Kirk Evans Blog

Now that's some passion.

You might know however that the iPhone can open and display Office Documents. Word, Excel,  and now Powerpoint in the new 3G. And it is hard to make fun of iLife when MS doesn't have anything to match it, especially when it comes free with a new Mac.

Given that, hope things work out for you. I would probably take a vacation. someplace nice. Problems are everywhere. Nothing is perfect. It is what you make it.

"I can't believe that we don't already see Zune and Windows permeate through Disney Channel shows."

Not with Steve Jobs sitting on Disney's board.

Please supply links and quotes from the knowledgeable people who said that Apple is "immune or impenetrable". Apple hasn't said it, nor has anyone who understands any of this and was being honest. However I will say right now that Macs are "more secure". They are.

Similarly my Toyota is not "perfect" nor does it get infinite gas mileage. But it is better than the Ford I once had.

Jim

I can't believe they let you work at microsoft, you're about as dumb as a stick and that is actually a compliment... Geesh, you need a vacation from EVERYTHING, not just your job...

Grow up, accept that your platform of choice is destined for the garbage can...

right where it belongs... with that computer your mom threw away...

".  Show a college kid with an iPhone cussing because he can't read a Word document, "

Funny that, I can read them perfectly fine on my iPod Touch...

well, i feel your personal commitment to Windows etc. fair enough.

but the hard truth you don't see is that all of us - the end users, the consumers, the "people" - are not and have not been MS' real "customers". MS true customers are (1) the OEM's, (2) the "content owners" and services providers that want to "monetize" everything we touch via our computers (i.e. make us pay as much as the market will bear), and (3) the "enterprises" that want to lock all us employees down tight in front of our "workstations." Everything MS does is to empower them, not us. we end users are essentially an afterthought, our needs are #4 at best. hence MS' current image problem - the people are catching on, intuitively if not consciously.

Apple, for all its arrogance, is undeniably a consumer product company. it makes its billions from end users who don't have to buy Apple products, but choose to. so it has to satisfy them, genuinely. and for the most part, it does.

And the Google model? give it all away for free! (kind of). that's one that will never miss.

Ain't nothin' the MS marketing department can do to change this. it's too deep. and then to make it even worse, there's Ballmer ...

As a former MS employee,  I empathize with you.

When I was there, I was amazed we didn't address the ads more aggressively - not in a *reactive* way, but in a proactive way.  The company meeting ads were always so creative and hilarious, I was bewildered as to why that humor and creativity didn't translate into our marketing.   The sad thing is there are amazing, passionate, really good people who work at MS and they are overshadowed by those at the top who make such poor decisions.  

But here's the reality. Microsoft is a shareholder company. It is not a company invested in *people*, and Ballmer in his prioritized focus of "developers" and "Enterprise" says as much. Windows software is fantastic for business. It is not fantastic for people like your mom and your average consumer because they don't know how to use it and it would appear that Microsoft just doesn't care about that. Where are the workshops and the community centers that would compete with an Apple store, geared to just teaching people what they have now? Nowhere.  And it's because MS implies you're stupid if you don't understand which buttons turn on 3D flip, or you don't get what "exchange" means.  And you know that I'm right, you've sat in those same meetings I have.

People don't like what they don't understand, and they certainly aren't loyal to it. If MS wants to start creating the kind of enthusiasm for Windows, they'll do an incredible ad campaign and then  back it up with a place where people can go and learn. And that's not at a Best Buy where the employees aren't convinced.

Hah!  Thanks for one of the funniest reads I've had in a long time - that was great! I had no idea that MS sponsored Supernova: Rock Star - shows how memorable that product placement or whatever must have been.

Look, it's time to face facts. No-one... I mean, nobody, walks around saying, "I love my Vista computer!" MS will never attain the brand loyalty that Apple enjoys, not until the day when Windows is turfed to the curb, and rewritten from the ground-up, with - as the previous poster noted - the end-user as the #1 priority.

Those of you who live in the world of computers actually know very little about what makes a computer, or computer company, successful. The key is making the software (and hardware) accessible, easy and enjoyable to people who *don't* live in the computer world.  

I've lived in both those worlds, and on both sides of the OS fence... and my feet have become firmly planted on the side of all things Mac. One day, if you're lucky, you, too will come to see the light.

Apple's ads only serve to remind people what they know to be true. If they were not true, the ads would not resonate with people. MS has only themselves to blame. Apple took to to pportunity to ask, "Are you better off after using WIndows than before"

Apple isn't stupid. They wouldn't put information in ads that isn't accurate. We all know how litigious Microsoft is, come on.

It's sour grapes to bitch about what was a brilliant marketing campaign.  Time and time again in my tenure there I'd hear the same people bitching about the "inaccuracies" and I'd argue that highlighting flaws is anything but spouting inaccuracies.

I think this entry is well-intended, but it follows why Apple is gaining such rapid market share. They have a lot of class, and Microsoft doesn't. They don't blame other people when something goes wrong.  And they actually really care about people - they really do. It's the center of their conversations (I happen to know a guy who knows a guy who works there).  It is in their DNA to care about *people*. And there's no way Microsoft will be able to be a consumer company that cares and an enterprise company that's sound.

Apple started small - now it's getting bigger. MSFT made the wrong choice in designing for the big companies first, and scoffing at Apple while they eat up the college kid market. Guess who the decision-makers are going to be in 20 years? It's a brilliant move. And if I'm wrong, ask your MSFT marketing people who crushes in the back to school time period. It's not Windows.

What a bunch of Apple fanboys and girls.  Vista is an operating system, not a brand of computer.  People don't go around saying "I love my OS X" do they?  And what exactly is it that people cannot do with MS products?  Last I knew 93% of the world was using MS products.  Most worldwide businesses use MS products as do consumers.  Apple has the ipod, and their timing and marketing for it was and still is impecable.  Their Macs are gaining ground, in large part because of their attacks on the very company that bailed them out of bankruptcy and by a CEO who vowed that the animocity between the company's had uniquicably ended.  Apple, Google, Microsoft...they're all opportunistic, publicly owned, power-hungry companies.  Don't think for a moment that Google or Apple is your friend.  They'll get youre money one way or another - shaking your hand while they steal your wallet.  Cut all the rhetoric.  Mr. Softy has taken a soft approach to marketing and its image has been hurt by it.  The other guys have got the peanut gallery and "revolutionaries" marching behind them.  Interesting how Apple fans don't really say much about the iPhone, and then the iPhone2, and then the price switcharoos, and the decepting plans.  Also interesting how the so-called "free" stuff Google gives away seems to assuage the masses, while you're actually just trading every last pittance of privacy you ever had for a scrap of stale toast.  In all fairness, hit all sides with the same ferociousness, otherwise your rah, rah for your most favorite team is so transparent it turns the stomachs of intelligent, insightful people.

Jobs has succeeded to create a cult for brainwashed Mactards similar to Jehovah's Witnesses, so the ads are not so important. Dumbass Mactards would buy even a turd with the Apple logo at any price. Also tech media and blogosphere are full of brainwashed Maczealots, that's why so easy to overhype even if Jobs just farts one.

Look mate! Why don't you just produce great products that are easy and fun to use. It's really that simple.

I know that would involve  a complete rewrite of windows. You could start by splitting the OS into consumer and business. Leave the business one as it is and make the consumer one object-oriented, stick in a compatibility layer and run unix underneath.

It's just a matter of time before Apple give away iLife for windows. We've already got safari, itunes and quicktime. Before you know it they will port the entire applications suite. I wonder when they will port the developers tools?

I always find it interesting that the Microserfs and Microslaves accuse anyone who dares to say, "I actually like my Mac" of being part of a cult, when it is they who sound like they're Moonies or Scientologists.

It's interesting that in Kirk's entire cultic rant, not once did he actually say he LIKED Windows. Instead, he just demanded that because they're bigger they should start acting like sexist bullies pushing Jessica Alba in skimpy clothes. What's wrong, are you all upset that there aren't a bunch of booth babes attracted to Bonzo hopping around screaming "Developers! Developers!" as if he just escaped  from a zoo?

Zune? What's a Zune? Is that like a website where old Bob's go to die?

'Do you smell that? It's fear, son. Nothing else on the world smells like that. I love the smell of fear in the morning'

Wow. Honestly, I think the comments are better than the original post.

But kaevans, you're wrong thinking that marketing is the problem, or the answer to countering what you see as an Apple threat. Yes, marketing helps. But unless you actually have the product/service to back it up, you will ultimately lose.

But just what is this perceived threat that so impassioned you to write this post? As other have pointed out, Apple's PC market share is way small compared to Windows. There's no way in any credible person's forward projections that Apple is going to sell more systems running their OS than MS is in the forseeable future.

You seem frustrated that MS can't counter Apple. But that's not what they are about. Others have pointed out the difference between their market focus. Apple is a consumer-focused company. MS is a big business-focused company. In the consumer's mind, MS is the boring crap they have to deal with at work, and on the way home on the bus/train/tram/car/whatever, they listen to their iPod and enjoy.

And I'm not talking about the few of us that read your blog, we're the ones that care about this stuff. I'm talking about the great unwashed - everyone out there that has to use a PC every day and doesn't give a crap about who makes whatever.

You can't counter that with an ad. Especially not one featuring Jessica Alba mentioning the words "Zune" or "Windows". I mean seriously, can you imagine what that would be like?

Alfiejr got it right. It's about the people. The predominant focus of all news media around the planet is individuals. That's how we all think. Apple is just more focused on that market than MS, and far, far smarter about how they generate marketing buzz/hype/reality distortion fields/whatever you want to call it than just about any other company on the planet.

There is no ad in the world that Microsoft could run that would result in any kind of consumer mindshare paradigm shift to make them look cooler than Apple. Nada. Zip. You can't fix that stuff with one ad.

But seriously, if your work frustrates you this much, why aren't you doing something else?

I'd address each post individually, but the sentiment is pretty consistent throughout... one reply should hit pretty much all of them.

I love Vista.  There, I said it.  I love Vista.  

The experience of Windows Mobile + Zune + Media Center + XBox + Windows Home Server is simply awesome.  No, I am not talking about the enterprise, I am talking about consumer-facing experiences.  You know, the stuff that Microsoft never seems to talk about.

There are some great XBox commercials.  There have been a few decent Zune commercials.  I would wager that very few people outside of Microsoft have any clue what Media Center is and why it brings the Zune and XBox together.  That's the kind of experience stuff that I am talking about.

Watch this video:  http://preview.microsoft.com/video/videoDetails.aspx?video=0982c703-4208-42e1-b021-ac5a95ab34f5

Oh yeah, the video player in that link is Silverlight.  Yet another piece of the experience equation that Microsoft *does* actually get it, but we are doing an abysmal job of getting the word out.  I don't have a Ford with Microsoft Sync, but I from what I have seen it brings the entire experience along with you from home to car and, yes, to work.

I don't think a TV ad is going to immediately help perception, especially with the empassioned crowd that replied here.  It needs to be a long and committed campaign.  But we gotta start showing people that we do, in fact, have some great products and innovations.

Several people hit it on the head:  Microsoft has focused on the enterprise with marketing.  There's where I am stunned that we don't have more presence with the home consumer, because the masses don't know about most of the great stuff we have.  

Live Search rocks, especially Live video search and Live image search.  Live Maps (Virtual Earth) is also an incredible experience, providing better visualizations than competitors.  But that doesn't make it to the end consumers because we don't advertise to consumers.  When I mention these to my non-tech friends, they look at me and ask, "is that Google"?  

I am not arguing with the replies at all, there is quite a bit of truth in each of the posts.  I agree, Apple makes great products.  However, Microsoft makes great products as well, just nobody really knows about them.  It's time to change that.

Your Digital Lifestyle: Girl from Mars spotted in the comments of Kirks blog Rob Technorati Tags: Microsof

I wanted to watch "The Girl from Mars" - I really did. But no way am I installing Microsoft Software on my MacBook. It took me years to escape the bloat and system-dragging ilk of MS Office and such. Sorry, you can't have my hard drive.

QuickTime option please?

:)

M

As a former member of the Collective I can see your points, Kirk, and I agree with you - except for the root of the problem.  MS Marketing is usually atrocious ("People_Ready", please) but it cannot by itself solve the fundamental problem, which is that the consumer business unit with the solitary exception of Xbox is not a priority for the company.  Windows, Office, Back Office, and always the developers are the only priorities for the execs.  Consumer BU does make some very cool stuff but management has never really cared about driving any of it into the marketplace, remaining focused on the enterprise.  Marketing's lack of focus on consumer is a result of executive decisions, not the problem itself.

Regardless, it's true that MS should have had a response to the "I'm a Mac/PC" ads years ago. APPL has always had brilliant marketing. MS has... the dinosaurs.

Its all about work and play.

If you work in a business that uses Macs, chances are you use a Mac at home.

If you work in a business that uses PCs, chances are you use a PC at home unless, well, you know!

@Wayne,

Exactly right. I'm a refugee from the Collective too; I've put 25+ years into living, breathing, bleeding Microsoft. Five years ago, when it became unavoidably clear that Microsoft was no longer interested in the small developers and were pricing everything so that only megacorps could fit out their shops with all the latest tools (or even a good MSDN subscription), and not yet ready to walk away from the PC hardware I had salted around the house, I switched to Linux and FreeBSD - and found that developing good Web sites (that worked on browsers, not just on IE) was a heck of a lot less painful, and I didn't have to buy all-new systems every time an OS update came out. And I could fiddle and twiddle to my heart's content....

About three months ago, my main system started flaking out, and I decided I needed to finally buy a new one. I started looking around and got to thinking: if none of the reputable stores here (Singapore and Beijing) support Linux on a stock configuration, and if my to-do list was growing faster than my shipped-it list, did I really want to continue to spend half as much time fiddling with Linux as I'd need to spend mind-f**king Vista, just to get my stuff done?

I'm the happy owner of a new 24" iMac 3.06 GHz, running Mac OS X 10.5.4 (and XP SP3; thanks to Parallels, the fastest Windows system I've ever touched.) I have kept careful track of the amount of time I spend maintaining/thrashing around in/confused with the Mac and.... in 39 days, the grand total is..... 22 minutes. That's 33 SECONDS per day; less time than it takes to boot Windows or Linux (and about 5 seconds longer than the Mac takes). It has been at least 25 years since I've had a system this long and still felt a thrill every time I sit down at the keyboard - "What do I want to do today?"

This isn't entirely unexpected, but the intensity is a bit surprising. Back before I left the States, I ran desktop support for a large paper company whose products are quite likely on your desk right now. We found that our Mac users (for general office work, not specialty graphics or any of the "typical" "Mac-geek" tasks) were 74% more productive, on average, than their Windows-usee colleagues. We were also spending, on average, more than ten times as much to support a Windows seat as a Mac seat. So what if the initial hardware was twice as much? We'd have payback of that difference in a very few months - and the rest of the time the system was in service was what every bean-counter loves to hear: "reduced costs", and every manager "improved productivity."

So MSFT has been slipping even before Vista. They've certainly not just taken their eye off the ball in the consumer space; they give every indication of being blissfully aware that that ball is in the air...a high fastball headed straight for their nose. Business shops are revolting over Vista; nobody has the budget to replace their entire fleet AND their entire software stack when the best possible outcome is that they'll be no worse off, productivity/value-wise, than they are right now with XP (or, quite often, 2000). New machines that they buy too often are infested with Vista Home Basic, but the company-standard XP image usually fixes that problem just fine.

If Microsoft is going to survive to 2015, let alone regain some semblance of former glory, they're going to have to change - radically, visibly and immediately. That change is going to have to include a wholesale reaming of the executive levels; when the investors have gotten fed up with your company (see Kudlow et al) and the consumers only "consumed" your product because it was rammed down their throats, you have A Problem. It's not going to get better under SteveB; it's not going to get better if MSFT does eventually succeed in their Pyrrhic conquest of YHOO. It will get better only when the monkey boys and other anti-technical drones are shown the door (or the noose), and visionary technically-savvy people save the day.

Ballmer is a cheap imitation of Gil Amelio. Or perhaps John Akers. But that isn't fair; Amelio and Akers had to display some level of competence before the Peter Principle kicked in. All SteveB had to be was a Friend of Bill. He's certainly no friend of *this* shareholder.

I bought an Apple IIC when they came out years ago. A few years later I bought a PC and never used an Apple since. For some reason the PC appealed to my inner geek in that I could take it apart and customize and the freedom to buy hardware from any vender. I think that's something that still applies today.

"The problem is that Microsoft has been the schoolyard pansy for way too long."

This is, of course, nonsense.  The problem is that Microsoft has been, for too long defending its mother ship monopolies and doing nothing important to improve them.

When it has made attempts like Vista, they have ended up as Vistasters.  Its other home-grown products have been resounding failures.  Xbox was vastly over budget, had failure rates > 40% on some lots and cannot ever earn a profit in excess of its cost of capital.  

Zune is so bad and sells so badly that it is beyond embarrassment.  Zune has sold 2MM devices in almost two years.  Apple will sell that many iPhones in two months.  Apple sells 2MM iPods in two months.  I have never, ever, seen a Zune in the wild.  It has been and will stay a vanity of Gates/Ballmer.  Who will have the sense to kill this me-too offer-nothing-incrementally stupidity.

So also were SPoT, PlaysForSure, and WinMobile.  

Has anyone ever heard of a WinMobile Killer?  Of course not because no one targets it.  No one wants to use a WinMobile device because it was a shrunken, clunky version of Windows.  MSFT decided to use it as a Windows monopoly defender instead of developing a package uniquely tailored to handheld devices.  Consequently, people who use the clumsy junk migrate to other devices which do NOT use WinMobile.  

No WinMobile killer?  The reason is it is already roadkill.  

I personally used 11 WinMobile devices and never enjoyed using any of them.  The browser vitiated most of the reason to buy the device.  The browser is simply a shrunken headed version of Big IE.  In other words, it does not and cannot work right - just another monopoly defender.

Until MSFT dedicates itself to REAL innovation instead of fourth rate, crap, monopoly defender software, people will migrate to other platforms.

I know.  After almost 15 years of Windows, I got so tired of not being able to do a simple 15 folder backup under that abortion Windows Explorer that I gave Mac a try.

I Will NEVER go back to Windows because the Mac actually does what it says it will do without a blizzard of grotesquely stupid interrogatories and notices.  If I want to do some drag and drops, I do not want to be repeatedly informed of the file extension and asked to confirm and reconfirm.  JUST DO IT WITHOUT ALL THE PETTY NONSENSE!

Simply put, MSFT wasted my time when I was trying to do simple things for years.  It wasted my time with stupidly conceived, engineered and marketed products that vastly over promised and vastly under delivered.I will never trust it again.

Schoolyard pansy?  Yes, that is, in some sense true.  It sat around, like a big bloated frog for years, doing those monumentally stupid ads - saying how innovative it is.  Xbox, Zune, PlaysForSure, SPoT, Vistaster?  These are innovative?  These are plainly junk that bring no shareholder return.

MSFT is being squeezed to death by Apple and google.  Apple will, over the next few years, take away much of the profit of Windows as more and more people leave the massive Windows bloat and frustration behind. The iPod and iPhone were the opening wedge; they showed that using a computer does not need to be root canal work IF you use a non-MSFT computer.

In the office arena, OFFICE has been vastly over bloated for around a decade.  google will wipe out Office within five years while the Redmond mandarins argue how much to screw their customers.

Pansy?  Yes, it is true.  MSFT is an innovation pansy, having sat on its fat ass and defended its monopolies while the world moved on.

Oh, by the way, did I mention MSFT's innovation initiative in Search?  Wow, there is a real winner!  Another candidate for Pansy of the Year!

I’m the first to recognize that it’s easy to complain, but harder to give props.  Today, I am giving