All the advertising in the world can’t overcome consumer attitudes. Microsoft has been battling the negative buzz about Vista for months. And now, in a concession to box makers/distributors, Redmond will ignore the Jan 2009 kill date and extend XP availability at least through the end on May. That may buy the company some time but it doesn’t solve the issue. Many consumers are simply skipping Vista and waiting for the release of Windows 7, which is getting very good preliminary reviews. By announcing an extension through May for XP, Microsoft could be signaling that Windows 7 may be available earlier that the anticipated Fall 2009 release. Redmond sunk a lot of R&D money into Vista and then burned through a bunch of marketing dollars to rehab the product reputation while comsumers turned, almost instantly, against the program. Fortunately, Microsoft has the money to take the hit, but heaven help them if Windows 7 is a dud as well.
Windows users were use to fairly stable user interface. When Microsoft enforced wholesale changes on users, what else could they expect than a revolt by the current user base.
Vista is not a bad product, but from the user perspective it is not Windows either. A lot of users feel that if they are going to have to learn how to use a new system anyhow, then maybe it is a time to change to something with fewer legacy issues than Windows, like Linux or MacIntosh.