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| CURRENT SECTION :: TechZone | UK's most visited IT Contractor Site - 250k unique visitors March 2008 |
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It was hailed as the ultimate operating system: faster, safer, and easier than ever. Belying its sleek curves, went the marketing spiel, lay a more powerful system designed for the internet age. Bill Gates famously once envisaged a computer running Windows on every desk, and – having pretty much achieved that aim – it was undoubtedly Microsoft’s next intention to get Windows Vista into every computer. But now that the dust has settled on the software giant’s vigorous marketing campaign, many users are having second thoughts. Some have even compared it to Microsoft’s last unfashionable Windows release – the ill-fated Windows Me, described by one magazine as “the real millennium bug”. While it’s sold better than that release, uptake of Vista has proven to be not quite as successful, perhaps, as planned. In June last year, Microsoft responded to the first wave of Vista-resistors – by simplifying the process for PC manufacturers to offer downgrade rights. This might sound strange at first, but considered from a commercial standpoint, it makes perfect sense: buy Vista, get XP free. Sales of Vista-based PCs would continue, and businesses could downgrade to XP if they wanted. Dell even began selling pre-downgraded computers; to Microsoft, though, these were just Vista sales in another guise. What’s good about Vista? Quite a few things, actually: it’s far more secure than its predecessors, for a start, with fewer security patches and protected controls which – while seeming patronising to some – will, in the long run, save the skins of many a novice user. For those who live life on the edge, these warnings can be turned off easily enough. Initially, device compatibility was low, but a concentrated drive to get Vista compatible means the operating system can now handle more devices than ever. Yet many users continue to find that they aren’t enjoying using Vista the way they did XP: they feel it’s slower, that its new graphics engine uses too much memory, and that many of the familiar Windows features they had grown accustomed to are misplaced or missing. For these users, the downgrade to the familiarity of XP seems inevitable. Downgrading, in the world of proprietary software, has two meanings: the first and more immediate one is simply to revert from a new piece of software to an old one. The second, more legalistic definition, is a user being licensed to use the new software, or a previous version, at their discretion. There are, therefore, a number of downgrade options for those unconvinced by Microsoft’s new offering. First, the option to downgrade to XP may already be in your Vista licence: check your licence agreement, and check with your manufacturer if you’re not sure. Then check again. Some PC manufacturers, such as Sony, have started to offer XP driver packs to support computers which originally shipped with Vista. It’s important that you check for driver availability before making the downgrade, as otherwise you might find yourself with an expensive, fashionably curved, XP-running doorstop. For those whose licence doesn’t include a downgrade option – that’ll be the cheaper Vista editions, such as Vista Home and Vista Home Basic – the obvious way to legally downgrade is to purchase a new XP product key. Unfortunately, this is becoming increasingly difficult, since Microsoft no longer sells XP; your best bet here would be to enter the shark-infested waters of purchasing software on an online auction site. Though it seems counterintuitive, as well as expensive, you could even buy one of the more expensive editions of Vista instead, and take advantage of the built-in XP licence. Buying an upgrade in order to downgrade? Now there’s a business model to be reckoned with. Graham Taylor Jul 15, 2008 Email this article Printer friendly page Previous Page
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