ComputerWorld Uses RESCUECOM Comments about Vista

RESCUECOM Advises People to Wait Several Months to Upgrade to Vista

COMPUTERWORLD
By Gregg Keizer
August 28, 2007:


Wait six months after SP1 to tackle Vista, says support CEO

In the meantime, hang on to XP, says David Milman of Rescuecom

If there's one word to describe Windows Vista users, that word is frustrated, said the head of a national chain of computer support centers today.

How frustrated?

"Wait for six months after Vista SP1 [Service Pack 1] appears before moving to Vista," recommended David Milman, CEO of Rescuecom Corp., which operates a chain of IT support franchises. "Microsoft certainly does need to address Vista's problems [with SP1], but we're telling customers to stay with XP for at least the rest of 2007 and through much of 2008 if SP1 is delayed to the start of that year."

Milman based his advice on a sampling of the calls taken by Rescuecom outlets nationwide. Of the 2,500 calls for service, 4.5overall were related to Vista, slightly under the estimated 5.4market share enjoyed by Microsoft Corp.'s newest operating system. When small business customers contacted Rescuecom, however, 7of the time they were dialing because of Vista.

Compatibility problems that are still arising months after Vista's release are the reason, said Milman. "Windows' hallmark has always been its backward compatibility," he said, but a big chunk of support calls, especially from businesses, involve running third-party software on Vista. "We're seeing lots of problems with older programs that the customer has been running, sometimes for years," Milman said.

Most of the incompatibility questions that Rescuecom is receiving involve upgrading existing hardware to support Vista, and performance problems that arise after the operating system has been installed. Some customers, in fact, have reverted back to Windows XP because of their dissatisfaction with Vista's performance on older hardware setups, said Milman.

"There's no question that XP is the most solid Windows platform right now," he said. "Stick with XP if you can. There's only one reason to switch, and that's if the new software brings something new to the table. Vista doesn't bring enough new things to the table."

About 22of Rescuecom's customers continue to buy XP-equipped PCs, said Milman.

Some PC manufacturers have seen the same stick-with-XP attitude. In April, for example, Dell Inc. relented to continued demand for Windows XP by returning the older operating system to its list of pre-installed options for consumers. Even Microsoft has smelled the XP coffee. Last month, the company's chief financial officer tweaked the company's fiscal 2008 forecast to show a 7822split in sales between Vista and XP, a change from the earlier 8515prediction.

At the moment, Microsoft's deadline for phasing out XP to large original equipment manufacturers like Dell is Jan. 30, 2008; smaller system builders and end users, however, will be able to license XP into early 2009.

"We obviously believe, in two or three years, Vista will be the de facto standard," said Milman, "but users should hold off another six months after SP1."

Google Reviews

susan poesl
susan poesl
2 weeks ago
Rescuecom has been providing me great service for the past 14 years and I highly recommend them to o
...Rescuecom has been providing me great service for the past 14 years and I highly recommend them to others seeking computer support and services. less
Juliet Mcgriff
Juliet Mcgriff
4 weeks ago
It is great that Rescuecom is on top of things keeping my computer up to date and maintenance throug
...It is great that Rescuecom is on top of things keeping my computer up to date and maintenance through out the year while using the services they provide. I would highly recommend to others. less
Robert Estep
Robert Estep
1 months ago
Roy does good stuff. Use him! Five Stars. Always to the point and takes care of issues fast.
...Roy does good stuff. Use him! Five Stars. Always to the point and takes care of issues fast. less
Brian Roark
Brian Roark
3 months ago
I want to thank David and Roy at Rescuecom for assisting me with getting my Dell Laptop back to squa
...I want to thank David and Roy at Rescuecom for assisting me with getting my Dell Laptop back to square one with protection and monitoring as well updating my system. I highly recommend them to others in need of computer help and assistance. less
View all Google reviews

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