So, MS-haters and MS-lovers are back in the trenches yet again over Microsoft’s latest pro-Vista stunt. They conducted focus group testing on what the participants were told was “the next Microsoft OS”, codenamed Mojave. The results of the testing were very positive for MS. However, it turns out that the testers were in fact not using “Mojave”, but rather Microsoft Vista. The Mojave cover story was intended to get the testers to look at Vista without any preconceived notions.
The anti-Microsoft crowd quickly took the position that this is just indicative of the kind of lying, underhanded marketing that continually comes out of Redmond. Others defending MS, saying this was a smart way to show that even though Vista got off to a shaky start, the OS is a lot better than it was.
I have to agree with the latter point of view. When I first saw Vista, I did not like it whatsoever. As a result, I didn’t switch from XP. Even after I read news that Vista has gotten a lot better, I know that my opinion was colored by my initial experiences. Though I’m not in the market for a new Windows box, if I were I think this kind of information might make me take a second look.
As for the “stunt” part of this, do I think it’s underhanded lying on the part of MS? Not really. If they packaged the same software in a box and sold it as a different product, that would be unethical. What they did was on par with the old Folger’s Crystals ads, where they would go into a four-star restaurant and replace their regular coffee with Folger’s Crystals. It’s to get an honest reaction from people outside of their prejudices.
Will I be buying Vista anytime soon as a result? Probably not unless my gaming machine unexpectedly catches fire and melts into a pile of plastic goo.
For almost everything else, my MacBook Pro is my main computer.
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Yes, but Mojave didn’t have that smooth, carefully roasted flavor of Folger’s crystals.
I’m glad you blogged this subject. We’ve just bought a new PC, it comes loaded with Vista. Thing is, we’re both XP users and decided to research Vista reviews… About 90% were negative towards the product with the remaining 10% stating that the patches and fixes since its inception had made it a good platform to work from. I’ll let you know how we get on with Vista.
I just put myself through an accidental “Mojave Experiment” yesterday. I’m primarily a Mac user, but I use XP and Linux as well. Most of my issues with the Windows platform are mostly due to not using it as much as I use my Mac. I just forget where things are and that would change if I were to start using my Windows apps more often.
I had to help a family member with his Vista configuration the other day. I had managed to avoid even SEEING Vista until July 2009. I didn’t even realize I was using Vista until after I left his house.
I hated it. All you have to know is that I couldn’t figure out how to turn the damn machine off and I spend 8 to 16 hours a day nearly every day coding on my Mac, XP, and Linux boxes. Vista’s UI navigation is like a labyrinth. You have to have faith that to get to where you want to go, you sometimes have to follow a path that takes you away. I found myself navigating in circles a lot trying to figure out which one of 5 similarly or poorly named setup options was the one I really wanted… like who woulda thunk that you should click on “Add or Remove User” to edit an existing user account?
I had a similar experience on Saturday. I’ve managed to avoid Vista nearly completely. But, my nephew was having a problem so I was helping him out. It’s strange to me that Microsoft sort of went halfway with Vista in revamping the confusing parts of the UI. They changed some things, but not everything. And the things they did change, they didn’t necessarily get right.
I have high hopes for Windows 7, but for now it’s OS X, Ubuntu and XP all the way.