Posted on 02/28/2009 11:10:45 PM PST by Swordmaker
It's official, Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system gets the prize for being the most overhyped, underperforming information and communication technology (ICT) project. Windows Vista garnered 5,222 of 6,043 votes (86 percent) entered via the Web to snag top honors in the first-ever Fiasco Awards announced in Barcelona, Spain, today, beating out other contenders, including Google's Lively virtual world, the One Laptop per Child computer (developed by the Nicholas Negroponte-chaired One Laptop Per Child Association, Inc.) and Second Life. Second prize went to SAGA, the oft-malfunctioning administration and academic management system developed by Spain's Catalan Education Department for public school teachers in Catalonia.
Vista was announced in July 2005 and hit the market in January 2007 after a mega PR blitz by Microsoft, which promised it would be a slick, secure successor to the company's popular Windows XP operating system. Vista came with an eye-catching graphical user interface, and Microsoft positioned the operating system's Windows Media Center software as a tool that would make the PC the new hub of home entertainment systems. What Microsoft made less clear was that many customers couldn't run Vista without upgrading their PCs.
What's more, the Fiasco Awards Web site points out, the new operating system was complicated to navigate and had compatibility problems with many programs and hardware drivers, leading many people to just stick with Windows XP. Vista was such a dismal failure that many PC makers even recommended that consumers steer clear of it.
The company's recent introduction of Windows 7—Vista's successor after only two years—indicates that even Microsoft views Vista with disappointment, according to the awards organizers. The lesson, they said: more testing should be done to check reliability and performance before rolling out major product-marketing campaigns.
The purpose of the Fiasco awards is to "promote critical spirit and a positive attitude towards failure, which is a necessary stage in the road to success," say the award's organizers, who are identified on the Web site only as a "group of people linked to the ICT (information and communication technology) sector." The site notes that Thomas Edison made more than 1,000 attempts before inventing the light bulb, "so he learned how not to do it in more than 1,000 different ways."
Other finalists: Second Life (the virtual world's Web software must be downloaded on one's PC, which excludes people who don't own their own computers), One Laptop per Child (a plan hatched by the developed world to bring computers to the developing world at $100 a pop, only they it ended up costing nearly twice that), and Google Lively (a virtual world that relied more on the company's brand than on any interesting features to compete with Second Life; it was put out of its misery at the end of 2008, after just five months of operation).
I’ve been using Linux for over a year now. Its amazing to me that Microsoft manages to stay dominant when a free alternative exists which is better.
I’m one of those dumb people that can’t figure out Linux so I have to use whatever my computer came with.
Under their, "What have we learned?, section it says:"
An operating system must be robust and reliable. Users do not accept the need of constant updates, which are interpreted as patchs that should have been anticipated before launch. Before marketing a software or an operating system it should be submitted to all necessary tests to ensure its functionality and performance. In this sense, one can say that Microsoft's strategy was entirely wrong, and its only outcome has been bringing discredit to the company.
I've never had a problem with Vista. I knew what to expect when I got it on a new machine that was made for it. That is exactly what Microsoft said to do. They offered many ways to screen an existing system to see if it was compatible and to make recommendations to upgrade or not transition to Vista. When I loaded it on my wife's laptop PC, a CD made specifically to test the system told me to increase the memory before installing it. She has never had a problem. The "constant updates" happen in the background with no impact to functionality. If a user were an idiot that couldn't unwrap a stick of gum then that person might think Vista was a fiasco.
I myself am tired of this constant bashing of Bill Gates because those with weak character are envious of his success.
If you divide Vista’s underperformance by the time it took to develop it, this is a truly dizzying achievement.
If it weren’t for Microsoft’s ability to force Vista into the retail channel, Vista would had died long ago.
In my opinion, the rewrite of the operating system was running behind schedule, and MS didn't like OSX out there gaining market share. Computer manufacturers were clamoring for the next version of Windows, and MS wasn't getting the upgrade purchases. Vista was rushed out the door. I think Windows 7 will be what Vista was supposed to be.
My view is an OS should be able to run software, and then get the hell out of the way. I am tired of all this bloatware.
forgot the /sarc
[I’ve been using Linux for over a year now. Its amazing to me that Microsoft manages to stay dominant when a free alternative exists which is better.]
I have three computers and a laptop, all set up for business. One desktop XP, a laptop Vista, a 2003 Windows Server and a Fedora Linux v11 I just got cranking for my database and webserver. I ran a 700 MhZ Fedora 6 box without a stop for multiple years without a hitch before the upgrade.
I gotta say, Fedora 11 is slick. Still just a tad geeky, but heck so am I. We are finally at the point where I’m not missing anything on the usability side with Linux as an operating system so it is just a few apps that are still stuck in the Windows world.
I figure I will save $2500 this year by using Linux + Mysql + Java + Netbeans.
Free at Last! Free at Last! Free at Last! (well, almost) The reasons to upgrade to Windows 7 are dimming fast.
Well, that explains a lot.
They obviously never ran Windows Me. I think that was the worst OS by Microsoft I’ve ever seen, and I currently run Vista 64 bit, which had some compatibility problems with some programs I tried to run, but its been much better since SP1. Windows Millinium aka Windows Me was a buggy, slow, cronically crashing POS no matter what updates they released.
I think Vista’s failure was all the changes it made to areas of the control panel and administrative interfaces which consolidated them, but the names for these were too vague, and functions that were related got spread all over the place. The OS from an administrative standpoint just blew. They also went overboard with the notification features. I hope they do a better job with Windows 7.
If that were the case, then Gates would owe anyone with Vista a free copy of Windows Seven.
When was the last time you tried Linux?
Linux is easier to use than Windows.
If you ruled out the communications aspect, I’d still say the award for most overhyped and underperforming piece of technology would be the Atari Jaguar. That thing was a $250 paperweight.
Vista is a POS. Sometimes I help a friend who has it, and it’s like visiting the Stone Age compared to Mac.
It's gotten much easier to install and run over just the past two years.
If you just want to get your feet wet with it, run Ubuntu from the CD without installing to your hard drive.
Vista is the slowest, most cumbersome boondoggle we ever made the mistake of buying. It was pre-installed on our new computer, and we had to spend $100 to have it removed. It was money well-spent in aggravation saved.
If this is the best Microsoft can do after all their years in the business, they ought to hang it up and let professionals do the job.
“the most overhyped, underperforming information and communication technology (ICT) project.”
#1- The Kenyan in the White House
#2- the lying thieves in Congress
#3- Climate Change/ global whatever
I’ll keep my windows XP thank you.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.