Vista main culprit in Microsoft layoffs

From InfoWorld: Windows Vista has been trouble for Microsoft perhaps since the operating system's beginning. And this last quarter was certainly no exception. Despite a dip in client software revenue, however, one analyst says the workforce reduction Microsoft detailed on Thursday is healthy -- at least from enterprise IT shops' perspective.

When Microsoft released its earnings report on Thursday, the company indicated not only that it would lay off up to 5,000 workers or 5 percent of its total headcount but also that software client revenue -- as in Windows Vista -- sank by 8 percent.

"Windows Vista didn't do well. Based on our data, a lot of clients are skipping Windows Vista," says Neil MacDonald, an analyst at Gartner. Indeed, nearly every other major analyst firm found a similar lack of Vista adoption, with Forrester Research likening the OS to the failed New Coke.

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