Forbes: Microsoft Vista: Not "People Ready"

March 22 2006

Forbes' Daniel Lyons was at the Microsoft "People Ready" event in New York last week.  He has a very interesting take....

No one mentioned the fact that in 1997, Microsoft held a similar event in New York City to declare that IBM's "big iron" was dead, because Windows NT--remember Windows NT?--was going to "scale up" and replace the mainframe. I wonder if Ballmer ever feels like the guy in Groundhog Day, reliving the same press conference, over and over. I know I do.

Oddly enough, some of the language of the Microsoft event was eerily similar to language about innovation in the new huge advertisements that IBM started running a few days later in newspapers. Did Microsoft somehow get wind of the ads? Who knows. But the event seemed thrown together to blunt the new ad campaign from IBM.

Worst of all, I can't believe Microsoft actually held this big nonevent "event" only a few days before announcing another screw-up in Vista. If Ballmer knew he was about to announce a delay and still had this event, he's crazy. If he didn't know Vista was about to slip again, then Microsoft is in worse shape than anyone realizes.
So it seems that Alan is not the only one to wonder, $500 million and you need to steal our slogan?

Link: Forbes: Microsoft Vista: Not "People Ready" >

Ed Brill Kansas City International Airport Category:  Microsoft  Add/View Comments [21]

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  1. 1  Ben Langhinrichs http://www.GeniiSoft.com/showcase.nsf/GeniiBlog | 3/22/2006 3:35:17 PM

    I just blogged about this as well. How in the world can they think it is smart to announce this huge new campaign just as they announce yet another delay for yet another product? It makes it appear that they value advertising and posturing more than actual product development, and that can't be true of Microsoft, can it?

  1. 2  Ben Langhinrichs http://www.GeniiSoft.com/showcase.nsf/GeniiBlog | 3/22/2006 3:43:32 PM

    I have to say though, it is kind of fun when Daniel Lyons dishes it out to Microsoft instead of finding another excuse to bash IBM. Wonder who he will decide is ascendant now? Probably Apple, given his last comment.

  1. 3  Rob McDonagh www.CaptainOblivious.com | 3/22/2006 4:36:46 PM

    Gee, I dunno. If Forbes publishes it, and Daniel Lyons writes it, isn't it - by definition - bogus? Or are we operating under the 'even a broken clock is right twice a day' premise?

    /snark

  1. 4  Duffbert http://www.twduff.com | 3/22/2006 5:00:07 PM

    I'm willing to work with "midnight" and "noon", Rob. :)

  1. 5  david racicot  | 3/22/2006 5:29:56 PM

    What a great week! First the TX annoucement now the media swing. Yippee!

  1. 6  jon johnston http://bingo.cbsol.com | 3/22/2006 5:56:10 PM

    How many years did it take GM to admit to themselves they need to make some massive changes before they stopped bleeding to death from self-inflicted wounds? You don't think Microsoft suffers from the same arrogance?

    The problem isn't whether or not Vista is delayed, or how silly Ballmer looks, because Ballmer has made a living out of looking silly. He doesn't care. He's still a multi-billionaire.

    Business people continue to listen to Microsoft and see them as THE market leader in our industry. If business people do not begin to consider alternatives to Vista over the next few years, then we are the fools, not Steve Ballmer.

    When you start talking to people about what computer they're using at home, and more of them begin to think about buying Apple, or buying a linux-based machine, then you can talk about other organizations making inroads. Otherwise, prepare for the same old crap, we deserve it.

  1. 7  Ted Stanton http://www-03.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/page/InsideLotus | 3/22/2006 10:33:53 PM

    Im bummed out. I've been staring at the same OS for over 5 years and was looking forward to something new from Microsoft. I blame myself for not moving over to Linux or Mac OS but honestly, I find XP a "decent" OS that can get the job done.

    Since using XP, I have used Notes 4.x, 5.x, 6.x, and 7.x. Now my goal is to see if I can run 5 different IBM supported Notes Clients releases on the Microsoft's latest desktop OS. HANNOVER :-) is next.

  1. 8  Nathan T. Freeman  | 3/23/2006 3:12:50 AM

    @7, that's hilarious. :-)

    But here's the money quote... "some kind of social networking program that lets you see how your colleagues and your colleagues' colleagues rate various Web sites"

    *cough*WebNavigator*cough* That was, what, a DECADE ago?

    Maybe it's time to revitalize the Domino-as-proxy-server effort from 1995. It wouldn't take more than a month or two to put together a collaborative browsing system that would walk all over this stuff.

  1. 9  Wild Bill http://www.billbuchan.com | 3/23/2006 4:24:22 AM

    Dan. Lyons.

    Criticising Microsoft ?

    All we need is another three riders of the apocalypse, and we know that Armageddon is coming.

    The MS news *has* to be bad if one of their biggest apologist bites the hand that feeds him.

    Stunned.

    ---* Bill

  1. 10  Ben Rose http://www.jaffacake.net | 3/23/2006 7:33:57 AM

    Don't knock Dan Lyon's he's the ultimate aspiration for young Guardian journalists ;O)

  1. 11  Alan Bell http://www.astoryforbedtime.com | 3/23/2006 8:03:46 AM

    which is "Linux for Human Beings" { Link } . Ubuntu is really cool and with XGL and compiz (which uses OpenGL to draw the windows) it looks and feels better than even a Mac OS X desktop. Vista looks like it will be launched in third and last place.

  1. 12  David Vasta david.davidandkelly.com | 3/23/2006 11:07:24 AM

    While I sit here and sniker out Vista being delayed.....when will they learn to meet a deadline and then eliver a product that works? I fel better knowing that I am a Mac user at home.

    On that note I am going to be the one to ask Ed and IBM/Lotus again for all of you who don't:

    When is Lotus going to stop standing behind Microsoft and thier poor excuss for desktops and replease developer/admin clients for MacOS and Linux?

    Now is the time to get busy on it while Microsoft fails to deliver an OS for the desktop another year, while Linux and MacOS are ready for IBM/Louts to finally make due on a promise they made years ago to support alternate OSs like Linux. I for one am tired of XP and the crap that goes along with it and also tired of the lip service IBM keep shelling out about how much they love Linux and yet every desktop client I use has not made it over to any other OS other than Windows......I woudl love for IBM/Lotus to actually make me shut up and deliver Lotus Notes & Others for Linux and MacOS in the next 8 months to send a clear message to Microsoft and others that we don't need your late OS anymore and you can stick Vista where the sun don't shine since we now support any desktop a IT Pro would like to run.....please please help me love you more IBM/Louts!

    Hi Ed!

  1. 13  David Vasta david.davidandkelly.com | 3/23/2006 11:10:46 AM

    My Paste did not work...Sorry for the typos

  1. 14  David Vasta david.davidandkelly.com | 3/23/2006 11:12:07 AM

    JUST READ THIS ONE:

    While I sit here and snicker out Vista being delayed.....when will they learn to meet a deadline and then deliver a product that works? I feel better knowing that I am a Mac user at home.

    On that note I am going to be the one to ask Ed and IBM/Lotus again for all of you who don't:

    When is Lotus going to stop standing behind Microsoft and their poor excuses for desktops and release developer/admin clients for MacOS and Linux?

    Now is the time to get busy on it while Microsoft fails to deliver an OS for the desktop another year, while Linux and MacOS are ready for IBM/Louts to finally make due on a promise they made years ago to support alternate OSs like Linux. I for one am tired of XP and the crap that goes along with it and also tired of the lip service IBM keep shelling out about how much they love Linux and yet every desktop client I use has not made it over to any other OS other than Windows......I would love for IBM/Lotus to actually make me shut up and deliver Lotus Notes & Others for Linux and MacOS in the next 8 months to send a clear message to Microsoft and others that we don't need your late OS anymore and you can stick Vista where the sun don't shine since we now support any desktop a IT Pro would like to run.....please please help me love you more IBM/Louts!

    Hi Ed!

  1. 15  Ben Rose http://www.jaffacake.net | 3/23/2006 12:30:49 PM

    Looks like I keep my prize :-D { Link }

  1. 16  Danny Lawrence  | 3/23/2006 1:16:50 PM

    Could some please check if Mick Jagger has has embraced Jesus as his personal savior? With Dan Lyons slamming MSFT, I'm sure the apocalypse is near, and Mick's finding Jesus on one of the other signs.

    Seriously, tho, I wonder if Lyons has finally begun to see that the MSFT view of the world is seriously flawed and that maybe all of those "Notes is dead" memes were coming from the Redmond FUD machine.

  1. 17  Danny Lawrence  | 3/23/2006 1:24:01 PM

    Damn! I suppose I should read all the previous comments before posting, Wild Bill beat me to the punch with the "Apocalypse Soon" comment.

  1. 18  Roberto Boccadoro  | 3/23/2006 1:39:57 PM

    @9 - Bill,

    1) Dan Lyons criticise Microsoft

    2) Linus Torvalds joins Microsoft

    3) Steve Ballmer says "Windows is crap, use Linux"

    4) The Supreme Court ovveride the verdict on NTP, and your BlackBerry stops working now.

    Would that be enough signs for Armageddon to come ? :-)

    RoB

  1. 19  Roberto Boccadoro  | 3/23/2006 1:52:31 PM

    { Link }

    Now Bill and Steve can get some ideas on how to spend some money in a useful way :-)

    RoB

  1. 20  Tony S Lee  | 3/23/2006 2:37:11 PM

    Well the difference is Lyons was actually at the event he was reporting on.... I'm not sure he has ever stepped foot at a IBM Domino event. Based on his reporting, I'd say no.

  1. 21  Josef  | 3/24/2006 10:21:55 AM

    Well, the interesting part is that the person being bashed for the "People ready" marketing campaign is the same person who - after moving to our "mother" company - decided to change the whole infrastructure from Notes/Domino to MSFT, claiming we will be more efficient now with Sharepoint and Exchange. My only hope is that we - as an associate company - won't be pushed to the Sharepoint/Exchange combo. And one of the reasons? We will be able to receive invitations from our clients' calendars and leverage (!) our knowledgebase now. Jesus!