T
Taylor
July 22, 2008, 11:57 am
Microsoft Tries to Polish Vista
By Saul Hansell
Microsoft is really taking the gloves off this time. ZDNet is
reporting that it will spend $500 million to make a powerful statement
to its hundreds of millions of customers. I imagine the statement
would have to go something like this:
Windows Vista isn’t really as bad as they say. Honest. Please don’t be
mad at us. We promise our next operating system will be better. Pinky
swear.
Those aren’t exactly the words they use, but it is certainly the tone
of the ad that Microsoft has started running on its site. I can’t find
it, but Ed Bott at ZDNet did and has a copy here. It shows a painting
of a tall ship with the headline “At one point everyone thought the
Earth was flat. Get the facts about Windows Vista.”
That promotion leads to a page that acknowledges that Vista had
problems:
But we know a few of you were disappointed by your early encounter.
Printers didn’t work. Games felt sluggish. You told us—loudly at times—
that the latest Windows wasn’t always living up to your high
expectations for a Microsoft product.
It takes a minute to figure out where to find Microsoft’s response to
this criticism: You need to click some arrows on the page. (Why can’t
Microsoft use the plus Icon popularized by Google and lots of others?)
The company asserts that it is now compatible with the vast bulk of
software and hardware. It also boasts that Vista is more secure,
faster, uses less energy and is even “sexier.”
Sure, Windows Vista gets a lot of compliments on its aesthetics. But
its style serves an important purpose: to put everything within a
click’s reach and make you more productive.
Microsoft, is probably right that Vista gets a bit of a bum rap. Lots
of people find that Vista works fine and is an improvement over
Windows XP. I use Vista on a home computer with little trouble. (And
no, I don’t hate Microsoft, despite what some commenters say. I am a
big fan of Word 2007, and I even pay for Microsoft’s OneCare anti-
virus and backup software.)
But this is still a dreadful place for Microsoft to be. It is fighting
Google on one side and Apple on the other. And both of those companies
have flaws, products that don’t quite work right, have gaps and
disappoint users. But both Google and Apple have products that you
don’t need to be told to notice they are sexy. That changes how people
see the more prosaic parts of their product lines and makes people far
more open to considering new products.
Even if you are a big fan of Microsoft, consider which you would
rather read about first: a something new from Google, Apple or
Microsoft?
After spending $500 million, Microsoft might be able to convince
people that Windows Vista is not awful. But just because you can show
the earth is not flat, doesn’t mean you will rule the new world.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/22/microsoft-tries-to-polish-vista/?ref=technology
===
Oh, the stupidity, arrogance and NERVE of Microsoft doing this.
They're mocking the world saying: "We're right and you're wrong and
when you educate yourselves, you'll embrace us. This will be our 'I
told you so'." That's what they're saying w/ this Christopher Columbus
so-called education slash P.R.
Microsoft Tries to Polish Vista
By Saul Hansell
Microsoft is really taking the gloves off this time. ZDNet is
reporting that it will spend $500 million to make a powerful statement
to its hundreds of millions of customers. I imagine the statement
would have to go something like this:
Windows Vista isn’t really as bad as they say. Honest. Please don’t be
mad at us. We promise our next operating system will be better. Pinky
swear.
Those aren’t exactly the words they use, but it is certainly the tone
of the ad that Microsoft has started running on its site. I can’t find
it, but Ed Bott at ZDNet did and has a copy here. It shows a painting
of a tall ship with the headline “At one point everyone thought the
Earth was flat. Get the facts about Windows Vista.”
That promotion leads to a page that acknowledges that Vista had
problems:
But we know a few of you were disappointed by your early encounter.
Printers didn’t work. Games felt sluggish. You told us—loudly at times—
that the latest Windows wasn’t always living up to your high
expectations for a Microsoft product.
It takes a minute to figure out where to find Microsoft’s response to
this criticism: You need to click some arrows on the page. (Why can’t
Microsoft use the plus Icon popularized by Google and lots of others?)
The company asserts that it is now compatible with the vast bulk of
software and hardware. It also boasts that Vista is more secure,
faster, uses less energy and is even “sexier.”
Sure, Windows Vista gets a lot of compliments on its aesthetics. But
its style serves an important purpose: to put everything within a
click’s reach and make you more productive.
Microsoft, is probably right that Vista gets a bit of a bum rap. Lots
of people find that Vista works fine and is an improvement over
Windows XP. I use Vista on a home computer with little trouble. (And
no, I don’t hate Microsoft, despite what some commenters say. I am a
big fan of Word 2007, and I even pay for Microsoft’s OneCare anti-
virus and backup software.)
But this is still a dreadful place for Microsoft to be. It is fighting
Google on one side and Apple on the other. And both of those companies
have flaws, products that don’t quite work right, have gaps and
disappoint users. But both Google and Apple have products that you
don’t need to be told to notice they are sexy. That changes how people
see the more prosaic parts of their product lines and makes people far
more open to considering new products.
Even if you are a big fan of Microsoft, consider which you would
rather read about first: a something new from Google, Apple or
Microsoft?
After spending $500 million, Microsoft might be able to convince
people that Windows Vista is not awful. But just because you can show
the earth is not flat, doesn’t mean you will rule the new world.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/22/microsoft-tries-to-polish-vista/?ref=technology
===
Oh, the stupidity, arrogance and NERVE of Microsoft doing this.
They're mocking the world saying: "We're right and you're wrong and
when you educate yourselves, you'll embrace us. This will be our 'I
told you so'." That's what they're saying w/ this Christopher Columbus
so-called education slash P.R.
