Recently, Microsoft has rolled out a new advertising campaign for its Windows Vista operating system, dubbed the Mojave Experiment. The idea behind the campaign was to see whether regular, everyday users who stated their extreme dislike of Vista, but who never actually used Vista themselves, would, in fact, find Vista appealing once they got their hands on it. To do this, Microsoft sat down a number of people and showed them its latest operating system, “Mojave”. In the videos, the people rave about the new OS and how simple and elegant it is. Afterward, Microsoft reveals that they were actually using Vista and many of the people act amazed and go on to say they’ll be purchasing Vista right away. If you actually go to the Mojave Experiment website and watch some of the videos, you will discover that the way Microsoft approached this campaign certainly leaves some things to be desired (discussed in the latest episode of TWiT, episode 154), however, the campaign in and of itself raises some important issues and can teach us a valuable lesson.
Now, I myself own Windows Vista Ultimate and, personally, have had no problems with it. I respect those who, for whatever reason, feel Windows Vista is not right for them. However, what I find disconcerting is how prevalent the negative feelings towards Vista have become. I teach computer classes to senior citizens, covering everything from email, to Microsoft Word, to Google. Recently, I was consulting a woman about what type of computer she should purchase. The first thing she asked me was, “Should I be worried about Vista?” Now, this is not someone who is a heavy computer user. This is just your “average”, everyday person who likes to email family and friends, go on the Internet and type letters on her computer.
What I have seen time and time again is that people are confused about Vista, even though they have never even touched the OS themselves. They talk about how horrible Vista is, about how many problems it has, but they have never actually used it. Ironically, the woman in my class went ahead and purchased a computer with Vista and later told me that she actually likes it.
I’m not suggesting Vista is perfect. I’m not suggesting Vista is right for everyone. However, what is saddening is that consumers are forming such negative opinions about a product without actually seeing the product for themselves. Furthermore, if you look at the reviews for Vista, they’re not that bad. In fact, many reviewers, such as CNET, say for users who are looking to buy a new computer, Vista is just fine. So why is their such intense animosity towards Vista if the reviews are generally favorable, and many of the driver and software compatibility issues have been addressed? Unfortunately, this hints at a much larger, indeed, societal problem. Word of mouth can be more powerful than even the most expensive, well-organized advertising campaign, and it certainly hasn’t helped that Microsoft has kept mum about the negative Vista press for this long. A good example of this word of mouth phenomenon is the movie industry. It is not uncommon for movies that receive very negative reviews to do extremely well and vice versa. The same has gone for Vista. Although it is a solid operating system, albeit with some problems, but nevertheless an OS that should satisfy the needs of most average users, it has been struck with negative publicity and word of mouth. While many people haven’t tried Vista for themselves, they may have heard from a friend of a friend that Vista has problems, and therefore, have tried to avoid it.
Another woman in one of my classes has Vista, as well as Microsoft Office 2007. Since Office 2007 is so radically different from previous versions, she has had trouble figuring out how to do specific tasks. She also thinks that the problem is Vista, even though it there really isn’t a problem, it’s just that Office 2007 takes some getting used to.
It all comes back to misconceptions. We need to learn not to judge a book by its cover, or in this case, an operating system by its name. Sure, for some people, Vista has proven to be problematic. There are certainly people who have valid qualms with Microsoft’s most recent OS. However, for a large majority of users, for those who want to be able to email grandchildren, to look at digital photos, to browse the Internet, Vista is not only a satisfactory OS, it is actually much better than XP, especially when it comes to managing digital photos.
Ultimately, the blame comes back to Microsoft. It had all the time in the world to reverse the public opinion of Vista and it was its decision to wait until now. Nevertheless, it’s important that we be informed consumers and don’t take everything at face value. Read reviews, go to the store and try it out for yourself. While Vista (or any other piece of software or technology) may not be right for you, you won’t know until you experience it for yourself.
Filed under: Computers, Microsoft, Technology | Tagged: Microsoft, Microsoft Office 2007, Mojave Experiment, Windows Vista, Windows Vista Ultimate, Windows XP
Kyle, Kyle… given that you’ve only had 1 digg and no comments, all I can say is that you are unimportant. I however decided to post a comment. Be aware, this is a one time only visit, I dropped here from Google while searching for “mojave experiment bullshit”. Do you realize you don’t know what you’re talking about? I fix computers for a living and I get more support calls than anything else. All of the people who upgraded their computers (bought new ones) and have Vista are asking me where to find that and that and that. They all complain that it’s not as easy as XP. The point is… you fail to recognize in your immense, wise exploration of the good side of Mojave that people only SEE the damn features, they are not USING them. There’s a HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE difference. Mind me, a colossal one! I can show my grandpa what the iPhone can do and he’ll say “WHOAH! I’m going to buy one tomorow”. A day later he will return it because it actually isn’t all that easy when it comes to USING the product which he loved so much some hours earlier.
So please, stop trying to be different from all others and be true to the facts: Vista is under no flavor or circumstance a decent operating system. It’s a pain in the *ss to most users and I’d say that is user unfriendly; wouldn’t you?
When was the last time your grandma managed to install office 2007 and set up Outlook with Earthlink on her own?
Oh, since you are talking about gullible people … you are one of them. The ratings that operating systems get online (especially on their mother website) are biased. Anyone who is hosting an operating system rating system is clearly after something else other than honesty – um, I don’t know… money? An operating system is like a restaurant – people will come if it’s a good one. Leave a bad taste in one’s mouth and your restaurant closes down – slowly. Try to look at this whole thing as a marketing strategy too, if you will, because that’s what it is. And you will understand that Mojave and Microsoft mean the same thing: rip off. All they care about is money. Have you ever called Microsoft when your XP wouldn’t activate? I’d recommend doing that and then tell me it’s worth paying the price for Windows.
I appreciate getting feedback on my articles, however, strong that feedback may be. I think John may have missed what I was going for with the article. I was not trying to applaud Microsoft for its Mojave campaign, nor was I trying to suggest Windows Vista is the perfect operating system, but rather, I was trying to describe the effects that the media and word of mouth have on the public and the importance of experiencing a product first-hand. Windows Vista could be the best operating system in the world or the worst operating system in the world, but until people judge it for themselves, they won’t know.
I liked John’s restaurant analogy, as it helps me get my point across. You may hear bad things about a restaurant, but maybe once you try it you find it isn’t that bad. That’s all I was trying to say, that people should at least try something (and as I mentioned in the article, I’m not just referring to Vista, but products in general) before they make judgments on it.
Everyone has their opinions of Vista and, as I stated in my article, I respect those opinions. While I don’t mind Vista, it’s not that I’m trying to defend it or the Mojave Experiment (which I feel is flawed in several ways); in fact, I much prefer using my Mac over my Vista PC. The main thing I was trying to get across was that before people form those opinions, they should have something to base them off of. I understand people are having problems with Vista, however, I also know of several people who have had no problems with it. Just like with a restaurant, people have different tastes, some may find that Vista whets their appetite while others are left with heartburn.
Once again, I appreciate the comment and the points it brought up, but just wanted to take the chance to reiterate what I was trying to get across in the article.