You can put lipstick on a pig but it's still Vista

Vista

I have not used Vista so I will not hammer on the product itself. However, no amount of Microsoft Vista anti-bashing ads can convice me that Vista is nothing more than slackware pushed onto an unsuspecting public.

I believe that Vista embodies all the principles and more that has led to the current massive financial crisis on wall street. Greed is at its center. Vista was created for one purpose only and that was to generate greater revenue streams for Microsoft via forced software upgrades.

Once upon a time Microsoft bested Apple and IBM by creating an OS that was relatively open to developers. This business model resulted in rapid development of very useful software and hardware and ignited an industrial revolution on par with the invention and mass production of the automobile.

That customer-oriented philosophy, along with Bill Gates, is long gone. Creativity and customer service was shoved aside as the Harvard MBAs took over and started to focus on the financial side of the business while at the same time lose focus on their customers.

The way Microsoft pushed Vista on their loyal customer base was almost criminal and enraged users world-wide. They have given themselves a perpetual black eye. I truly doubt if they will ever recover from this incredible breech of consumer and customer trust.

Microsoft has put corporate users like me in a difficult position. Up until now, one gave little thought to the dangers of having a single-sourced operating system. Now, we see how influencial and disruptive a large company like Microsoft can be do our businesses and it's more than a little scary.

Even with Vista on the way out and Windows 7 on the way in we are going to be very skeptical of another new Microsoft OS. I have no problems with sticking with Windows XP for another 10 years.

Why do I want to upgrade to a slow and bloated Office 2007 that does nothing to increase my company's productivity? Better security? That's a joke. It's only a matter of time before any OS security system is breeched so nothing is new here.

Call me old-school but I think I'll stick with my faithful and stable XP OS until Microsoft comes out with something that will run my legacy software and work seamlessly with my legacy hardware. If it does that, they will regain some level of my trust.

Ron

I happen to like Vista.

I bought an apple computer right after they hit the market way back when. Apple still makes a pretty nice toy for the PC illiterate crowd. God help you if you if it breaks.

As for Vista, I absolutely love it. All my software runs on it and it's the most stable PC operating system I've ever used.

When is Microsoft going to

When is Microsoft going to 'get it' that they are a software company and not a hardware company. They don't own the word 'PC' so they can't compete with ads from Apple ... unless the ad is specifically OS X vs Vista not Microsoft vs Apple.

Microsoft is so lame in thinking they are stll the 'PC'.

Why not push an ad out showing the best of Vista ... be proud Microsoft, come on now, show us something.

Please.

Sadly

The Windows monopoly won't come to an end, but Vista has definitely opened a door to let more MAC / UBUNTU converts make more converts.

I work in an IT Dept at a college and students come in here all the time with wonderful hardware that Vista turns into molasses. UGH

XP was a home run though - great OS.

europe

I had to install an ubuntu on a PC the family had given up - due to virus. It runs nicely and the only thing that do not work is the wireless driver.

Yes let Us have more diversity !

Mike from Denmark

The missing ad is

"I'm a PC ... running Ubuntu."

Seriously, Microsoft is really losing it in the evil stakes these days. They used to be really good at evil. Now Apple is kicking their backsides for evil. When Steve Jobs goes "MuWAAAhahahaha!", the brainwashed minions listen. His henchmen are really loyal, not just getting paid to be. Poor Ballmer.

Let's move on now...

I'm tired of blogs and newsfeeds being on fire with these stories about the MS ad campaign. Maybe its the fact that I don't spend hours every day with the boob tube blaring, but I don't see how it's a big deal. It's an ad campaign; do we have to cover the play-by-play of it? Are there no exciting trends, technological breakthroughs, or exciting new gadgets to cover?

Best just to ignore it and move on.

Rumor!

People, the Gates/Seinfeld ads have not been canceled, they have been stopped. Huge difference! Chris Flores, head of MS marketing or something explains on the Vista Blog:

" So there seems to be the rumor running around that we’re supposedly cancelling our Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld ads tomorrow. I wouldn’t count on anything being “cancelled”. It was always the plan to have Jerry Seinfeld in the first phase of the campaign and not a part of every ad. Instead, our Windows Consumer Campaign is moving into the next phase and we did mention previously that you should expect the campaign to evolve. I’ll direct you to a post by Stuart Elliott of The New York Times to shed some light on what’s next for our ad campaign.
More to come - stay tuned!"

While it is true that we shot ten commercials, we always planned to cut it off at two! We have a long list of celebrities chomping at the bit to work with me and Bill! Eva Longoria is next, after her the Dice-man Clay, then Mel Brooks, .... the list goes on and on .....

Thanks for the laugh

A great article Steven... thanks. I would love to see Balmer in lipstick..