Jamon Abercrombie

“The Mojave Experiment:” Bad Science, Bad Marketing

If you’ve seen any TV since the Olympics, you’ve most assuredly seen the new Mojave Experiment commercial from Microsoft, you know where Microsoft took a bunch of “regular folk,” XP users who were afraid of Vista, and told them Microsoft was going to show them a secret new operating system — which was actually Vista.

Not only did I think this was a total pile of woolly mammoth waste, but so did many others. Not just because it’s XP vs. Vista (i guess if they can’t win Mac v. PC they think they can compete against themselves?), or that it’s microsoft in general, but that the concept and the notion they are trying to pull on these “regular folk” is despicable.

Here’s what Wil had to say … very good I might add:

So I have to admit I’m not predisposed to like The Mojave Experiment, where Microsoft took a bunch of “regular folks” XP users who were afraid of Vista, and told them Microsoft was going to show them a secret new operating system — which was actually Vista.

UNSURPRISINGLY, these people mostly said they liked Vista.

Now, if you read this blog, you know I pretty much hate Microsoft, because of their incredibly shady business practices (moreso in the early 1990s) and their shoddy products, most especially their operating systems, whose crappy user experience and programmer interfaces hold back the advance of technology. However, I’m not going to rail on Vista here. Seriously, I’m not.

What I am going to rail on is this “experiment.” (I use that word advisedly.)

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I hate bad science. Hate it. Hate. So let’s look at not one, not two, but FOUR, yes FOUR (ah-ah-ah!) key flaws in this experiment, any single one of which would render its results meaningless:

continue reading Is “Our Customers Are Stupid and Have No Idea What They Really Want” really Microsoft’s new mantra? for the 4 distinct flaws with thier “experiement” commercial.