Dutch consumer rights organisation recommends Ubuntu

Saturday, September 8th, 2007

The dutch consumer-rights organisation ‘Consumentenbond’ has recommended Ubuntu as a possible alternative to Vista after it received 4200 complaints about Vista in four weeks. Translation of the dutch Nu.nl article:

Flood of complaints about Windows Vista

AMSTERDAM – Consumer organisation ‘Consumentenbond’ has collected 4200 complaints about Vista in four weeks. Vista still isn’t a viable replacement for XP, according to the organisation.

More home users are confronted with the new operating system, as Windows Vista comes pre-installed on most new computers. In august the Consumentenbond opened an online report form where customers with problems can report their problems.

Especially non-working software and peripherals have led to problems. For 59% of the complainers some computer programs refused to work. 46% experienced non-working peripherals such as printers and videocards. Slow computers and repeated network failures where also a big source of complaints.

The Consumentenbond remarked: “Obviously, Vista isn’t a viable replacement for XP yet”. In a letter to Microsoft, the consumer organisation has requested that Microsoft allows unsatisfied customers be allowed to downgrade to XP without cost..

Alternatives

The consumentenbond advises consumers to only get Vista if they’re sure that their hard- and software works under the operating system. The consumer organisation also recommends consumers to look into alternatives such as Apple’s Mac OS X or Ubuntu Linux.

Disappointed

Microsoft is disappointed about the investigation. “Microsoft had hoped to learn more about the user’s experience with Vista. The complains however only focus on peripheral compatibility. The conclusion that Windows Vista wouldn’t be a viable replacement for Windows XP cannot be determined from the investigation.”

A spokesman is surprised that the consumer organisation now sought contact with Microsoft in order to discuss the outcome of the investigation. “The whole summer we’ve tried to get into contact with the Consumentenbond, but they have not responded”.

According to Microsoft, there are now close to a million Vista users in the Netherlands. “The Consumentenbond does not mention how many users are content with Vista”. Microsoft points users with problems to their support website.

— NU.nl: Klachtenregen over Windows Vista; 7 september 2007 14:53