Mathew P. wrote:
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> On 2006-12-13, Roy Schestowitz spake thusly:
>> FTC Moves to Unmask Word-of-Mouth Marketing
>>
>> ,----[ Quote ]
>>| The Federal Trade Commission yesterday said that companies engaging
>>| in word-of-mouth marketing, in which people are compensated to
>>| promote products to their peers, must disclose those relationships.
>>|
>>| [...]
>>|
>>| Word-of-mouth marketing can take any form of peer-to-peer communication,
>>| such as a post on a Web blog, a MySpace.com page for a movie character,
>>| or the comments of a stranger on a bus.
>>|
>>| As the practice has taken hold over the past several years, however,
>>| some advocacy groups have questioned whether marketers are using such
>>| tactics to dupe consumers into believing they are getting unbiased
>>| information.
>> `----
>>
>>
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/11/AR2006121101389.html?nav=hcmodule
>>
>> Come out and testify, Windows trolls.
>
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>
> What amazes me is that a company a huge as microsoft with the resources to
> be truly great, engages in such petty BS. What's the point? IBM get's it.
> Why dosen't Microsoft? You flourish in business by recognizing and taking
> advantage of possibilities and opportunities. You don't waste time dicking
> around. If you see that there is potential for growth in a market that was
> not tapped yet, you investigate it further, even if it isn't familiar
> territory for you. Again, IBM gets it; why dosen't Microsoft? Microsoft
> truly deserves the inevitable crashing implosion that is looming on the
> horizon.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Mathew
>
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The answer is very simple. ...because it works.
I used to think that somehow Microsoft just didn't understand how to write
software and that maybe some day they would learn. I finally realized that
they know what they are doing and that is why they are so rich.
Microsoft produces products that are usable but non-standard and then uses
its massive marketing pressure to make its non-standard the standard. This
was done in two ways. Firstly, Microsoft made it possible for idiots to
write code that while unmaintainable sort of works. This brought a lot of
software to Windows in the beginning, which in turn brought a lot of
computer buyers. Where the software could make good money, Microsoft has
since taken that market by leveraging their control of the OS and Office.
Secondly, Microsoft removed all competition by fair means or foul.
The majority of people only know Windows and Office and while they
constantly curse at the problems that these two products cause them, they
still continue to use them. After all, "The current version may suck, but
the next version will be better." That is a common reason to buy a new
computer. If the Microsoft software were perfect, then the only reason to
buy a new computer would be major failure, where a new computer is cheaper
than the repairs.
The majority of Windows users will use Vista or what comes out next, when
they buy their next computer. Windows is all these people know and in many
cases they don't even know that alternatives exist. For the majority of
people, "PC's come with Windows." This is because main-stream OEM's only
install Windows and the main-stream computer shops only display Windows.
Microsoft knows that as long as they can control the OEM's, they will
continue to make LOTS and LOTS of money selling second rate software that
will eventually have to be upgraded. This is where the dirty tricks come
in. Microsoft has to keep the OEM's believing that they cannot sell their
wares with anything but Windows and stay in business. The day that a major
OEM shows that it can make as much or more money by putting Linux on their
PC's is the day that Microsoft can shut up shop. Hence the petty BS.
Ian
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