Posted on 10/17/2008
at 03:44 PM
Category: Technology
Posted by Tim
According to Microsoft they do, or at least one of their top officials. CNET sat down with Brad Brooks, who happens to be the Vice President of Windows Consumer Product Marketing. First off, take a look at this guy...
In my opinion, he looks like a toolbag. Although looks can be deceiving, after reading his interview, I feel my initial judgment was correct. I pulled a few good questions and answers from the interview, but it's definitely worth reading in its entirety if you're at all a nerd and need a good laugh.
"Q: Where are things at right now with Vista in the market?
Brooks: No. 1 is that we're seeing consumer perceptions in general swinging in a much more positive direction. We're seeing people have an even better experience after SP1, and we also are starting to see people realize the value that has always been inherent in Windows, that is really starting to play out with the economic conditions that are starting to swirl around us today."
Explain to me exactly what you mean about economic conditions. Does this statement reflect that PC's are generally cheaper than Macs? Although mostly true, from what I've experienced with cheap PC's is they're money pits; hardware dies frequently, especially after the first year or so of use, they often only come with trial versions of antivirus and malware protection software often leaving them unprotected from most Internet threats, and the replacement parts for these machines tend to be expensive; almost as expensive as the initial purchase. Mac Minis start at $599. I'd much rather spend a few extra hundred dollars for peace of mind. If you can't afford to put the extra money out for a better computer, you probably shouldn't be buying one in the first place.
"It's interesting that you talk about the application tax. Arguably, in some ways, the compatibility story on the Apple side has never been better, given the ready availability of things like Parallels and VMware Fusion. Hasn't that advantage actually declined since Apple switched to Intel?
Brooks: You know, that's the crazy part about it. If people want a Windows experience, then start with a machine that was built for the Windows experience. There's no question, if you look at it, and go to Apple's Web site today, their No. 1 selling feature that they're telling students as to why buy a Mac is because it does run Windows, and that you can get Office when you're running it in Boot Camp or Parallels. But, then you're just paying that tax again. You're paying for an upgrade to Windows, you're paying for the full version of Office, where you could get all of that at one price, at a price point that with a Blu-ray disk drive you can get with an $800 range from an HP or Sony. "
In case you forgot Brad, Office does run on OS X, too. Sure, not all of the applications exist (Access, OneNote, Publisher, etc.), but most of those applications suck anyway. If you need a database, use mySQL or Microsoft SQL. If you need to take notes, just use Word or Evernote. Publisher can easily be replaced by Word, although most prefer Photoshop.
I think I could probably make a remark on everyone of the answers given by this guy, but I just want to finish by saying Windows isn't bad. I've always been a fan, but much like many other Windows users out there I feel Microsoft needs to realize that Vista sucks (in many ways, but I'm referring to the GUI element) and Windows in generally needs a design overhaul.
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