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Win ME was only on the market for about a year before it was replaced on new PC's by XP. It's life span was very short, which prevented large scale adoption. You also have to remember that WinME marked the end of the 9X kernel and all of the problems that went with it. The move from 2000 to XP was much slower because the differences between 2000 and XP were minimal. Many companies didn't even begin XP deployment until 2003 or later. End users never had access to 2000, thus speeding up the adoption of XP as it was a vast change from the 9X kernel. XP was the first NT kernel version of windows for consumers.

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Yes, because they want to emphasize how much they hate Vista, most of the hate is unfounded with no basis in fact. Thus comparing it to WinME is something people can relate to. Most knowledgeable people recognize how much of a PITA WinME was and this gets their point across. It's little more than a sales pitch for their argument.

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True to a point, but I'm guessing you never used 95A or 98(Non-SE). They were equally as bad.

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This has been true for all versions of Windows since 95. People do not go out and upgrade their OS, nor are they educated enough to know of any big benefits or problems. They get the "latest windows" with their new computer and go happily along.

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Not likely. Unless Vista is replaced by something else by the OEMs/Microsoft then Vista will continue to be loaded on new PC's and will continue to grow in market share. As Microsoft no longer has multiple progression lines in the OS field (NT Kernel has continued, 9X was halted with ME).

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Not likely. People replace their computers on average between 3-5 years. Anyone who has had their computer for more than 3 years is likely to buy a new one during the Vista window. Anyone who bought one in the last 2 years may or may not end up with Vista as the next OS release is set for 2010-2011 timeframe.

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You also have to remember that WinME marked the end of the 9X kernel and all of the problems that went with it. The move from 2000 to XP was much slower because the differences between 2000 and XP were minimal.

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Yes, because they want to emphasize how much they hate Vista, most of the hate is unfounded with no basis in fact. Thus comparing it to WinME is something people can relate to. Most knowledgeable people recognize how much of a PITA WinME was and this gets their point across. It's little more than a sales pitch for their argument.

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The question is, will history repeat itself?

Not likely. Unless Vista is replaced by something else by the OEMs/Microsoft then Vista will continue to be loaded on new PC's and will continue to grow in market share. As Microsoft no longer has multiple progression lines in the OS field (NT Kernel has continued, 9X was halted with ME).

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Will a lot of people skip Vista and wait for the next release?

Not likely. People replace their computers on average between 3-5 years. Anyone who has had their computer for more than 3 years is likely to buy a new one during the Vista window. Anyone who bought one in the last 2 years may or may not end up with Vista as the next OS release is set for 2010-2011 timeframe.

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In July 2007, Microsoft chief financial officer Chris Liddell ratcheted up the percentage of OS sales the company expects XP to account for in fiscal year 2008 from 15 percent to 22 percent.

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Microsoft has sold more than 100 million Vista licenses -- meaning that the OS was aboard about 39% of all new PCs that shipped last year. By contrast, Windows XP was on about 67% of the new computers that shipped in 2002 -- XP's first full year on the market.