The slow migration to Windows Vista is a fairly popular topic for most computer news web sites and publications. Seems that everyone that writes about computer news has taken their stab at explaining why everyone hasn’t upgraded to Vista, and the typical explanation is simple: people aren’t upgrading to Vista because it sucks.

If you’re a computer professional, or serious about your computing, then Vista might actually suck, but that certainly isn’t what’s keeping everyone from upgrading to Vista because the decision to upgrade is less about Vista and more about you.

3 Types of Windows Users

To upgrade or not to upgrade? That is not the question, but before you can answer “the question” you must determine what type of Windows user you are.

• Power User: Often they are computer professionals in one way or another. People that write about computer news (mentioned above) usually fall into this category. These users demand stability, low resource consumption, and security from their operating system. Their primary Vista complaint (like a mantra), it consumes too many system resources. They won’t upgrade until they have to.
• Average User: They never look at things like the Task Manager until their entire system has slowed to a unbearable crawl. They like to browse the web, send/receive email, instant message, etc. If they can do the basics, they’re happy. They only upgrade their OS when someone does it for them, or when they buy a new computer.
• The Power Average User: In their heart these users are reformed power users. They still want an operating system to be stable, consume few system resources, and be secure; however, above all they want stability, so much so they won’t upgrade. This user has real work to get done and no time to fiddle around with a new operating system that might break things that aren’t broken. They have the know how to upgrade, but simply can’t risk wasting the time. They’ll only upgrade after Vista has been around for at least 4 to 5 years, or when a much needed application is available “only for Vista.”

Where do you fit into the Vista mix?

Upgraded already? Thinking about upgrading? Tired of all this talk about Windows Vista and have therefore decided to switch to the Mac or Linux? Which type of user are you?

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