MSFT Spending Half a Billion on Advertising for Windows 8

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joex444

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[citation][nom]captaincharisma[/nom]Vista was just a makeover. windows 8 is so different i don't think the windows name fits the new GUI[/citation]

lolz... Vista was a completely new architecture. This is why the drivers were an issue -- hardware vendors couldn't keep up. This got out in the news circuits as Vista being glitchy and buggy. It wasn't Microsoft's fault for that; it was their fault for releasing it without proper hardware support. I used Vista for a couple years, it wasn't the horror show everyone says it was. Once the drivers matured, which wasn't even that long after release and certainly by SP1, it was rather stable for a Windows OS. Remember, Vista was NT 6.0; Windows 7 was NT 6.1. The leap from Vista to 7 is very transparent, you can see exactly what they tweaked and it was a lot of cosmetic issues. The driver support by that time was established from Vista and many Vista drivers work on Win 7 or require only minor edits from the vendor. Nothing like the XP to Vista driver rewrites that had to occur.

Windows 8, once you get to the desktop environment, really reveals itself as being Windows 7 which automatically launches Metro. But 7 is running in the background, just beneath the thin little layer of Metro. It comes off as being totally half-assed. They saw Apple doing something with tablets and making money and just kludged together something that someone chalked up in a meeting. "Hey, how about rectangles?" "Holy crap, that's great!"
 

joex444

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The $500M advertising budget smells a lot like Budweiser's strategy. In the mass beer market, with such an interchangeable product with it's competitors (Miller, Coors), they constantly need to "remind" consumers (or people) about their product ("beer").

Windows is the leading OS in the world, you can't miss the new release of Windows 8. Why then do they apparently need to shove it down people's throats? If it's good, the market responds; if not, it also responds, just differently.

Personally, I need to run some flavor of Linux to get my daily work done. It's Linux-only stuff. So, I've found it easier just to run Linux for work and home tasks. Will not be getting Windows 8, and it has nothing to do with their ghastly Metro UI.
 
[citation][nom]joex444[/nom]The $500M advertising budget smells a lot like Budweiser's strategy. In the mass beer market, with such an interchangeable product with it's competitors (Miller, Coors), they constantly need to "remind" consumers (or people) about their product ("beer"). Windows is the leading OS in the world, you can't miss the new release of Windows 8. Why then do they apparently need to shove it down people's throats? If it's good, the market responds; if not, it also responds, just differently.Personally, I need to run some flavor of Linux to get my daily work done. It's Linux-only stuff. So, I've found it easier just to run Linux for work and home tasks. Will not be getting Windows 8, and it has nothing to do with their ghastly Metro UI.[/citation]

Windows 7 had huge advertising programs too. It wasn't easy to go even a single TV show on Comcast without a Windows 7 commercial.
 
[citation][nom]damianrobertjones[/nom]Ba haa haaaa haaaa! Seriously[/citation]

Seriously! If you've never had the pleasure of using a Mac, you really do not know what you're missing. Apple makes great products! The ONLY reason I even use Windows is because I am a gamer and most games are Windows only. Don't knock something till you've tried it.
 
[citation][nom]DookieDraws[/nom]Seriously! If you've never had the pleasure of using a Mac, you really do not know what you're missing. Apple makes great products! The ONLY reason I even use Windows is because I am a gamer and most games are Windows only. Don't knock something till you've tried it.[/citation]

I've used Macs. Some times it was a pleasure, other times it was annoying as hell.
 
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This bashing of MS gets old...Try to comment with points rather than childess rants!! MS is still one large and profitable company. To tell you the truth, I don't like Apple products. They charge too much for their hardware, Steve Jobs is gone, and they push their way down people's throats!!
 

memadmax

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[citation][nom]DookieDraws[/nom]Seriously! If you've never had the pleasure of using a Mac, you really do not know what you're missing. Apple makes great products! The ONLY reason I even use Windows is because I am a gamer and most games are Windows only. Don't knock something till you've tried it.[/citation]

I've ran Macs and Windows machines side by side since the Mac B&W/Color Classic days... Only thing is, my macs collect dust, and the only maintenance they need is dusting....
 
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I think this just proves that Microsoft knows Windows 8 has a very uphill battle to gain any support. Even Apple will have a tough time selling Mountain Lion. Let's be honest, both companies have provided us with decent stable operating systems of late. Its not like there is any killer reason to upgrade these days. Apple started figuring that out with Lion when it reduced the upgrade price to $29. Its even started to give away Snow Leopard to nudge users into Lion upgrades. Microsoft plans a cheap avenue into Windows 8 too. But will there be many takers? If your using Windows 7 their is really no need until you need that next new PC.
I would have to say the same for Mountain Lion. Apple and Microsoft might be fighting a losing battle to keep up this frequent upgrade plans. Users are not impressed and are not willing to bite.
 

bison88

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Yeah MSFT is going to need a much larger campaign than with Windows 7 for the simple fact everything MSFT is doing revolves around Windows 8 and this new Metro platform. They can't afford for it to crash and burn and don't want to take any chances.

However, I still think either it'll be forced on people eventually, or that it will crash and burn, but who knows. In a year we will definitely have a solid view on the subject.
 
[citation][nom]bison88[/nom]Yeah MSFT is going to need a much larger campaign than with Windows 7 for the simple fact everything MSFT is doing revolves around Windows 8 and this new Metro platform. They can't afford for it to crash and burn and don't want to take any chances.However, I still think either it'll be forced on people eventually, or that it will crash and burn, but who knows. In a year we will definitely have a solid view on the subject.[/citation]

MS could afford for Windows 8 to crash and burn. They don't want it to, but they could afford it.
 

sykozis

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[citation][nom]tjmm[/nom]This bashing of MS gets old...Try to comment with points rather than childess rants!! MS is still one large and profitable company. To tell you the truth, I don't like Apple products. They charge too much for their hardware, Steve Jobs is gone, and they push their way down people's throats!![/citation]
MS "forcing" Metro on us....is no different from the Win8 haters trying to force their opinions on everyone else. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with Win8. Some of us actually remember the transition from the older (much more efficient) Progman UI (Win3.x) to the Explorer UI introduced with Win95. Most of the "IT" people I knew at that time made very similar comments, claiming that everyone would hate the Explorer UI and MS would fail. Guess what.... 17 years later, you guys are making the exact same comments. MS didn't fail 17 years ago....they're not likely to fail now. For most users willing to take part in the "Customer Experience Improvement Program".....the start menu isn't a major feature. To me, Metro is like a return to the days of the Progman UI (which was officially removed with WinME)....and I happily welcome it. I'd love to see MS give back the old Progman UI....
 

killerclick

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[citation][nom]sykozis[/nom]MS "forcing" Metro on us....is no different from the Win8 haters trying to force their opinions on everyone else. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with Win8. Some of us actually remember the transition from the older (much more efficient) Progman UI (Win3.x) to the Explorer UI introduced with Win95.[/citation]

Like you can compare transition from Progman to Explorer with the transition of Desktop to Failed Smartphone UI. Progman -> Explorer was a refinement of the existing UI, Desktop -> Metro is a step sideways, like putting bicycle handlebars in a car instead of a steering wheel.

The reason Metro will fail is that Microsoft doesn't get it - mobile devices are not in any way like PCs, consumers don't want them to be like PCs and of course they don't want PCs to be anything like mobile devices. They didn't learn that lesson with Tablet PC, so they're making Surface.

Besides, Metro is not about making a better UI. Microsoft is pushing Metro because they want tight control over their platform (hello walled garden) and they want that 30% cut from app sales. To pull that off, they have to slice the existing Windows software ecosystem in two incompatible halves, and then kill the desktop ASAP. In return, we'll get the lowest common denominator - an inferior UI that's there because it sort of works on phones and inferior software that will be made with limitations of mobile devices in mind, so it won't be using a fraction of capabilities of today's PC.

I'm guessing many people and businesses will keep running Windows 7 for years. In the meantime, Nokia will die, Surface will fail, Ballmer will go away, and Microsoft will hopefully get its act together.
 

devBunny

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[citation][nom]sykozis[/nom]MS "forcing" Metro on us....is no different from the Win8 haters trying to force their opinions on everyone else. [/citation]

Hardly. A thousand Win8 hater opinions won't make a jot of difference to your OS. One Microsoft can, and will, make profound changes to what you work with; for better or worse. ;o)
 

lradunovic77

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If Metro fails badly, it is gone from Windows for good. After Zune and WP7 failure i don't understand that MS doesn't get it. People hate it on phone let alone Desktop.
 

belardo

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[citation][nom]killerb255[/nom]How so?Remember that there were a lot of things that made Vista a flop:1) Underpowered hardware (less than 2 GB of RAM for Vista RTM was bad news, and most PCs didn't have that back then)[/citation]
Back then, it was $100 per 1GB of RAM. So a basic VISTA computer needed to have 2GB to perform like a 512mb XP system. Kind of hard to meet that price point with a $150 extra costs for a "modern" computer to do the same thing! Were you offering to buy people 2GB of RAM?

 

belardo

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$500 Million in promoting this crappy product?

This, along with a $40 upgrade price (first time ever! Since Win98~Win7, $100 per upgrade)?!

Microsoft KNOWS they have a product that is going to bomb, so they need/have to spend gobs of money to convince people to give it a chance... or that its still good, no matter what.

We, the users, resellers, IT people helped to sell Windows7. And we can expect the opposite here.

I'd still pay $100 for Windows7 over a Win8 at $40.
 

lradunovic77

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$40 for upgrade which doesn't work for most part, on most PCs unless you do fresh install of Windows 7 and before you load any drivers and apps upgrade to Windows 8. Again, MS would have to pay me to install Windows 8. I tried RP, really tried and conclusion is...interface just fails.
 

K2N hater

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[citation][nom]sykozis[/nom] Some of us actually remember the transition from the older (much more efficient) Progman UI (Win3.x) to the Explorer UI introduced with Win95. Most of the "IT" people I knew at that time made very similar comments, claiming that everyone would hate the Explorer UI and MS would fail. Guess what.... 17 years later, you guys are making the exact same comments. MS didn't fail 17 years ago....they're not likely to fail now. For most users willing to take part in the "Customer Experience Improvement Program".....the start menu isn't a major feature. To me, Metro is like a return to the days of the Progman UI (which was officially removed with WinME)....and I happily welcome it. I'd love to see MS give back the old Progman UI....[/citation]
progman.exe was only productive if you had few programs installed. With lots of programs installed the number of small windows and minimized windows would turn it into some massive bloat.

While no-one really liked the "start to shut down" change explorer.exe allows for more program groups without such massive bloat while the user could easily copy shotcuts from the start menu to the desktop to make the most used programs readily accessible.

While I can't argue you like Metro I happen to find it rather ugly as the wallpaper is replaced to (rather too big and colorful) squares and much of the estabilished funcionality such as the volume control icon, network activity/signal strength, bluetooth icon/applet, battery meter (etc.) are hidden like undesirable features no-one cares about. Heck even in cell phones these features are shown at the home screen and changing these settings is easy and straightforward so there's absolutely no reason to hide them from the main UI of a computer.
 

Burodsx

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[citation][nom]killerclick[/nom]...mobile devices are not in any way like PCs, consumers don't want them to be like PCs and of course they don't want PCs to be anything like mobile devices...[/citation]

I agree with you completely on this statement.
 

tomfreak

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[citation][nom]drwho1[/nom]Exactly, that's money down the drain. Windows 8 will be the biggest OS flop in history, bigger flop than Vista and Windows Me combined.[/citation]+1 selling touch screen base UI aint revolutionary, selling a build-in good AI assistant/really good voice recognition is something diff, which win 8 lacks.


 
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