RESULTS

Market research firm Context has compiled the results of the August PC Dealer/Context questionnaire on dealers and Windows 98

Of your customers buying Windows 98 as an upgrade, how many have reported problems with the performance of the upgrade?

Two thirds of the PC Dealer panel sell Windows 98. Half of the respondents received no negative feedback from users, but nearly 10 per cent reported more problems with the upgrade than with installing the OS from scratch.

Which other operating systems do they prefer?

Customers are partial to Windows 95 and are hesitant about moving to Windows 98. Non-Microsoft operating systems mentioned included Unix and the Mac OS.

Of your customers with new PCs and Windows 98, how many are reporting problems with the operating system?

Almost 60 per cent of the PC Dealer panel indicated that they had received no complaints regarding Windows 98. Ten per cent of dealers said that more than half of their customers, who have purchased Windows 98, reported problems. The remaining 30 per cent recorded relatively few complaints from their clients.

 Among this majority, of those buying new PCs, how many are expressing a
 preference for operating systems other than Windows 98?
                         Home Users          SME          Corporate
 None                             6            8                  3
 Few                              3           15                  2
 Some                             2            4                  3
 Many                             1            7                  6
 Most/Majority                    2           22                 14
 Total                           14           57                 29

This month, the PC Dealer panel has indicated that among business users, more than 50 per cent of new PCs are requested with an operating system other than Windows 98. Only 17 per cent of customers express no preference when purchasing a new PC. Customers seem reluctant to adopt Windows 98.