Vista taxes all but the most modern PCs with hefty processing and memory requirements. Many of GM's PCs can't even run the system. "By the time we'd replace them, Windows 7 might be ready anyway," Killeen says. Then there are compatibility problems with all the software that needs to run on Windows. GM's software vendors still haven't ensured all their programs will run on Vista trouble-free. So the company is sticking with Windows XP for now. Killeen figures GM could install Windows 7 in three or four years.

Equal Parts Rejection and Acceptance

Many of Killeen's counterparts across Corporate America are finding themselves similarly vexed by Vista. The resulting delay or rejection of Microsoft's flagship product is stepping up pressure on the company to expand other areas of its business, including online software. Vista was first released in late 2006, but the dismay with it has come into sharper focus as slower-than-expected uptake affects Microsoft's bottom line, Google spiffs up its own free versions of competing software, and corporate tech managers move to put more Apple Macs on employee desks.

Microsoft says it has sold 140 million copies of Vista as of Mar. 31, about the same percentage of all PCs as ran Windows XP at this point in its lifetime. The 140 million includes consumers who have to take the latest version when they buy a new PC as well as businesses that are entitled to Vista rights...

Sprint: Still a World of Pain, Despite Improved Service
The customers kept fleeing, revenue fell, and the losses grew, but Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse says the wireless company is starting to make baby steps in its Sisyphean turnaround. "We are acting quickly and decisively to improve our performance," said Hesse during a conference call on May 12 after the company's first-quarter earnings report. But, "as I said [three months ago], the turnaround will take many quarters."

The nation's third-largest cell-phone company said its customer base shrank by more than 1 million during the first three months of 2008. Even worse, those customers who haven't left are spending less each month. All told, the first-quarter results came in shy of analyst forecasts for both revenue and net loss.

Sprint also warned that it might have to sell off some "noncore assets" or take other measures to remain in compliance with financial covenants with lenders. But that won't mean, Hesse asserted, getting rid of the Nextel business, as suggested in recent news reports.

Stressing Service

The plan, says Hesse, is to focus on improving Sprint's widely criticized customer service. And on that point, there were two positive notes in the first quarter: Hesse said the company was resolving problems on the first call to customer service at the highest rate since the Nextel merger in 2005. He also said the integration of the Sprint and Nextel billing systems, a source of chronic pain for employees and customers, is now "materially complete" and "getting positive feedback from the front lines."

After the quarterly update, Hesse's second since he took the helm in December, Sprint's battered share price sagged 1.5 percent, to 9.24, despite a strong day for Wall Street. "This is going to take a long time," says James Moorman, an analyst at Standard & Poor's. "It's a big ship to turn around. But it is...

eBay's PayPal-Only Rule Comes Under Fire Down Under
EBay Inc. is exploring whether to require customers to use its online payment service PayPal, a move that has angered users and prompted antitrust scrutiny in Australia, where a PayPal-only rule takes effect next month.

It's unclear whether eBay will institute a similar policy in the United States and other countries. However, the online auction company often tries big changes in smaller markets before expanding them worldwide, and says it is open to that in this case.

"We are going to take learnings from it and apply them accordingly," said eBay spokesman Usher Lieberman.

EBay says it wants to reduce disputes and restore trust in its marketplace with the PayPal-only plan. Because eBay and PayPal can share information on each transaction, eBay says use of PayPal allows it to stop fraud more efficiently than outside payment services. Pressing that safety argument in a heated discussion with Australian users, an eBay executive compared the new rule to banning the sale of heroin on street corners.

But critics lament that PayPal is costlier than other payment options, and they suspect eBay is just interested in increasing PayPal's revenue. Australian banks say the plan will eliminate competition for the sake of exaggerated benefits.

"Competition will be restricted, innovation and development will be constrained, new entry will be discouraged and PayPal will be able to increase fees and charges to eBay users," the Australian Bankers Association said in a filing with regulators Thursday.

Because eBay sellers are commonly independent merchants who don't accept credit cards, PayPal acts as a go-between. Buyers use their credit cards and bank account information to make payments, and PayPal relays the funds to sellers' PayPal accounts, charging them 30 cents plus a commission -- up to 4.4 percent in Australia. The second-most common method of payment on eBay Australia, bank transfers, cost 20 cents each.

Australia's...