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The free Microsoft Vista offer reported by Lifehacker yesterday is now off the table due to high demand. [Computerworld] (Thanks, Melinda!)
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../../../..//2007/12/12/the-free-microsoft-vista-offer/
The free Microsoft Vista offer reported by Lifehacker yesterday is now off the table due to high demand. [Computerworld] (Thanks, Melinda!)
It seems people aren’t taking to Vista as quickly as Microsoft would have liked. The result? XP will remain available through June 30, 2008.
If you bought a laptop at the end of last year, you probably qualified for a free Vista upgrade. We did and although it took 6 weeks to get the disc in the mail from our laptop manufacturer, we didn’t run into too many hassles. No so for a lot of people, according to PC World:
“I was told it would be an easy process,” says William Bond, of Tampa, Florida. But, he says, the process has been anything but simple. Bond purchased a Hewlett-Packard Pavilion desktop in November at Circuit City and is still waiting for his Vista upgrade disc from ModusLink, the company handling the program for HP.
After hearing from over 10,000 users wary of Windows Vista, Dell has decided to once again sell computers loaded with Windows XP. Most computer makers stopped offering XP after Vista’s launch, even though many users, especially small businesses, are wary of the newfangled operating system. Dell did not consider these concerns reasonable at first.
But on Dell’s IdeaStorm Web site, where visitors can post suggestions for the company and vote on the ones they think are important, a plea titled “Don’t eliminate XP just yet” racked up more than 10,700 votes.
The consumer outcry has restored XP as an option to four Inspiron laptop models and two Dimension desktop models. Dell will only make Windows XP available to U.S. customers. Sorry foreigners, you are stuck with Vista. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER
Microsoft is sending ALL of its XP and Vista tech support calls to India starting March 29th, according to a call center insider. Previously, the call volume was split between a site in North America and locations in Deli and Bangalore.
Brad bought his Dell on October 25th, the day before Dell announced that all future purchases would be eligible for a free upgrade to Vista. Brad called to cancel his order so he could reorder it and be eligible for Vista. Dell, ever the kind soul, told Brad not to bother; they would give him the upgrade for free.
Twelve years ago, Microsoft introduced a new operating system, Windows 95, in a frenzied global marketing blitz that was unlike anything the industry had ever seen.
Yesterday’s fanciful Windows Vista promotion featured thirteen unitard clad abseilers racing down the Terminal Building, waving gaily colored flags to form the Vista logo. It may also have been completely illegal according to NYC Admin Code.
Gothamist has evidence of some “off the wall” advertising by Microsoft. In celebration of the imminent Vista launch, they set up a special billboard in Manhattan…then circus performers encased in colorful scuba diving suits repelled down the surface, hailed cabs and left. Yes, really. It kind of reminds us of that dance cycle guy from the Big Lebowski. Not sure if that was their intention.—MEGHANN MARCO
The other day we linked an article that listed 15 reasons to switch to Vista. The article was from PC World. Now they have one called: “Wait! Don’t Buy Microsoft Windows Vista!” Here are some of their reasons:
It appears that Microsoft and T-Mobile have teamed up to offer free T-Mobile HotSpot Wifi to users of Windows Vista starting January 30th through April 30th. The promotion actually goes live today, the 26th, but that’s a “secret.” Oooh, rumors on the internets. Check out Microsoft and T-Mobile’s incredibly odd website for more details.—MEGHANN MARCO
The world is divided on Windows Vista, it’s the next new thing, or it’s Microsoft suicide. The fact is, Vista is coming. In 4 days.
Let’s face it, you must want those semi-transparent windows or whatever, because they keep showing them to us. Look, look, “special windows!” Ok, awesome. But how do you get Vista onto your Windows XP machine? Can you even upgrade? Will your computer even run it?
The New York Times is reporting that Microsoft Vista has security flaws. Yes, already. In addition to a flaw that lets users increase their own privileges and override all the new fancy Vista security, there’s a “troubling” flaw in IE7. “The browser flaw is particularly troubling because it potentially means that Web users could become infected with malicious software simply by visiting a booby-trapped site.”
So, if you’re upgrading to Vista and you’re really excited about those Aero windows, understand that they may come with a price, at least while on the go. —MEGHANN MARCO
Lifehacker has a Q&A with Microsoft that’s pretty interesting, as the questions were taken from Lifehacker readers. Of critical importance: Should you upgrade?
Microsoft Vista is arriving in January… and the last time we checked that was after the holidays. So if you’re planning on buying a new computer or computer game this holiday season, you might want to pay close attention to the logos on the box. ZDnet has a good article about parsing these various Vista-related stickers. Some advice:
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