Microsoft: We Don’t Suck As Hard As You Think!
I got drawn into a Microsoft ad for The “Mojave Experiment”. Basically it goes like this: they ask (supposedly non-actor) people what they think about Vista, and they generally get the response oh it sucks, all my friends say it sucks, I haven’t really used it yet but it sucks. Then the interviewers say, okay, we got this new operating system we’re working on, Mojave. Have a look, what do you think?
They do, and wow they are floored. Hey this is just what I need, when can I buy it, this does everything I ever hoped and dreamed and more. And then — whoahey fooledja! This isn’t “Mojave” at all, it’s Vista! OMG no way I’m telling all my friends!
Aside from the fact, as Debb pointed out, that the problems with Vista wouldn’t be immediately apparent — yes, it’s a pretty interface, and if you have a knowledgeable tech guy walking you through a gloss of the fancier features, of course it looks wonderful — I am just entertained by the baseline start of this campaign. “Okay, people hate us. We know it. you know it. But hey let’s trick you into thinking we’re good anyway!”
August 6th, 2008 09:37
I haven’t seen these ads, but you’ve definitely hit the nail on the head regarding Vista. My girlfriend recently had a laptop die on her that was still under warranty, so she went into Best Buy to get it replaced. They talked her into taking one with Vista, and she loved it at first, but the more she uses it the more she hates it. Sure, it’s pretty and slick, but I’ve never seen a less user-friendly OS. Trying to change any settings is a game of trying to guess what random menu (of about twenty) the developers hid it in.
August 6th, 2008 15:10
I’m in the midst of preparing a new Vista-infested laptop for my sister, so she can give it to her daughter for her birthday. It so desperately wants to be Mac OS X, and comes oh-so-close, but ultimately misses the point. Also, it doesn’t seem particularly fast, compared to either my Mac Mini or my almost-5-year-old XP tablet.
I know what Xander and his GF are talking about: just getting the wireless hooked up with my router was a small challenge. Not to mention the spelunking I had to do to make sure the wireless actually starts at startup like it should (the default was “manual” for some reason).
August 6th, 2008 20:31
I’m convinced that, when Douglas Adams was writing about the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation, he was actually writing about Microsoft: “Their fundamental design flaws are almost completely obscured by their superficial design flaws.”
“Go stick your head in a pig.”
August 9th, 2008 22:18
Sigh.
Sometimes, I really really miss the overall stability of DOS.
August 10th, 2008 00:37
DOS is dead. Dead Operating System, if you will. But it was truly wonderful. Even Windows 3.1 was bearable, back when you could ACTUALLY FUCKING EXIT MICROSOFT WINDOWS
August 19th, 2008 01:12
Vista has been working fine for 9 monyhs on my machine. Just because it is different from whatever you use doesn’t make it bad.
August 19th, 2008 11:26
Anon: your last sentence is correct. However, it’s not on topic.
But regardless: my PC at home uses Vista. I don’t enjoy it.
August 20th, 2008 14:52
Being a Mac person, you’d expect me to laugh at all you people, but to be honest, it is becoming apparent that I need to update to Leopard and thus clog up my eMac with applications with no real-life applications, and am thus am consoling you on this.
August 20th, 2008 15:29
Spinn, I feel that last sentence of mine is completely on topic. When people comment with things likd “it wants to be OS X but it isn’t,” it’s relevant. When people say “XP is better,” it’s relevant. It is not OS X, it is not XP, it is not DOS. It doesn’t work the same way. It’s sufficiently different from XP that I had to learn how to redo some things. I don’t like the way it does everything, but I haven’t run into anything that’s been a roadblock. I think the Mojave Experiment illustrates the fact that many people decided against Vista without ever giving it a chance. Unlike a lot of people I don’t give a damn about what OS I use as long as I can do what I want me my computer and Vista has been no more trouble than any other OS I’ve used.
August 20th, 2008 16:27
Hm, I have a habit of thinking that comments to my blog are to my entry, rather than to the other comments.
But, going back and looking at the comments, it still looks like you’re off target: the two anti-Vista comments here aren’t just “I don’t like it”, they’re people with use experience who say why (”girlfriend hates it the more she uses it”, “getting the wireless hooked up with my router was a small challenge”).
Seems hard to make a case about people pre-judging Vista when the comments specifically said they’ve used it and don’t like it.
August 23rd, 2008 23:56
Anon, riddle me this:
Tell me why the power/battery icon has disappeared from the lower right corner, and why the checkbox to turn it back on is dimmed out.
Oh, and try to find a solution that doesn’t involve editing the registry.
August 24th, 2008 00:15
rJakobi:
I use Leopard on my home machine (a Mac Mini), but still use Tiger on my 1.4GHz emac at work. I like Leopard, but in retrospect, I see no urgent need to upgrade to it, unless your favorite app now requires it, or you really, really want Time Machine or something.
October 3rd, 2008 21:19
low cost healthcare…
entity tickets auscultating:bloats …