Wed, July 30, 2008
BEIJING, July 30 (Xinhuanet) -- Microsoft is launching a new campaign to try to get consumers and businesses to take a second look at Windows Vista.
How successful its attempts will be remain to be seen, but Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer made it clear in a memo to all employees last week that of the company's key strategies, "the success of Windows is our No. 1 job."
In the coming weeks, Ballmer said in the memo, Microsoft will start "a campaign to address any lingering doubts our customers may have about Windows Vista."
The effort comes about midway through Vista's three-year life cycle, with a new Windows operating system, now called Windows 7, due out in early 2010, or late 2009 at the soonest.
Michael Cherry, analyst for Directions on Microsoft, an independent research group, said he began using Vista in beta, or test, form six months before it went on the market, and that he has seen improvements in the operating system, except in the area of speed.
"There's no question over the months it's gotten better," he said. "There's more device drivers, and Vista has become more reliable. What it hasn't become is any faster. It still has huge resource demands."
Vista runs better on newer computers with faster processor chips and more memory than on older or economy-scale PCs. Even on newer PCs, Vista can be slow to start, compared to Windows XP, its predecessor. Many consumers and businesses have not wanted to spend the money to buy new PCs and software needed to work with Vista.
(Agencies)
