.
What that has to do with Linux, I dunno. And I dunno what a beard shelf is
anyway.

And lentils? Well, my mama used to cook lentils and she was born in the
1920s and didn't wear sandals or a beard.

"DP" <nospam@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:eR0rS8yzHHA.5160@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>
> "Julian" <Julianlzb87@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:CEF5BE16-9F71-476B-A033-163DA6BCBBE1@microsoft.com...
>>
>>
>> "Mike" <no@where.man> wrote in message
>> news:B0DAE00F-EC9F-4A82-BD81-76553B58DA8D@microsoft.com...
>>> "Spanky deMonkey" <spanky@deMonkey.com> wrote in message
>>> news:uCw7kmxzHHA.5476@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>>>> Here we go again kids, another Kevin Panzke - Brain dead as usual,
>>>> Just FYI.
>>>
>>> Indeed. If Acer is so "disappointed" with Vista they can always start
>>> selling Linux machines. I'm sure those would just *fly* off the
>>> shelves!
>>
>> Yes, stack them by the beard, sandals & lentil shelves
>> (and far away from the soap)
>
>
> Jeez, Julian, was that supposed to be a hippie joke?
> Wow. I'll bet that wasn't even funny in 1966, when, say, Don Rickles might
> have come up with it.
> For you younger folks, see, the story was that hippies wore sandals and
> had beards and didn't like to bathe.
> What that has to do with Linux, I dunno. And I dunno what a beard shelf is
> anyway.
>
> And lentils? Well, my mama used to cook lentils and she was born in the
> 1920s and didn't wear sandals or a beard.

Is that so?

"Julian" <Julianlzb87@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:8A9DD1AC-72F0-4B79-A9E9-AD0C05DB9CE5@microsoft.com...
>

>>
>> And lentils? Well, my mama used to cook lentils and she was born in the
>> 1920s and didn't wear sandals or a beard.
>
> Is that so?


I swear.

"DP" <nospam@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:e7$2LMzzHHA.3768@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>
> "Julian" <Julianlzb87@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:8A9DD1AC-72F0-4B79-A9E9-AD0C05DB9CE5@microsoft.com...
>>
>
>>>
>>> And lentils? Well, my mama used to cook lentils and she was born in the
>>> 1920s and didn't wear sandals or a beard.
>>
>> Is that so?
>
>
> I swear.
>
>
Is that so?