CNET writer looks at ‘The colossal failure that is Microsoft Windows Vista’

“If you needed any further testament to the colossal failure that is Microsoft Windows Vista, just read this Wall Street Journal article detailing PC manufacturers attempts to design around Vista’s shortcomings, shortcomings that no amount of marketing are going to fix,” Matt Asay writes for CNET.

…[S]ome PC makers are trying to improve that [Vista] experience by adding their own proprietary software to their machines. In some cases, they’re creating new user interfaces intended to make Vista faster and easier to use. In other cases they’re replacing applications from other software companies with their own….

Today, Microsoft encourages PC makers to build software “on top of Windows Vista that enhances the customer experience,” according to an email from Lauren Moynihan, a senior product manager at Microsoft.

Asay writes, “This is the problem: they can’t. At least, not as much as they’d like. PC manufacturers are trying to stand out, but given that they’ve ceded so much power and control over the computing experience to Microsoft, the best they can provide is ‘Windows dressing.’ For Sony, HP, or other PC manufacturers hoping to create an Apple-esque experience, forget it.”

Full article here.