When Vista was launched a year ago, there was a lot of talk about how it (the launch) paled in comparison to Windows XP. Well, about a year on, and Vista is still struggling. Microsoft is a technology company. But it is better known for its marketing finesse and its many litgations.
Just saw this article about how Linux was going to benefit from Vista’s struggle to gain acceptance. Frankly, I doubt it. One of the key lessons we all learn early on in our lives as marketers, is the fact that marketing cannot make up for the shortfall of a product’s core capabilities.
Sure, Vista has its challenges. It requires hardware that make it more expensive. It has a slew of options that confuse the heck out of normal, everyday users. It has numerous problems with legacy devices like cameras, digital players and so on. But most importantly, it has not demonstrated its superiority to Windows XP in any clear, convincing manner. So of course, Microsoft is going to kill XP, just so that this new kid on the block is guaranteed a “bright” future.
But Linux is not the golden brick road to computing freedom either. There are enough flavours of Linux out there to make even the most enthusiastic supporter scratch their heads in confusion. But more importantly, Linus has failed to cater to the needs of the everyday computer user at the most important level – ease of use.
So, on the one hand, we have a new operating system that places a heavy demand on hardware expenditure and on the other, we have a contender that does not seem to allow the mere mortal a chance at learning it easily. Doesn’t this make you long for the days when “the customer is king”?
[tags]microsoft, windows vista, linux[/tags]
Leave a Reply