Windows Vista: Selling like hot cakes

Vista has launched, the dust has settled, and the sales figures are out. According to Microsoft's own numbers, over 20 million licences of the new OS have been sold since January. Not only that, but Vista has apparently been selling twice as fast as Windows XP -- which managed just 17 million sales in two months.

This comes as something of a surprise to us -- especially given the rough ride Vista has received in the press. The naysayers have been saying nay an awful lot -- citing Vista's obvious Mac OS X influence, its questionable UK pricing structure, and surround-sound foibles. But the numbers speak for themselves -- the new OS is a hit.

Obviously, not all of the 20 million are off-the-shelf purchases. Some are from sales of new Vista-equipped PCs, and others are from the Vista Express Upgrades programme. We've got to doff our cap to M$ though, it has managed to turn an oft-maligned product into an initial success, like what Sony did with its PlayStation 3.

All that's left to say is 'hey, Bill, how's about sliding us some of that cash?' -RR