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I'm a PC and I'm 4-1/2
theodp writes "Microsoft's new Windows ad made its debut during the Grammy Awards on Sunday. It stars a 4-year-old cutie named Kylie (Silverlight required) showing how easy it is to use Windows Live Photo Gallery to edit and share photos. And while it's impressive that little Kylie is able to transfer a snapshot of her pet fish from her camera to a PC, color-correct it, and e-mail it to her family, what's truly amazing is that the toddler was also apparently able to read, understand, and accept Windows Live's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. (But minors can't legally execute contracts, can they?)"
"I'm a PC and I'm 4 1/2"
They're assimilating children to make them smart enough to use their products? MONSTERS!
I clicked the link to install Silverlight (firefox, ubuntu, i386) and got sent to Moonlight.
http://michaelsmith.id.au
You know, it's possible a 4 1/2 year old has parents... you know, the ones that have the laptop and the camera she's using to demo this?
Of course, if she was using any given version of Linux, she wouldn't be able to do anything without going through an insane amount of dialogs trying to get her digital camera recognized, her pic(s) 'fixed', and finally email them to her family/friends/whatever.
Could it be that *gasp* Windows is actually easy to use than ? Say it ain't so!
I'm a PC and I'm oppressed.
Who? Who is but the form following the function of what and what I am is a man in a mask.
Silverlight? :D
In the age of Youtube, how hard can it be to share a movie? Why do I have to download a program first? Sorry, but that hasn't happened to me since Youtube was invented... oh, yeah, Youtube and google is the big competition isn't it?
what's truly amazing is that the toddler was also apparently able to read, understand, and accept Windows Live's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. (But minors can't legally execute contracts, can they?)
What's with this? Seriously, who the hell takes the time to read these things every time they're presented with one? What an unnecessarily snarky summary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rhre2C4THT4
.. does not mean monkey understand.
This doesn't show it is easy to use, it merely demonstrates the ability of a 4 1/2 year old to follow a set of instructions.
The disappearing pencil trick. Let me show you it.
"What an unnecessarily snarky summary"
.. :)
What's good about exploiting a four & a half year old child to sell product and does she realize that she just indemnified MS against getting used by her end users
davecb5620@gmail.com
More like child abuse. The perverts! Call in the Think-Of-The-Children-Police(TM).
I have moonlight installed (what ever version Lenny has), and in Firefox add-ons->Plugins its listed as Silverlight Plug-in (1.0.30401.0).
However when I click play to see that advert it changes to a get Silverlight button.
I figured since I have flash 10 64bit installed (with flash block), I may as well install moonlight since there is a 64bit Debian package. I am not impressed that MS own website did not recognise it.
I will also need to find a flashblock equivalent.
When are they going to use endorsements from TronGuy
davecb5620@gmail.com
I'm not politically correct and I'm 6ft tall...
A picture is worth exactly 1024 words.
You are aware that one usually needs to download a flash player to view videos on Youtube, no? This is just a competing format. The main problem with Silverlight from where I sit is that it adds to the bloat, not that I need to download it, or that it comes from Microsoft.
Last I checked Kylie was a girls name, so I don't think your accusation against MJ is entirely fair.
You can't win Darth. If you mod me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine
No matter what MS do there is always some conspiracy theorist or Linux/Mac fanboy on the case trying to spin things in a negative way. It gets boring sometimes. Hating on MS wont do you cause any good, it will only show what a bitter personality you have. Get out there and do something postive.
I guess I find article about this ad on Sunday a day or so old, though I won't blame kdawson for that. I guess maybe I feel he is just always lucky to get his name linked to unneeded topics. who knows.
Personally I am glad that Microsoft (might) get their photo camera integration/editing down for once, as it was always third party apps and utilities given to you, which you would have to punch a screen over. I never had issues with OS X or Linux at all, and I'm speaking about the 2.4 kernel days. gPhoto was what I loved using way more than the shit Olympus or whatever other brand name would give you for software. This was of course serial db9, not today's USB. Oh well, this is my little experience with this type of software, and it's nice hearing Microsoft will take care of things from now on. (I won't lie though, if I am ever in a situation where I need to use Windows AND manage a photo camera, I'll stay with a usb card reader and Google Picasa)
I feel sick
Soooo cute ^_^, widdle girl using windows to send pics of widdle fishie Dorothy? Hmmm, her vampire like fangs at 0:26 make me a tiny bit suspicous of MS intentions...I'll stick to tux. At least they have made progress since the Gates/Seinfield ads. If Apple tries to counter this ad, they will just look like a bully. Seems like they are going to Linux route. I know it might not be spartan-warrior manly to admit it, but I'll be the first to say, tux is cute, cute builds positive and friendly image ^_^
Trying to install linux on my microwave, but keep getting a kernel panic...
Do we need to pay attention to everything M$ throws its advert Mega $$ to?
Ignore them for a change. Maybe they will go away
Really? Out of all the things you could have criticized Microsoft for, you chose the one thing that Microsoft has in common with every other software company (an insane EULA/TOS)?
That would be like me saying "And while it's impressive that little Kylie is able to transfer a snapshot of her pet fish from her camera to a PC, color-correct it, and e-mail it to her family, what's truly amazing is that someone with an @aol.com email address was able to figure out how to submit a story to /."
See what I mean? Saying something like that weakens your whole argument... Oops!
-William Brendel
Think-Of-The-Children
Fuck, now you got me horny again.
YouTube uses Flash video instead so I really don't see the problem, except flash is currently bigger. It's not weird Microsoft use their technology, just as I assume the Apple ads use Quicktime.
Also YouTube video quality leaves much to wish for, and Microsoft probably rather host the video on their own servers.
Obviously they could had used WMV though, but I guess they want more people to install Silverlight, and it works.
I have no idea what sucks more of Silverlight vs Flash.
Can I install gnash in OS X? Does it work "better" when it comes to bloat? YouTube still works? Maybe I should just uninstall the flash plugin and use Miro for YouTube. No ads! No crashing browsers! No 100% CPU load!
Sounds like a good plan. If you're using a cupboard, always make sure it's stationary. I tried to puke into a moving cupboard once, and... let's not get into details about the resulting mess ;)
A polar bear is a cartesian bear after a coordinate transform.
Dude, the "Post Anonymously" checkbox is next to the "No Karma Bonus" button!
XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
How fucking dare anyone out there make fun of Microsoft after all it has been through.!
They lost their battle with Vista, they had to resurrect XP. They gave birth to Windows fucking 7!
Their new CEO turned out to be a chair thrower. All you people care about is... Linux and FOSS.
Microsoft is A HUMAN! (ah! ooh!) What you don't realize is that Microsoft is making you all this money and all you do is write a bunch of crap about it.
Microsoft hasn't performed on stage in years. Its Songsmith demo-song is called "gimme more" for a reason because all you people want is MORE! MORE-MORE, MORE: MORE!.
LEAVE MS ALONE! You are lucky they even developed Songsmith for you BASTARDS! LEAVE MICROSOFT ALONE!....Please.
Steve Jobs talked about professionalism and said if Microsoft was a professional they would've pulled it off with Vista no matter what.
Speaking of professionalism, when is it professional to publicly bash a corporation who is going through a hard time????
Leave Microsoft Alone Please. ! Leave Microsoft alone! right now! I mean it.!
Anyone that has a problem with MS you deal with me, because MS is not well right now.
LEAVE Microsoft ALONE!
*sobs*
Companies need exposure more than they need kind words - so long as those words aren't too damning. The article doesn't really criticise the software, just vaguely hints at the bad politics of the EULA. I am sure that Microsoft would rather a million people see this than nobody.
That's how advertising works. Get the subject into the punter's thoughts so that when they are in a purchasing mood, the product will be given consideration, and maybe even purchased.
By posting such an article on Slashdot exactly the right people are being targeted.
Really, this should be in Idle, and labeled as flamebait.
~men are from earth. women are from earth. deal with it.~
Something about how this particular specimen is highly unlikely to survive long enough to get its genes into the next generation.
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
Don't they think of the children?
http://www.dieblinkenlights.com
Yeah, guess I should use the no karma bonus-button more often so my OS X bashing don't hurt my karma so bad, right? Because things can't go under -1 anyway so that way I'll lose less?
Anyway I don't really like being anonymous, I rather post things as the person I am, though I think it was 50% flamebait 50% funny, people who see it as a flamebait don't need to answer and that problem would get solved by itself.
... and I don't think having a girl in an ad is "child abuse" even though she may not act natural, I doubt she feel abused from doing the ad but may even think it was funny to star in a commercial. So the reason I made the joke was to tear down some of the serious edginess of "omg it's a child in a video! porn! abuse!"
When all else fails and people don't buy into your mediocrity anymore you need either boobs or something adorably cute.
This time they went for the ethnic little girl. If this was a gaming ad she'd have to be at least 16 years older AND the cuteness would be an optional feature.
We've asked other 4 1/2 year olds on their opinion:
"I'm a PC, when I grow up I want to be a Mac" Stevie, Redmond, WA
"I'm a Mac, when I grow up I want to be Photoshop" Stevie, Cupertino, CA
"I am Linux, I passed my SATs today." The guy with the cuddle blanket, Portland, OR
lol! I certainly got a good reaction there.
XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
and therefore, since i haven't payed for anything more than a Personal Computer i'm not a Windows.
Surely her parent or guardian is responsible for agreeing to the contract?
Minors can enter into contracts. Unlike adults, minors have the power to disaffirm contracts; they can "opt out" if they want to. They simply have to make sure that they fulfill their duty of restoration.
gah, I watched the youTube version as there was no way I was installing silverlight at work as it seems like hassle and at home there is no way I am installing Mono.
seems like a fairly nauseatingly sickening piece of tripe aimed at parents who want their children to be computer literate.
in my mind the true path to computer literacy lies in a challenge - not locking them into a propietary interface that does all the work. but maybe that is just me. when I began programming I found it was the challenges of what was hard that kept me going back - not the easy pickings.
I like this summary because windows is bad and the summary finds something bad to say about windows.
Get the subject into the punter's thoughts so that when they are in a purchasing mood, the product will be given consideration, and maybe even purchased.
Except for the fact that the product is free - as in beer.
Squirrel!
The graphics viewer in Vista and Windows 7, is the most worthless peice of shit ever. It doesnt conform to ANY logical workflow for browsing, zooming, managing files quickly. Its just like its own ass backwards way of doing things.
Microsoft could learn a lot from studying some of the other viewers out there.
The graphics viewer doesnt even read a lot of formats used in production environments, nor does it respect embedded ICC color profiles. ITS WORTHLESS.
Its a toy, just like the media player, the thumbnail viewing capability of explorer... etc.
Why cant MS make some SERIOUS applications that actually get work done.
Stop making apps for 4 year olds.
I'm sure the online Live graphics thing is just as lame. Its another late to the game web service that others already provide and have an established user base and better integration on PCs, mobile devices, etc..
...If she is not able to code the entire Windows herself on a computer she built using nothing but soldering iron and some bubble gum wrappers.
Cause... how can we say it is "easy to use" unless she knows EXACTLY what happens with each keystroke she makes?
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
It might be the one thing they managed to get right with the 4.0 release, and it is working even better in 4.2.
Palm trees and 8
...my 4.5 year old can debug a friggin' kernel.
Is that she had already defined a P3P policy in Internet Explorer, so she didn't have to read the website documents. IE did it for her.
Deleted
You really are stretching. What kind of story is this? There is nothing to see here...beyond slashDot's continuing and obvious bias against all things Microsoft.
I'll try anything once. Twice if it tastes good
My 4 yr old daughter logs in to her own account on one of the available machines (with password), starts whatever program she wants, saves the results, opens a folder on her desktop to watch one of the available video's and now wants to tag photos in the photo management app.
This is not your old Windows. This is Gnome on top, GNU in between and Linux underneath. This is Ubuntu. Welcome to the future.
--frank[at]unternet.org
she has not yet entered into public education.
duh!
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
That was Bad...
Do you think that a toddler would have an easier time understanding GPL or that she is likely to violate GPL or Microsoft Terms of Use?
First entomology, then virology, and finally bioinformatics systems. Bugs follow me wherever I go.
I want to see a public service announcement with John Hodgson, that Keanu Reeves look alike, and a penguin (or Linus) all trying to read and understand their respective EULAs while a 4-1/2 year looks at a computer with a big chain and lock on it. Each time the kid tries to touch the machine, one of the three sais "don't touch that, it says here..." and spouts a particularly evil portion of their EULA.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
It stars a 4-year-old cutie named Kylie (Silverlight required) showing how easy it is to use Windows Live Photo Gallery
Poor kid. You'd think her parents could have come up with a better middle name than that.
that macs have been able to do out of the box since before she was born?
And how exactly would that have helped her then?
I'm a PC and I'm 4-1/2
*sigh* This quote makes it painfully clear that MS still doesn't grasp what Apple is saying in their "I'm a PC, I'm a Mac" ad campaign. It really makes me cry.
For the love of God, dear folks at Redmond, please get your head around this: the characters in Apple's ads are the computers. They are not people using the computers, they are the computers themselves.
MS tries to be clever by spoofing Apple's format and removing some of the stereotypes used by Apple, but in the process expose that they don't understand at all what Apple is saying in these ads. This lack of understanding renders their spoof entirely meaningless, proves nothing and makes MS look silly.
I mean, "I'm a PC and I'm 4.5 yrs old and I can do photo's" actually means you could do some basic photo processing on a 4.5 year old PC. That's still pretty amazing, considering Vista's bloat, but I don't think that's the point MS wants to make.
Maybe MS should try again and next time think more in the line of this commercial (no Silverlight required). This is an excellent example of a commercial which demonstrates how you should say what MS is trying to say without making your company look retarded.
Pretty good is actually pretty bad.
way to go Microsoft, you're trying to advertise Windows on something your target audience will have trouble viewing doesn't really sell them the idea that you're products are worth it.
Gun.pointAt(Foot);
Gun.Trigger.Press();
It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for being subtle.
See, this article _appears_ to be a troll, but, kdawson is actually paid by MS to increase the penetration of Silverlight with the tech crowd. Very tricky.
Am I supposed to take away that /. doesn't like Microsoft and that we're so bitter and small we complain about anything even some dumb commercial about ease of use? If so then good job with this post. I mean I'm also outraged that Juan Valdez doesn't pick every coffee bean...come on where is the truth in advertising....now can we move on to some actual news?
The problem is quite simple--you're using blob drivers. Try disabling them if at all possible.
GPL is not a EULA and doesn't work the same way. You do not have to *agree* to the GPL to use the software.
If you break the GPL, then you can't use it.
Microsoft is implying that all the people who had trouble using their camera with Windows is less intelligent than a 4 1/2 year old child.
ayottesoftware.com
You know, it's possible a 4 1/2 year old has parents...
not a chance. this child was born in a test tube and incubator at microsoft labs. She was raised the past 4.5 years in a crib that had every iteration of windows and microsoft products in it on flatscreens surrounding her. It's the genetic love child of Gates and Ballmer.
Who knew those two ugly guys would make such a cute baby?
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Am I the only one who saw this and expected an article about how people aren't trading in their computers as often?
What's impressive is photographing a fish in the first place. Even professional photographers have great difficulty with fish. Even with a submersible camera and lights, aquarium photography is a bitch.
-fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
Shown a 4 year old installing Linux and the necessary drivers. It would have been a 10 season series.
I use to add &fmt=18 and yes, it gets better, but good would be a stretch. I've seen one video on YouTube in HD I believe, don't know if all videos uploaded in good enough resolution gets HD or not, bitrate still isn't very good, especially for the resolution, but sure it's better, googled for YouTube HD and found this:
&fmt=6 increases the resolution from 320x240 to 448x336, Flash 7 video @ 900Kbps; audio @ 44.1KHz 96Kbps Mono CBR. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfWXRybZS4A&fmt=6
&fmt=18 increases the resolution to 480x360, H.264 video @ 512Kbps; audio @ 44.1KHz 128Kbps Stereo. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfWXRybZS4A&fmt=18
&fmt=22 increases the resolution to 1280x720 (720p), H.264 video @ 1024Kbps; audio @ 44.1KHz 232Kbps Stereo. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfWXRybZS4A&fmt=22
Ha, is to laugh. You downloaded the flash player so long ago, you forgot you had it and thought Youtube just ran on internet dust. Silverlight is currently used by Netflix for their "Watch Intantly" feature on the Mac. I've watched over twenty movies using it. The quality is way better than Youtube and it's done a much better job of streaming than Media Player on the PC. Furthermore, for those complaining about Firefox crashing with Silverlight, Firefox just plain crashes, all the time, on every platform. It's not the golden standard. Funny to find the folks who are usually complaining about Flash, now praising it in regards to Silverlight.
...my commercial is a brain fuck because even though you want to, you can't make fun of me like you did the other fat geeky guy because I'm cute.
In the age of Youtube, how hard can it be to share a movie? Why do I have to download a program first?
You mean like when you downloaded Flash to use YouTube?
Attention deficit disorder is a complicated issue, spanning several major... HEY LET'S GO RIDE BIKES!
Don't you think it's funny how lamenting some presumed anti-MS bias on /. will invariably get a +5 moderation?
It's a simple observable fact that there exists a very strong pro-Microsoft bias on Slashdot, otherwise you would get a (-1, Flamebait) moderation instead.
Recommended listening for you sir or madam: Track 7.
what's truly amazing is that the toddler was also apparently able to read, understand, and accept Windows Live's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. (But minors can't legally execute contracts, can they?)
Beause the GPL is exactly the sort of bedtime reading that every 4 1/2 year old wants to hear.
Why doesn't Slashdot ever get slashdotted?
My 4 year old does all kinds of things with electronic devices. He is growing up learning about them with his fresh brain.
The same is not true for his Grandmother, who is struggling to use any pc for more than email and a little web surfing. Open and edit pictures?? This is just not intuitive enough for someone who doesn't think in computer/digital terms.
"Edit a picture? Why would I want to edit it? I already took the picture..."
The responses (modding and comments) just re-affirm that slashdotters are no more immune to the froth-at-the-mouth kneejerk reaction to politically incorrect topics than the rest of the population. Not to mention that they seem to have missed the point of the joke completely anyway. No surprise there in either case.
Depends. Do you have a NIC card in your ATM machine that you put your Personal PIN Number into?
Fascism starts when the efficiency of the government becomes more important than the rights of the people.
Maybe putting it in a univerally accepted video format would help get more customers.
Perhaps her parents took care of that for her? Is that really the best you've got? Wow.
Well Flash came with the computer, so it's really just part of it and there's nothing wrong with /that/ ;)
Actually, we don't see her do any of these things. The advert is so full of jump cuts and close-ups [*], that the only thing we see the child actually do is plug in a USB cable (the fiddly end of which is already suspiciously plugged into the camera before she starts).
Although, I'm not saying that in itself isn't impressive, given that USB was designed in such a way that the most common USB plug is symmetrical and fits in the socket (to a limited extent) the wrong way up.
[*] At least the version on YouTube is - like I'm going to install Silverlight.
#exclude <ms/windows.h>
Questioning whether a 4 year old can enter into a contract? Really? Perhaps her parents did it for her? Who cares? Lame /. post.
(But minors can't legally execute contracts, can they?)
Actually, minors are fully capable of executing contracts, they simply have a backdoor out of them. When a minor reaches the age of majority, 18, they can renounce the contract unless the contract was for a "necessity." This should make adults wary of entering into contracts with minors, but there is nothing preventing a minor from forming a contractual agreement.
IIAL
In the U.S., minors may at any time void contracts they enter into. Supposedly this law exists to protect minors from things they may not understand. Fortunately for most retailers, most minors do not know this law exists, therefore they are willing to take the risk and enter into sales contracts with minors. More important things like bank accounts, however, are too risky and this law is the primary reason why every bank requires an adult to open a joint account with a minor.
IANAL but you can certainly find more information online by Googling: minor contract law. I became aware of this law through a business law class.
Even though she's intimate with what else was released she's now making her own money in Marketing.
"The likes of Facebook and WhatsApp are free to those whose privacy is of zero value."
She is the daughter of an Microsoft Employee. Doesn't that explain all?
Um, yeah, the Mac has had this capability since 2002. Once again proving that Windows is behind the times. Not to be outdone, games come out for Windows long before they do on the Mac thus suggesting that Mac owners spend the majority of their doing real work.
Poor parent... nobody seems to read your entire comment... Yeah, I know, I know, it's /. : P
http://dilbert.com/2010-12-13
New I-m-a-Mac ad revealed: a one-year-old monkey is going to show you how he could use a Mac to do the same thing!
This is the funniest thing I've ever read on ./
Like usual you can count on Microsoft to unnecessarily require some random propriety technology.
http://mediadl.microsoft.com/mediadl/www/w/windows/videos/kylie4.wmv
The news crew went on location to Utah, eh?
Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
Though I can't find it, I remember reading about an "ease of use" challenge back in the 80's where on the day, Apple surprised the other contenders by nominating a kid as their user (where the other brand name PC people had senior engineers and the like). The Mac romped it in (from box to boot).
I wonder if MS has subconciously recycled this promotional concept?
"Everything is adjustable, provided you have the right tools"
was just a .... "minor" detail, or a "minor detail"...
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
At least for me (i586, FF 3.0.5)