[citation][nom]alidan[/nom]i got windows 7 for 30$, i hate it. but its not my computer, and i can put xp on my own, so all good. i go into why i hate 7 every time i say it, and apparently no one understands why i hate every aspect of 7's ui... apparently im alone on that.[/citation]
I was one of those that hated the Win 7 UI at first as well. Now that I have become accustomed to the Win 7 UI through using it at work and on other people's machines, I am currently use the default Win 7 UI at home, and like it. But it took me awhile.
Since I work for a University, I've gotten copies of both Windows and Mac OS X (yes, I use Macs too), as well as Office, VB Studio, iWork, Final Cut Pro, etc. all for free. And I know many other people, especially on Tom's, that have managed to get massive discounts on software from other sources as well.
But the point is, when some random John Doe walks into Best Buy, they can buy Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard for $29.00, period.
They walk into the Windows isle and they are likely to see 5 different versions of Windows 7, and each version has an Retail version, a Family Pack, and Upgrade Family Pack, an System Builder, a 64-bit version, a 32-bit version, a this, a that, blah blah blah, ALL for $80 or more.
To the computer illiterate, that is overwhelming. And it isn't like the employees at Best Buy will actually be able to help them pick the right version either.
Basically, it is WAY too difficult to upgrade Windows, so most people won't even try and they will just wait until they buy a new computer. On top of this, businesses won't upgrade their Windows XP machines because it is too expensive, can become very complicated, and takes too much time. So Microsoft has dug itself into a hole, and now it is stuck supporting an OS they don't want to support.
At the University, we have had Windows 7 since the RTM date almost 2 years ago now, and we started upgrading machines pretty much immediately. Yet we just recently passed the 50% mark on the upgrade process. For our Mac machines, we are at the 100% mark and have been for over a year now. Granted we have more Windows machines than Macs (about a 60%/40% Win/Mac ratio), but still.
Don't get me wrong, I love Windows more than Mac OS, but Microsoft didn't make supporting Windows a walk on the beach.