All posts tagged ‘Vista’
by Don Reisinger, Blogger, The Digital Home, CNET
I’ve been a pretty big fan of Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld ads. No, it’s not because I’m such a Seinfeld fanboy (I am though) or that I enjoy watching Bill Gates perform the robot on cue.
Instead, I look at the Seinfeld ads as a way for Microsoft to turn the company’s poor public image into a positive image that will help it finally fix its Vista PR woes.
But after buckling under the pressure of “what is this about?” articles, Microsoft has shelved the Seinfeld ads (they may or may not come back) and has instead started attacking Apple by explaining exactly what a PC is. (Editor’s note: Microsoft says the move away from the Seinfeld ads was always planned.)
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by Joe Wilcox, Blogger, Microsoft Watch
It’s the seventh inning, and Microsoft finally hits a marketing home run. Is it a gamer winner? If the competition were Apple, which surged to 8.5 percent U.S. PC market share in the second quarter, the answer would be yes. But Microsoft faces its toughest competitor ever: Itself. I spent some time this morning reviewing the candid—and arguably craftily edited—”Mojave Experiment” videos. As I explained yesterday, Microsoft conducted a focus group with people with negative attitudes about Windows Vista. They were shown what was supposed to be new Windows version “Mojave,” but it really was Windows Vista. Microsoft’s new “Mojave Experiment” Web site, which went live today, is the resulting marketing collateral.
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by Eric Savitz, Blogger and Columnist, Barron's, Tech Trader Daily
My colleague Mark Ververka is up in Redmond today for the Microsoft (MSFT) Financial Analysts’ Meeting, where the company is trying to convince the Street that it has a viable online strategy. Here’s Mark’s latest update from the scene:
One thing is certain. You can’t say that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer isn’t accessible. Not on this day of the year at least.
The CEO has patiently been addressing analysts’ questions in the buffet line, at his lunch table and in the hallways. At lunch, a ring of curious attendees three and four people deep circled his table, listening intently as Ballmer fielded queries about Yahoo (YHOO), Vista, financial processes and life without Bill.”
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Posted at 8:15 AM PT
Sphere
Tagged: Barron's, Bill Gates, Eric Savitz, Financial Anaysts' Meeting, Mark Ververka, Microsoft, Redmond, Steve Ballmer, Tech Trader Daily, Vista, Voices, XP, Yahoo, frontpage | permalink
by Aaron Ricadela, Staff Writer, BusinessWeek
General Motors may take a detour around Vista, the latest computer operating system from Microsoft. The automaker has encountered so many speed bumps getting Vista to work on its machines that it may just wait for the next version of Windows, due in 2010 or 2011. “We’re considering bypassing Vista and going straight to Windows 7,” says GM’s Chief Systems & Technology Officer Fred Killeen.
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by Mary Jo Foley, Blogger, All About Microsoft
“Hey! Ho! Time for Ballmer to Go,” a Wired.com headline proclaimed on Tuesday. My rejoinder: “Hell, no. There are no Softies ready for a promo.” Wired’s story attempts to make a case for CEO Steve Ballmer taking the hits for Vista’s less-than-stellar market reception, as well as the so-far-unconsummated Yahoo-Microsoft merger. “Other CEOs have gotten canned for lesser crimes,” Wired concludes. There’s just one problem, as Wired notes in an aside. No one’s ready to step up within the company and fill Ballmer’s big shoes.
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by Jason Hiner, Executive Editor, TechRepublic
Microsoft is nothing if not responsive to its customers. In fact, it’s hyper-responsive. That’s why we’ve ended up with feature-bloat in both Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office, as the company has tried to please everyone by including everything-but-the-kitchen-sink in its software. And that’s why Microsoft will ultimately try to quell the embarrassing Windows Vista debacle by making a bold move with Windows 7 to win back customer loyalty and generate positive spin for its most important product.
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by Joe Wilcox, Blogger, Microsoft Watch
Windows’ enterprise adoption declined in 2007, with the gains going to Linux and Mac OS. Vista is a bust. Forrester published the data on March 27, but only released it publicly today. Forrester surveyed a whopping 50,000 users at over 2,300 large to very large enterprises throughout 2007.
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by Dave Methvin, Blogger, InformationWeek
Conventional wisdom seems to be that existing Microsoft customers won’t leapfrog Windows Vista and wait for “Windows Seven,” currently expected in 2010. There’s a feeling of inevitability about the transition, as if it’s just a question of when to write the checks to Microsoft and do the tedious work of switching operating systems. Yet as Vista celebrates its first birthday, the chances are increasing that many users will never see it on their desktops.
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