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Jerry Seinfeld Will Plug Vista
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."
"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.
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.
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.
AccountKiller
Which operating system are you referring to? Because if it's Vista, then I've got to say that I don't find it at all annoying. It works quite well, the security's a welcome addition. The biggest problem is that they don't have the equivalent of a command line "sudo", but then again, I'm one of the very few people who use a windows command line I'm sure. Overall, Vista works quite well for me, much less of a headache than Ubuntu. Just my 2 cents, but I get the feeling that Vista had more bugs before SP1, and now people are just angry that it wasn't a huge leap over XP.
Wouldn't that generate better PR than using a deadbeat comedian?
Engineering is the art of compromise.
Seinfeld hasn't been on the air in over 10 years at this point (new episodes at least).
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.
Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
It works quite well, the security's a welcome addition.
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?
So, when are we going to see all games that are released for Windows simultaneously released for Linux? As far as I can tell, this is one of the main things holding Linux back. Wake me up when that happens because the day it does is the day I'll never use Windows again.
We'll make great pets
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.
Debian FTW
Vista is Latvian for chicken. A comedian with a chicken is as old as comedy...
- Minutus cantorum, minutus balorum, minutus carborata descendum pantorum.
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.
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.
For lack of a better signature...
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.
"You can either have software quality or you can have pointer arithmetic, but you cannot have both at the same time."
If Vista were merely a service pack to XP, why does have it such a drastically different driver model (which was the cause of most problems for early adopters). Ask the video and sound card vendors if Vista was just a service pack. The reason for any software and hardware incompatibility issues is exactly because it's NOT just a service pack. It was a major release. Vista is to XP, as XP was to 98 - there was a painful transition period there too. And that pain was mostly caused by the software and hardware vendors dragging their feet in producing updates and drivers for an OS that is in pre-release/beta, and readily available to them, for over two years prior to launch day. Only a completely stupid person think otherwise. "Then again, people are that stupid."
Just imagine the speed gain when running XP on this beast.
"The likes of Facebook and WhatsApp are free to those whose privacy is of zero value."
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.
Well written. Kudos to you sir.
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.
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 see the UAC window zero times just as I would see the password box zero times in ubuntu for the same tasks.
The misconception around here that UAC pops up all the time every click is really overblown thanks to Apple sponsorship, ignorance, and the usual anti-MS bias.
The tense is correct actually. The line of arguement is leading from premise to conclusion. He is extrapolating from data to speculate of future events. He is not being an historian, but a philosopher. Also, you could argue that in this case, 'wont' is being used in the subjunctive tense.
I don't quite agree with that assessment... but after watching Bee Movie (Biggest waste of time I've ever had.), I began to think maybe Mr. Seinfeld has finally sold out. Apparently he just can't be very funny unless Larry David is helping him with his comedy.
I am beginning to think that maybe Darl McBride was attacked viciously by a penguin as a child.
You, my friend, should be working in the advertising industry. And I don't mean that in a bad way.
Maybe he's just getting closer to where the money isn't and Microsoft hit his selling price. You don't actually think Seinfeld, the actor and comedian, was just so jazzed about Vista that he had to tell someone about it, do you?
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.
Are you just making up random things that look like factoids to support a later argument?
Very little of that paragraph is factual.
The #1 reason the video drivers (at least the major portion of them) were moved to userspace was because its 'the right thing to do'. Video driver crashes are one of the top causes of XP BSODs. Your reasoning lacks support and logic.
And what Vista computer have you ever seen that stops anyone from copying files? Such a thing does not exist.
Windows Vista, on the other hand, has comparatively little to offer. In fact, in several ways Vista is a step backwards.
You really should do some research. Dont think I'm saying that Vista is perfect, but you trying to suggest that there arent massive internal and technical improvements to Vista is just ignorance. Go read up on Wikipedia or any of dozens of industry blogs & mags that documented it. I'm sick of making links to people who cant be bothered to validate their personal mythologies.
Any user of Vista who has decent drivers for it sees immediately a couple things:
1. It performs much better than XP under heavy disk load, in terms of shell responsiveness. In XP, heavy disk load would bring the desktop to a halt, often even freezing the cursor, which is quite impressive. This doesnt happen any more. The shell can still slow down a bit under heavy load, but it degrades much more gracefully.
2. It lasts much longer than XP before needing reboots, especially under a large amount of hibernates and standbys per day. XP would degrade after a couple weeks, especially under many standbys/hibernates per day, and running leaky apps like Eclipse. This degradation is massively reduced in Vista.
3. The desktop/shell is impervious to interruption. XP would freeze the desktop for any number of reasons, usually around network problems. This _never_ happens on Vista.
4. It's MUCH easier to run as non-admin, due to UAC. UAC may not be perfect, but its light years better than explicit RunAs in XP.
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.
What would you suggest as an alternative to UAC? Would you prefer everyone go back to running as admin? Would you prefer that Program Files and Windows directories not be locked down to non-admins, so that UAC wouldnt be triggered as much by rogue programs?
Suggesting that UAC doesnt improve security at all is absurd. If nothing else, it means that everyone runs as non-admin by default. That right there is so hugely massive, and so long overdue in the windows world, that saying that its not an improvement is just loony.
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.
This is one of the sensible things you had in your post.
Microsoft is nowadays caught in a catch-22 of sorts. It's customers are primarily Computer OEMs and Intel. It's customers really arent the end-users.
This creates some really problematic dynamics for the long term health of the company.
Apple's got nearly 15% of the U.S. computer market and a whopping 66% of the over $1000 computer market.
That is a fairly outlandish claim (the 66% part). You'll need to back that up with something before it'll get anything but laughs. Big corps dont buy 66% apples. Engineering & CAD/CAM firms dont buy 66% apples. IT folks and developers dont buy 66% apples (though developers is probably the single biggest niche demographic that apple is doing well in).
Anyone who works in this industry and sees the buying patterns sees the 66% as absurd.
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.
DATABASE WOW WOW
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.