Microsoft Windows 'in danger of collapsing', analysts say

News Type: Event — Seeded on Sun Apr 13, 2008 7:26 PM EDT

Article Source: The Times

technology, microsoft, windows, os, gartner, bloat-ware

Microsoft Windows, the operating system which has dominated desktop computing for decades, is in danger of collapsing, according to analysts at Gartner.

Microsoft's flagship product, which runs the vast majority of the world's PCs, has become so bulky and ill-equipped for the challenges of modern computing that it risks becoming obsolete, a pair of senior analysts at Gartner have said.

Published to:

djd's Column, All of Newsvine
Groups: GeekVine, Newsvine Technology
Regions: none

What's this?

Who's leading the conversation?

This visualization below allows you to see the impact that each user has on the current conversation. The top row contains the group of users who have had the most impact, the 2nd row the group of users who have had the 2nd most impact (et cetera). Users with similar impact are grouped together, and the average score of the group is shown to the left of the group. The author of the article is also shown on the left, in their corresponding group. Each user's score is based on the number of comments the user has made plus the number of votes their comments have received. The scores are calculated relative one another, so while their absolute value is not particularly important, their relative difference does indicate a larger difference in impact on the conversation.

2.6

{"commentId":1687794,"authorDomain":"djd"}

djd

Oh big fat operating system, where do you go from here?

{"commentId":1687794,"threadId":"249598","contentId":"1428717","authorDomain":"djd"}

5 votes

#1 - Sun Apr 13, 2008 7:27 PM EDT

{"commentId":1688787,"authorDomain":"PeterMerel"}

Peter Merel

Burn, baby, burn!

{"commentId":1688787,"threadId":"249598","contentId":"1428717","authorDomain":"PeterMerel"}

2 votes

#1.1 - Mon Apr 14, 2008 2:24 AM EDT

{"commentId":1688020,"authorDomain":"noe1"}

noe1

GNU/Linux. Personally, I'm running Ubuntu.

Can't say I didn't see this coming a while ago.

{"commentId":1688020,"threadId":"249598","contentId":"1428717","authorDomain":"noe1"}

4 votes

#2 - Sun Apr 13, 2008 8:56 PM EDT

{"commentId":1688081,"authorDomain":"insert"}

insert_name_here

"for decades"?

When did computers first become widespread enough to have a pervasive OS like Windows? 1995? Twelve years are not "decades," imho.

(PS, yes, I run Ubuntu)

{"commentId":1688081,"threadId":"249598","contentId":"1428717","authorDomain":"insert"}

2 votes

#3 - Sun Apr 13, 2008 9:17 PM EDT

{"commentId":1688924,"authorDomain":"morwynd"}

Morwynd

My thoughts exactly... 20 years ago we were at Windows 2.0, which didn't dominate a damn thing. Win 3.x in the early 90s certainly had excellent uptake, but Windows didn't really start "dominating" until Win95, IMO. One reason is probably that DOS still offered superior performance over Win 3.x, until DirectX debuted on Win95.

Now if they said that MICROSOFT had dominated desktop operating systems for decades, that'd be true.... and to be fair that's really what an end to Windows would mean, the end of MS's monopoly on OS's.

Which, for the record, CANNOT come soon enough.

{"commentId":1688924,"threadId":"249598","contentId":"1428717","authorDomain":"morwynd"}

#3.1 - Mon Apr 14, 2008 5:06 AM EDT

{"commentId":1688527,"authorDomain":"tabgilbert"}

tabgilbert

Must be the Ubuntu group hanging around the Windows Watering Hole...........just waiting for the new Hardy Heron to be hatched.......

{"commentId":1688527,"threadId":"249598","contentId":"1428717","authorDomain":"tabgilbert"}

1 vote

#4 - Mon Apr 14, 2008 12:11 AM EDT

{"commentId":1688645,"authorDomain":"thura"}

Thura

That's why MS launched Vista, so that the wow can start now - oh wait.

{"commentId":1688645,"threadId":"249598","contentId":"1428717","authorDomain":"thura"}

4 votes

#5 - Mon Apr 14, 2008 12:51 AM EDT

{"commentId":1688710,"authorDomain":"drudge"}

drudge

Fedora works well enough for me.

{"commentId":1688710,"threadId":"249598","contentId":"1428717","authorDomain":"drudge"}

3 votes

#6 - Mon Apr 14, 2008 1:27 AM EDT

{"commentId":1688817,"authorDomain":"djd"}

djd

The annoying thing is that I just got XP running in virtual box under ubuntu.

{"commentId":1688817,"threadId":"249598","contentId":"1428717","authorDomain":"djd"}

1 vote

#7 - Mon Apr 14, 2008 2:49 AM EDT

{"commentId":1688904,"authorDomain":"raatkiraani"}

Raat ki Raani

danger of collapsing

Understatement of the Year, me thinks. On my desktops and laptops over the years, it has a habit of collapsing every now and then. And I'm a fan of Windows!

scratches head in wonder

{"commentId":1688904,"threadId":"249598","contentId":"1428717","authorDomain":"raatkiraani"}

2 votes

#8 - Mon Apr 14, 2008 4:36 AM EDT

{"commentId":1689201,"authorDomain":"TeddRi"}

Tedd Riggs

Only really big problem with this comment is the fact of where it came from, The Gartner Group has been in collapsing at a even faster rate then Windows. Their track record is not the best I have ever seen.

Vista..yeah that one has collapsed already.

Windows XP I feel needs to be supported fully until Windows 7 is fully up and running.

Windows 7 better be perfect....Or Microsoft just lost a huge market base.

{"commentId":1689201,"threadId":"249598","contentId":"1428717","authorDomain":"TeddRi"}

5 votes

#9 - Mon Apr 14, 2008 8:37 AM EDT

{"commentId":1689271,"authorDomain":"katrixx"}

katrix

Tedd, I'm curious as to why you say that about Gartner. My experience is limited to my company - but my management is always asking me to pull up magic quadrants and have Gartner review some of our technical papers. They seem to feel that having Gartner bless something provides them with a huge element of safety.

Of course, I'm also battling those who want us to upgrade to Vista - some of them seem to feel that just because an upgrade for a current product we run is available, that means we should do the upgrade after a year or two. I don't play the lottery, but I sure hope I win it if I'm ever told to go ahead with Vista, so I can retire first.

{"commentId":1689271,"threadId":"249598","contentId":"1428717","authorDomain":"katrixx"}

3 votes

#9.1 - Mon Apr 14, 2008 9:12 AM EDT

{"commentId":1689449,"authorDomain":"TeddRi"}

Tedd Riggs

katrix,

Just from many many years of past dealings with Gartner. They did a huge and very expensive study while I was at COMSAT in Washington DC and the findings were way off. On the surface level, many times they looked good, but digging into details, they don't do their research very well. You can check what they have done with various Telecom groups and in almost all cases, Boston Consulting did a far better job of research.

If you look at this article that is referenced. They listed the competition as "Mac Safari OS X".....Safari is the name of the browser....not the OS, the OS is Leopard 10.5. They cleaned it up after readers complained.

They also are very biased against Microsoft. And often quote wrong versions, wrong release info and come up with these "Windows is Collapsing" type logic...Windows XP SP2 or SP3 is solid,
Microsoft Vista (Which is not called Windows) is a problem. It can work on factory installed machines. Upgrades from XP....I would not want to go there. Washington State said No.....(me too.) and do a little Googling and have have a tad bit of history...I have lived in Redmond for 20 years....

I agree, Upper Management seems to like Gartner, great charts, nice writeups....But admins, Engineering, IT, Support...Does not...

{"commentId":1689449,"threadId":"249598","contentId":"1428717","authorDomain":"TeddRi"}

3 votes

#9.2 - Mon Apr 14, 2008 10:00 AM EDT

{"commentId":1689498,"authorDomain":"tcervo"}

gecko85

Katrix,

Garnter has a track record of throwing things against the wall in the hopes that something will stick. (If they're right, they get to gloat...) Gartner is the firm that said, not that long ago, that Apple should get out of the hardware business completely and they'd be better off licensing OS X to Dell...that's the only way Apple would be able to survive. Take their "expert analysis" with a truckload of salt.

{"commentId":1689498,"threadId":"249598","contentId":"1428717","authorDomain":"tcervo"}

3 votes

#9.3 - Mon Apr 14, 2008 10:11 AM EDT

{"commentId":1689685,"authorDomain":"TeddRi"}

Tedd Riggs

Thats probably a better way to say it then I did.....good job gecko......

I loved Gartners "Mac Safari OS X" that cracked me up......

I have a long list of famous quotes that give to Microsoft and GTE (Now Verizon) that are just classic....

And Gartner was the one the was 100% behind the Y2K theory about Banks Crashing, No ATM service, Even talked the Government into sending out Social Security Checks early and required that Microsoft be fully staffed 24 hrs/Day for 3 days before and after and what happened ? zilch......

{"commentId":1689685,"threadId":"249598","contentId":"1428717","authorDomain":"TeddRi"}

3 votes

#9.4 - Mon Apr 14, 2008 10:58 AM EDT

{"commentId":1700852,"authorDomain":"katrixx"}

katrix

Thanks. This is good stuff. My Gartner research is in different areas than these, so I haven't picked up on anything blatent. But I finally have some examples to research (unless you're kind enough to cite them).

{"commentId":1700852,"threadId":"249598","contentId":"1428717","authorDomain":"katrixx"}

2 votes

#9.5 - Wed Apr 16, 2008 10:05 PM EDT

{"commentId":1700877,"authorDomain":"tcervo"}

gecko85

katrix:

Gartner: Apple should quit hardware business

{"commentId":1700877,"threadId":"249598","contentId":"1428717","authorDomain":"tcervo"}

3 votes

#9.6 - Wed Apr 16, 2008 10:12 PM EDT

{"commentId":1701110,"authorDomain":"TeddRi"}

Tedd Riggs

Personally I think Gartner is a bit out to lunch.

I love readers comments :-)

{"commentId":1701110,"threadId":"249598","contentId":"1428717","authorDomain":"TeddRi"}

4 votes

#9.7 - Wed Apr 16, 2008 11:35 PM EDT

{"commentId":1708011,"authorDomain":"katrixx"}

katrix

You mean I can blame Gartner for having to work from 6 pm to 6 am for Y2K just in case something blew up ... dang.

{"commentId":1708011,"threadId":"249598","contentId":"1428717","authorDomain":"katrixx"}

2 votes

#9.8 - Fri Apr 18, 2008 2:51 PM EDT

{"commentId":1708586,"authorDomain":"TeddRi"}

Tedd Riggs

You mean I can ~~blame~~ thank Gartner for having to work from 6 pm to 6 am for Y2K just in case something blew up and earn that extra $25,000 overtime ?....dang !

You sure can ! Those guys made millions off of that thing also, why not you ? :-)

{"commentId":1708586,"threadId":"249598","contentId":"1428717","authorDomain":"TeddRi"}

2 votes

#9.9 - Fri Apr 18, 2008 5:26 PM EDT

{"commentId":1690971,"authorDomain":"luisf"}

LuisF

AIX 5.3 baby!

{"commentId":1690971,"threadId":"249598","contentId":"1428717","authorDomain":"luisf"}

1 vote

#10 - Mon Apr 14, 2008 4:17 PM EDT

{"commentId":1729869,"authorDomain":"allisoon"}

BODESWEST

Why do so many daily news scenarios sound so similar. Anyone ever thought of switching battlefields? Uh, . . .lemme' think . . . Who is that Apple company again??

{"commentId":1729869,"threadId":"249598","contentId":"1428717","authorDomain":"allisoon"}

#11 - Thu Apr 24, 2008 2:51 PM EDT

{"canLink":false,"threadId":"249598","isPrivate":false}

Linux Replacements for Your Favorite Windows Apps	PC World	Sat Apr 12	0
Why Use Linux?	pcmech.com	Mon Apr 14	2
Users Fight to Save Windows XP	Associated Press	Sun Apr 13	0
Windows XP fans don't want it to XPire	Associated Press	Mon Apr 14	361

DJD

Backyard

Microsoft Windows 'in danger of collapsing', analysts say

Published to:

FUN STUFF:

COMPANY STUFF:

LEGAL STUFF: