Texas Plans Ban of Vista From Government PCs
Earlier this week, the Texas state Senate gave preliminary approval to a policy that would forbid the installation of Windows Vista on government computers.
Everyone, including Microsoft, knows that Windows Vista isn’t the most appreciated of operating systems. Large businesses have chosen to stick with Windows XP for support issues, and some consumers shy away from Windows Vista based on performance and other things they have heard.
Even though Windows 7 is nearly upon us, the Texas state Senate gave preliminary approval to a budget that would include a policy to ban the use of Windows Vista on government computers.
ComputerWorld reports that Sen. Juan Hinojosa proposed the bill because "of the many reports of problems with Vista."
"We are not in any way, shape or form trying to pick on Microsoft, but the problems with this particular [operating] system are known nationwide," Hinojosa said. "And the XP operating system is working very well."
While the bill also outlines that agencies who have a use for Windows Vista would have to first get the written approval of the Legislative Budget Board.
Microsoft was predictably disappointed by the proposal. "We're surprised that the Texas Senate Finance Committee adopted a rider which, in effect, singles out a specific corporation and product for unequal treatment,” a spokeswoman wrote. “We hope as the budget continues to go through the process, this language will be removed."
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Texas Department of Information Resources spokesman David Duncan said that the department’s 265 employees remain on Windows XP and Mac OS X, and might skip straight to Windows 7 at the next upgrade. "We're not holding off as a reaction to what Microsoft is producing," he said, adding that Windows 7 also fits better with the agency’s upgrade cycle.
This still another black mark on Windows Vista, but fortunately for Microsoft, Windows 7 is the next big thing.
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thedipper Many reports of problems... makes me wonder if they're talking about the number of problems found in general, or problems THEY had.Reply
I'm thinking they could save money by hiring new IT. -
sot010174 yeah, Im no big fan of Linux, but I do recognize that they work well on server platforms.Reply
Indeed I´m using Vista64 for about 6 months and nothing has gone wrong till now. I´m pretty confident that they're trying to use outdated programs which doesn't work well with the new vista structure. -
Hatecrime69 While I recognize the troubles a new os can bring to IT (just a huge pain in the butt for something that ultimately doesn't make a difference compared to xp for most common needs) it's probably going a bit far to make a rule banning the osReply -
SAL-e I often criticize Microsoft and Vista, but this is my job. I am IT person. The politicians are stepping over the line. This is really, really unacceptable. How the hell this is even possible in US? A month ago, we read about Cuba's Linux, but even the Cuban government is offering it as alternative, and is not banning the Windows. So I am wondering, is the US Socialism starts from Texas?!Reply -
Coilz What the hell ever happened to not choosing Vista? Is it that hard to ghost government machines or ? Seems like a very weird area to create laws about especially when they have an better product from exactly the same company. If anything they should come out saying that they aren't gonna use Vista because its an inferior product.Reply -
totheshed Well this is going to help people choose Windows or OS X. I wish they could just have good IT's because vista is fine. OS X is a piece of sht. I would never revert to switching to OS XReply -
brother shrike That is freaking ridiculous. I love how people knock Vista without even trying it. Sure, it isn't the greatest OS ever, but it isn't that bad at all. It's much more secure than XP or OSX, even without the UAC (which is really annoying, but not incredibly so). read the recent Tom's interview with the pwn2own guy.Reply
And compare the Newegg reviews of vista to the general public's.