blinkermann, it is undeniable that MS has forged progress in the software realm, I mean really, there's no one bigger. Then again, just as in nearly every other instance one can point to, they've become so big that they've lost their focus along with their basic ability to do the things that put them on top in the 1st place, and ... have lost touch with the consumers who installed them in the position they now hold in the marketplace, which is why they stand currently poised to lose big time if they get it wrong at this juncture.

When they delayed the debut of Vista, by like 3 yrs after it was supposed to have come out, it was obvious even then that their edge was gone in the ability to bring a new product to market in the same way they had previously.

Then when it was introduced and the market refused to jump on the new band wagon, again it only showed the markets satisfaction with the older XP product and their displeasure with the idea of Vista requiring additional investments in hardware for problee at least 90% of those who MIGHT have wanted to switch to it.

I personally don't think force feeding the market Vista when they so obviously don't seem to have aquired a taste for it is their best course of action at this point. These actions seem more likely to further alienate their market than it would be to simply stop tryin so hard to peddle Vista and keep on supporting XP until they have a more valuable product to sell the public in the future