Windows Vista: Mixed report card

Chris Pirillo leaned away from his webcam and pointed to his printer/scanner/fax machine, which stopped scanning and faxing after he installed Microsoft Corp.'s new Windows Vista operating system.

"I can't live in Vista if the software that I use in my life for productivity does not work," said Pirillo, in the third minute of a 52-minute video he posted on YouTube.

Nearly six months after it launched, gripes over what doesn't work with Vista continue, eclipsing positive buzz over the program's improved desktop search, graphics and security.

With Vista now shipping on most new computers, it's all but guaranteed to become the world's dominant PC operating system eventually. For now, some users are either learning to live with workarounds or sticking with Vista's predecessor, Windows XP.

'I can't live in Vista if the software that I use in my life for productivity does not work.' Chris Pirillo, Lockergnome

Pirillo is geekier than the average user. He runs a network of technology blogs called Lockergnome, and was one of several "Windows enthusiasts" Microsoft asked for Vista feedback early on. Still, Vista tested even Pirillo's savvy. He fixed the hobbled printer and other problems by installing VMware, a program that lets him run XP within Vista. But when his trial copy expired, he decided the solution was too clunky and too expensive.

He "upgraded," as he called it, back to XP.

Vista slowly gains market share

Users' early complaints aren't a threat to Microsoft's dominance in operating systems. The various flavours of Windows run 93 per cent of PCs worldwide, according to the research group IDC. Last fiscal year, Windows accounted for about a third of Microsoft's total revenue of $44.3 billion US.

Industry analysts say Vista adoption is plodding along as expected, with most consumers and businesses switching over as they replace old hardware with new. IDC analyst Al Gillen said he expects Vista will be installed on the vast majority of computers in about five years, the time it took for XP to reach 84 per cent of PCs.

It's too early for industry watchers to know exactly how many people are using Vista.

In early May, Microsoft said it had distributed 40 million copies of Vista, which costs $199 to $399 depending on the version. But it did not specify the number actually sold through to consumers, versus those shipped to computer makers like Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Inc.

Analysts noted that as many as 15 million of those copies could represent upgrade coupons given to XP buyers during the holidays, before Vista went on sale. Microsoft would not say how many of those customers installed the new system, but Forrester Research analyst J.P. Gownder estimated just over 12 million U.S. consumers would have Vista by the end of the year, out of about 235 million PCs in that country.

As for the compatibility problems, twomillion devices such as cameras and printers now work with Vista, said Dave Wascha, a director in the Windows Client group.

Compatibility issues

Still, it's an uphill battle: Vista interacts differently with programs and peripherals than previous versions of Windows, and some companies have chosen not to spend time and money updating older products. Printer makers, Wascha noted, draw profits from ink cartridges and services and have little motivation to invest in updating drivers for old hardware.

As a result, many early adopters have made a sport of grumbling about the one device or program they still can't get to work.

And they've ranted about other things, from how hard it is to open Vista's snap-together plastic retail box to what they see as arbitrary decisions on Microsoft's part to hide common settings and features.

One of the most common annoyances: Microsoft's user account control feature, designed to protect unwitting Web surfers from spyware and viruses that would otherwise install themselves on the hard drive.

Dan Cohen, chief executive officer of Silicon Valley startup Pageflakes, bought a Vista laptop a couple of months ago. After one too many pop-up windows warning of possible threats from the Internet, Cohen switched the control feature off. Now he gets pop-ups warning him that turning off UAC is dangerous.

"I feel more secure and more irritated," he said. When Cohen went to buy his wife a new computer in April, he stuck with XP on a laptop from Lenovo Group Ltd.

Corporate indifference

Some analysts say Microsoft hasn't put enough energy into marketing Vista's benefits. But it may also be the case that Vista's biggest benefits are ones that cause average PC users' eyes to glaze over, like improved security.

Businesses, like consumers, are in no hurry to upgrade. Before the business version of Vista landed late last year, a Forrester survey of about 1,600 companies found that 31 per cent planned to upgrade within a year, and 22 per cent more planned to be running it within two years.

Most businesses think those plans now seem too aggressive, said Forrester analyst Benjamin Gray.

While corporate technology departments are looking forward to some of Vista's security features and easier administration tools, there's little reason to switch if more secure PCs end up choking on a critical piece of software.

"They're waiting for Microsoft to bless it with a service pack," said Gray, referring to a major software update that fixes bugs.