We Fear Change

I think this cartoon speaks volumes about the feelings many have towards the fact that Microsoft is slowly moving off of supporting Windows XP for very much longer and moving over to Vista full time. From their perspective I can see the point. You're running two similar yet inherently different operating systems, one of which is popular enough among the people and the other still quirky enough that people are completely against it. I can remember the similar broughaha that went on when Windows transitioned from support to Windows 98 to Windows 2000 and higher. People were upset over the fact that Windows 98 (which was probably one of their most stable operating systems) were being forced to use a newer yet less stable operating system. I guess it's not so much that we fear change as it is we fear the track record of Microsoft.

Whether you love Microsoft products or you hate them (and there are large majorities for both) it's hard enough to find a happy median ground. People argue over the fact that Microsoft has more or less monopolized the operating systems market and while that's true, it isn't completely their fault. At least I would argue that it isn't. They made an interface that was pretty easy to use and was pretty popular with general users. Sure it is probably one of the most problematic operating systems that is currently out there but so what? They cornered the market when there was no one else willing to jump in and play. They are now more or less firmly in control of the market and I don't blame them at all for wanting to stay that way. I don't blame them for their efforts to make Vista the default system now as well.

In Economics and Business school you study on monopolies and what you find is that when there is little or no competition, it is easy to corner the market and define what actions you do or don't want to take. Now granted there are other options out there in terms of operating systems such as Linux and the like, but for the average user, it is a little beyond their understanding to wipe out Windows and install something that requires a little bit of brainpower. Now that's not to belittle people but it's true. We want computers to be simple to operate machines, not complex items which require a good deal of know-how. That's both a good and a bad thing but still, if you don't have or don't want to acquire the know-how on how to install something like Linux, you don't have that much right to complain about the fact that Microsoft is more or less pigeonholing you into doing certain things, such as switching over to Vista.

Microsoft has probably spent a bundle on the development of Vista and for good or bad, it is here to stay. Though there are apparently problems galore (I am still running XP myself) I'm sure they will get straightened out soon enough. I think it's unreal to expect something to run perfectly the first time. There are rare cases where it does happen but not often. I think the public and the media tend to blow a lot of these things out of proportion. Sure Vista isn't perfect but it isn't suddenly going to wipe out your computers just because you install it. You may think so and detractors of Microsoft may want you to think so too but relax, change is good! Don't fear it... embrace it. And if you fear it that much.... educate yourself so that you don't have to rely on Microsoft to make these decisions for you.