There is an interesting process in the way that Microsoft has rolled out their latest Operating System, titled, Vista.
This operating system came with no downgrade rights. It was not placed in a CD case like the others and when it was launched via PC manufacturers the previous version as a competitor, was eliminated- more like forbidden to be sold after the launch of the new operating system.
Even the EULA, was rewritten with very restrictive rights. So much so that the Free Software Foundation launched a campaign against it and many consumer groups are recommending not using it for now.
This all has resulted in a market slow down for PC manufacturers and and a shunning of the product by retail consumers. Many are saying that this is Windows Millennium all over again. But on careful examination, it actually looks more like the roll out of Windows 95. A major similarity is that, like Windows 95, Vista is also appears to be quietly beta tested on the consumer market.
This testing is causing unfavorable market changes which Microsoft is perhaps feeling at present. This may be demonstrated by the latest statistics in the retail PC markets.
While...