OK, despite what you think of me for being a mondo butthead on Sunday, I noticed one thing: Microsofties are quite willing to engage and fight for their product/service’s reputation. It’s quite interesting that Microsoft is one of the only tech companies (Sun and/or Yahoo are also pretty engaging) where employees are really willing to come out and have real conversations. I might not always agree with them, nor they with me, but I do respect the fact that they are here and are willing to get into the mud to defend their product.
So, why do we give Google and Apple such great reputations when they don’t engage with bloggers (and, actually, the “professional” journalists tell me that Apple and Google are harder to deal with too)?
Is it better for a company to play aloof and stay above it all and not engage in the conversation? After all, why do Google and Apple have such great reputations, especially with bloggers? (Go to a blogger conference and you’ll see more Google and Apple products used by bloggers than are used in the mainstream world).
Scobleizer 
You look stronger when people don’t really know. If you don’t fight, you don’t loose 🙂
I do respect Microsofties for that too… and think that Google is more and more arrogant, with success !
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You look stronger when people don’t really know. If you don’t fight, you don’t loose 🙂
I do respect Microsofties for that too… and think that Google is more and more arrogant, with success !
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Microsoft has a reputation? (I mean other than monopolist creating fairly crap software that by clever marketing has managed to imbed itself into corporate life?)…sorry, couldn’t resist.
Anyway, google is still coasting on their “don’t be evil” spiel and their geek roots which is kind of funny since that might hold for this generation of board members but at the end of the day it is a corporation like all the others.
As for Apple, well, that used to be a hacker shop that had some interesting ideas about interface and how a computer should work. Funnily enough, it has also turned into… a corporation! It has become more and more unapproachable as a result. Despite all this, their fanboys are among the most rabid.
Conversely, MS has been a corporation almost from day one. MS has never been ‘cool’. From Gates’ godawful letter to software hobbyists circa 76 to today.
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Microsoft has a reputation? (I mean other than monopolist creating fairly crap software that by clever marketing has managed to imbed itself into corporate life?)…sorry, couldn’t resist.
Anyway, google is still coasting on their “don’t be evil” spiel and their geek roots which is kind of funny since that might hold for this generation of board members but at the end of the day it is a corporation like all the others.
As for Apple, well, that used to be a hacker shop that had some interesting ideas about interface and how a computer should work. Funnily enough, it has also turned into… a corporation! It has become more and more unapproachable as a result. Despite all this, their fanboys are among the most rabid.
Conversely, MS has been a corporation almost from day one. MS has never been ‘cool’. From Gates’ godawful letter to software hobbyists circa 76 to today.
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Because the products speak for themselves.
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Because the products speak for themselves.
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Google and Apple are riding high on the advertising and iPod waves respectively. They don’t care. Microsoft desperately wants people to like it. Microsoft makes products for the average joe and not for geeks. Google’s products are more geeky and they have this “Don’t Be Evil” motto which seems to have melted everyone’s heart. And although Apple is way cooler than MS, Macs still appeal more to an average Microsoft hating geek. Quality wise, I think MS makes products that are just as good or as bad, but it’s all about perception. Of course, 95% of the world uses Windows and I’m sure a high percentage of bloggers do too.
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Google and Apple are riding high on the advertising and iPod waves respectively. They don’t care. Microsoft desperately wants people to like it. Microsoft makes products for the average joe and not for geeks. Google’s products are more geeky and they have this “Don’t Be Evil” motto which seems to have melted everyone’s heart. And although Apple is way cooler than MS, Macs still appeal more to an average Microsoft hating geek. Quality wise, I think MS makes products that are just as good or as bad, but it’s all about perception. Of course, 95% of the world uses Windows and I’m sure a high percentage of bloggers do too.
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Apple doesn’t have to. And they’ve been pretty much consistent while under Jobs in both eras. It’s showmanship, magic, and theater. You don’t rehearse in public.
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Apple doesn’t have to. And they’ve been pretty much consistent while under Jobs in both eras. It’s showmanship, magic, and theater. You don’t rehearse in public.
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I suspect that not only do the products speak for themselves, but that they haven’t done much recently that their employees would need to defend.
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Very few instances where they have had to ‘fight’.
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Very few instances where they have had to ‘fight’.
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I suspect that not only do the products speak for themselves, but that they haven’t done much recently that their employees would need to defend.
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Echoing many other comments – your products are your most powerful marketing especially when it comes to generating word of mouth.
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Echoing many other comments – your products are your most powerful marketing especially when it comes to generating word of mouth.
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People love to crap MS products. “Oh! That software? It must be crappy. After all, it’s a Microsoft product.” Macs burn and crash. iPod Nano screens get heavily scratched. People are more than willing to accept that.
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People love to crap MS products. “Oh! That software? It must be crappy. After all, it’s a Microsoft product.” Macs burn and crash. iPod Nano screens get heavily scratched. People are more than willing to accept that.
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To be fair to Google, although they are far from perfect, they do have Matt Cutts, who is never shy in engaging with the great blogging and SEO community.
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To be fair to Google, although they are far from perfect, they do have Matt Cutts, who is never shy in engaging with the great blogging and SEO community.
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Apple & Google = introverts?
Microsoft = extrovert?
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Apple & Google = introverts?
Microsoft = extrovert?
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Apple and Google have great reputations because their products generally work first time without a Gzillion patches and updates, just to get to where they sould have been on release day.
Vista for example, Dont get me wrong, I want Vista..just sometime this decade!!
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Apple and Google have great reputations because their products generally work first time without a Gzillion patches and updates, just to get to where they sould have been on release day.
Vista for example, Dont get me wrong, I want Vista..just sometime this decade!!
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If Microsoft ever releases a product on time, without gutting the featureset, without making it stupidly hard to actually BUY, and does so regularly, maybe they’ll start getting some slack too.
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If Microsoft ever releases a product on time, without gutting the featureset, without making it stupidly hard to actually BUY, and does so regularly, maybe they’ll start getting some slack too.
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Above posters are basically right: there’s a lot of friction in interactions with Microsoft, so much more needs to be explained. By friction I mean “complicated stuff that makes it harder for the end user to do x”, where x=understand the company or use the product.
Friction could be simple stuff, like the three or four different ways you can “license” XP. Or it could be complex stuff like problems with 3rd party drivers (the “we didn’t make the hardware problem”). You’v laughed with us about the friction in the marketing materials before, (the ipod by Microsoft).
A great deal of what makes Apple and Google successful is reducing the complexity of what they present the end user.
Examples: Apple’s simple product line reduces friction in sales interactions – you either buy a product at one of three price points or you don’t.
Google has all kinds of tools under the hood – but the main one you need to understand is the little box you type words into. Less communication (marketing) is needed to explain the product, since it is self correcting. Also note that the consumer-facing product is _free_, so the need to weigh the risk of purchasing (more friction) is removed.
I don’t think it is accidental that good UI design is characteristic of both Apple and Google. If the product is self-explanatory, (problems never reach your consciousness) then there’s less need to blog it.
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Above posters are basically right: there’s a lot of friction in interactions with Microsoft, so much more needs to be explained. By friction I mean “complicated stuff that makes it harder for the end user to do x”, where x=understand the company or use the product.
Friction could be simple stuff, like the three or four different ways you can “license” XP. Or it could be complex stuff like problems with 3rd party drivers (the “we didn’t make the hardware problem”). You’v laughed with us about the friction in the marketing materials before, (the ipod by Microsoft).
A great deal of what makes Apple and Google successful is reducing the complexity of what they present the end user.
Examples: Apple’s simple product line reduces friction in sales interactions – you either buy a product at one of three price points or you don’t.
Google has all kinds of tools under the hood – but the main one you need to understand is the little box you type words into. Less communication (marketing) is needed to explain the product, since it is self correcting. Also note that the consumer-facing product is _free_, so the need to weigh the risk of purchasing (more friction) is removed.
I don’t think it is accidental that good UI design is characteristic of both Apple and Google. If the product is self-explanatory, (problems never reach your consciousness) then there’s less need to blog it.
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I think it’s partly due to such high-profile incidents as the Barkto Incident. ‘softies went online very early on, and were supported in this by the company – http://lists.essential.org/1998/am-info/msg01529.html
Google and Apple have traditionally – or so it seems to me – been content to let their users rave. IBM used to mumble – until they came up with a product a good many of their own employees loved – IBM OS/2 – and then they dropped the ball.
What’s more interesting is the question of when did Microsoft’s own products became so interesting to ‘softies that they’d endure the scorn of the outside world – which knows MS software rather too well, in many cases – to boast about them? I don’t recall any ‘softie getting excited about MS DOS back in the early nineties; ditto about MS Word (DOS), or Multiplan.
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I think it’s partly due to such high-profile incidents as the Barkto Incident. ‘softies went online very early on, and were supported in this by the company – http://lists.essential.org/1998/am-info/msg01529.html
Google and Apple have traditionally – or so it seems to me – been content to let their users rave. IBM used to mumble – until they came up with a product a good many of their own employees loved – IBM OS/2 – and then they dropped the ball.
What’s more interesting is the question of when did Microsoft’s own products became so interesting to ‘softies that they’d endure the scorn of the outside world – which knows MS software rather too well, in many cases – to boast about them? I don’t recall any ‘softie getting excited about MS DOS back in the early nineties; ditto about MS Word (DOS), or Multiplan.
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It’s got zero to do with the ‘conversations’, and in fact in Microsoft’s case, the conversations do far more harm than good, all so much vaporware talk and eventual backtracking, I only need to cue up your PDC 2003 overhype as a perfect test case.
People like Google and Apple, as their products generally ‘just work’. Not always and they don’t perform very well outside of their core constituency, but it’s the products, not the conversation. But so what? Apple and Google’s marketshare is but a fraction of Microsoft’s. People might hate Microsoft, but they use it and it’s a standard, sub-par at that, which is what irritates people, they have to use, and it’s not very likeable.
Microsoft marketingese talks it all up, delivers it years late, with half features cut, and then sends out a small Army of MVPs and Evangelists doubling as therapists. Apple and Google keep mouths shut and surprise people…differing methodologies.
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It’s got zero to do with the ‘conversations’, and in fact in Microsoft’s case, the conversations do far more harm than good, all so much vaporware talk and eventual backtracking, I only need to cue up your PDC 2003 overhype as a perfect test case.
People like Google and Apple, as their products generally ‘just work’. Not always and they don’t perform very well outside of their core constituency, but it’s the products, not the conversation. But so what? Apple and Google’s marketshare is but a fraction of Microsoft’s. People might hate Microsoft, but they use it and it’s a standard, sub-par at that, which is what irritates people, they have to use, and it’s not very likeable.
Microsoft marketingese talks it all up, delivers it years late, with half features cut, and then sends out a small Army of MVPs and Evangelists doubling as therapists. Apple and Google keep mouths shut and surprise people…differing methodologies.
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As one of your previous posts mentioned “tearing down the big guy” is fun. So its basically a question of “who” rather than “what”. so the simple principle – Anything MSFT is evil.
For inst, somebody responds to this -http://www.betanews.com/article/Microsoft_Invites_Mozilla_Devs_Over/1156192744 – as an attempt by MSFT to ‘tape and transpose’. Excellent
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As one of your previous posts mentioned “tearing down the big guy” is fun. So its basically a question of “who” rather than “what”. so the simple principle – Anything MSFT is evil.
For inst, somebody responds to this -http://www.betanews.com/article/Microsoft_Invites_Mozilla_Devs_Over/1156192744 – as an attempt by MSFT to ‘tape and transpose’. Excellent
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I must agree Google nor Apple need to defend their products with me, they work great and they do what they intend to do well, they do not try and jump on every bandwagon passing by to make money, the phrase “Jack of all trades master of none” springs to mind.
e.g. Google has an online spreadsheet but it is not an Excel replacement by any stretch and it is not intended to be one, it is something entirely different based on the concept of a spreadsheet.
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I must agree Google nor Apple need to defend their products with me, they work great and they do what they intend to do well, they do not try and jump on every bandwagon passing by to make money, the phrase “Jack of all trades master of none” springs to mind.
e.g. Google has an online spreadsheet but it is not an Excel replacement by any stretch and it is not intended to be one, it is something entirely different based on the concept of a spreadsheet.
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“they work great and they do what they intend to do well”
What about http://www.orkut.com ? try searching for a login id/display name that you know exists for sure. I dont think there are a proportionate amount of rants about that site.
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“they work great and they do what they intend to do well”
What about http://www.orkut.com ? try searching for a login id/display name that you know exists for sure. I dont think there are a proportionate amount of rants about that site.
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Microsoft is like the kid on the playground that never got any attention, and Google and Apple are the cool kids. MS suffers from an inferiority complex.
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Microsoft is like the kid on the playground that never got any attention, and Google and Apple are the cool kids. MS suffers from an inferiority complex.
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I don’t think the two main concepts you’re getting at here — engagement (from the corporate side) and product use (from the consumer side) — are necessarily connected. You make it sound as if you expect corporate engagement to drive consumer adoption. I think that’s putting the cart before the horse. And even that aphorism implies a causality relationship between the two concepts that may not exist.
Google and Apple have the cachet that they do because they do first and foremost what good companies need to do — make a superior product. Would it be nice if they were more transparent and/or engaging, corporately-speaking? I guess, but whether or not they achieve that I’m still going to use their products. And if their quality slides and a superior product emerges, no amount of “engagement” is likely to keep me from using it.
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I don’t think the two main concepts you’re getting at here — engagement (from the corporate side) and product use (from the consumer side) — are necessarily connected. You make it sound as if you expect corporate engagement to drive consumer adoption. I think that’s putting the cart before the horse. And even that aphorism implies a causality relationship between the two concepts that may not exist.
Google and Apple have the cachet that they do because they do first and foremost what good companies need to do — make a superior product. Would it be nice if they were more transparent and/or engaging, corporately-speaking? I guess, but whether or not they achieve that I’m still going to use their products. And if their quality slides and a superior product emerges, no amount of “engagement” is likely to keep me from using it.
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Looks like everyone already said it. I run both windows and OS X. OS X runs smooth and has at least 99,998 fewer pieces of malware that can affect it than windows does. The peanut gallery says that’s because windows is popular. Where I live, the Subaru Outback is a very popular car. If it were unreliable, we’d have a lot of data points on that. It’s not. Reliable is reliable. An insecure OS is an insecure OS.
I use Windows under Parallels to run vs.net and sql management studio, everything else is done in OS X. I enjoy my computing so much more since adopting this approach. Microsoft never did learn that it’s not just features, but security and user experience that matter just as much.
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Looks like everyone already said it. I run both windows and OS X. OS X runs smooth and has at least 99,998 fewer pieces of malware that can affect it than windows does. The peanut gallery says that’s because windows is popular. Where I live, the Subaru Outback is a very popular car. If it were unreliable, we’d have a lot of data points on that. It’s not. Reliable is reliable. An insecure OS is an insecure OS.
I use Windows under Parallels to run vs.net and sql management studio, everything else is done in OS X. I enjoy my computing so much more since adopting this approach. Microsoft never did learn that it’s not just features, but security and user experience that matter just as much.
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IMHO … it’s the mystique and elusiveness that intrigues people about Google (Apple, not as much).
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IMHO … it’s the mystique and elusiveness that intrigues people about Google (Apple, not as much).
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The products speak for themselves, but in a little tinny voice.
And as I’ve grown older, I prefer to be called a fanMAN!
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The products speak for themselves, but in a little tinny voice.
And as I’ve grown older, I prefer to be called a fanMAN!
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What is more important-having a good reputation with the customer or a good reputation with the journalist? I don’t care that Apple doesn’t blog, I don’t care that Microsoft does. I care that the product works. That’s why I choose Apple and am forced to use Microsoft
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What is more important-having a good reputation with the customer or a good reputation with the journalist? I don’t care that Apple doesn’t blog, I don’t care that Microsoft does. I care that the product works. That’s why I choose Apple and am forced to use Microsoft
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I think their strategy is “don’t put oil on the fire” in hope the fire will extinguish by itself.
One thing I don’t understand is why computer graphic artists are worshipping macs. I could understand in the 80s. not in 2006.
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I think their strategy is “don’t put oil on the fire” in hope the fire will extinguish by itself.
One thing I don’t understand is why computer graphic artists are worshipping macs. I could understand in the 80s. not in 2006.
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“One thing I don’t understand is why computer graphic artists are worshipping macs. I could understand in the 80s. not in 2006.”
let’s turn this around: why would you even contemplate NOT using a Mac, assuming you are given a choice? I use both platforms and I’ll tell I will never spend one dollar of my own money on Windows, for the foreseable future.
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“One thing I don’t understand is why computer graphic artists are worshipping macs. I could understand in the 80s. not in 2006.”
let’s turn this around: why would you even contemplate NOT using a Mac, assuming you are given a choice? I use both platforms and I’ll tell I will never spend one dollar of my own money on Windows, for the foreseable future.
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“One thing I don’t understand is why computer graphic artists are worshipping macs.”
You must not be a graphic artist or you’d know 😉
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“One thing I don’t understand is why computer graphic artists are worshipping macs.”
You must not be a graphic artist or you’d know 😉
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Graphic artists got addicted to Macs back in the mid-1980s because Apple gave them high-quality fonts, an easy to setup networking system, and a great laser printer before anyone else did (all VERY important for graphic design).
No one has given them a real reason to switch since (although the Tablet PC came close, but those machines are too underpowered to really be considered for hard-core desktop publishing/photoshop work).
I know more and more graphic artists, though, who are using Windows.
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Graphic artists got addicted to Macs back in the mid-1980s because Apple gave them high-quality fonts, an easy to setup networking system, and a great laser printer before anyone else did (all VERY important for graphic design).
No one has given them a real reason to switch since (although the Tablet PC came close, but those machines are too underpowered to really be considered for hard-core desktop publishing/photoshop work).
I know more and more graphic artists, though, who are using Windows.
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“Graphic artists got addicted to Macs back in the mid-1980s because Apple gave them high-quality fonts, an easy to setup networking system, and a great laser printer before anyone else did (all VERY important for graphic design).”
None of this has changed, plus you add Bonjour networking and Final Cut Pro.
Also, TCO on Macs is near zero. With Windows, you need dedicated staff to keep things going.
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“Graphic artists got addicted to Macs back in the mid-1980s because Apple gave them high-quality fonts, an easy to setup networking system, and a great laser printer before anyone else did (all VERY important for graphic design).”
None of this has changed, plus you add Bonjour networking and Final Cut Pro.
Also, TCO on Macs is near zero. With Windows, you need dedicated staff to keep things going.
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I am a IT researcher, and I also know that Apple and Google get less efforts to research such as writing a paper.
Nevertheless, Apple and Google try to create “STYLE” which MS does not have.
People want be more emotional than ever. They want to “show” their emotional attraction which created by them.
MS looks like a genius group, not a stylish guys.
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I am a IT researcher, and I also know that Apple and Google get less efforts to research such as writing a paper.
Nevertheless, Apple and Google try to create “STYLE” which MS does not have.
People want be more emotional than ever. They want to “show” their emotional attraction which created by them.
MS looks like a genius group, not a stylish guys.
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I have no idea whether the open-blogging/secrecy axis and the uncool/cool axis are related. People seemed to think it was pretty nice when Dave Hyatt was blogging about the internals of Safari, but that didn’t make Apple either more or less cool. I just think they’re different kinds of companies trying different approaches to the business.
Apple and Google have been secretive for a long time, and Steve Jobs in particular is obsessed with product secrecy. That’s part of his strategy. Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer are not, and it’s not as much a part of theirs — but *business* secrecy (what are we trying to do, not what are we going to make) has been. Just different. They all make money. Microsoft’s “uncoolness” is also long-standing, and as much a part of the company’s DNA as Apple’s coolness is of its.
Take another set of examples: Wal-Mart and IKEA. Do secrecy and openness have anything to do with their reputations? I don’t think so.
Oh, and as for the graphic artists, don’t forget about AppleScript. That’s their secret weapon for efficient inter-application and inter-computer workflow automation, and it doesn’t exist on Windows.
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I have no idea whether the open-blogging/secrecy axis and the uncool/cool axis are related. People seemed to think it was pretty nice when Dave Hyatt was blogging about the internals of Safari, but that didn’t make Apple either more or less cool. I just think they’re different kinds of companies trying different approaches to the business.
Apple and Google have been secretive for a long time, and Steve Jobs in particular is obsessed with product secrecy. That’s part of his strategy. Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer are not, and it’s not as much a part of theirs — but *business* secrecy (what are we trying to do, not what are we going to make) has been. Just different. They all make money. Microsoft’s “uncoolness” is also long-standing, and as much a part of the company’s DNA as Apple’s coolness is of its.
Take another set of examples: Wal-Mart and IKEA. Do secrecy and openness have anything to do with their reputations? I don’t think so.
Oh, and as for the graphic artists, don’t forget about AppleScript. That’s their secret weapon for efficient inter-application and inter-computer workflow automation, and it doesn’t exist on Windows.
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Todd is right. Microsoft must defend themselves. Google and Apple have products that speak even louder than a sweaty Ballmer.
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Todd is right. Microsoft must defend themselves. Google and Apple have products that speak even louder than a sweaty Ballmer.
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Why fight when you can listen? Didn’t somebody from Google contact you after your rant about calender, to listen to what you had to say, to understand your point? Sure, folks from that team could have jumped in and tried to defend the “what is” and generally show off but none that really helps you as a customer does it? If your playing defense, and getting in the mud on every little thing your not having a useful (though maybe entertaining) dialog, and what is the point of that… Well I guess the point is it makes for fun blog journalism but that is really about it. I much rather the companies not engage in that level of debate and instead demonstrate how they are listening through their products and upcoming release notes etc.
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Why fight when you can listen? Didn’t somebody from Google contact you after your rant about calender, to listen to what you had to say, to understand your point? Sure, folks from that team could have jumped in and tried to defend the “what is” and generally show off but none that really helps you as a customer does it? If your playing defense, and getting in the mud on every little thing your not having a useful (though maybe entertaining) dialog, and what is the point of that… Well I guess the point is it makes for fun blog journalism but that is really about it. I much rather the companies not engage in that level of debate and instead demonstrate how they are listening through their products and upcoming release notes etc.
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Google has a record of doing the “right thing” far more regularly than Microsoft or Apple.
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Google has a record of doing the “right thing” far more regularly than Microsoft or Apple.
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Someone asked why graphic designers are “addicted to the Mac” in 2006.
There are a couple of pretty simple reasons (and I’m speaking as a partner in a small ad agency). First of all, Postscript fonts still aren’t all the way there under Windows. Most service providers (and presses) have to substitute fonts if you’ve built your job on a Windows machine – even if you use InDesign/Illustrator/QuarkXPress. Most of the bureaus are using Macs, so it makes sense.
Secondly, color still just isn’t as good onscreen using Windows as it is on the Mac, you can’t calibrate monitors as accurately and there’s nothing that even approaches Apple’s ColorSync for Windows and monitor targeting. Color alone would be reason enough never to use Windows for print work. On the other hand, in all fairness, most of the web designers I know and work with prefer a Windows environment, they feel that it’s a better workspace for what they do.
The final and probably most compelling reason in these days of Mac OS X is stability and reliability. I’ve got seven machines in this office, they’re all networked to a Mac file server. They have all been up and on for three years, the only time they’ve needed rebooting has been when we’ve done system upgrades/updates. I’ve been able to maintain our machines and our network by myself without paying a consultant since we opened. We use time tracking software here and I just ran a query and my avarage maintenance time per month was 53 minutes. That’s for seven machines and a network. There’s no way I could do that if all my machines were Windows machines.
Those are some of the reasons we’re “addicted”.
I don’t hate Windows. In fact, I recomended that my girlfriend purchase an HP laptop a couple of weeks ago. Macs work for what I do and for what my industry does. Most people don’t have the same needs we do. The only other demographic group that consistantly pushes their machines as hard as we do would be the gamers and the ones that are really serious are buying AlienWare boxes that cost more than our Apple towers…
Cheers.
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Someone asked why graphic designers are “addicted to the Mac” in 2006.
There are a couple of pretty simple reasons (and I’m speaking as a partner in a small ad agency). First of all, Postscript fonts still aren’t all the way there under Windows. Most service providers (and presses) have to substitute fonts if you’ve built your job on a Windows machine – even if you use InDesign/Illustrator/QuarkXPress. Most of the bureaus are using Macs, so it makes sense.
Secondly, color still just isn’t as good onscreen using Windows as it is on the Mac, you can’t calibrate monitors as accurately and there’s nothing that even approaches Apple’s ColorSync for Windows and monitor targeting. Color alone would be reason enough never to use Windows for print work. On the other hand, in all fairness, most of the web designers I know and work with prefer a Windows environment, they feel that it’s a better workspace for what they do.
The final and probably most compelling reason in these days of Mac OS X is stability and reliability. I’ve got seven machines in this office, they’re all networked to a Mac file server. They have all been up and on for three years, the only time they’ve needed rebooting has been when we’ve done system upgrades/updates. I’ve been able to maintain our machines and our network by myself without paying a consultant since we opened. We use time tracking software here and I just ran a query and my avarage maintenance time per month was 53 minutes. That’s for seven machines and a network. There’s no way I could do that if all my machines were Windows machines.
Those are some of the reasons we’re “addicted”.
I don’t hate Windows. In fact, I recomended that my girlfriend purchase an HP laptop a couple of weeks ago. Macs work for what I do and for what my industry does. Most people don’t have the same needs we do. The only other demographic group that consistantly pushes their machines as hard as we do would be the gamers and the ones that are really serious are buying AlienWare boxes that cost more than our Apple towers…
Cheers.
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All hail Christopher Coulter! He cut right to the core:
“It’s got zero to do with the ‘conversations’, and in fact in Microsoft’s case, the conversations do far more harm than good, all so much vaporware talk and eventual backtracking, I only need to cue up your PDC 2003 overhype as a perfect test case.”
As many a defendant has learned, speaking in itself may not do you any good. You must actually have something credible to say and it must not prove to be untrue. Microsoft employees may actually do more harm than good when they try to do public relations for the corporation. Most obviously, all the sweet talk in the world cannot change the provable fact that Vista is so late that may have to renamed Horizon.
Recently, at another site, persons identifying themselves as being from Dell tried to minimize the biggest electronics recall in history. They would have done better to have remained silent. The midst of a disaster is not the time to tell people everything is wonderful.
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All hail Christopher Coulter! He cut right to the core:
“It’s got zero to do with the ‘conversations’, and in fact in Microsoft’s case, the conversations do far more harm than good, all so much vaporware talk and eventual backtracking, I only need to cue up your PDC 2003 overhype as a perfect test case.”
As many a defendant has learned, speaking in itself may not do you any good. You must actually have something credible to say and it must not prove to be untrue. Microsoft employees may actually do more harm than good when they try to do public relations for the corporation. Most obviously, all the sweet talk in the world cannot change the provable fact that Vista is so late that may have to renamed Horizon.
Recently, at another site, persons identifying themselves as being from Dell tried to minimize the biggest electronics recall in history. They would have done better to have remained silent. The midst of a disaster is not the time to tell people everything is wonderful.
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Robert,
Since you left Microsoft, I have noticed that you have had get together at your moms place, your place, selling your house etc. Now I see that you are critizing Microsoft, is this the way to get readers?
http://www.irin.co.uk
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Robert,
Since you left Microsoft, I have noticed that you have had get together at your moms place, your place, selling your house etc. Now I see that you are critizing Microsoft, is this the way to get readers?
http://www.irin.co.uk
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jean, how does this post criticise Microsoft? And what does this post have to do with getting readers? Please explain, not sure what you mean.
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jean, how does this post criticise Microsoft? And what does this post have to do with getting readers? Please explain, not sure what you mean.
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Griffon: >>Didn’t somebody from Google contact you after your rant about calender, to listen to what you had to say, to understand your point?
Yes, but they didn’t do it publicly.
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Griffon: >>Didn’t somebody from Google contact you after your rant about calender, to listen to what you had to say, to understand your point?
Yes, but they didn’t do it publicly.
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I think of companies as having “good juju” and bad “juju”. I don’t mean this in any mystic sense — just that there are a variety of factors that contribute to a company being one that people “love to love” or being one they “love to hate”.
Apple has done a fantastic job of maintaining their good juju over the years. Certainly a strong history of good and user-friendly design has been a big part, but so did their early reputation as an “cool” employer (almost like a dot-com 20 years ahead of its time), their generosity to schools and their long years of being the underdog to Microsoft. I also think they deliberately choose icons and aesthetics (in their GUIs especially) that make people feel good.
Google’s good juju started with the personalities of their founders and their convincingly earnest “don’t be evil” approach. A consistent stream of “cool” features and being Microsoft’s enemy help, too. They’re loosing some ground as they are seen as dominant, and as they have to make pragmatic compromises (such as how to deal with Chinese law).
Dominance is almost always bad juju, especially if you’re perceived to abuse it, which is a big issue for Microsoft. A history of releasing immature products and oversetting expectations hasn’t helped, not to mention that most bad computer experiences happen in a Microsoft context. They’re trying much harder now (in terms of both product development and general juju management) but there’s a lot of interia when it comes to juju.
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I think of companies as having “good juju” and bad “juju”. I don’t mean this in any mystic sense — just that there are a variety of factors that contribute to a company being one that people “love to love” or being one they “love to hate”.
Apple has done a fantastic job of maintaining their good juju over the years. Certainly a strong history of good and user-friendly design has been a big part, but so did their early reputation as an “cool” employer (almost like a dot-com 20 years ahead of its time), their generosity to schools and their long years of being the underdog to Microsoft. I also think they deliberately choose icons and aesthetics (in their GUIs especially) that make people feel good.
Google’s good juju started with the personalities of their founders and their convincingly earnest “don’t be evil” approach. A consistent stream of “cool” features and being Microsoft’s enemy help, too. They’re loosing some ground as they are seen as dominant, and as they have to make pragmatic compromises (such as how to deal with Chinese law).
Dominance is almost always bad juju, especially if you’re perceived to abuse it, which is a big issue for Microsoft. A history of releasing immature products and oversetting expectations hasn’t helped, not to mention that most bad computer experiences happen in a Microsoft context. They’re trying much harder now (in terms of both product development and general juju management) but there’s a lot of interia when it comes to juju.
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Actually that “juju” you speak of has a proper name, goodwill, and actually has a monetary value when a company is bought or sold.
I would disagree that Macs are the favorite choice for your average MS hating geek, Linux certainly is, OS X has virtually no “geek chic” and is virtually incompatible with everything. The growth of the Ubuntu distro of Linux suggestd that soon Linux will overtake Mac OS X due to its open source nature,and (admittidly new) ease of use. Check out this link for a comparison between the 3, and make up your own mind, its worth a look, trust me!
http://www.ehomeupgrade.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2915
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Actually that “juju” you speak of has a proper name, goodwill, and actually has a monetary value when a company is bought or sold.
I would disagree that Macs are the favorite choice for your average MS hating geek, Linux certainly is, OS X has virtually no “geek chic” and is virtually incompatible with everything. The growth of the Ubuntu distro of Linux suggestd that soon Linux will overtake Mac OS X due to its open source nature,and (admittidly new) ease of use. Check out this link for a comparison between the 3, and make up your own mind, its worth a look, trust me!
http://www.ehomeupgrade.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2915
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Do MS Employees speak out more because they know more?
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Do MS Employees speak out more because they know more?
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This may sound simplistic… but microsoft fights for their reputation cause they have to. Think about negative press in general and then maybe you can figure why maybe Google and Apple keep their guards up higher.
Google and Apple keep their guard up cause they can! As one mentioned… while Google and Apple are far from perfect they don’t have near the negative that they have to come out and defend themselves against to begin with. And right wrong or otherwise Apple and Google are seen as more innovative.
That’s right…. while obviously Google and Apple have made purchases as well… Microsoft seems to buy up the companies that innovate and/or roll over top of them!
I’m not pushing any religion so no you don’t have to agree if you wish not to.
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This may sound simplistic… but microsoft fights for their reputation cause they have to. Think about negative press in general and then maybe you can figure why maybe Google and Apple keep their guards up higher.
Google and Apple keep their guard up cause they can! As one mentioned… while Google and Apple are far from perfect they don’t have near the negative that they have to come out and defend themselves against to begin with. And right wrong or otherwise Apple and Google are seen as more innovative.
That’s right…. while obviously Google and Apple have made purchases as well… Microsoft seems to buy up the companies that innovate and/or roll over top of them!
I’m not pushing any religion so no you don’t have to agree if you wish not to.
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Quality products don’t need as much defence as inferior products.
microsoft NEEDED to pay someone like you to promote their products, and to try and reduce the general “evilness” factor of the company to the public.
Apple makes such superior products that many of their fans do it for free.
How many people have you heard say that they love microsoft?
How many people have you heard say that they love apple? What’s the ratio of the two?
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Quality products don’t need as much defence as inferior products.
microsoft NEEDED to pay someone like you to promote their products, and to try and reduce the general “evilness” factor of the company to the public.
Apple makes such superior products that many of their fans do it for free.
How many people have you heard say that they love microsoft?
How many people have you heard say that they love apple? What’s the ratio of the two?
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When you are good, you don’t have to spend as much time saying it. Plus, I suspect Apple and Google employees are more geared toward the technical, where as the genius of Microsoft is in the marketing, certainly not the software.
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When you are good, you don’t have to spend as much time saying it. Plus, I suspect Apple and Google employees are more geared toward the technical, where as the genius of Microsoft is in the marketing, certainly not the software.
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While I can’t speak for Google and Yahoo, I can say as vp of corporate communications EarthLink and a blogger that you have no choice but to get in the game. The blogosphere is too all encompassing not to. Having said that, we at EarthLink are taking a gradualist approach. We launched a blog, implemented an employee online commentary policy and dipped our toe in podcasting and vlogging. Our goal is to mainstain a dialogue, address the egregious and allow employees to engage the blogging community on a case by case basis – learning from our mistakes and taking advantage of the medium to communicate thoughtfully, candidly and respectfully.
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While I can’t speak for Google and Yahoo, I can say as vp of corporate communications EarthLink and a blogger that you have no choice but to get in the game. The blogosphere is too all encompassing not to. Having said that, we at EarthLink are taking a gradualist approach. We launched a blog, implemented an employee online commentary policy and dipped our toe in podcasting and vlogging. Our goal is to mainstain a dialogue, address the egregious and allow employees to engage the blogging community on a case by case basis – learning from our mistakes and taking advantage of the medium to communicate thoughtfully, candidly and respectfully.
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Arouw? Did someone ask for me? BTW, I want to apologize in advance that I’ll be going to a book sale today instead of hitting nofoo. But bear in mind: just because you don’t always see Googlers or Applers (?) where you are doesn’t mean that we’re not out there getting feedback in our own way. I just cleaned out about 50 private email conversations on this sunny Saturday, for example. 🙂
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Arouw? Did someone ask for me? BTW, I want to apologize in advance that I’ll be going to a book sale today instead of hitting nofoo. But bear in mind: just because you don’t always see Googlers or Applers (?) where you are doesn’t mean that we’re not out there getting feedback in our own way. I just cleaned out about 50 private email conversations on this sunny Saturday, for example. 🙂
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