September 23, 2009 4:37 PM PDT
New Windows 7 launch video breaks bizarre barrier
Several months back I wrote about Microsoft's Songsmith video that hit all the wrong notes. It was a weird (to say the least) attempt to humanize software that failed so terribly I still find it hard to believe it was real.
Enter the latest Windows 7 launch video, which looks like the Food Network threw a cooking party only to have it geek out and go completely sideways.
Maybe all the pressure to make Windows 7 successful has removed all sensibility to marketing efforts that seem like good ideas until they are actually created.
Dave Rosenberg dishes up "Software, Interrupted" with nearly 15 years of technology and marketing experience that spans from Bell Labs to multiple start-up IPOs to open-source enterprise software companies. He is co-founder of MuleSource and currently serves as the general manager of Hardy Way. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. You can contact Dave via e-mail at softwareinterrupted@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @dr138. 
No, but plenty of vapourware!
Show your pride, show your determination! Ditch your jjob and do it! You can do it for real! That'll really show Microsoft who the loser is!
You know full well his "job" is trying to track down drivers for basic hardware while drinking Mountain Dew in his mom's basement.
If you want to run a dedicated music server on an old clunker box and fiddle around with it, that's great. Me, I like working on my Z car. But the vast majority of the world wants a turnkey solution (see what I did there?) that will perform well without a zillion hours of work invested. That's why HP and Toyota make so much; they're selling appliances that get you from point A to point B, not mean custom machines to enthusiasts.
BTW, this Windows launch party stuff is quite lame!
Although I must say Mint has been the best for drivers in my experience.
Oho! Don't start a fork war here with Linux fans. We don't need them all fighting over which current fork of the primary OS is the best. Solidarity is needed here.
@jaguar717:
I too like to futz around with vehicles and restoration projects. I like working on them because I don't depend on them to be working day and night and it doesn't matter if it's running or not in the morning- it's just fun messing with it. For a daily driver, I run a boring car, but reliable because it does get me there and back... sometiimes to the parts store to get parts for that fun project. :)
(FWIW, there are a lot of events where folks hand out disks of various distros - usually Ubuntu live CD's nowadays- for folks to try for free...)
One of my neighbors was reinstalling XP, couldn't find all the drivers for his laptop, had no sound for over a month. I went over, found a few leads for drivers but couldn't find the exact one. Put Ubuntu on it, sound right away.
I tried Puppy Linux on a neighbors old laptop, it had every driver needed and was running as quickly as a different neighbors installation of Windows on top of the line hardware.
@Vegaman_Dan
You find the funding, I'll personally make a copy of Linux Mint for every single person on the face of the planet with a PC, install it for them and show them how to use it and where to go for upgrades when it's time. If they don't like Linux Mint, I'll install PCLinuxOS or Puppy Linux or whatever else they try that they enjoy.
I'll start with your own town, just so you can see the money's going to good use.
Really really bad reporting though.. launch video? Duhhh
Come on CNET, did you actually see the video?
> clamoring to be invited.
What is your position at Microsoft?
Lucky to me, is winning a lottery when the odds are stacked against you, by more than 100:1.
But to the point, the infomercial is lame. At 1:00, there is a voice over. Throughout the video, the folks keep looking to the right at cue cards, and the saddest quote of all: "Hey, it helped me to remember that I'm not a salesman at this party."
I pre-ordered my upgrade copy when it was half-priced in July, but no way am I letting go of the ridiculousness of that video and the others that were made.
I understand Leo Laporte also is hosting such a party. By your logic, does that mean he's being paid by Microsoft as well?
If you listen to his podcast, you'll soon learn he's in it for the napkins. :)
How dull does a party need to be before showing off an operating system sounds like something fun? I'm sorry but OSs are not interesting and I'd rather shoot myself than spend an evening looking at one. Do yourself a favour - have the party but keep the TV turned off and Windows in its wrapper.
So why don't you do yourself a favor before you consider shooting yourself and ask yourself this question: "Why is it that I can't understand why people would get excited enough about an operating system to throw a party around that for close friends and family"? If you come up with a good answer, learn from it and move on. If not, go ahead and shoot "something" if you must, just don't hurt yourself or anyone else attempting to figure this out while looking at your own.
Now I'm not saying that if you're upgrading your PC to Windows 7 you won't like it, you might, but a party? What the heck is that going to be like? This sounds like a terrible idea, the worst party idea ever - I mean, imagine going to that party... It sounds like the worse office do ever, but with Windows.
DUH.
Sorry, but it is rather blatantly obvious if you stop to thiink about it.
While visiting a neighbor to check up on some work I'd done for her, I showed her Puppy Linux on her old machine, booted up from the LiveCD and let her play around with it while I checked a few things on her machine.
Went to another friends house and ended up doing some maintenance on her work laptop. Her IT guys had just pushed through IE 8 for XP. All she knew was that it was working very slowly recently.
Doesn't look like Windows and party should be anywhere near each other, much less in the same sentence.
Install "before" the party? Just throw the party, don't involve Windows. You'll have more fun.
From Vegaman_Dan, coming to a bookstore near you: "Spinning at 26,000 RPM: The Idiot's Guide to Shilling."
Seriously, though, you're always good for a laugh. Thanks.
This is like a pharmaceutical commercial for assisted suicide.
OK, but seriously - dips and Windows? What the heck kinda party is this? Even given that this isn't meant for general consumption, it's pretty stupid don't you think? I'm not ragging on the product, I can't imagine a "Snow Leopard" party would be any better. Or an Ubuntu Lucid Lynx party (yes, I'm sure it would smell nicer...)
The idea of a party to launch an OS is dumb, This video shows why it's dumb.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyas7BrbUFY
Why is it Microsoft commercials only make sense when they've been re-mixed?
"Why is it Microsoft commercials only make sense when they've been re-mixed? "
Good question. The only problem is that this isn't a commercial. This was an instructional video.
Sorry, MS, but the people get to decide what to have parties around. And the event that is party-worthy is the thing that comes first. The Super Bowl and The Oscars did not send out "party guides" and "party planners" to create a wave of their respective parties. Organizing a house party around a Windows launch is like organizing a Tupperware party around paper towels.
Back in the days of Dos and Win3X ....etc..etc
Micrsoft use to host convention center filling launch parties.
In this case friends who are interested can host a party and in exchange recieve some free items from MS.
So no it was not a video ment for everyone, it was a video from the company who is setting up the house parties, to those who were selected on ideas on hosting your party.
In my case I still have about 12 Dos 5.0 TShirts never worn, and whack of Logitech Windows 3.1 packs with mouse still shrunk wrap, that I'm passing out to some of my friends.
So yes, its a party that those who are interested who like the product have applied and been selected to host.
So no MS is not forcing you or anyone else who is not interested in hosting a party to be at a party or host a party.
But CNET trying to say this is a launch video .. is so far out in left field its not even funny.
You may want to research a subject before commenting to avoid ignorant comments like these.
CNET:
This applies to you too, I'm afraid.
"Do not write anything about Microsoft without my approval. If you write anything negative -- or worse yet, accurate -- it will not be approved."
Give it a rest, Dan. The video sucks and blows, and there's no chance in hell that it was done without Microsoft's approval. Everyone who watches it will correctly associate it with Microsoft. Your transparently frantic attempts to pretend otherwise are downright pathetic.
After further research, I should have said "The Super Bowl and The Oscars did not send out "party guides" and "party planners" in a thinly-disguised, blatant and pathetic attempt to create a wave of their respective parties.
- by 62Sparkplug September 23, 2009 5:51 PM PDT
- This sounds like "Son of THE SOCIAL" where you were going to be able to have a bunch of people get together and it would be fun and cool to "squirt" each other with their Zunes. Right. When's the last time someone tried to squirt you with a Zune?
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