I have held back from writing about Microsoft for a little while since I'm sure most of my readers are more interested in our kittens than an opinionated and probably biased rant. However, rant I must. I am not overly bothered that they are taking over five years to produce a new version of their operating system which seemingly now contains only a new user interface and an update to Paint. I'm not fussed that as well as Windows Vista slipping to next year that they have also put back the next version of Office. I couldn't care less that Steve Balmer is claiming that IBM is just a services company despite us being the second largest software business in the world. It is water off a ducks back when they suggest that Lotus Notes is dead even when we are growing market share and have 124 million users. I don't even mind that they claim as innovation features that other products have had for years, for example new stuff coming in Windows that has been in Apple OS/X for years.
But what really got my goat was Microsoft's new marketing campaign called "People Ready". What does that mean? What was it before? I thought they had reached the depths of meaningless marketing nonsense when they claimed that "Windows Vista clarifies your digital world". Nope - my glasses clarify my world. Windows is an operating system.
A guy from Forbes magazine has his take on it, "Even more ironic is that Microsoft has ginned up a new slogan, "People Ready," which apparently is meant to describe its software, or maybe it describes companies that use its software, or whatever. Who knows? It's one of those phrases that means anything, and so means nothing. Who makes this stuff up? Do they actually pay this person? And is Microsoft just figuring out now that its programs are used by--gasp--people?"
Check the very funny full article here
1 comments:
Listening to Ballmer must be what it's like for a dog to listen to it's owner... most of it is "blah blah blah" and only the odd word is picked up (for a dog it's "walkies" and "dinner").
Even more amusing is the story about Ballmer banning his kids from owning iPods. iTunes and iPods are proprietary, and Ballmer doesn't like that. A trifle ironic? Or perhaps it's just that Apple trumped Microsoft by several years and now the rather pungent aroma of sour grapes wafts around Redmond. Apparently Microsoft are to make announcements "within the next 12 months" about their plans for dealing with the iPod. So, given the normal Microsoft slippage that's 18 months until the announcement and 3 years until the SharePod 2009 (human ear edition for home use) arrives. It'll require an additional license to attach it to speakers and you'll need the Pro edition to listen with both ears at once.
Talk about being late to the party... all the beer is gone, and the host's parents have just arrived back and are asking everyone to leave. Who's the sweaty porky guy dancing like a monkey on his own? Well, his first name is Steve, but his surname isn't Jobs.
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