Windows Vista is good enough for Intel-powered PCs, just not good enough for Intel employees. At least not yet.
Intel appears to be sticking with Microsoft's Windows XP operating
system for most of its 80,000 employees until the next release of the
OS, code-named Windows 7, is released, perhaps in 2010.
"We're in a refresh cycle now and there are a number of factors
considered before we select software," an Intel spokesman told Reuters.
"We are testing and deploying Windows Vista in certain departments."
Intel and Microsoft have had a close relationship for many years,
with the industry fashioning the phrase "Wintel" to describe PCs that
work on Intel processor's and Microsoft's software.
But Intel's inaction regarding Vista is likely to be seen as an
embarrassment for Microsoft. A source close to Intel told The New York
TImes that the company "found no compelling case for adopting Vista."
Intel, of course, is not alone. Microsoft's latest OS, released
worldwide last January, has been somewhat of a dud commercially. In
April, Microsoft said it had sold more than 140 million Vista licenses,
but many businesses have delayed upgrading to Vista, which requires
higher-end and more expensive hardware components to reach its
potential efficiencies.
Many solution providers have said they've ripped Vista out of new
PCs and "downgraded" to XP, which was released in 2001. Just last
week,Dell delayed its self-imposed deadline for selling PCs preloaded
with XP until yesterday from earlier in the month.
