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Criticism of Windows Vista

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Criticism of Windows Vista includes the various concerns regarding the commercially released version of Vista, due to perceived issues with privacy, security, performance and presence of product activation. Windows Vista, the latest version of Microsoft's PC operating system, has been the subject of a number of negative assessments by various groups.

Security

In a July 2006 report,[1] security software vendor Symantec said that the large amount of new and untested code in Vista, especially the new implementation of the network stack, could cause instability and new security flaws.[2] The report claims that "Microsoft has removed a large body of tried and tested code and replaced it with freshly written code, complete with new corner cases and defects". Microsoft responded that they "believe the claims are unsubstantiated", and Symantec admits that all of the bugs it found were fixed by the time Beta 2 was released, but adds that "While it is reassuring that Microsoft is finding and fixing these defects, we expect that vulnerabilities will continue to be discovered for some time. A networking stack is a complex piece of software that takes many years to mature." IPv6 tunnelling and peer-to-peer collaboration technologies were identified as additional potential problem areas. McAfee has claimed that Vista will actually be less secure than previous versions of Windows.[3][4] According to CNET News.com some critics are unenthusiastic about the Vista security features, because they believe it "offers mostly basic protection and is not the best of its class."[5]

There is no doubt that Vista will be Microsoft's most secure operating system. However, most secure is not equivalent to secure.

— Natalie Lambert, analyst, Forrester

User Account Control

Concerns have been raised about the new User Account Control (UAC) security technology. While in pre-release states, it was considered too "chatty" by a Yankee Group analyst.[6] By the time Windows Vista was released, the number of operating system tasks that triggered UAC prompts were greatly reduced. In addition, file and registry virtualization technology was added to reduce the number of legacy applications that trigger UAC prompts.[7] Despite reductions in UAC prompts the feature is still triggered by a number of third party programs not designed to Microsoft's Windows specifications. Microsoft has recommended that programs be written in such a way to avoid requiring elevation for some time. However, because all users are Administrators by default in previous versions of Windows with security (Windows 2000 and XP), many developers did not modify their applications. Although Microsoft has now added functionality that enforces the security model, UAC can be easily disabled through the Control Panel; however, this also disables privilege separation features such as Internet Explorer 7's 'Protected Mode' which rely on it for their operation.

Driver signing requirement

64-bit versions of Windows Vista only allow drivers signed with a privately purchased code[8] to be loaded in kernel mode. The drivers must be signed by the authors and this behavior cannot be overridden by system admins. While this has been praised as a security feature, it has also been criticized for reducing Vista's compatibility with older hardware (as sometimes, as in the case of VMware Server, the manufacturer of the hardware won't bother releasing a new, signed driver) and for disallowing experimentation from the hobbyist community.[9] There has also been criticism that this requirement might exist not because of security, but to enforce DRM policies, especially the Protected Video Path.[10]

Microsoft maintains that the signing requirement is only to "identify the author/creator of a piece of software or code so that the author/creator can be approached in the event a reliability issue, vulnerability, or malware is discovered. Signing is not designed to confirm the “intent” of signed code (i.e. good or bad), or whether exploitable bugs or malicious code is present."[11] The required authenticode certificate for signing Vista drivers are expensive and out of reach for small developers, usually about $400-500/year (from Versign).

Digital Rights Management

Another common criticism concerns the integration of new forms of Digital Rights Management (DRM) into the operating system, specifically the Protected Video Path (PVP), which involves technologies such as High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) and the Image Constraint Token (ICT). These features have been added to Vista due to an agreement between Microsoft and major Hollywood studios.[12] Microsoft claims that movie studios and other providers of "premium content" will only allow their data to be played back on PCs if sufficient protection is granted. This will concern, among other things, play-back of protected content on HD-DVD and Blu-ray discs, but it won't be enabled until at least 2010.

In essence, the Protected Video Path mandates that encryption must be used whenever content marked as "protected" will travel over a link where it might be intercepted. This is called a User-Accessible Bus (UAB). Additionally, all devices that come into contact with premium content (such as graphics cards) have to be certified by Microsoft.[12] Before playback starts, all the devices involved are checked using a Hardware Functionality Scan (HFS) to verify if they are genuine and have not been tampered with. Devices are required to switch off or artificially degrade the quality of any signal outputs that are not protected by HDCP. Additionally, Microsoft maintains a global revocation list for devices that have been compromised. This list is distributed to PCs over the Internet using normal update mechanisms. The only effect on a revoked driver's functionality is that high-level protected content won't play — all other functionality, including low-definition playback, is retained.[12][13]

Hardware requirements

Initial speculation regarding the hardware requirements for Vista raised concerns from many users, however they were dispelled in March 2006 when Microsoft released the official requirements.[14] According to Microsoft, "nearly all PCs on the market today will run Windows Vista" and most PCs sold after 2005 are capable of running Vista.[15][16] However, requirements for running some advanced features, such as the Aero interface, may have an impact on many users. According to Elizabeth Judge, those full features "would be available to less than 5 percent of Britain's PC market."

Laptop battery life

With the new features of Vista, criticisms have surfaced concerning the use of battery power in laptops by Vista, which can drain the battery much more rapidly than Windows XP, reducing battery life.[17] With the Aero visual effects turned off, battery life is equal to or better than Windows XP systems.[18] "With the release of a new operating system and its new features and higher requirements, higher power consumption is normal," as Richard Shim, an analyst with IDC noted, "when Windows XP came out, that was true, and when Windows 98 came out, that was true... "[19] In order to extend the battery life, Microsoft added the requirement of hybrid hard disk for laptops to be certified as "Vista Premium capable".[20][21]

Software compatibility

Significant problems have surfaced with other software running under Vista. According to Gartner 'Vista has been dogged by fears, in some cases proven, that many existing applications have to be re-written to operate on the new system'.[22] Cisco have been reported as saying 'Vista will solve a lot of problems, but for every action, there's a reaction, and unforeseen side-effects and mutations. Networks can become more brittle'.[23] According to PC World, 'Software compatibility issues, bug worries keep businesses from moving to Microsoft's new OS'.[24] Citing 'concerns over cost and compatibility', the United States Department of Transportation prohibited workers from upgrading to Vista.[25] The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, said the rollout (of Vista) is significantly behind schedule because 'several key programs still aren't compatible, including patient scheduling software'.[26]

As of July 2007, there are over 2,000 tested applications[27] that "have the Windows Vista logo". Microsoft has published a list of legacy applications that meet their "Works with Vista" software standards[28] as well as a list of applications that meet their more stringent "Works with Windows Vista" standards.[29] However, as of July 2007, software compatibility problems are still stopping adoption of Vista.[30] Microsoft has released the Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.0 application for migrating Vista-incompatible applications, while virtualization solutions like Virtual PC 2007 or those from VMWare can also be used as a last resort to continue running Vista-incompatible applications under legacy versions of Windows.

Microsoft also provides an Upgrade Advisor Tool which can be used on existing XP systems to flag driver and application compatibility issues before upgrading to Vista.[31]

Games

Vista has implemented DirectX 10, and Vista also has DirectX 9.0L for backward compatibility.[32] However, there are significant compatibility problems with some pre-Vista games that use DirectX 9 or older, such as Quake 4.[33]

Specific programs

Problems have been found with many programs, such as Nero and Symantec's and other's virus scanning programs[34] require new versions. Many Adobe programs require new versions.[35] Problems have also been shown with many peripherals, including mobile phone synchronising software. There are also compatibility issues with some host-based printing programs under Vista.[36][37][38] Futhermore, some applications fail to work when in-built TabletPC functionality is enabled - here Hewlett Packard scanning software[39] is a case in point.

Removal of announced features

Microsoft has also been criticized for removing some heavily discussed features such as Next-Generation Secure Computing Base in May 2004, WinFS in August 2004, Windows PowerShell in August 2005 (though this was released separately from Vista prior to its release), SecurID Support in May 2006, PC-to-PC Synchronization in June 2006.[40] The initial "three pillars" in Vista were all radically altered to reach a release date.[41]

Pricing

Microsoft's international pricing of Vista has been criticized by many as too expensive. The differences in pricing from one country to another are also striking, especially considering that copies of Vista can be ordered and shipped worldwide from the US saving between US$42 and US$314. In many cases, the difference in price is significantly greater than was the case for Windows XP. In Malaysia, the pricing for Vista is at around RM799 (US$229).[42] At the current exchange rate, UK consumers could be paying almost double their US counterparts for the same software.[43]

Microsoft has come under fire from British consumers about the price it is charging for Vista, the latest version of Windows. British (and French) customers will pay double the US price. The upgrade from Windows XP to Vista Home Basic will cost £100, while American users will pay only £51 ($100).[44]

— Computer Active

Performance

Windows Vista executes typical applications slower than Windows XP, for the same hardware configuration.[45][46]

File system performance

When released, Vista performed file operations such as copying and deletion more slowly than other operating systems. Large copies required when migrating from one computer to another seemed difficult or impossible without workarounds such as using the command line. This inability to perform basic file operations initially attracted strong criticism.[47] After six months, Microsoft confirmed the existence of these problems by releasing a special performance and reliability update,[48] which was later disseminated through Windows Update and will be included in SP1.[27]

Games performance

Due to the resource use of Vista, many games including games using the Source engine (Half Life 2, Counter Strike: Source, etc.) or Doom 3 Engine (Doom 3, Quake 4, etc.) show a drop in frame rate compared to that experienced in Windows XP.[49][50][51][52] Some articles point out, these results are also the consequence of the current lack of maturity of Vista Graphics processing units drivers, and even maturity of Vista itself.[53][54]

Software Bloat

With Vista bearing a footprint 10 times larger than XP's, even Microsoft officials are expressing concerns about Windows' growing waistline. Speaking last year at the University of Illinois, Microsoft distinguished engineer Eric Traut said the operating system had become bloated. "A lot of people think of Windows as this large, bloated operating system. That may be a fair characterization," said Traut.[55]

Software Protection Platform

Vista includes an enhanced set of anti-piracy technologies, based on Windows XP's WGA, called Software Protection Platform (SPP).[56] A major component of this is a new reduced functionality mode, which Vista enters when it detects that the user has "failed product activation" or that their copy is "identified as counterfeit or non-genuine",[57] which is described in a Microsoft white paper as follows:

"The default Web browser will be started and the user will be presented with an option to purchase a new product key. There is no start menu, no desktop icons, and the desktop background is changed to black. [...] After one hour, the system will log the user out without warning".[58]

This has been criticised for being overly draconian,[59][60] especially given an imperfect false-positive record on behalf of SPP's predecessor,[61] and at least one temporary validation server outage.[62][63]

Microsoft has released a technical bulletin providing further details on product activation for Vista.[64] In addition, Microsoft has said it will cease disrupting Windows Vista installations that fail the company's validation processes in its forthcoming Service Pack 1 update, as well as the removal of the reduced functionality mode in favor of prominent notifications on systems that are found to be non-genuine or non-activated.[65][66]

Windows Ultimate Extras

Windows Vista Ultimate users can download 'Windows Ultimate Extras', which are available only to the users of Windows Vista Ultimate. These extras have been released much slower than expected, with only 4 available as of September 2007, which has prompted some criticisms.[67][68][69] Barry Goffe, Director of Windows Vista Ultimate for Microsoft states that they were unexpectedly delayed on releasing several of the extras, but that "[Microsoft] plan to ship a collection of additional Windows Ultimate Extras that [it is] confident will delight [its] passionate Windows Vista Ultimate customers."[70]

Notable critics

Peter Gutmann, a computer scientist from the University of Auckland, New Zealand, has released a whitepaper in which he raises concerns regarding the security mechanisms used for Digital Rights management.[71]

Ed Bott, a technology journalist with ZDNet and author of a number of books from Microsoft Press[72] disagrees with Gutmann's findings. He has written a 3-part blog entry which details his objections.[73]

The Free Software Foundation is leading a campaign called "BadVista" against Vista on these grounds, as well as because it is an example of prominent proprietary software.[74] Also, "Defectivebydesign" is another FSF-initiated campaign against Vista for the inclusion of its Digital Rights Management features.

Forbes Magazine's technology editor, Stephen Manes, has been extremely critical of Vista's speed, hardware requirements, value for price, security, and similarity to Mac OS X. His review in Forbes was entitled "Dim Vista."[75]

Security expert Bruce Schneier has in an article in Forbes stated[76] that:

Windows Vista includes an array of "features" that you don't want. These features will make your computer less reliable and less secure. They'll make your computer less stable and run slower. They will cause technical support problems. They may even require you to upgrade some of your peripheral hardware and existing software. And these features won't do anything useful. In fact, they're working against you. They're digital rights management (DRM) features built into Vista at the behest of the entertainment industry.

Public reception and sales

Before the release of Windows Vista, expectations for the new operating system were high, fueled by both promises of new features, better security, and a better user interface, as well as the five year period since the release of Windows XP. Large numbers of businesses and consumers planned on upgrading to Vista. However, after its release, it was met with harsh criticism for low hardware support, high system requirements, relatively poor performance, and for not making big enough improvements since the release of XP. This prompted many users and businesses to hold off on upgrading to Vista and even caused some to replace Vista installations with XP. These results further led to low adoption levels of Windows Vista and generally poor public review, as reflected by its title from PC World as the biggest tech disappointment of 2007[77] and from InfoWorld as #2 of Tech's all-time 25 flops.[78] The actual usage share, as measured through web browser user agent strings, show Vista to have approximately 6.9% of the desktop OS market as of December 2007.[79]

Due to the large growth of the PC market since the release of Windows XP, initial sales of the operating system set a new high. Within its first month, 20 million copies of Vista were sold, double the amount of XP sales within its first month in October 2001, five years earlier.[80] That said, as a factor of the new market, Vista sales were not high. For example, rival operating system Mac OS X Leopard's first month's sales also doubled over the number of sales from the release of Mac OS X Jaguar five years earlier in August 2002.[81] However, in the case of Jaguar-to-Leopard sales, as opposed to XP-to-Vista sales, users had less pressure to upgrade due to the intermediate releases of both Mac OS X Panther and Tiger. PC World reports that adoption of Windows Vista is going at a much slower rate compared to the adoption of Windows XP. Within the first year of its release, the percentage of XP users visiting PC World's website reached 36%; in the same time frame, however, Windows Vista adoption reached only 14%, with 71% of users still running XP.[82] Electronista reports that in 2007, Vista sales were outdone by XP sales. At the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show, Bill Gates announced that they had sold 100 million copies of Vista, while InformationWeek notes a Gartner assessment that there have been over 250 million total PC sales (not counting separate license purchases) during Vista's first year.[83][84] Electronista also notes that Vista's growth rate is actually slower than what was with XP, saying that 89 million copies of XP were sold in its first year despite having an overall PC market half the size as in 2007.

Due to Vista's poor reception and continued demand for Windows XP, Microsoft is allowing continued sales of Windows XP.[85] An unexpectedly high number of Vista users have downgraded their operating systems, with many having reverted their own Vista installs or even installing XP (or other operating systems) onto computers which were preloaded with Vista, and many computer manufacturers have even begun shipping XP restore disks along with new computers,[86] as well as new computers with Linux pre-installed. A study conducted by ChangeWave in January 2008, shows that the percentage of customers who are "very satisfied" with Vista is dramatically lower than other operating systems, with Vista Home Basic at 15% and Vista Home Premium 27%, compared to the approximately 52% who say they are "very satisfied" with Windows XP and the 81% for Mac OS X Leopard.[87] ChangeWave also reported that 83% of those intending to purchase Macs said that they "are choosing Macs because of Leopard and their distaste for Vista".[88]

The above ChangeWave study also showed a decrease in the percentage of businesses intending to buy Windows-based PC, down from 96% to 93% between November 2005 and November 2007, partly due to Vista's reception, as well. Business adoption of Vista has been slower than anticipated, with the vast majority still favoring Windows XP and even waiting for Windows 7, Microsoft's next version of Windows scheduled for release in 2010.[89] According to InformationWeek, in December 2006, 6% of business enterprises were expected to employ Vista within the first year, yet as of October 2007, only about 1% of enterprise PCs were actually using Vista.[90] Furthermore, while a large number of businesses have bought licenses to run Windows Vista, many of these companies are holding off deployment.[91]

Some organizations have denounced Vista due to its problems. For example, in October 2007, The Dutch Consumers Association called for a boycott of Windows Vista after the software giant refused to offer free copies of Windows XP to users who had problems with Vista.[92]

See also

References

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  6. ^ Evers, Joris (2006-05-07). "Report: Vista to hit anti-spyware, firewall markets". ZDNet News. CNet. Retrieved 2007-01-21.
  7. ^ Charles (2007-03-05). "UAC - What. How. Why" (video). Retrieved 2007-03-23.
  8. ^ Microsoft blocks 64-bit driver - News - heise Security UK
  9. ^ Linchpin Labs | Response to Microsoft's Classification of Atsiv
  10. ^ Alex Ionescu’s Blog » Update on Driver Signing Bypass
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  13. ^ Marsh, Dave (2007-01-20). "Windows Vista Content Protection - Twenty Questions (and Answers)".
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  18. ^ Vista draining laptop batteries, patience
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  20. ^ Peters, Luke (2006-07-18). "How Vista will affect notebooks". www.vnunet.com. Retrieved 2007-05-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  21. ^ Blass, Evan (2006-06-13). "Laptop Vista Premium certification will require hybrid HDDs". www.engadget.com. Retrieved 2007-05-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  22. ^ "Gartner: App testing delaying Vista rollouts". zdnetasia.com. Retrieved 2007-05-22.
  23. ^ "Microsoft rallies developers behind Vista". zdnetasia.com. Retrieved 2007-05-22.
  24. ^ "No Rush to Adopt Vista". IDG, quoted on PC World. Retrieved 2007-05-22.
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  27. ^ a b "Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Beta White Paper". (See 'Performance' section)
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  29. ^ ""Application List: Certified for Windows Vista"".
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  31. ^ ""Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor"".
  32. ^ theinquirer.net: DirectX 9.0 L works on Vista only
  33. ^ Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows: Windows Vista Review, Part 6: Compatibility
  34. ^ www.symantec.com Vista Compatibility
  35. ^ www.adobe.com Vista support in Adobe products
  36. ^ www.hp.com General compatibility with Vista
  37. ^ www.hp.com Specific example of lack of compatibility with Vista
  38. ^ Printer makers, Dave Wascha, a director in the Windows Client group, noted, draw profits from ink cartridges and services, and have little motivation to invest in updating drivers for old hardware"Six months on, Vista users still griping (page 2)". MS NBC [www.msnbc.com]. Retrieved 2007-07-27.
  39. ^ "hpqscnvw has stopped working". Hewlett Packard.
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  41. ^ zdnetasia.com
  42. ^ Warne, Dan (2007-01-22). "Is Vista's Australian pricing a rip-off?". apcmag.com. Retrieved 2007-01-23.
  43. ^ "Vista comes to rip-off Britain". The Inquirer. 2007-01-23. Retrieved 2007-01-24.
  44. ^ "Microsoft vilified over price of Vista". VNU Business Publications. 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-23. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  45. ^ Santo Domingo, Joel (May 4 2007). "New Benchmark Tests for Vista". tomshardware.com. Retrieved 2007-05-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  46. ^ Schmid, Patrick (January 29 2007). "Windows XP vs. Vista: The Benchmark Rundown". abcnews.go.com. Retrieved 2007-05-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  47. ^ "calculating time remaining moving, deleting, copying files very slow".
  48. ^ "An update is available that improves the performance and reliability of Windows Vista".
  49. ^ Abazovic, Fuad (December 4 2006). "Testing Vista's different memory configurations". theinquirer.net. Retrieved 2007-05-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  50. ^ "Valve Survey Summary". steampowered.com. November 15 2006. Retrieved 2007-05-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  51. ^ Williams, Rob (January 29 2007). "Windows Vista Gaming Performance Reports". techgage.com. Retrieved 2007-05-26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  52. ^ The 3DMark 06 score on Vista is approximately half the score with XP in some benchmarks, and the average framerate with Vista for F.E.A.R. is also approximately half the XP score, all with 2 GB of memory, a ATI Radeon X1950XTX GPU, and a Intel Core 2 Duo 6600 for XP / Intel Core 2 Duo 6700 for Vista).
  53. ^ Cross, Jason (February 20 2007). "Vista Game Performance: Vista vs. XP and ATI vs. Nvidia". extremetech.com. Retrieved 2007-05-26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  54. ^ Wall, Jason (May 7 2007). "XP vs. Vista - A Tale of Framerates". enthusiast.hardocp.com. Retrieved 2007-05-26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  55. ^ http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=205920302 "A lot of people think of Windows as this large, bloated operating system. That may be a fair characterization,"
  56. ^ Computerworld. "The Skinny on Windows SPP and Reduced Functionality in Vista".
  57. ^ Microsoft PressPass. "Microsoft's Software Protection Platform: Protecting Software and Customers from Counterfeiter".
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  59. ^ "Hands On: A Hard Look at Windows Vista". 2006-11-10. p. 15. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
  60. ^ Bott, Ed (2006-10-04). "For Vista, WGA gets tougher". Ed Bott's Microsoft Report. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
  61. ^ Ed Bott (2006-10-04). WGA failures "Another wave of WGA failures". Ed Bott's Microsoft Report. Retrieved 2007-07-19. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  62. ^ "Windows Genuine Advantage suffers worldwide outage, problems galore (updated)". Retrieved 2007-08-24.
  63. ^ Update on Validation Issues "Update on Validation Issues". Retrieved 2007-07-28. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  64. ^ "Product Activation for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008". 2007-11-06.
  65. ^ "Microsoft to remove "reduced functionality mode" from Vista". 2007-12-04. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
  66. ^ "Microsoft: Vista piracy rate is half that of XP". 2007-12-04. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
  67. ^ "Ultimate Extras, Where are you?". windowsconnected.com. July 4 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-04. {{cite web}}: |first= missing |last= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  68. ^ Dunn, Josh (July 4 2007). "Microsoft evades promise of Vista Ultimate Extras". windowsconnected.com. Retrieved 2007-07-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  69. ^ Long Zheng. "Windows Ultimate Extras is a sham - where's the responsibility?".
  70. ^ "Windows DreamScene released!". September 25 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-05. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  71. ^ Gutmann, Peter (2007-01-27). "A Cost Analysis of Windows Vista Content Protection". Retrieved 2007-01-27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  72. ^ Buy my books! | Ed Bott’s Windows Expertise |
  73. ^ "Everything you've read about Vista DRM is wrong". ZDNet. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
  74. ^ "BadVista.org". Free Software Foundation. Retrieved 2007-01-09.
  75. ^ Manes, Stephen (2007-02-26). "Dim Vista, Forbes Magazine". Retrieved 2007-04-04.
  76. ^ [http://www.forbes.com/security/2007/02/10/microsoft-vista-drm-tech-security-cz_bs_0212vista.html Why Vista's DRM Is Bad For You]
  77. ^ Dan Tynan (2007-12-16). "The 15 Biggest Tech Disappointments of 2007". PC World. IDG. Retrieved 2007-12-18.: listed as #1 of "The 15 Biggest Tech Disappointments of 2007"
  78. ^ Neil McAllister (2008-01-21). "Tech's all-time top 25 flops". InfoWorld. IDG. Retrieved 2008-01-27.
  79. ^ The figure used is the arithmetic mean of all usage share figures published on or after 1st December 2007, listed in Usage share of desktop operating systems
  80. ^ Microsoft: First Month Vista Sales Double XP, article by Nate Mook
  81. ^ Apple's Leopard leaps highest of all Mac OS sales
  82. ^ PC World's Techlog PCWorld.com Year-End Stats: IE 7, Firefox, Vista, Mac
  83. ^ Electronista: XP on 50% more PCs than Vista in 2007
  84. ^ List of top selling operating systems on Amazon.com
  85. ^ Ina Fried, CNET (2007-09-27). "Microsoft extends Windows XP's stay".
  86. ^ Ina Fried, CNET (2007-09-21). "The XP alternative for Vista PCs" (Article).
  87. ^ ChangeWave: Post-Holiday PC Round Up
  88. ^ Don Reisinger (2007-12-11). "Apple's Mac Market Share Rise is Good for Consumers" (Article).
  89. ^ bMighty.com: Vista is Bad. Should Smaller Businesses Go For it Anyway?
  90. ^ IT Pros Grapple With Timing Of Windows Vista Deployment
  91. ^ Microsoft: Vista bought but not deployed
  92. ^ "Dutch Consumer Association declares war on Vista".
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