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Jason Jenkins

Jason loves anything tech-related and drives his partner crazy by bringing home the latest gadgets to play with. So crazy, in fact, she has finally persuaded him to buy a new place to house all the junk -- sorry, life-changing consumer technology -- he has amassed over the years

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Tuesday 30 June 2009, 1:10pm

Blame Microsoft for the Windows 7 upgrade shambles, not the EU

Last week was not Microsoft's finest hour. For years, it's been working on the successor to Windows Vista, and there's a lot at stake.

Rightly or wrongly, hordes of consumers haven't flocked out to buy Vista. The problems Microsoft had when it launched created bad perceptions in the minds of consumers that have never gone away.

Now add Apple into the mix. Never one to miss an opportunity to put the boot in, it's been running a smart ad campaign that's cemented the perception of Windows as a bloated, virus-ridden OS for boring office drones.

Windows 7 is Microsoft's answer to its critics, and its success will be key to retaining its massive market share. Essentially Windows Vista with a few extra features and a less pretentious name, overall reaction to it so far has been positive, and rightly so. Vista is actually pretty good now, so Microsoft can't go far wrong if it basically leaves well alone.

But just as everything looks to be turning up roses, what does Microsoft do? Annoy the whole of Europe by decreeing that, unlike the rest of the world, we won't be able to upgrade existing installations to Windows 7. Instead, we'll have to install a fresh copy of the software, copy our data over and re-install any applications we had before.

This decision isn't just a major pain in the bum, it's going to cause many PC users real problems. Leaving aside the fact that not everyone has the technical nous to make comprehensive backups of their data, the legions of people that have bought computers with software pre-installed could be out of pocket.

The days when new computers came with backup CDs are largely a thing of the past. If your computer came with an anti-virus program, office suite or photo-editing tool, it's likely they're contained in a hidden partition on the hard drive, designed only to be accessed if you choose a full re-install of the OS. That means you probably won't be able to access them once you've installed Windows 7.

Some people may be grateful for that -- this stuff isn't referred to as 'crapware' for nothing. But there are some decent bits of software out there, such as PhotoShop Elements and Premiere Elements. Regardless, the point is that consumers shouldn't have to be forced to work around this simply by switching from one Microsoft operating system to another.

What possible justification can Microsoft have for causing all this headache and disruption? The company is blaming the EU, saying it has been forced to release a different version of Windows in Europe from the rest of world following anti-trust rulings.

This is nothing more than spin. There's no technical reason why simply stripping Internet Explorer out of Windows should mean that everyone has to install a fresh copy of Windows. In fact, Microsoft told The Guardian in an interview that it "simply didn't have the time to do upgrade testing".

No time? Who's it kidding? The EU made its ruling in 2004. Microsoft lost an appeal against it in 2007. That's more than enough time for one of the largest, smartest, most profitable software companies on the planet to work out a solution to this simple issue.

Microsoft chose not to put testing for this on to its product-development schedule for Windows 7. Instead, it's throwing its toys out of the pram and blaming the whole thing on Europe, rather than simply solving the problem it created.

It's a dumb and unnecessary decision and it's not the way you win people's hearts and minds. I'm hoping there's still time for a re-think, with some sort of download released that will let people upgrade, although it would have to be released a month or two after the official launch of Windows 7.

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Comments on this post

Actually I'm on Microsoft's side on this. I find the EU ruling completely asinine! I thought it then and think it now. To tell someone sorry because you make the MOST popular product in the computer world YOU must bend to the will of little software companies who never figured out how to run a business well enough. Sorry, you designed a program for your OS and because you've been doing what Apple has ALWAYS done you shall be punished. (Talk to me when someone successfully sues Apple/iTunes for not letting anyone else use their software[ see how long the Pre works]) Give me a break! This is one of the MAJOR faults of the EU way of thinking. Look I own a Mac that dual boots into Windows 7 RC. I live in two of the three major computer OS worlds. But to say Microsoft is being the baby here, I think you've got to stop thinking an American company has to play by the EU rules and be nice about it. I'm actually thrilled Microsoft chose to do this. It will make the masses question the EU and only the bitter tech nerds will moan (even though they will solve this problem the easiest).

Posted by Tom M on Tue 30 June, 2009 1:51 PM

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I agree with Microsoft even though I am European. The rulings by the EU courts against Microsoft are simply unfair and have a negative effect on the users, and if inferior companies produce bad products it is not Microsofts fault. Microsoft CANNOT bundle other companies software in their OS because it is actually illegal. If they don't bundle any software such as notepad, windows media player, IE etc etc the users that aren't IT-professionals will suffer. My mother and the likes hardly even know what a browser is and will only be confused by choices. If there's no media player, she won't have one AT ALL. Bundling software in their OWN product is not "a bad business model", it's pure sanity.

Posted by Martin on Tue 30 June, 2009 2:47 PM

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I do not know enough about the EU aspect but have read enough commentry to understand that the upgrade issue is not directly related and therefore seems to be a marketing ploy or some other issue by Microsoft. Personally I am very disappointed as I was committed to upgrading from XP to 7, (avoided Vista due to bad press), but I will not risk the pain and frustration of a full install. Had to do that once due to a screwed mobo and im not keen to relieve the pain. Hopefully this decision will be reversed by launch date.

Posted by Andy B on Tue 30 June, 2009 4:06 PM

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I agree With martin and Tom M on this one, if the EU had made no ruling, we could upgrade, choose weather or not to include IE and WMP, and many would have included because they didnt know there was a choice, but guess what, now people who are buying thire first PC (they're still out there) can't download and browser's because there's not one included to download! Microsoft is playing hard ball, and i'm behind them all the way, on this one, go MS!

Posted by Adam T on Tue 30 June, 2009 6:49 PM

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Regardless of whether the EU was right or wrong, if the article reads correctly Microsoft has had a few years to adapt to the change. Apart from this setback, there's plenty of reason to upgrade to Windows 7 though - it's pretty awesome. I'm wondering if the EU ruling covers the UK - I heard it didn't?

Posted by Michael on Wed 1 July, 2009 3:54 PM

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first of all, ive never seen why people are expected to pay for a version of windows when they buy a new computer. Sure it makes it immediately usable but i can imagine a lot of people who bought a pc with vista downgraded to xp pretty sharpish. thats essentially £80 down the drain. and what about those who want to run linux? im a fedora user, and dont understand why ms has to charge such a big premium for its software wen other companys like redhat and cannonical can push a stable, fast, virus resistant os out in a timescale of around 6 months. i havent used vista, but im actually looking forwad to win7, as long as everything people have said about the speed live up to expectations.

Posted by Peter on Wed 1 July, 2009 7:18 PM

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If you are installing a OS you should always do a full install instead of a upgrade anyway.

Posted by Jason Q on Wed 1 July, 2009 11:49 PM

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It's just a case of Microsoft sticking two-fingers up at the EU for their rulings on both Media Player and Internet Explorer. To be entirely honest, I don't blame them. What's next? Apple not being allowed to put MacOS X on their own hardware because there are other OSes that'll run on Apple hardware? It was an absurd decision, and MS have responded with an equally absurd one. Good on them for growing a pair, in my opinion. They've inconvenienced the users that wanted to upgrade, because their continent's ruling body inconvenienced them. But, being a freelance computer technician, I'll get a bit more business.

Posted by Allan on Fri 3 July, 2009 3:26 PM

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I think Microsoft should grow up and stop being a spoilt brat. "We're going to ruin your fun Europeans because your governments spanked us". Well boo bloody hoo! The EU did the right thing. So what if Apple is also guilty of the same behaviour? They should watch out because if they conitnue in the same vein the EU will spank them too. I'll look forward to it! These big US corporations have got to realise that they don't run the planet, they can't blackmail us and we will spank them again if they try to bully us!

Posted by Jim on Fri 3 July, 2009 3:53 PM

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most people buy windows for their operating system on personal computers, i honestly think it is unfair that microsoft cant put their own internet explorer on windows 7. if someone prefers another type of browser then it is pretty straight forward to add another one as default. its only because microsoft windows is the most popular they get picked on, there are other operating systems out there.

Posted by richard on Fri 3 July, 2009 7:55 PM

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No, it is because Microsoft had a monopoly and abused it that they are being restricted. They are one bad company.

Posted by Avro on Sat 11 July, 2009 5:31 PM

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Very nice site!

Posted by Pharma295 on Sat 1 August, 2009 2:52 AM

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I feel that we should be insisting that Apple remove there browser from the OS. So the ruling is shown to be fair. Apple also have a monopoly (which is just another way of saying they are successful in business). We know the EU dislikes successful businesses so now we have loads of unemployment due to business failures. It is the EU busy bodies that need to be got rid off and leave consumers the freedom to make their own choices.

Posted by Anonymous on Wed 5 August, 2009 1:08 PM

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