Ballmer Warns Business to Stop Installing XP, or Employees Will Complain

This has to be one of the most rediculous things, coming from Steve Ballmer's mouth, I have read in a long time. In fact I am of the opinion that this warning from Mr. Ballmer is certainly a poor example of what is commonly known as FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt). Who does Mr. Ballmer think he is kidding here? Am I expected not to have the mental capacity to realize that Mr. Ballmer is up to his shenanigans again? Am I expected to swallow this warning hook, line, and sinker?

Posted 02/06/09 at 09:08:34 AM | by Paul Lilly

The time has come for businesses to abandon Windows XP and start using Vista, so says Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. Failure to do so might result in a discontent work force.

"If you deploy a four or five-year old operating sytem today, most people will ask their boss why the heck they don't have the stuff they have at home," Ballmer said during an interview at a New York City Event.

Whether or not "the stuff they have at home" is Vista or XP, Ballmer has good reason to push the former to business owners. According to the most recent survey results collected by Forrester, Vista is powering slightly less than 10 percent of all PCs within enterprises in North America and Europe.

On the bright side (for Microsoft), Ballmer may not have to do much convincing. Forrester also says that 31 percent of enterprises have begun deploying Vista, even with Windows 7 now on the horizon.

The laptops and desktops I use at both home and work are sufficiently powerful to run Widows Vista with no problem at all. However, all of my home computers run Linux, with a single computer that runs Windows XP Home Edition (dual boot for the wife). I have no inclination to change this in any way shape or form, especially if my option is to use Windows Vista.

The computers I use at work are XP Professional based. This is obviously not my first choice, but I have zero input regarding the hardware, software, or OS I use here. Now that I think about it, I think that I can safely say that I have never felt discontent that my company is not running Linux even though this is my OS preference at home. So, how can Mr. Ballmer make such a statement, regarding switching to Windows Vista, with a straight face?

I seem to recall having read an article that indicated Microsoft was providing a downgrade-to-Windows XP coupon for those users purchasing a new computer with Windows Vista pre-installed. It has been suggested that this was being done because even Microsoft knew they had a turd out there. It is like someone getting in an elevator and cutting a fart just before the elevator stops to pick up another passenger. No matter what the farter starter says to cover his/her tracks, they both know the origin of the stink.

Overall my problem with Microsoft is that, relative to their OSes, they try to take control from the user because they feel they know what is best, which is certainly not always the case. To some extent I have countered this by replacing the Explorer shell with Emerge Desktop and various utilities. This has allowed me to configure the look and feel of my Windows experience. I can not do much about the way the bloated behemouth behaves.

If you ask me, moving to Windows Vista is not an upgrade, and with that, I am off to see the wizard...