Comments on: Microsoft looks to 'Mojave' to revive Vista's image

CNET News gets an exclusive look at what's likely to become a piece of a new Vista marketing push.

[bdonohue1]

This is flat goofy -- anyone who's been through an undergraduate course in research methodology knows that this approach is riddled with bias and error. Deception as a research tactic has long since been discredited since the time of the infamous Milgram experiments. And I won't go into a list of the many experimental confounds that this thing contains (a couple of which the writer of the piece here has already indicated).

Rather than spend millions on false advertising and gimmicked research, why doesn't M$ put all that money into fixing their code and improving the product? Ah well, it doesn't matter: every time M$ does something stupid like this, Mark Shuttleworth smiles.

[JohnGibson]

There once was a soft drink company that while working on a formula for a new drink discovered that in blind taste tests users would choose a new product over their old product and over their competitor's brand.

However the problem just happened that the first taste or sip of the beverage doesn't equal enjoyment, while most users would choose the new formula on the first sip, it was later found out that it was the overall experience of the drink that the users enjoyed more than the initial sip.

That drink was Coke II. Coke had to reintroduce the original formula back into its product line in order to keep their customer base. Today you cannot buy Coke II. It is gone, it isn't a product. You can only purchase Coke Classic.

People's views of Vista will be the same way, a single taste of vista my inspire a "WOW" however.... when you have to drink the whole product, the enjoyment factor will take a nose dive.

MS shot itself in the foot. No ifs ands and buts about it. They screwed up royally and no amount of marketing is going to turn it around. MS needs to face the fact that they shipped a turd in a pretty package and they need to face the fact that the general population knows its a turd.

[jcrumble]

WPF runs on XP. I am a heavy .Net and CRM developer (ASP, VB, & C#) as well as hardware and network savy. I run a quad boot OS (not including those I run in VMWare...don't get me started on the efficiency and support issues between VMWare and Virtual PC). I have an MSDN subscription which I have had for a number of years 5+. And have Vista installed both virtually and directly on a physical partition. I have worked in both Operating Systems and while I am still more familiar with XP navigation, I am able to work in Vista with no problems.

As I know what I am doing with a machine from a hardware, operating system, registry, and software standpoint, I have yet to find a reason to switch from XP as my main OS. As I stated above this is simply a matter of control. I prefer to control my working environment more than allow the operating system manufacturer to do so. As far as security goes, there are plenty of free anti-maleware applications available for XP that are highly rated by consumer reports and other 3rd party groups. If you know how to configure a system correctly there are no security issues with XP. As I stated above Vista is fine for people who don't know what they are doing, and acceptible for people who are already knowledgable enough to tweak their Vista environment but it does not allow the same amount of control ove rthe OS that is currently available in XP.

As for me I'll switch when I am forced to.

[Jelly Baby]

What's the problem with Vista? Just follow the usual upgrade path of... wait for SP1 then do a clean install.

Hasn't it been like that since the move from '95 to '98? (Or NT to 2000)

No problems - very happy with it - running 64 bit Vista with only a missing soundcard driver as a "problem" (but my older card and the on-board sound both work fine 'till a driver appears)

[Imalittleteapot]

Well yeah it's always been like that. The only difference is people wanted to upgrade then and couldn't until SP1 came out, but once it did everything was ok. The difference now is nobody wants to upgrade even if it does work ok because it doesn't do enough new stuff.

[mattumanu]

No sound card driver issues allowed in my work environment. I'm a sound engineer, which is the main reason I declined to upgrade to vista. Can't afford to lose functionality, I don't care how "cool" vista is supposed to be.

[inthrall]

So you couldn't use windows xp properly, you let vistas DRM and security lock your vista machine down so tight your applications have to beg you for permission to get out.. yeah.. vistas awesome.. if you didnt want to actually use the pc

[dwreid]

The biggest hurdle to overcome is the perception of people who have actually used Vista. They know for sure that it sucks. It's easy to demo Vista and make it look good. The problems come when you actually have to install it or use it. We recently purchased 10 brand new computers running Vista Business. They are fully patched. The desktop does appear more quickly than XP... of course you still can't work but you get to see the desktop. Actual work becomes possible quite a few minutes later. On average, our users get to see the error Windows Explorer has stopped responding from 2 to 3 times a day. Between 3 and 5 times a week, the computers just stop responding and throw away your work. Some processes take as much as 7 TIMES longer in Vista than they did in XP. Multi-tasking... forget it. Docking or undocking the laptops, guaranteed to blow up Vista every single time. Access to tools that used to take 2 clicks now take 5 to 7. The list of problems goes on and on. Our users hate it. While Microsoft may think that these are just "perception" problems they are not. Once again, instead of fixing the problem they want for force crap down our thoats and make us think we like it using marketing. Now THAT's a perception problem.

[e_chappuis]

Wow ! Wow ! Wow !

Hurray! Mojave is great!!!

Now stop! What a piece of b-**** is this? Just another trick for marketing an illfated piece of OS...

What's the trick? Best guess is: a well assembled high performance PC or Laptop, first class Presentation, HD Movie n'all... etc. Best hardware & soft with carefully checked drivers & compatibility... Vista Ultimate very carefully configured... etc... Naturally M$ can afford machines that actually work with Milenium2007, Ups, Vista.

Now I want to see the same bunch who have been presented Mojave/Vista try it on their own machines if powerfull enough to manage Vista or let see if 90% still say wowww! when buying an Acer, Dell, Medion, Fujitsu, HP, etc... Basicaly they would not know in about 50 % of the cases that they are buying Vista Basic and a crappy piece of hardware cleverly presented.

Yes, very true, this is what happens to half of my clients... Most of them miss dearly XP! asking me for dual boot or simply to install back XP! I truely have found only a weak percentage of machines working well with Vista from the beginning!!!

To finish, guess what OS is running the US Army in the Defence & Security contest they won against the US Security Agencies? Well, Linux ! I really would like them Vista to do the same, maybe someone should give the tip to M$ !

M$, what a shamefull Monopoly, what a lack of respect for the customers they only think of "milking dry"

[cyclelogicpress.com]

Mojave? Smells more like Mirage.

[mykro69]

Exellent choice, let them move everything out of Redmond to the desert where they belong.

[Keep-it-simple]

Vista is a good example of an over engineered product without understanding the customers? real usages and needs. MS managed to miss the needs of all users.
Hopefully Win 7 will deliver what users need.

[medavis824]

Unfortunately the problem with Microsoft Vista is much more than just PERCEPTION. Compared to Windows XP it is actually harder to use, more difficult to configure and setup, and requires extensive hardware upgrades to provide the experience that Microsoft advertises.

I have been a loyal Microsoft user from the time Bill Gates was selling BASIC while he was still in high school, but VISTA was the last straw in a nearly 30 year relationship and I bought a Apple MacBook Pro and have been a happy Apple convert ever since.

A faked up OS shell game doesn't change the facts!

M. Davis

[cephalis]

Two points; 1) this Mojave test should tell MS that their public reputation for being ***** is getting in the way of selling their products 2) if they put half as much effort into making a stable product as they put into selling companion products they would to enhance their product and their reputation. I spent the first week with Vista getting rid of pop-ups selling other software and services--and they are still getting in the way.

[CBlasiJr]

o maior problema com o vista, é a falta de informação dos fabricantes de pcs e notebooks. Acabei de comprar um compac presario c730br (notebook) com 512 mb ram e vista basic. Quando liguei o aparelho me deu vontade de devolver ou ate jogar fora. Manco, capenga um horror
Ai, fui até uma loja e coloquei 2 GB ram (R$ 160,00) Ficou um avião. Porque não vem com no minimo 1 GB ram, preço? estupidez do fabricante. Com 512 MB ram e vista não roda. Ai fica fácil colocar a culpa na Microsoft.

[rohan00]

I agree. Really, I don't think anybody should be trying to run Vista with less than 2 GB.

[hades_2100]

How dumb were these Mojave test users that they did not recognize Vista within a minute of using it, when supposedly they've already used it in the past?

[kmbchance]

Apple fanboys are funny

[0zSpit]

i think they get happy just to see their words show up on the screen

[0zSpit]

poor lowly XPers with their 30 gig hard drives and minimal ram. they try so hard but fail miserably. they're running out of excuses not get into the 90's. what's next, they'll be saying mullets are still in style? LMAO @ THE XPers. CANT YOU GET A COPY OF XP ON THE DISCOUNT RACK IN THE DOLLAR STORES NOW? HAAA HAAAAAAA....

[Imalittleteapot]

I'd love to run Vista at work. We have about 30 machines that can't be upgraded to it. My boss doesn't want to pay for the upgrades. However, you seem like you're really a Vista supporter. I thought maybe if you would pay for all the new hardware my boss would be willing to change his mind. Please, gives us the money for the upgrades. It should cost right under $30,000 for new machines. You're my only hope.

[mattumanu]

XP, dear misguided and lost soul, came out after the year 2000. Get a grip, take a deep breath, and never let it go!

[0zSpit]

XPers stir easier than ********.

[Rmiami225]

What Microsoft is banking on is that these people have not used OSX Leopard and don't really have anything to compare! I've got both Vista and leopard ... Vista is a pain in the ass and has to be babysitted, is full of glitches, and is slow even with 4gb ram. I don't have an axe to grind ... MS has a lot of great software, but it's just not as user friendly as the Mac. The Mac just works! MS needs to have their ***** handed to them!

[sderf]

The people they showed this Mojave to must not be to bright if they didn't know what Vista looked like. It doesn't matter what it looks like on the monitor it how it works that matters. Slow as snails and every time you do something a screen pops up in your face tell you you don't have permission to do this H--L i own the laptop and the software. I would think that would quantify to do what ever i wanted. Vista is slower than snails compared to XP even after i added another gig of ram. If you are wanting to sell an OS make it better than the one I already have.
Derf

[mabradford]

I will have to completely agree with (armond c peaslee jr) as he likes Windows Vista. I've been slamming OS's onto computers since Microsoft DOS and Windows 2.0. I will tell you - if your computer isn't strong enough to run Vista - so what, throw it away. Do you take your "Old Ford Galaxy" down to the Ford Dealership and tell them to "Put a New Engine In" just so you can keep that ugly rusted out body and frame ? No! Because it's just plain stupid and you aren't going to waste $9,000 dollars.....so why would you want to waste $300 dollars on some junkpile of a P.C. that should have been recycled 3 years or more ago. I've loaded every version of Windows Vista and I love every version. Of course I put it on new strong machines. I'm not an IDIOT. Vista runs cleaner and faster than anything on the market including Linux and it's funky NEW "Spin the Cube" screens. And I'll tell you - IF you want to run those Linux "Spin the Cube" based PC's, you'd better have a computer that's just as powerful as the one needed for Windows Vista. So - anyone out there that seems to think they know everything enough about everything conscerning OS's and PC's - and slams Windows Vista, is just showing that they haven't had any true experience with the OS's and new PC equipment and that includes Video and Sound cards. How good Vista works with development and programming with Visual BASIC I have no idea -- I don't even know if Vista is built for that - but, I will tell you -- VISTA IS THE BEST ON THE MARKET and goes like a champ with Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2003.

[Imalittleteapot]

Like I said to OzSpit. I'd love to run Vista at work. We have about 30 machines that can't be upgraded to it. My boss doesn't want to pay for the upgrades. However, you seem like you're really a Vista supporter. I thought maybe if you would pay for all the new hardware my boss would be willing to change his mind. Please, gives us the money for the upgrades. It should cost right under $30,000 for new machines. You're my only hope.

[notgonnatellya]

I understand what you're waying, but it's not really relevant. The VAST MAJORITY of computer users will never EVER install an OS. They buy a PC with an OS installed. They use it and when they buy a new PC, if it comes with a new version of the OS, then that's what they use.

Vista has sold better than XP, and Business has not been the driving force behind Vista up to this point. It usage as measured on the web is higher than XP was (so claims that people just downgraded don't hold up).

Truth is that the vast majority of people who whine about vista haven't used it or haven't used in a long time.

Finally, reviews for vista when it first came out were largely positive. Did it lack drivers? Yup. Did XP lack drivers when it first came out? Yup!

Blame Nvidia, ATI and Creative. Creative had barely done any work on drivers for vista. During Beta, as I recall, they released some drivers in the summer (June or July) and nothing else after that, despite the fact that most of the advanced features on the cards weren't working. Nvidia and ATI just had terrible drivers.

Alas, even if Vista had been held back 6 months, it wouldnt' have mattered, because those companies weren't going to work on drivers for an OS that nobody owned.

[Imalittleteapot]

Drivers huh? Well it's been out a year and a half. Windows 7 is already approaching. When exactly are they gonna get these drivers to us? Anyway, it might be the drivers fault, but if it doesn't work it doesn't work. What's a guy to do?