Copycat Microsoft Has Its Own Reality Distortion Field
- From: Chance Furlong <t-bone@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 29 Feb 2008 08:43:04 -0600
From Low End Mac:
http://www.lowendmac.com/ed/fox/08ff/copycat-reality-distortion.html
Cuss and discuss, Microskank twinks.
Copycat Microsoft Has Its Own Reality Distortion Field
Frank Fox - 2008.02.29
Leopard is out, and there are a few "trick" features that I was showing
off to a coworker. I showed him searching through a folder using Cover
Flow and opening a view of a document using Quick Look.
Then he said to me, "Oh! This is like Vista."
"No," I answered, "this is Mac, only Microsoft hasn't copied it yet."
This goes to show how by just copying the look of the Mac, Microsoft can
ride on Apple's coattails without doing the work of inventing things.
No, I don't think Microsoft is the great copycat that Apple has played
them to be. Truthfully, their products can be so bad at times that we
all wished they did a better job of copying. Hell, even Michael Dell
wants to sell computers with the Mac OS. (With friends like that, who
needs enemies?)
What Microsoft copies is the idea that you are getting something great
by matching the look of the Mac OS, but what they deliver is pure
Microsoft.
Sadly, this impression is enough for the average buyer. They ask about
price, does it come with software (meaning Microsoft Office), and how
big is the hard drive. These people are typical shoppers, not computer
experts with in-depth knowledge of file systems and processor types.
They want a computer to write a letter and surf the Internet. If they
have kids, maybe it has to play a few games.
These are the perfect switchers, because they have so little invested in
any computer platform that what they buy doesn't matter as much as
feeling good about the purchase.
The Other Reality Distortion Field
If Apple truly had a working "reality distortion field," it should be
sucking these clueless PC zombies in by the truckload. But it doesn't
work that way.
You'd think that after all the viruses and spyware and trouble
registering your serial number, it'd be like shooting fish in a barrel
to get these typical consumers to switch to a Mac. But no, because
Microsoft has every bit of the marketing and business knowledge to keep
these people from walking away from Windows.
The fact is that perception is what people believe. Perception/fact:
Macs are more expensive. People believe this no matter what. You can cut
out an article from a PC magazine that shows the Mac is cheaper than a
comparable spec Dell computer.
The PC person will simply say, "I saw an add for computers from Dell
starting at $300. That Mac in your ad is three times as expensive."
It doesn't matter that Dell sells computers equally as expensive or that
the $300 models aren't the ones most customers want to buy. Don't bother
arguing total cost of ownership, better resale value, or being able to
do more. All of this meaningless to the Average Joe compared to the low
price from Dell.
So what are you left to argue? Well, perception works against Microsoft
as well. Perception/fact: Windows is a copy of the Mac, and it has tons
of viruses. So for all you PC people who want to claim that Apple copied
the forward delete key from Microsoft ("and that proves that Apple
copies too!"), I say go suck an egg. Windows 3.11 was a bad copy of the
Mac OS, and Vista is another copy, a copy that is only skin deep. (Don't
even get me started on Linux: Those bozos are so smart that take the
time to copy the look of Windows.)
Lenovo X300I know that all this name-calling is hurtful, especially when
there is some truth to it. I paid more for my Macs that I love so much,
and calling them "overpriced for the specs" doesn't change things. That
souped up Lenovo X300 laptop of yours is ugly, outdated, and, by the
way, more expensive than a MacBook Air.
Too bad Microsoft's "reality distortion field" keeps so many from
believing it.
Time to sign off again, but don't worry, all those neat things your Mac
friend shows you will one day be copied by Microsoft. (At least you can
think that.)
.
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