Anyone who's paying attention can see that Microsoft's new Vista operating system isn't exactly jumping off the shelves to consumers, so it seems even more puzzling that the software giant is putting a five-year cap on support for the OS.
According to an article in Computerworld, Microsoft has announced that it will limit support for some Vista editions to five years (ending in 2012), rather than the usual 10 years. Vista Home Basic, Home Premium and Ultimate will cease to receive any updates after that time, making them almost instantly obsolete.
Oh well, too bad for those who tried to save a little money on the OS up front. Too bad for those home users and struggling home office users. They'll just have to pony up for the next Windows version, which will perhaps be codenamed "Sucker." Doesn't it strike you as just a little disturbing that Mr. Gates and company will only allow you to effectively use their product for five years? I mean, this is the insurance industry. We are still using computers and systems from 30 years ago!
OK, so we might be accused of being somewhat penurious when it comes to spending on technology, but we don't like being forced to spend more because a software company holds our operating system for ransom. There is no good reason why Microsoft shouldn't continue support for products that remain productive beyond that artificial five-year window. There is a bad reason, however, and that is greed--pure and simple.
If Microsoft looks at our industry five years from now and wonders why it hasn't made further inroads than it wanted, perhaps they will look back and realize that marketing a critical product like an OS with such a short lifespan was not the wisest strategy. While there might be a short-term gain for Microsoft, insurers and agents are smart people who look for long-term benefits from their purchases. It's one thing to come out with a new version in five years, but it is quite another to render the previous version useless.
At least as far as the insurance industry is concerned, with this announcement, Microsoft has given aid and comfort to its competitors.