XP just won't die

It's a productivity issue

It isn't about being Luddites. It is a huge economic consideration every time a company adopts new software, which extends far beyond the cost of licenses. The viability of specialty and legacy apps is a major issue. More, though, it becomes a productivity issue. Time is money.

Most companies simply do not need super whiz bang graphics, they need the ability to process words and numbers efficiently. Most business is deadline driven. Perhaps you have noticed that there is an inverse proportion equation that applies when the more pressing the deadline, the more time it takes to learn a new process to complete the same task.

Trying to force a new interface on people who are struggling to do the work of several in this pinched economy is unrealistic. Not all companies have the luxury of staff trainers and IT support.

I am a consultant -- read I have to buy my own software and do my own support -- working with other consultants who are not writers but who are writing instructional material and developing PowerPoint presentations using very specific guidelines. To make this easier for people who are not "power users" of MS Office, macro-enhanced templates were developed. You guessed it, the macros don't work with the new software.

An obvious solution would have been for MS to have built the product so one could opt for the familiar menus and toolbars. Remember how MS Word made it easy for people migrating from WordPerfect? How difficult would it have been to create a virtual assistant that would "watch" what the user does, then offer to demonstrate how the same task would be performed using the new tools?

Yes, I know, they have provided online tutorials, but if you need a quick answer about how to do something, chances are you do not have time to sit through 40 minutes of video. This is particularly annoying when you already know how to do whatever it is.

Vista SP1 works just fine

I am using Vista SP1 right now, and it works just fine. (No, I don't hate it.)

Silly Vista Bashers are stuck in the pre-SP1 past.

Get used to Vista and keep up to date.

Well, all I have to say is that to learn computers, use it. Just play around with it. People say that computers in general are not user friendly. Well, haha, if my dad (almost 60) can learn computers, well, anyone can!!! He is not at all good at electronics and he is doing fine with computers for the most part. You just got to be willing to learn. I would like to encourage people to take the time to learn new programs like Windows Vista and now Windows 7 if and when it comes out. Yeah, the programs maybe a little more challenging, but its always good to be stretched a little, isn't it? In other words, isn't good to have new challenges? Now at the same time, a question comes to mind with Windows XP Pro. Its still being produced while an even new Windows model is in production. Windows XP would now be like 2 steps down from Windows 7. Therefor its getting outdated fast and meaning also that we might start to experience problems with XP since its getting out of date fast. So friends, who are reading this, I again encourage you to just take a little time and learn Vista, at least and if not, Windows 7. Then once you feel comfortable with these, you can purchase the upgrades and save money in the long run. Good luck!

GUI's put it simply, vista

GUI's

put it simply, vista is much more beautiful than xp. Ran xp x86/x64, vista 32, and windows 7 prebetas.

Vista outperforms xp as long as you have a decent graphics card. Helps that I have SLI with 1 gb of graphics memory.

Point being.. In a year or two mainstream laptops will be x64 running 8 gig of ram and hopefully windows 7's new warp10 technology will be able to assist "graphic cardless" pc's in running its pretty visuals. Note that windows 7 really is just vista on steroids. It's going to live up to the hype.
It really is an improvement.

Stop hating on vista; it simply wasnt ready for its time. Everyone is still stuck on x86 4gb max RAM architecture.