Re:Jerry Seinfeld to Push Vista for $10 Million
by netcan on Thursday August 21, 2008 @07:11PM
(#283281)
This isn't just a-typical it's dangerous. They are trying to be something they are not.
Mac vs PC is not a symmetric fight.
If apple wins 1% of windows users, its a big win (somewhere around 10% increase in sales). But it doesn't work both ways. If windows 'steals' 25% of mac users, it's less then a 2% increase in windows sales. (& reaching those markets with airtime costs the same)
Windows could have beaten that just by reducing replacement time by a few months.
Going after Apple's (tiny) market, with their hands tied (Vista isn't fun) for meagre rewards isn't smart.
Re:Jerry Seinfeld to Push Vista for $10 Million
by unalone on Friday August 22, 2008 @11:01AM
(#283747)
Furthermore, the more attention Microsoft calls to itself, the most it endangers itself. Because - with respect to Windows users - most people get wowwed over by what Mac does, and inertia stops them from switching. When Microsoft tries to push themselves, they make users move around, and Microsoft is the most endangered by that set-up.
Re:Jerry Seinfeld to Push Vista for $10 Million
by raganwald on Friday August 22, 2008 @11:08AM
(#283756)
Reminds me of high-end Backgammon strategy theory. One or the other of two players in match play benefits from volatility, and part of the struggle will always be that player attempting to mix things up while the other player attempts to settle things down.
Microsoft probably benefits from low volatility in the market, while Apple and Linux benefit from high volatility.
Re:Jerry Seinfeld to Push Vista for $10 Million
by netcan on Friday August 22, 2008 @08:11PM
(#284349)
Exactly. Microsoft need to keep people from thinking & making decisions about OSs. Forget that there is a choice.
Re:Jerry Seinfeld to Push Vista for $10 Million
by rbanffy on Thursday August 21, 2008 @06:05PM
(#283215)
The "XP" in Windows XP stands for "experience". Still, XP was not fun the day it launched and it's not fun now. Vista is not fun to use either.
And Microsoft's name... Well... They did have some fine products in the 80s.
Microsoft's "name" comes (came?) from reliability in the business industry, where code you wrote almost two decades ago DOS 5 would run on Windows XP today (assuming you used their APIs for everything). Windows 2000 was a fast, snappy, and efficient OS that got the job done. Windows XP has a bit more "homey" but as the years passed and the service packs came in, it grew to fit that same role.
Windows has never been advertised as a truly "fun" OS until Vista's "the WOW starts now" campaign; unfortunately, I get the feeling that they're turning to the hip crowd because they've failed to stand out in any other way. From performance to reliability, Vista has flopped (I'm using it now, fulltime) - so they're looking for anything else that may save them some face.
So while it's no biggie for Apple to start advertising through Sienfeld, it is for Microsoft who have never been the sort of people to do this kind of thing.