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Vista branding is confusing, but is it criminal? | |
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| Time: 10:03 EST/15:03 GMT | News Source: ZDNet | Posted By: Robert Stein | ||
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The Seattle Post-Intelligencer quotes Microsoft as saying it did all it could to educate customers, retailers and partners about the distinctions between Vista-Capable and Vista Premium-Ready. Like many Microsoft watchers, I have found Microsoft's categorization murky. My ZDNet blogging colleague Adrian Kingsley-Hughes says the same. Can all Vista-Capable machines run Aero Glass? Can some run it? None? I still am not entirely sure. And Microsoft's Web site does little to make that clear. | ||
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| #1 By 32132 (142.32.208.231) at 4/4/2007 11:52:24 AM |
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"And Microsoft's Web site does little to make that clear. "
On the main page: "Upgrade to Windows Vista Discover the edition that's right for you" http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/choose.mspx?wt_svl=20361a&mg_id=20361b Clearly, you have to be an idiot to not notice that Windows Home Basic is mssing the check mark in the Aero Glass row. |
| #2 By 15406 (216.191.227.68) at 4/4/2007 11:54:47 AM |
| I'm actually behind MS on this one. MS makes the OS and spits out recommended configs. After that, it's all on the retailers to educate users and users to educate themselves. If Dell promotes one of its models as "Vista Ready" but Basic runs like a dead dog then it's Dell's problem and not Microsoft's. The only real knock on MS is their habit of touting bare minimum configs as recommended to dodge complaints that the OS takes too many resources. If the retailers take that as gospel, after being burned the same way all these years, then they're just not paying attention. Either that or they want to make the cheapest systems possible and will point the finger back at MS when you complain the box is slow. |
| #3 By 15406 (216.191.227.68) at 4/4/2007 12:09:11 PM |
| #1: Clearly, you'd have to be an idiot to imagine in your wildest dreams that the average user is going to research which Vista edition to buy. MS did make a mash of the whole thing by having the 17 different editions, thereby ensuring that the average person would be baffled. |
| #4 By 32132 (142.32.208.231) at 4/4/2007 12:11:12 PM |
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Website: Click here to discover which Vista version is right for you!
Latch: Latch: Latch: Latch: Microsoft is EVIL! |
| #5 By 15406 (216.191.227.68) at 4/4/2007 12:24:05 PM |
| #4: What if it's their first computer, Mr. Smartass? What if they, unlike us, happen to be the in 95% of humanity that can barely turn their PC on? People had problems figuring out XP Home versus XP Pro. That was two whole choices. Now you expect them to figure out all the Vista editions? For you & I, sure. For Joe Sixpack, no way. You're expecting way too much of the average user. Try thinking outside your own skull now and then. |
| #6 By 32132 (142.32.208.231) at 4/4/2007 12:49:36 PM |
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Every computer ad I've seen mentions the exact version coming with the PC "Vista Home Basic" or "Vista Home Premium".
I can understand that you might be incapable of asking a salesman the difference between "Basic" and "Premium" because you would be swearing at the salesman and calling him names for trying to sell you a PC with Vista on it: Salesman: Home Premium means you get Aero Glass. Home Basic means you don't Normal Person: Whats Aero Glass? Latch: A PIII with Windows 98 is enough for me you f***wad. |
| #7 By 8556 (12.207.97.148) at 4/4/2007 2:03:36 PM |
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Both of you guys: Most PC users, and children, have no problem understanding the answer to the question (expanded here) "what is Aero Glass and why would I want it on my PC?"
Locally, where I live and work, Aero Glass is "eye candy". So, to simplify their choice I tell them: Vista Basic: no 3D eye candy. Vista Premium: With eye candy, for $60 more. If asked, the $60 price premium gives them a more powerful machine (if asked, with 128-MB PCIe GeForce 6200 card and 1-GB DDR2-800 RAM). The versioning of Vista is NOT simple for new users and many long-retired folks to easily grasp. Microsoft dropped the ball with the "WOW" campaign. Vista is not really about "WOW" to anyone but geeks (like me) and MS's marketing department, probably all geeks. Vista is about improved security, superior e-mail and calendaring, etc. |
| #8 By 13030 (198.22.121.110) at 4/4/2007 3:04:51 PM |
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The whole problem would not exist if there was only ONE version of Vista. Four versions, which require you to consult a matrix in order to have some idea of features present or lacking, is ridiculous. Even development tools made for geeks have trouble coming up with four different versions.
On the other hand, the lawsuit is just as ridiculous. |
| #9 By 32132 (142.32.208.231) at 4/4/2007 4:01:10 PM |
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Four?
3 versions for consumers. 3 versions for business. And one of each is Ultimate. Can't deal with 3 different versions of software? Do you have a brain injury? Your brain must explode when trying to buy say ... Acrobat: http://www.adobe.com/products/#acrobat_family Or Visual Studio: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/aa700919.aspx |
| #10 By 23275 (24.179.4.158) at 4/4/2007 4:12:11 PM |
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#7, I see your point and why - we encounter much the same with some of the market we serve - especially at the high end, where people often have very little experience with technologies and digital media.
It is awfully unfortunate that all of the media experiences are left out in the explanation of differences between Vista Basic and Vista Home Premium - there is a lot more to Home Premium than the Aero interface, which is in and of itself more than just eye-candy - finding and getting to one of many open applications easily - the desired one... is much easier and more immediately evident. That said, and as much as I want it to be true, bobsireno has a good point... it is tough to communicate things. |
| #11 By 37047 (74.101.157.125) at 4/4/2007 8:09:43 PM |
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10 Ways to Jump Start Vista Sales
http://techiqmag.com/2007/03/29/memo-to-microsoft-10-ways-to-jump-start-vista-sales/ Some interesting food for thought, though Parkkker will undoubtedly argue that Microsoft should have even more Vista editions, just to make things somehow better for consumers. And for the record, to keep to the topic, Vista's branding is not criminal, in my opinion. Just a really, really, bad marketing decision. Criminal - No. Stupid - Yes. This post was edited by MysticSentinel on Wednesday, April 04, 2007 at 20:12. |
| #12 By 20505 (216.102.144.11) at 4/4/2007 10:01:46 PM |
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I'll say it again Vista has one major problem. It's called XP.
I've got a "free" Vista upgrade coming for a notebook PC and I wouldn't touch the thing with a ten foot pole. As it is my IT guy is whining every time he works on my primary Vista desktop at work. |
| #13 By 8556 (12.210.39.82) at 4/4/2007 11:38:38 PM |
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oldog: XP is good enough in the same manner as a much older women is attractive after a guy consumes a dozen beers and the night is no longer young. With Vista you won't chew your arm off in the morning. If you do, it'll grow back from a shadow copy. Not so with XP.
Get your IT guy some Xanex and tell him to relearn what he thinks he knows. Times change. It may be a bit early for Vista to use in a mixed OS envronment with older hardware. Vista isn't the problem. Many hardware companies are taking too long to release fully functional drives, or, in some cases, any driver. You can always tell your IT person to install Virtual PC 2007 and run XP as an appliance on your Vista desktop. Maybe then he'll stop whining about having to do his job for a while. This post was edited by bobsireno on Wednesday, April 04, 2007 at 23:50. |
| #14 By 23275 (24.179.4.158) at 4/5/2007 3:52:34 AM |
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#12, I'm with #13, on this one.... IT should know better... a lot better... and forget any advocacy for Vista, or opinions about it... Vista is just better and in so many ways. Any IT guy who has devoted enough time to his job would know this and be able to detail why and show any type user, or colleague why Vista is so much better with great ease.
If an IT guy, responsible for desktops can't do that, he hasn't done himself any justice or favors and he'd better get on the stick and quick, or start looking for another position. Th eexplorer shell alone, and the way users can move laterally through their files so quickly would be enough of a reason for any user to want Vista over XP and that is but one new area that differentiates Vista from XP. You, as a mobile user, and your IT guy being a professional, and rightfully concerned about security, he would have told you how Vista sets up and remembers unique settings for each network connection you use. A simple example would be how at work, or home you would wish to share networked resources, and while on a public network access point, you would wish to use a profile that allows you access to what you want - the access point and its connection to the Internet, while locking down Vista so all those around you can't see your laptop. Vista does this easily and by default. When a new network connection is established, one may select, at a click, what type of environment it is - public, for example, would stealth your system from others, while home or work would allow you to share resources. In all cases, the IT guys should be refocusing their efforts on the user - and working from the user out. Vista certainly offers a lot easier and more effective ways to manage systems and support users. |
| #15 By 13030 (198.22.121.110) at 4/5/2007 9:30:30 AM |
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#9: Four?
Yes, four. One, two, three, four. There are four boxes and four columns on the MS link you posted. This is the page a potential buyer would be looking at, I presume, and there they would see four versions compared. Can't deal with 3 different versions of software? Do you have a brain injury? No one should have to deal with more than two versions of any software--the novice version and the the professional version. Any more versions are the result of "marketing gurus" and "bean counters" calling the shots. #14: Vista is just better and in so many ways. There is no compelling reason for the majority of users to upgrade to Vista at this time. In the same way, Office 2000 provides all the functionality that the majority of users need. As a techie, you are drawn to the new features, but think about how many everyday users are actually requesting and making use of these new features. Sure, you have some clients that are like us techies here, but the vast majority of Windows users out there don't really care about Vista. |
| #16 By 32132 (64.180.219.241) at 4/5/2007 10:32:51 AM |
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#11 "Admit that Vista has hefty hardware requirements and celebrate its performance on high-end PCs. Don’t allow Vista to be installed or sold on PCs with less than one gigabyte of RAM."
Vista runs absolutely amazingly well (better than XP) on 829$ PC's that include 19" monitors. I would disagree that this is "hefty". Its cheap. |
| #17 By 32132 (64.180.219.241) at 4/5/2007 10:35:45 AM |
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#15 "There are four boxes and four columns on the MS link you posted."
And you think a home user is incapable of disregarding the column clearly marked "business" and business users are incapable of filtering out the columns with "Home" in the title? These are people reading the web page. Not parsnips (or Latch). |
| #18 By 15406 (216.191.227.68) at 4/5/2007 11:46:22 AM |
| #16: Your selectivity is getting to the point of stupidity. How does 'hefty hardware requirements' have anything to do with price? Or are you teliing everyone that wants to run Vista to go out and drop $800 on a new PC? |
| #19 By 32132 (142.32.208.231) at 4/5/2007 11:59:52 AM |
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"How does 'hefty hardware requirements' have anything to do with price?"
If its cheap, it isn't "hefty". "Hefty" today is quad core boxes or dual quad core boxes with $500+ graphic cards. This post was edited by NotParker on Thursday, April 05, 2007 at 12:12. |
| #20 By 15406 (216.191.227.68) at 4/5/2007 12:14:59 PM |
| #19: "Cheap" today was "Hefty" 2-3 years ago. |
| #21 By 13030 (198.22.121.110) at 4/5/2007 2:03:19 PM |
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#17: And you think a home user is incapable of disregarding the column clearly marked "business" and business users are incapable of filtering out the columns with "Home" in the title?
What if I run a small business out of my home? Or does "business" really only mean "BIG BUSINESS" such as yours. :-) Stop being ridiculous. Four versions is too many. Three for consumers is even more ridiculous than having three for business and just one for consumers. |
| #22 By 32132 (64.180.219.241) at 4/5/2007 6:03:25 PM |
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#20
Eric Idle: Who'd a thought thirty years ago we'd all be sittin' here drinking Chateau de Chassilier wine? MP: Aye. In them days, we'd a' been glad to have the price of a cup o' tea. GC: A cup ' COLD tea. EI: Without milk or sugar. TG: OR tea! MP: In a filthy, cracked cup. EI: We never used to have a cup. We used to have to drink out of a rolled up newspaper. ... http://www.serve.com/bonzai/monty/classics/TheWeAreSoPoorSketch |
| #23 By 32132 (64.180.219.241) at 4/5/2007 6:08:08 PM |
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#21 Distrowatch lists 360 versions of Linux/BSD etc. Thats ridiculous.
3 versions of Windows isn't hard for a normal human to grasp. |
| #24 By 15406 (216.191.227.68) at 4/6/2007 8:23:17 AM |
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#22: Yes, and everyone in the world upgrades their computers every other week, just to keep up with Windows... you are so deluded. Either that or you'll say just about anything to get the last word.
#23: Linux users are generally smarter so they can handle figuring out which distro they need. Of course, since the distros are free you can try as many as you like until you find one that suits you. How do I do that with Windows? |
| #25 By 32132 (64.180.219.241) at 4/6/2007 6:12:04 PM |
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#24 "Yes, and everyone in the world upgrades their computers every other week, just to keep up with Windows"
First it was too long between XP and Vista. Now its too soon. Get back to me when you actually have tried Vista. "How do I do that with Windows?" Trial versions? You could have downloaded RC2 too. Also, every Vista disc allows you to try it for a month without a product key. One of these days you should install Vista. |
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