Jerry Seinfeld Will Plug Vista 776
Barence writes "Microsoft has signed up comedian Jerry Seinfeld to its $300 million Vista PR blitz, as it attempts to turn around the negative perception surrounding its operating system. Reports suggest Bill Gates will also appear in the ads, which, given the comedy timing he displayed in his 'Bill's Last Day' video, and the deadpan manner of Seinfeld, could result in a huge hit for the company." Reader Zarmanto notes in his journal that "Mac users might be quite amused, considering that (like many other TV shows) the set of Seinfeld always had a Macintosh prominently displayed in the background."
Seinfeld the Mac user (Score:5, Funny)
Yes. And after a long hard days filming, the stars of the show would all use that computer to surf the net and read Slashdot, because that's the kind of introverted computer nerds they were.
Re:Seinfeld the Mac user (Score:5, Funny)
"Mac users might be quite amused, considering that (like many other TV shows) the set of Seinfeld always had a Macintosh prominently displayed in the background."
So I guess he has been a closet Windows user all along.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Re:Seinfeld the Mac user (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Seinfeld the Mac user (Score:5, Funny)
And another thing that bugs me about that Windows... "
Re:Seinfeld the Mac user (Score:5, Funny)
20 years. Ok, so technically I won't be moving out, that's just her estimated remaining lifespan. At the end of that, it would be my basement. Unless I have siblings... Do you think I should go up and check?
Out of touch much? (Score:5, Interesting)
So, this could either be a great move on MS's part or an illustration of how woefully out of touch with popular culture they are. Seinfeld hasn't been on the air in over 10 years at this point (new episodes at least).
Re:Out of touch much? (Score:5, Interesting)
You have to assume that Crispin Porter (their new agency) is well aware of that, and plans to use it to their advantage. They have a reputation in the ad business of being the hippest of the the hip ad shops.
Re: (Score:3)
Seinfeld as hip? Yikes, this should be interesting and probably funny. Not funny haha but funny as in silly.
Well, both Seinfeld and Microsoft are old news so they have that much in common. Vista is a yawn and again, something in common. Seinfeld tried to do a movie( Bee Movie ) and Microsoft tried to do another OS release( Vista ) and both were flops.
Any other things people can think Seinfeld and Microsoft/Vista have in common?
LoB
Re:Out of touch much? (Score:4, Funny)
Microsoft, "out of touch"? Never! [today.com]
Hey don't blame microsoft! (Score:5, Funny)
They wanted Lucy and Desi to push Vista but they never returned Steve Ballmer's call!
This is only just the beginning. The next step is the new catchy theme song by Wynn Newton.
Re:Hey don't blame microsoft! (Score:5, Funny)
Dat's okay, dey got someone even bettah [today.com].
Re:Out of touch much? (Score:5, Insightful)
Well, Richard Stallman's been re-running the same damn hippie crap on his channel for at least that long. And over at Apple? Steve Jobs has been wearing that same black turtleneck since 1986. And how about that Penguin? Man, that is fresh!
Actually, I imagine that Seinfeld's "establishment" personality is probably going to work very well in this case. It has the potential to be brilliant, with lots of good humorous irony potential. His AmEx spots have generally been pretty good. We'll see.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
It's certainly been working for Apple, that's for sure. I can't even imagine what all of those "PC Users Are Losers" ads must cost. Now, if they'd just put a little of that cash into making the 3G aspect of their new phone actually work... or make the patch they just released to make it work actually make it work... nah, it's way more fun to make Windows users feel unfashionable.
Re: (Score:3)
He was the only comedian they could afford.
Re:Out of touch much? (Score:4, Informative)
You're right, he was in a movie which cost $150 million to produce, but which grossed about $125 million.
No blocks were ever at risk of being busted.
Re:Out of touch much? (Score:4, Insightful)
And grossed $160 million overseas. And had a ridiculous amount of merchandising and tie-ins. And grossed about $70 million domestic on DVD sales.
Yes, it was a blockbuster.
Don't Care (Score:5, Insightful)
"Mac users might be quite amused, considering that (like many other TV shows) the set of Seinfeld always had a Macintosh prominently displayed in the background."
Just an FYI, mac users are pretty similar to PC users. Most of us just don't care.
Re:Don't Care (Score:5, Informative)
They should care -- they pay for that. Macs don't show up by accident -- they show up because Apple pays for them to show up. When you buy a Mac, part of what you pay goes for Apple to buy product placements.
Just FWIW, the last time I checked Apple had the largest product placement budget of any computer maker I could find. At least at that time, HP had something like 10 times the computer sales, but less than one third the product placement budget.
Personally, I think this is true genius on the part of Apple. I'm convinced that product placements probably have a better payoff than almost any other sort of advertising. I think that's particularly true when/if a large part of what you're selling is a style or image.
Re:Don't Care (Score:5, Insightful)
Well, that and the fact macs are more common among people working in creative industries, so the people building the sets and such are more likely to have macs available to them.
[Citation needed] (Score:5, Informative)
They should care -- they pay for that. Macs don't show up by accident -- they show up because Apple pays for them to show up. When you buy a Mac, part of what you pay goes for Apple to buy product placements.
Just FWIW, the last time I checked Apple had the largest product placement budget of any computer maker I could find. At least at that time, HP had something like 10 times the computer sales, but less than one third the product placement budget.
Source, please.
As far as I can tell, Apple's product placement "budget" consists largely of making flashy-looking hardware that style-conscious Hollywood set designers want to use. They officially deny paying anything for placement. [slashdot.org]
(I have heard that they give away freebies, though. Supposedly that's how the Macintosh Plus got into the Scotty scene in Star Trek IV)
[Citation] (Score:5, Informative)
Sorry, my cat brushed the keyboard as I was hitting submit. The actual link is:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/techinvestor/industry/2007-03-08-apple-marketing_N.htm [usatoday.com]
Re:[Citation] (Score:5, Informative)
I don't understand, how is this supporting what you said, and how did you get double 5 informatives? Is this a joke you're playing to point out how eager Apple fans are to mod up anything that's positive on Apple (whether or not it's true and without reading the supposed evidence)? If so, you've succeeded quite admirably.
From your article, which says nothing about Apple officially denying paying for product placements:
Re:Don't Care (Score:4, Insightful)
Just FWIW, the last time I checked Apple had the largest product placement budget of any computer maker I could find.
Actually, Apple doesn't pay for product placement. There are a few notable exceptions, like ID4 and MI which were more involved than mere product placement and were really cross-marketing.
The reason you see so many Macs on TV and in films is because they tend to look good. iPods get shown because that's what people have (do you really think a show wants to alienate/confuse its viewers by talking about an iRiver?).
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
One of my favorite Mac placements has always been in the Russian action/horror movie Night Watch, where the iMacs all had carefully placed yellow post-it notes covering the telltale "Apple" logo on the back of the monitor.
It always makes me chuckle because who would really stick a post-it on the back of their monitor? They already used so many digital effects in the movie it seems like it would have just been less tacky to digitally remove the Apple logo for that one quick scene.
Re:Don't Care (Score:4, Informative)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Just an FYI, mac users are pretty similar to PC users. Most of us just don't care.
They should care -- they pay for that
I think you are conflating two different usages of the phrase "they pay for that". One usage means "They are giving money, with the intent that this money be used for such and such a purpose". Another usage means "They are giving money, and it just so happened that the manner in which the money was used is such and such". Most people who are buying Macs are probably not handing over a thousand bucks, in exchange for having Macs used in product placement. Rather, they are spending over a thousand bucks to bu
Re:Don't Care (Score:5, Insightful)
Not necessarily. The goal is generally to make more money, not just to ship more units. Apple has a small market share, but a much higher profit margin than almost anybody else in the PC business.
Re:Don't Care (Score:4, Insightful)
Just because you hear every argument doesn't mean anyone else does.
I won't quote market share or statistics, but I guarantee if you match beans to rice, you'll find that the douchebaggery would fall on a different side simply based on pure numbers. But it really doesn't matter anyway.
Platform religious wars are pathetic, pointless, and change nobody's mind. Use what works for you and don't worry about what everyone else is doing. If you would have stopped at reason 1 in your point list, your insecurities wouldn't have shown through.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
They don't make a 13.3" Macbook Pro. I want 4GB of RAM in a laptop, not the 2.5GB limit of the regular Macbook.
Current models of the regular macbook do support 4GB of ram. They even offer it as an option when you order.
Brutal honesty? (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Vista is Latvian for chicken. A comedian with a chicken is as old as comedy...
I'd like to plug Vista ... (Score:3, Funny)
with my .45.
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
I have a novel idea... (Score:5, Insightful)
Instead of paying already rich celebrities to pimp out Vista, how about invest that $300 million into developing a SP2 that fixes the damn thing already.
Re:I have a novel idea... (Score:5, Insightful)
Because it would cost much more than that to fix the damn thing.
Re:I have a novel idea... (Score:5, Interesting)
Exactly: Ballmer's and Gates' egos.
Or, to put it another way, Baller would have to admit the he was dissembling when he made all those claims about Vista. Customers might not like this -- as Gerald Ratner found out [wikipedia.org], insulting your customers can have unpleasant results.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
And what would fixing "the damn thing" involve? I'm a late adopter to Vista (post-SP1) and ... well... it works fine. No incompatibility issues (literally, not a damn single one), no BSODs (ditto)... blah!
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Better yet, Newman. Or Bana.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
"How d'ya like that Vista, Jerry? It's the best. The BEST!"
Re:I have a novel idea... (Score:5, Informative)
Yeah, I just saw that and frankly the whole "Mojave" thing looked staged. People sounded far too negative before they were shown Vista and were ridiculously positive after they had been shown it. I just don't buy it. It stank of marketing.
Personally, after having used Vista for around a year now, I find it a typical Windows release. It's main strength is that there are tonnes of great software available for it, but it's generally filled with little annoyances that make my day more annoying than it has to be.
And to counter the "you only hate it because it's cool" argument; My pet peeves include;
You may now dismiss my opinion because I'm ignorant/incompetent/doin it rong. Thank you.
Oh, sweet irony! (Score:5, Informative)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:3)
on set != he likes or even uses them. It means they were a prop.
It won't work. (Score:5, Insightful)
Vista has established a reputation as "the operating system you don't want". People hate it. People that haven't tried it hate it. Some people sit around and worry that someday someone will make them upgrade to Vista. An ad campaign simply can't compete with people talking to others about how much they hate Vista.
It's funny, but I've never heard people openly talk about how much they hate a Microsoft product before. Personally I think Microsoft has made a LOT crappier products than Vista. Outlook, IE6, and Exchange are a lot worse than Vista.
Re:It won't work. (Score:5, Funny)
Vista has established a reputation as "the operating system you don't want". People hate it. People that haven't tried it hate it.
Seinfeld will fit right in.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
But ... but ... what about the stacked, unscientific Mojave project, that conclusively proved that people like Vista if they actually give it a chance?
Re:It won't work. (Score:5, Interesting)
I wish Don Rickles was alive (Score:4, Funny)
He'd be perfect...If you don't use Vista, you're an idiot!
Wouldn't fixing some drivers give better PR? (Score:5, Insightful)
Wouldn't that generate better PR than using a deadbeat comedian?
Re:Wouldn't fixing some drivers give better PR? (Score:5, Insightful)
This is what I was thinking. It's cute that MS wants to improve the image of Vista. It's even cuter that they think getting a big name star in some ads about "breaking through barriers" will work. At least they aren't dumb enough to do a near clone of the Get A Mac ads. And anything with Seinfeld's name sells. Remember Bee Movie? Did you remember it existed 10 minutes ago, or did reading the name make you think for a few seconds before you remembered it ever existed?
But $300 million is a ton of money. How much did Apple spend developing 10.5? Was it over $300 million? How much did they spend on 10.1/Puma [wikipedia.org], the free point release?
You shouldn't need to spend that much money to tell people your 2 year old product isn't trash.
One of the geniuses bits behind the Apple ads is how simple they are. It's easy to make movies. Adding a new printer works well. Macs do what you want them to. So to combat these simple messages a 5 year old could understand, Microsoft is making a series of ads about breaking through barriers. Sounds like the kind of pseduo-management speak that drives me nuts. I hope the execution is better than the idea sounds, and the rest of Microsoft's campaigns.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Wow, marketing! This changes everything! (Score:4, Interesting)
This will be bigger than his "Bee Movie"!!! (Score:5, Funny)
n/t
Wait... (Score:4, Funny)
VISTA = CHEVROLET (Score:5, Interesting)
I dont think Vista's all that bad, but reputation is powerful.
Script (Score:4, Funny)
Bill: And so am I - but deep down inside, I wish I was a Mac.
Jerry: Well, try Vista, and you'll be one step closer.
What better than a comedian (Score:5, Funny)
to sell a joke?
Remember Leno? (Score:5, Informative)
Didn't they try this with Jay Leno for Windows 95?
Ah yes, here we go [youtube.com].
I guess it was more at launch, then after launch.
"Hay guys, I hear Windows 95 is fast enough to handle all of OJ's alibis at once!"
The Episode (Score:5, Interesting)
Elaine (with Apple-ish grin): I just bought a Macbook
Jerry (non-chalantly sipping his coffee in front of his Dell): So? I've got Vista.
Elaine (frowning): But this is a Mac, Jerry.
Jerry: But it's not Vista.
Elaine: No, it's not Vista. It's a Mac.
Jerry: It's very shiny. What'd that thing cost you?
Elaine (defensive): What does that matter?
Jerry: One thousand?
Elaine: Jerry...
Jerry: Two thousand?
Elaine: Stop...
Jerry: Three th--
Elaine: $2755.
Jerry: Inclu--
Elaine: Including tax.
Jerry: 1250
Elaine: 1250 what?
Jerry: Vista.
Elaine: But it's not a Mac!
Jerry: It checks email.
Elaine: So does my Mac.
Jerry: Surfs the web.
Elaine: So does my Mac.
Jerry: Makes movies.
Elaine: So does...it does? I thought Windows didn't make movies.
Jerry (shrugs and sips): Vista.
(Door explodes open!)
Kramer: Jerry! The Dell store down the street is selling computers with Vista for $1500!
Jerry: 1250
Kramer (walking over to Jerry's laptop): Oooh, is that...
Jerry: Vista.
Kramer: Niiiice.
Re:The Episode (Score:5, Interesting)
Worryingly, this has the sheen of truth.
Re:The Episode (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:The Episode (Score:4, Funny)
Well, somehow I think that Elaine just might be able to afford it.
http://www.forbes.com/finance/lists/10/2004/LIR.jhtml?passListId=10&passYear=2004&passListType=Person&uniqueId=DDGH&datatype=Person [forbes.com]
Bill's Edsel (Score:3, Funny)
Perhaps Vista is destined to become highly collectable [wikipedia.org] like Henry Ford's greatest failure.
Re:Who are these people...? (Score:5, Funny)
Who use this buggy, slow Operating System?
George Costanza. That way he doesn't have to work. He just tells his boss that his computer is slow so he can't get much done.
Re:Who are these people...? (Score:5, Funny)
First version: "George doesn't like computers. George is getting angry!"
------------
Second version: Newman is sitting at home watching TV and eating cheesy puffs, his phone rings...
Kramer: "Why aren't you at work, buddy?"
Newman: "Luckily for us, the US Post Office has 'upgraded' to Microsoft Windows Vista. Mouahahaha!"
Re:Who are these people...? (Score:5, Funny)
Who use this buggy, slow Operating System?
George Costanza. That way he doesn't have to work. He just tells his boss that his computer is slow so he can't get much done.
You know, if Vista came with a hideaway under-the-desk bed, I'd probably use it.
The bed, that is, not Vista.
Re:Who are these people...? (Score:5, Insightful)
What security? You mean that little pop-up thing asking you "are you sure you want to do that?" every time you click something. The little pop-up that annoys people to the point where they begin to just ignore it, or figure out how to turn it off? Or is there some other amazing new security features in Windows Vista that I'm not aware of?
Re:Who are these people...? (Score:5, Insightful)
Looks like some M$ fanboi modded you down for being correct.
Vistas "security" features are pathetic and too little far too late. Joe Sixpack might take it seriously "Ooh, aah, dis noo operatin' systums got increased securitah!" but at the end of the day it's just security theatre.
Re:Who are these people...? (Score:4, Interesting)
The little pop-up that annoys people to the point where they begin to just ignore it, or figure out how to turn it off?
The same could be said of any security feature. Good security's hard, and I've found the vista pop up to be no more annoying than the ubuntu one. I haven't used a Mac in years, but from what little I remember, it seems like it still has the pop ups. So, your two actual points seem to be that it pops up more than necessary and that it can be turned off. The first is a problem with other companies requiring administrator rights when they don't really need them, and the ability to turn it off is just giving people more options. So where's the problem?
Re:Who are these people...? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Makes me wonder if there's been a virus that pops up Vista 'security' messages, like "Vista wants to increase the size of your p3n1s, Cancel or Allow?"
Re:Who are these people...? (Score:5, Insightful)
The problem is that users learn to ignore the pop-ups, and they happen so often that most users can't even tell if it's because of their own actions, or those of a malicious attack. Because of this, the messages serve no real security purpose, since even if someone were to maliciously try to abuse someone's computer, the user would probably just dismiss all of the pop-ups without a second thought. Also, most of the 'security' pop-up windows are not from other programs requiring administrator rights, the majority of them come from the operating system itself, for example you have to go through a couple of them just to open the device manager.
To play devil's advocate:
I'm an Ubuntu user. I used to be all cautious about "sudo", but frankly, there's just so much that I don't know about Linux/Ubuntu system administration, that most of the time I'm just copying and pasting commands from webpages, all liberally sprinkled with sudos. You want to be able to listen to mp3s? Type "sudo bla bla bla". You want to be able to watch divxes? Type "sudo yakity yakity yak". Want to be able to sync your music collection with your iPod? You gotta type sudo.
As a novice Linux user, I've become numb to these "sudos", just as you accuse novice Vista users becoming numb to the pop-ups. Just the other day, I had an Linux-knowledgeable friend of mine ask me to change one line of a configuration file to another. The file was writable only by root, so of course, I "sudo gedit", made the change, and saved it. And I have no idea what that change does. I'm just trusting my friend not to screw me over because that's the path of least resistance. I'm sure a lot of novice Windows users just blindly follow the advice they receive from their more advanced Windows using friends.
There's simply no fix for stupid/lazy users. I'm stupid and lazy when it comes to Ubuntu. There is nothing you can do to change that because frankly Ubuntu is such a tiny part of my life that it's not worth the extra time and effort required to actually fully understand all the implications of every sudo command I type in. I don't keep any valuable data on my Ubuntu box. If it comes to it (perhaps because someone gains root access to my box and locks me out), I can simply reformat and reinstall Ubuntu.
Guess what? A lot of people feel the same way about Windows: They simply don't feel it's worth their time and effort to learn all the implications of every prompt they click "yes" to. And if it comes to it, they'll just reinstall Windows. It's simply not that big a deal to them.
And just like your complaint about the majority of the prompts coming from the OS itself, a lot of the sudos I have to type in seem to come from the "Ubuntu OS" itself. You might try and get technical on me and tell me that this module or that section strictly speaking isn't part of the "OS", but really, I don't care. I'm using Ubuntu. I go into the Synaptic package manager, something which, as far as my user experience is concerned, is entirely "part of Ubuntu", and it's giving me that sudo password prompt. So really, from my personal perspective, Vista is no worst than Ubuntu (and Ubuntu is, IMHO, the best Linux distro ever), but it has the added bonus of actually being able to run all the Windows-only apps which I simply refuse to give up.
Re:Who are these people...? (Score:4, Informative)
You want to be able to listen to mp3s? Type "sudo bla bla bla". You want to be able to watch divxes? Type "sudo yakity yakity yak". Want to be able to sync your music collection with your iPod? You gotta type sudo.
I myself have also been using Ubuntu since Breezy Badger (5.10) and I find with each release that comes out, less and less command line work is required to get things to a point where I'm happy.
To be brutally honest, the only things that require the command line now are little things I've done to make my life easier as a sysadmin, for Mp3s/Divxs/xvids etc. Enabling the Multiverse in sources is all that is required. Which is not enabled by default as in some countries the packages aren't legal.
Skip back to windows world for a moment, user A gets a divx, it won't play, that get told it's a codec issue and some moron links them to a "Partner Software" encrusted codec pack which rights off their machine. Skip back to Ubuntu for a moment, user A tries to play a divx, someone suggests enabling the multiverse in sources (System -> Administration -> Sources) and the next time they open it in totem, it pops and says it needs this codec, would you like to install it? You install it and then the video plays... What could be harder??
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I use Vista and I run in Vista as a normal user. I only get UAC when I install new software or go somewhere on my computer that I shouldn't be like the Windows directory and I start copying files into it. When I do get UAC I have to type the admin password to continue. Sure if I was running as an admin user I would get annoyed with it and probably turn it off, but the point is not to be an admin. So for an average day on Vista doing normal tasks (browsing web, writing documents, play videos, play games) I s
Re:A big "if" (Score:4, Informative)
Just utterly, completely impractical.
It would essentially make the computer non-functional for the home user, which means they wouldnt buy computers, etc etc.
You're right.
I guess that's why nobody buys computers from Apple...
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Ah, another complaint about UAC from someone who doesn't seem to have been within ten feet of a Vista box.
I find I don't get UAC prompts any more often than I get the equivalent on OSX or Linux boxes. Most Vista sessions I don't get prompted for admin privileges at all.
Perhaps if you're getting them more than twice a session you've got a virus and the damned thing is just doing its job!
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
I use Vista regularly and UAC popups aren't very frequent. Copying files into protected directories such as WINDOWS are the most common cause for me (and a normal user would never do this).
Other than that, legacy applications (in my case, Delphi 6) sometimes need to be run as admin and therefore throw up a UAC prompt when run.
UAC is a sensible feature that in reality is quite far removed from the bullshit spread about it.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Jerry Seinfeld (Score:5, Funny)
Visualizing group of homeless with cardboard signs at freeway offramp...
"Will Endorse Vista for Food"
Re:Jerry Seinfeld (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Jerry Seinfeld (Score:5, Informative)
No, the parent should be moderated as incorrect. Jerry Seinfeld was offered $5 million per episode to do another season of Seinfeld and turned it down. So no, he won't just go wherever the money is.
Re:Jerry Seinfeld (Score:5, Funny)
Oh, come on. It's pretty cool having Michael Richards commenting on Slashdot.
Re:Oh yea, that kinkey music, kramer, seinfeld (Score:5, Funny)
are kramer, george and jerry gonna come and fix the pc issues that my close circle is gonna have afterwards ?
No, Kramer will be busy filming another commercial in which he gives his opinion of the black Macbook.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Clearly (Score:5, Insightful)
Is advertising that powerful? I'll admit I haven't used Vista a lot, but there doesn't seem to be any improvement over XP. The blind test was a nice idea, but I'm guessing are used to a fairly stable, fairly usable OS.. sorta like XP.
Vista is a service pack to XP. Apple has the right idea here. Get a decent base, then release updates of that. The difference is, Apple release them pretty much as updates to their core and advertise it as such - Microsoft do the same thing, but say it's all new.
I don't have anything aganist MS, but Vista was a non-starter. Despite the money they've put into it, I think they'd be better moving on and just trying to brush Vista under the carpet. I'm unsure how much mainstream press Vista's downfalls have had, but two years of bitching is going to be hard to just throw advertising at.
Then again, people are that stupid.
Re:Service Pack? uhhhh.... (Score:5, Insightful)
The reason that Vista has a new driver model was that Microsoft wanted to build DRM into its driver model. Unfortunately for Microsoft DRM isn't really a feature, but an anti-feature. No one *wants* a computer that tries to stop them from copying files.
You are certainly right that the pain of transition from XP to Vista was similar to the pain of transition between Windows 98 and XP. The problem is that the benefits to the upgrade are not nearly as profound. Windows XP was so much better than Windows 98 that people were willing to put up with the difficulties. Windows Vista, on the other hand, has comparatively little to offer. In fact, in several ways Vista is a step backwards. No one wants to pay extra for even more intrusive DRM and a User Account Control that is intrusive without really aiding in system security.
I would also point out that third party hardware and software vendors are not in the business of selling new copies of Windows. That's Microsoft's job. If selling new versions of Windows requires some help from the people that create the hardware and software that people actually use, then Microsoft should have done a better job of making that happen.
It shouldn't surprise anyone that the hardware vendors saw Windows Vista as a chance to sell everyone new hardware. Rewriting old drivers for Windows Vista doesn't make these companies any money, but forcing Vista users to purchase a new printer (or whatever) does make them money. The same is true for software vendors. Patching old versions of software so that they work with Vista doesn't make the vendor any cash. Selling a new Vista-compatible version, on the other hand, does generate revenue.
Microsoft's hardware and software partners were only acting in their own best interest. Microsoft would have done the same thing had the roles been reversed.
The end result of Microsoft's Vista moves is a general trend away from Microsoft. Apple's got nearly 15% of the U.S. computer market and a whopping 66% of the over $1000 computer market. Microsoft still is clearly the 800 pound gorilla, but it no longer can be considered a given that a PC is running Windows. To a certain extent this trend is due to Vista.
Instead of creating growth for Microsoft Vista is causing people to rethink their reliance on Windows, and Microsoft doesn't really have anyone but itself to blame.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
I'd love to see your sources for those 'statistics' of yours, because everyone I've heard is grossly misconstruing the truth.
The 15% Apple marketshare claim came out for new, retail sales only for a quarter, in the US. This stat didn't including online retail sales, so it pretty much knocked Dell and most HP machines out of their numbers, along with most all other major PC sellers. Again, complete 'Apple-washing' of statistics to make them sound better.
CNN money clearly states Apple's actual market shar
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
...but forcing Vista users to purchase a new printer (or whatever) does make them money.
Can you point to a single instance of a company forcing users to buy a new peripheral rather than updating their drivers?
Re:Service Pack? uhhhh.... (Score:5, Informative)
Creative.
http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/29/046201&from=rss [slashdot.org]
Re:Service Pack? uhhhh.... (Score:4, Insightful)
The new driver model wasn't "for DRM," but for system stability. Nvdisp is responsible for what percentage of bluescreens again? It's mostly a conceptual extension of Windows XP's user-mode driver framework, and it lets Vista do nifty things like inform you from the system tray that "your display driver has been restarted" rather than bluescreen.
There's no DRM in Vista unless you're playing Blu-Ray discs. Or using iTunes. But then it's more accurate to say that there's DRM on the Blu-Ray discs and in your iTunes library. UAC can be turned off, and it does help security. I work at a help desk, and I've found that whjile most users will click through whatever "this is a virus!" warnings they get, there's also a large minority that freak out when Firefox offers to add an exception for our self-signed security certificate.
Some people say "If I don't know what it is, then maybe I should hit 'cancel' until it goes away." These people are outnumbered by those who hit "OK" until it goes away, but they're the group UAC is aiming to protect. The rest of us are smart enough to know where the "control panel" is.
Not quite sure what you're getting at with a "forcing users to purchase a new printer (or whatever)" to make money. When my dad was going to college, he bought a Windows 3.11 desktop with an HP Deskject 660C (I think that's the model number, anyway.) My Vista rig prints to it just fine - follow Microsoft's guidelines, documentation, and warnings (this is deprecated! this will change! we're not kidding this time! please quit using the 10 year old DirectSound libraries! etc.) and you won't have too much more work to do.
Re:Service Pack? uhhhh.... (Score:4, Interesting)
Booting? [infraredrose.com] That's what Vista is stopping that laptop from doing.
More to the point Vista is preventing you from taking a screen shot of a video, even one you've recorded from the evening news. A still image of a news broadcast in the context of a discussion regarding the broadcast or its subject is fair use, and Vista is preventing you from that fair use and so depriving you of your civil right of freedom of expression. That's not a minor thing. Maybe you don't care because you don't care to discuss current events or world history in the lens of public media - but some do and they're rightly offended.
Re:Service Pack? uhhhh.... (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Service Pack? uhhhh.... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Service Pack? uhhhh.... (Score:4, Funny)
Er, let me correct that. For the kind of money they're paying Seinfeld I could convince you I really believed Bill Gates was divinely inspired. You offering?
Re:Clearly (Score:5, Funny)
Clearly this is simply meaning that Vista has stolen enough ideas from OS X to make even a make user endorse it.
Actually, he doesn't know he's pushing Vista. He thinks it's the upcoming Windows Mojave, which totally rocks.
Re:When are you programmers going to help REACTOS (Score:5, Insightful)
ReactOS will never mimic Windows perfectly, so why the hell should anyone bother dual-booting ReactOS and Linux? What benefit do you get that you don't get without Windows and Linux?
"It's free as in beer" is unacceptable; Windows is essentially free and everyone knows it.
"It's free as in freedom" is equally unacceptable because nobody important gives a shit.
Re:Now wait a minute (Score:5, Interesting)
Seinfeld was doing HP commercials last year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BraU_cpfBeI [youtube.com]
Guess he just decided to switch.
Re:Now wait a minute (Score:5, Informative)
IIRC, the word on the tribute shows and fan sites has always been that damn near everything in the apartment was there because Seinfeld had one just like it at home.
The boxes of cereal in his cabinets were the brands he ate. The fruits Kramer mooched from his fridge were the fruits he'd have at home. He was known for supporting products, characters, and shows on his show that he actually used, admired, or watched. He's a huge Superman fan IRL, for example.
I'm not sure why I remember this, because I think the show was funny (and still watch the occasional syndicated airing on the CW) but I was never a diehard fan. I might not be recalling correctly, but it'd be an odd thing to remember for no reason.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Just imagine the speed gain when running XP on this beast.
Holy crap (Score:5, Informative)
I have a hard time believing that, so nice troll.
But in case you really didn't know...
This man neigh defined the 90's, at least for whitebread America, well him and the Simpsons. You do know who Homer Simpson is right? Because they are about equal on the 'people you should know list'.
You haven't seen him on tv lately (presuming you own one) because he doesn't need money after all the millions he made so he just does standup because he likes it better...he's not washed up by any means, he left the game at the top.
I do recommend renting the seasons of seinfield, if only for the cultural experience and the humor which examines everyday human anxieties.
There hasn't been a live-action comedy that can compete since the show left the air in my opinion, although Scrubs comes close.