The INQUIRER? That's my home page... - Intel field sales engineer
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Windows 7 is not boosting PC sales
ONE OF MICROSOFT'S big claims about Windows 7 was that it would kick start the PC industry.
People would rush to buy new PCs to run the all singing, all dancing OS, burbled the Vole.
At the time this particular message was a contradiction.
Microsoft had for a long time been pitching Windows 7 to XP users who were running old gear. It told them that even if they didn't buy a new PC, Windows 7 would still run on their now geriatric machines.
However, despite warnings from industry analysts that a hardware boom might not follow on the back of the Windows 7 launch, many OEMs did expect users to upgrade their computers. Component makers all reported brisk sales of their products in the lead up to the Windows 7 launch.
Sales of the operating system do appear to be good, at least in the consumer market, but that is where it appears to have stopped. PC sales have only slightly improved overall.
The lucrative corporate market appears to still be waiting and companies are the biggest buyers of PC hardware. PC makers have claimed that in some cases the machines they must have are so old they still use Roman numerals instead of Arabic numbers.
Last week investment bank Morgan Stanley dismissed hopes that there would be an early revival in corporate and consumer spending that would would prop up chip sales. It claimed that the numbers of computers that are 'replacement age' in corporates have been overstated.
Intel, which has made a pile of money from OEMs buying up chips to get ready for Windows 7, is predicting that a recovery in PC sales will not happen until 2010.
John Davies, who is in charge of sales and marketing, told Reuters that Windows 7 will bring a hardware boom eventually. Windows 7 is still mostly a consumer segment product with businesses still running pilot projects on it. In 2010 they will probably start deploying Windows 7 and they will need new hardware, Davies indicated.
He was optimistic about a corporate inventory refresh cycle coming soon. "You cannot forecast these cycles perfectly, but we had a big one in 1999 with the Y2K and the dotcom burst, then there was a refresh about four years later and another one has to be coming soon," he said.
Sales in emerging economies, particularly in China and in Latin America, are growing, however.
Other corporates will be waiting for Microsoft to release its first service pack before they consider it. The problem for the Vole is what it will put in any service pack. Windows 7, unlike Vista or even XP, is actually functioning pretty well on its first go. Even the traditional patch Tuesday failed to come up with any faults.
This is not traditional for the early life of any Microsoft operating system and even some others too. Witness the buckets of patches and updates that Apple put out for its Mac OS X Snow Leopard within weeks of its launch.
Ironically, to convince companies that Windows 7 is ready and stable enough to adopt, it has to show that it was broken enough at its initial launch for there to be a service pack. In Windows 7 case there isn't.
However what all this is showing is that the days when the Vole's release of a new operating system created an instant boom in PC hardware sales are probably gone. It is now simply one of several factors that might make people decide to buy. µ
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I think Windows 7 is doing its part. Many people are upgrading to it and like it. The problem for new PC sales are, the new components cost too much. I've looked at building a new i7 system, and unless you buy a low end chip it isn't cheap. If you're not willing to spend a lot of money, you're stuck with the i5 or lowest end i7 chip. Video cards have gotten out of control on pricing too, if you ask me. People want the latest tech but don't want to pay for it. The cheapest i7 cpu on n3wegg is almost $300 and the motherboards aren't exactly low cost either. Plus you're forced to buy newer DDR3 (not that it's a bad thing, but another expense) and a new video card if you're still on PCIe ver. 1 or AGP. you're talkin'$750-$1000 just for those components unless you buy a $50 video card and only put a half GB of RAM in the computer. It's just not good enough. People would love Windows 7 probably on a new computer because, I think people mostly desire to use Windows on a snappy system. Besides crashes, most people's complaints are waiting for things to load and pop up on the screen. They hate hour glasses to no end and have been dying to see MS release an "upgrade" that'll feel fast. I think Microsoft has done their part, if Windows 7 runs well on older components, then it's the companies making the kits that need to get prices to an affordable level so people can enjoy the faster hardware. They're so busy trying to cram all these netbooks and low powered CPU's down our throats for $300-$500 touting thin profile aesthetics and not giving people what they really want. I'm not saying people don't want smaller, thinner products that look good, require less power and is better for the environment... because, they do. However, they don't want to pay an extra $300 for an extra 0.34 GHZ and an extra $50-$100 for a new motherboard and be forced to shell out a few hundred more for a new video card and RAM. If you ask me, people aren't going to upgrade until the i7 platform comes down in price. I think most hardware reviewers agree that the i7 is very good, and consumers know about it, and are waiting for it to come into their price range.
The large telco I work for is finally going to upgrade our p4 2.6 512mb ram pc's to new boxes.
The kicker?
The only thing our old boxes need is ram. Everything else is fine. They're past their 5 year extended warranty too.
We're going to move from old slow, horribly crippled boxes that average about 1% cpu and 200+% ram usage to new shiney boxes that average about .5% cpu and 25% ram usage.
This is the real problem PC makers are facing. What we have, really is good enough.
If it wasnt for some stupid corporate policy that meant we couldnt duck out to the shop and get 2gb of ram for 50$ a pop 2 years ago, we wouldnt be upgrading now. Someone I work with was sternly told off for doing exactly that.
What PC makers should be touting now to corporates is how green they are. There arent really any more angles to go with.
I think there could easily be a killing to be made in the corporate space with a combination of ARM based power monitoring+networking, Atom(+Ion?), and <40gb s time Dell etc thought different too.
I am a private citizen, who has used microcomputers since the 1970s prior to the days of the PCs and Macs. For me, they are just useful tools, not toys, and I just want them the work properly. The only time I will upgrade an OS is when the OS does not work properly. Microsoft has a long history of introducing a new OS, promising great new capabilities that simply does not work, and requires that another version be introduced to fix the problem. The first time they did this was MSDOS 4.0, which drove many to revert to MSDOS 3.3, and use third party memory managers. MSDOS 5.0 eventually fixed this, but many had already gone to DRDOS, which is what my old legacy DOS machines run. The second fiasco was Windows 95, which I compare to the GM Chevy Vega, that had many returning to Windows 3.1. Windows 98 did fix this, but not before millions of human hours had been wasted. Now we have Windows 7, which is IMO simply the cure for the Vista illness. I preordered the upgrade for my very sick laptop that I bought 2 years ago with Vista loaded from the OEM, not to get some neat new features but simply to rescue it from the trash bin. Fortunately, Windows 7 is working trouble free, and I hope to get many productive years use from this machine. My 5 year old desktop will continue to run XP, but at least I don't have to worry about replacing it in the future with a new machine with Windows 7 on it. One thing for sure, I won't buy Windows 8, as I'm sure that MS will somehow again manage to screw things up. They never learn.
Congratulations, Klaus, for taking the cake in spreading the MS koolaid. Win7 a revolution, yeah, sure. Collect your paycheck, you were very convincing.
And thank you all the others who take every mention of Microsoft to extol the virtues of the latest version of its operating system.
Could you tell me if MS has taken DRM out of Win 7/Vista SP3 ? Because no one seems to know.
In 2009, Microsoft issued encouragements about Windows 7, then moved to exaltations and then basically threatened their large corporate users still clinging to XP. They were desperate and their "voices" betrayed that. They are still desperate and it shows in multiple arenas.
If you think Nick is all wrong, do the research yourself and you will change your tune. Or you can simply take a wait and see attitude and witness Microsoft's continued death spiral.
Microsoft has had two abiding flaws: 1.) lack of true innovative ability and
2.) the inability to understand their customers and the marketplace in general.
Do not let their domination in the market confuse the issue. They are where they are because of previous employees abilities to market a product, secure binding contracts, and convince corporate executives they were the best game in town.
The world has changed around Microsoft but they are blind to it. The landscape is littered with the corpses of those who acted likewise. When was the last time you saw a newly manufactured typewriter? Or a wind-up Swiss watch?
Hey J:
While MS may not have said directly that Windows7 was expected to boost PC sales (and I have no idea), various "industry analysts" were widely reported as saying Windows7 would boost PC sales - including repeats here at l'inq.
I posted a comment here detailing why that was likely a load of old cobblers. I stand by those comments.
Dweeb
Then why are we so busy?
People generally buy a new operating system because they are buying a new computer, that doesn't mean that they will buy a new computer just to get a new operating system.
Operating systems are boring as dishwater, no one rushes out to get a new PC just for a new OS (I hope not anyway). I've bought a new PC to handle a new game before, and I'll do it again, but for a new operating system? You've got to be joking.
Get a clue. Why would I upgrade my computer now, right before the Christmas sales that computer manufacturers are banking on? Microsoft timed the release of Windows 7 so that it would be released before Christmas so people can plan on upgrading come the big spending season.
Plus Windows 7 runs very nicely on old hardware, much better than Vista ever did. It's even less an incentive to upgrade the hardware.
Having Had GENERAL STORE w/ Pharm desk, No ONE Spends Money In Dec ,Nor Jan. Even Guest won't BUY Narcs' Even HUGE Sign"PURE MeETALIC MORPHINE In Stock ",oww,now. NO ONe Cares, Money Spent. Thank tam,We'ed Pusher Mam....
Spring, 7 & Dx11 Coming In. Machines aplenty & Thurban. Everybody got 785/790 series. When Build It, they Will Spend.
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On black Update Tues, BLACK for who-Who. there where 8 -=7=- Updates, D has Auto Update ON, look In History. about 20 Mb.
drashek Did mention Dat....
When Vista came out people needed new hardware to run the new OS. Win 7 runs happy on the old Vista hardware. Why buy a new PC when the old one does everything just fine.
"people are not as stupid as MS thinks there are"
@Scott, thanks for the laughs.
Microsoft never claimed that Windows 7 would give the PC industry a boost. Matter of fact, they, at MANY press events and press releases, stated that they didn't expect it to because of the economy in the US being on the beginnings of recovery. You make a false statement- A BLATENT LIE in your opening sentence. Noone expected 7 to boost PC sales, just hoped that it would.
How do you expect to be taken seriously if you write such idiotic lies?
A 2 ghz pc with 1 gb ram and windows xp will run microsoft office just fine.
I believe that would be the what most corporate users do.
Telling the corporations to spend millions so the buttons in office become shiny... -well, just glad I'm not the sales rep tasked to do it.
Maybe next time, microsoft should add some actual features to their new operating system. I'd upgrade for that new filesystem they promised us way back when vista was just gleam in the lead programmers eye.
How do they measure "pc sales" is it just fools who buy prebuilt systems from dell or hp etc or do they count motherboard sales? If they do how do they know a motherboard is not for an upgrade vs a new machine. it seems kind of impossible to measure.
As for all these people complaining about win7 being a service pack. should look at OS "10" or "X" as it is called it 8 years old and service packs are $29 a go.
There is more new/different in windows7 vs vista than "snow leopard" vs the previous release.
I never upgraded to Vista from XP simply because it was awfull. Last week i Installed Windows 7 PRO on a New HD and tried it out. Simply put I have to say that it is amazing, its much faster then xp, very stable (one app that crashed requried me to boot XP but not so with Win 7 ) and most of all it has worked flawlessly so far without any problems.
Now I have the option on Boot Up as to wich OS i want to boot in too.
For me Microsoft finally has done it right with Win 7.
I have been using XP up till now, When vista came out i upgraded using a bootloader to try it out and i coudln't stand it at all....I hated is so much. Nothing was working right....my ram was at 50% all the time games would play slower, i went back to xp a week later. Yesterday i downloaded and installed windows 7 using another loader and i have to say i love it. I'm keeping it on a tril basis before i go out and buy my family pack. But right now, its fast and not sluggish at all. In fact ill be buying a new PC in about a month and i did plan the purchase of my new PC around this new OS. Go give windows 7 a try if you have not allready. Beautiful and a justwork OS!! You do not need a right click justwork button with this OS.
Tech journalists are as much of journalists as Rush Limbaug is one!
Microsoft Bashing is reaching a level of stupidity never saw before!
Windows 7 is a REVOLUTION in personal computing!
Come on, learn to read or at least get your facts straight.
There were no patches released FOR WINDOWS 7 on Patch Tuesday. Those ones you've listed were released for other Windows OSes but NOT Windows 7 as presumably Win7 doesn't need them.
What Nick has said is correct, there were no patches for Win7 on Tuesday.
Windows 7 has nothing to do with lack of PC sales. We are in recession and the gaming industry which so far has weathered the storm have been hit hard with EA slashing 1,700 jobs and closing studios. So in a nutshell few are buying or parting with their cash unless absolutely necessary.
Windows 7 is a damn nice upgrade to Vista which was bloddy awful.
Regardless of what MS says windows 7 is a service pack same open sound and a few new pictures.It still has problems opening big files and people are not as stupid as MS thinks there are, that we should all run out and buy a new computer (that is no faster than 2 years ago basically)
I thought most early sells of win7 where just people replacing vista, or windows 6.
You state Microsoft did not even have to release a patch on Tuesday I guess someone being able to take control of your computer does not qualify in your book for a security Issue the Voles released the following.
Microsoft on Tuesday issued six security bulletins fixing 15 vulnerabilities, including a critical patch for holes in the Windows kernel and other Windows and Office components that could allow an attacker to take control of a computer.