Microsoft trains Best Buy Linux assassins
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are trying to stem the tide no matter how low it is right now.
You don't defend yourself against someone you perceive presents no risk of becoming a threat.
You don't defend yourself against someone you perceive presents no risk of becoming a threat.
Comparisons between their competition? imagine that. I heard about this thing going on when someone sells something similar to another, but never thought it actually happened.
This article
FAIL.
This article
FAIL.
The most interesting part of the article was showing that MS now considers linux on the desktop a serious competitor. Unfortunately their facts are not always straight.
MS believes anybody with > .01% marketshare as competitor and will fight till it has that last .01%. that's how all companies should work.
@paulcampagna.com
i would agree except that literally everything in that slideshow (maybe like 2 exceptions) was either completely wrong, or very subjective.
i would agree except that literally everything in that slideshow (maybe like 2 exceptions) was either completely wrong, or very subjective.
They forgot wine too. This disgusts me. The day Gates comes near me and holds out his hand expecting me to shake it is the day I rip it off.
That the users that these best buy employees will be selling to will be people that may not be able to use Wine without someone walking them through it. A person that is competent with configuring their linux box is not the target of such a marketing program.
Any time the opposition becomes a threat, they try to strike fear of that threat in their customers. How else do they explain why they are showing such fear of Linux, when they have only a few % of the population. If MS is so secure in their O/S, why do they feel they have to address Linux. I can understand countering Apples adds, as they are personally playing against MS. Linux doesn't advertise, at least I haven't seen any. If they do use adds, they haven't been MS negative like the Apple adds.
The old saying in business is, you don't acknowledge your opponents unless they are in danger of overtaking you. It shows your weakness to you opponents, as well as you potential customers.
The old saying in business is, you don't acknowledge your opponents unless they are in danger of overtaking you. It shows your weakness to you opponents, as well as you potential customers.
Linux will be in the big league when Chrome OS is
released. I will be no parentless orphan foster child
then. That's why the boys at Redmond are sitting up
and taking notice. "Google" will get you over 2B hits,
"Linux" gets 300M hits. "MS OS" gets over 200M
hits (actually more than MS Windows) and "Chrome
OS" gets 29M hits and it is not even released yet.
So is it the product or is it the name?
released. I will be no parentless orphan foster child
then. That's why the boys at Redmond are sitting up
and taking notice. "Google" will get you over 2B hits,
"Linux" gets 300M hits. "MS OS" gets over 200M
hits (actually more than MS Windows) and "Chrome
OS" gets 29M hits and it is not even released yet.
So is it the product or is it the name?
that will include chrome browser and firefox chrome and chrome wheel covers. useless parameter.
vendors can certify their Win32 programs, and
compile them to run with WineLib. Google of course
is the obvious company that could make it happen.
Actually, a tie up with Apple and Google, so
that certified applications would run on OSX,
Chrome OS, and any Linux distribution with the
proper Wine installed. And, let us not forget
NeatX that Google is working on, so that Win32
apps could run in the cloud.
http://google-
opensource.blogspot.com/2009/07/releasing-neatx-
open-source-nx-servier.html
It has to get a LOT easier, for both end users
AND software venders.
compile them to run with WineLib. Google of course
is the obvious company that could make it happen.
Actually, a tie up with Apple and Google, so
that certified applications would run on OSX,
Chrome OS, and any Linux distribution with the
proper Wine installed. And, let us not forget
NeatX that Google is working on, so that Win32
apps could run in the cloud.
http://google-
opensource.blogspot.com/2009/07/releasing-neatx-
open-source-nx-servier.html
It has to get a LOT easier, for both end users
AND software venders.
Wine is at most a crutch. The argument of "running applications" rings as hollow as a black hole.
Windows is not compatible with ANY linux application. Fortunately Free software can be recompiled or ported to also be a windows app
The real need is to let users know that there are alternatives: NOt able to run MS Office? big deal, use another application that does the same thing.
Windows is not compatible with ANY linux application. Fortunately Free software can be recompiled or ported to also be a windows app
The real need is to let users know that there are alternatives: NOt able to run MS Office? big deal, use another application that does the same thing.
If you look at the average Joe, unfortunatly many computer users shop for software they are "already comfortable with". Its like the Walmart model before they ever got big and selling their OWN brand, they had to bring in brands people were already familiar with, such as Betty Cocker, Prego, Ragu, Dr Pepper, Totinos, ok you probably get the picture.
In order for Linux community to be fully adapted by the average Joe, it has to make what is already common to the average computer user, Easy. Office 2007, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Money.. this is Wine project needs MORE devs to make things easier.
Wine has potential to get to the point where it can have a store to make things easier. Soon why probably can see "one click install Office 2007" and the such. When Wine can offer software that people can recognize, Linux enthusiasts should then advertise the popular distros on tv and on radio.
Brand name recognition is Key in business. No matter how much you can preach about alternatives, it takes a while for people to learn.
In order for Linux community to be fully adapted by the average Joe, it has to make what is already common to the average computer user, Easy. Office 2007, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Money.. this is Wine project needs MORE devs to make things easier.
Wine has potential to get to the point where it can have a store to make things easier. Soon why probably can see "one click install Office 2007" and the such. When Wine can offer software that people can recognize, Linux enthusiasts should then advertise the popular distros on tv and on radio.
Brand name recognition is Key in business. No matter how much you can preach about alternatives, it takes a while for people to learn.
Add to that dozen companies like Adobe. A designer is more concerned about the image or movie they have to submit by day end, which they make in Photoshop or Maya then worrying about Windows or Linux.
@DonnieBoy
wine = fail. it is slow, unstable, and will remain that way. linux isn't about accommodating windows users. it is its own system. many linux apps are better than windows apps. wine is a neat idea, but leads to people still being "windows users" even while they use linux.
and app stores? most distros have huge app stores. called repositories. thousands of completely free (in both ways) apps. there you go. another app store is called Google. just open your browser, and jfgi some free apps.
wine = fail. it is slow, unstable, and will remain that way. linux isn't about accommodating windows users. it is its own system. many linux apps are better than windows apps. wine is a neat idea, but leads to people still being "windows users" even while they use linux.
and app stores? most distros have huge app stores. called repositories. thousands of completely free (in both ways) apps. there you go. another app store is called Google. just open your browser, and jfgi some free apps.
Wine is about as useless as a solar-powered flashlight. The only thing I've gotten to work with it is solitair and notepad.
Yeah and I've got Portal and Half-Life 2 running
with no noticeable slowdown, I've run visual
novels, variants of Paint Shop Pro, emulators,
etc.
I mean, if you're trying to use Photoshop, sure,
I have not been able to get that to work.
What else would you be using that does not have
a native alternative.
I don't know how you could possibly claim you'd
rather have something like Media Player, WinAMP,
or Office operate on WINE when there are
alternatives (which are in some cases better
than the Windows version).
You cited Solitaire, which is (I'm sorry) really
dumb, so I assume you didn't try anything at
all.
Installation isn't even necessary with, say,
Linux Mint, which enables WINE by default.
The "Configuring WINE" argument some people
bring up is strange. "Configuring" is done when
WINE or the OS is installed... in Ubuntu Jaunty
or Linux Mint, at least, the sound server works
right, the Window manager works right (with some
issues, I agree, but everything still works).
And there are indeed options in case something
doesn't work right. (Which, by the way, I've had
apps force me into Vista Basic since it didn't
like Aero, I've had Windows software hang, and
I've had windows show up underneath the start
bar when it's at the top of the screen, or other
window management or video/audio issues... in
Windows. All software has problems... WINE works
great considering it's an attempt to figure out
the closed locked-in architecture of Windows to
give users more freedom. Windows makes no such
effort for any other systems' applications.)
with no noticeable slowdown, I've run visual
novels, variants of Paint Shop Pro, emulators,
etc.
I mean, if you're trying to use Photoshop, sure,
I have not been able to get that to work.
What else would you be using that does not have
a native alternative.
I don't know how you could possibly claim you'd
rather have something like Media Player, WinAMP,
or Office operate on WINE when there are
alternatives (which are in some cases better
than the Windows version).
You cited Solitaire, which is (I'm sorry) really
dumb, so I assume you didn't try anything at
all.
Installation isn't even necessary with, say,
Linux Mint, which enables WINE by default.
The "Configuring WINE" argument some people
bring up is strange. "Configuring" is done when
WINE or the OS is installed... in Ubuntu Jaunty
or Linux Mint, at least, the sound server works
right, the Window manager works right (with some
issues, I agree, but everything still works).
And there are indeed options in case something
doesn't work right. (Which, by the way, I've had
apps force me into Vista Basic since it didn't
like Aero, I've had Windows software hang, and
I've had windows show up underneath the start
bar when it's at the top of the screen, or other
window management or video/audio issues... in
Windows. All software has problems... WINE works
great considering it's an attempt to figure out
the closed locked-in architecture of Windows to
give users more freedom. Windows makes no such
effort for any other systems' applications.)
but I found for most games and apps like Photoshop, Cedega and Crossover work beautifully. Yes, you pay for them (as an exclusive Linux user I'm not against paying for software), however, it's well worth the money. It would be even better if some of these narrowminded software companies would write their games and apps to run native.
2 bottles is better, especially after a hard day trying to get a linux box working after searching for drivers for hardware that just works under windows.
So... you haven't tried Ubuntu or Mint within
the last 2 years? ok. (or heck, any distribution
at all in the last year or so)
How many NVidia or ATI cards don't have drivers
yet? I have never heard of sound or video not
working. I have had some experience in the part
with Mint 7 needing to get LAN drivers for an
eeePC since they weren't on the disk, but hell,
they *were* part of an upgrade. A few clicks to
update, and the machine ran perfectly. Linux
Mint 8, therefore, will have those on the disk,
and it will *just work.*
Does your "just works under Windows" refer to
"my OEM installed them for me" or "I installed
Windows myself, and it was not a hassle at all,
Windows update installed all the drivers,
Windows-related, and security updates and
rebooted once or twice, but after the long 3
hour install I was up and running able to go out
on the internet and redownload installers for
all my software." ?
the last 2 years? ok. (or heck, any distribution
at all in the last year or so)
How many NVidia or ATI cards don't have drivers
yet? I have never heard of sound or video not
working. I have had some experience in the part
with Mint 7 needing to get LAN drivers for an
eeePC since they weren't on the disk, but hell,
they *were* part of an upgrade. A few clicks to
update, and the machine ran perfectly. Linux
Mint 8, therefore, will have those on the disk,
and it will *just work.*
Does your "just works under Windows" refer to
"my OEM installed them for me" or "I installed
Windows myself, and it was not a hassle at all,
Windows update installed all the drivers,
Windows-related, and security updates and
rebooted once or twice, but after the long 3
hour install I was up and running able to go out
on the internet and redownload installers for
all my software." ?
Cos the old ati card in the machine would not work and i got a black screen regardless of which driver i tried yet under windows xp home, pro and w7 it worked without me having to find drivers, i had to use an old nvidia card just to see the monitor. Also the cheap no-name wireless network card would not work either despite being supported out of the box, yet surprise surprise, under all versions of windows it was recognised straight away without loading special drivers. And yes i installed windows and ubuntu myself as i see no need to pay for someone elses expertise for something as simple as loading an os. As for a 3 hour install, have you tried w7? it doesn't take that long and going online is unnecessary.$ sudo apt-get a clue fan boy
took me 15 minutes to install Mepis on my gaming box and not one driver did I have to hunt for. Hell I spent more time trying to get surround to work on my soundblaster in windows than I ever did "looking for drivers" for Linux.
Crosshair 2 MB, Nvidia 9800, Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS. The only driver I had to install was Nvidia's proprietary driver (2 clicks in the system menu). Oh and my C5580 HP printer just works! Also on 3 of my laptops (2 Toshibas and an HP) everything worked as well sound and yes even wireless. You probably never even tried Linux or you just don't have a clue.
Crosshair 2 MB, Nvidia 9800, Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS. The only driver I had to install was Nvidia's proprietary driver (2 clicks in the system menu). Oh and my C5580 HP printer just works! Also on 3 of my laptops (2 Toshibas and an HP) everything worked as well sound and yes even wireless. You probably never even tried Linux or you just don't have a clue.
you should be using Linux:-)
No one cares about media player or notepad, get everyday applications like MS Office and Photoshop working in WINE. And for god sake, stop providing list of gazillion variants of linux, users just want to be able to there job.
Working would imply producing something... useful?
Jobs has been at death's door and bounces back to drive Apple again.
Gates really should have finished college.
He produced $ 50 Billion, which are being useful to him and Africa.
He has devoted a lifetime to deception and crappy product development and promotion... that is what he has to live with.
It's true... spent 5 *hours* reinstalling Windows XP on my mother's Compaq Presario and at the end, XP didn't have a device driver for the Netgear USB wireless adapter... had to make a run to the store to buy a CAT5 cable and hardwire the damn thing to download the Netgear driver.
fedora 10 Linux installed in an hour and recognized the Netgear adapter right away. Thanks Microsoft!
It's true... spent 5 *hours* reinstalling Windows XP on my mother's Compaq Presario and at the end, XP didn't have a device driver for the Netgear USB wireless adapter... had to make a run to the store to buy a CAT5 cable and hardwire the damn thing to download the Netgear driver.
fedora 10 Linux installed in an hour and recognized the Netgear adapter right away. Thanks Microsoft!
Nothing wrong with what Microsoft is doing in training staff how to answer questions that their product is better than the other. It happens everywhere when you work in sales. The problem here because it is Microsoft, All the Anti-MS people flame up. If it was the other way around, You would not hear anything about it or it will be some other excuse why Linux is trying to push their product. Get a life people...
However, I worked at two computer stores over the course of a decade - the second wouldn't allow "training" of this type. I've made it a personal policy never to shop at any store that I know participates in this type of activity, so Best Buy and Future Shop (a division of Best Buy) won't be getting my money (and haven't for years).
(as for the "first" store I worked at - they used to be one of the major computer stores in Canada.. They went out of Business about a year ago.. I hope the likes of Best Buy learn from the mistakes of others)
(as for the "first" store I worked at - they used to be one of the major computer stores in Canada.. They went out of Business about a year ago.. I hope the likes of Best Buy learn from the mistakes of others)
claims, they better get used to taking the heat.
It is not MS that is to blame, but rather Best Buy, that is to blame here. If you sell both systems, you should keep both your options open. If you close the door to one system, you can never open it again, as you have admitted that it is inferior to the one you have pitched before.
I have been in sales for more than 20 years. What we are trained to do when you try to pitch one brand over another, but the customer doesn't like it, you must turn the customer at that point. If you don't turn the customer to another salesman, you won't have any credibility with the customer, and will never make the sale.
I have been in sales for more than 20 years. What we are trained to do when you try to pitch one brand over another, but the customer doesn't like it, you must turn the customer at that point. If you don't turn the customer to another salesman, you won't have any credibility with the customer, and will never make the sale.
"What we are trained to do when you try to pitch one brand over another, but the customer doesn't like it, you must turn the customer at that point. If you don't turn the customer to another salesman, you won't have any credibility with the customer, and will never make the sale."
I, too, have been in sales (not quite as long as you, but still with a LOT of relevant experience, and I have been VERY successful).
The real skill is not to put yourself in that position in the first place. When pitching one brand (that you offer) over another brand (that you also offer), you should be able to highlight strengths of your "goal" product without diminishing the "2nd best choice". Unless the 2nd best choice is an absolutely poor choice for your customer (in which case you shouldn't pass them off to another salesperson, you should avoid selling to that customer altogether - lest your entire company lose long term credibility).
You can actually do this when presenting against a product offered by a competitor - you don't know what other sales pitches this customer received, and just by disparaging the advice of someone who isn't present you can lose credibility in this customer. Better to highlight what's better about what you're selling and then make the customer responsible for their choice. If they choose your competitor, there may still be follow-up sales that you may have otherwise lost.
I, too, have been in sales (not quite as long as you, but still with a LOT of relevant experience, and I have been VERY successful).
The real skill is not to put yourself in that position in the first place. When pitching one brand (that you offer) over another brand (that you also offer), you should be able to highlight strengths of your "goal" product without diminishing the "2nd best choice". Unless the 2nd best choice is an absolutely poor choice for your customer (in which case you shouldn't pass them off to another salesperson, you should avoid selling to that customer altogether - lest your entire company lose long term credibility).
You can actually do this when presenting against a product offered by a competitor - you don't know what other sales pitches this customer received, and just by disparaging the advice of someone who isn't present you can lose credibility in this customer. Better to highlight what's better about what you're selling and then make the customer responsible for their choice. If they choose your competitor, there may still be follow-up sales that you may have otherwise lost.
in reality they should not have named the competition as this brings the focus onto them. They (ms)should have just highlighted their own strengths in comparison to the competitors.
Any attempt by a monopolist to push its products over (an)other product(s) is not to be competitive. Instead they are trying to maintain their dominant position. Linux promotional efforts are more justified; Linux doesn't have the market share that M$ products have and therefore, should be promoted heavily because many people don't even know what Linux is, let alone even heard of it.
Ford, Chevy, GE, Geico, Progressive etc.... use marketing to sell products! My God people get a life and quit this X-files crap!!
I totally agree with you. So what if they lie to the customers, make false accusations. We all know about the ads where Ford tells customers that GE product are in "fact" faulty.
One can't just let their product stand on its own merits, they have to emaciate the competition to make their own product seem appealing. Simple capitalism.
Ford says GE is bad??? You do know they are not in the same industry?
We know he meant GM, however, I do recall similar ads when Ford owned Philco (a competitor of GE in some products).
Granted I was in a hurry and made a mistake. Here we were talking about what I would say was a major mistake from Microsoft. You were telling everybody to let it go ("My God people get a life and quit this X-files "), lead by example and forgive my mistake.
This is called marketing.
IMHO - Both Linux and Windows suck. One is shortsighted in regards to the general public and the other is evil. Take your pick.
I once recommended linux to somebody, then I got phone calls weekly about how nothing worked. Then they bought a Mac...no more phone calls.
IMHO - Both Linux and Windows suck. One is shortsighted in regards to the general public and the other is evil. Take your pick.
I once recommended linux to somebody, then I got phone calls weekly about how nothing worked. Then they bought a Mac...no more phone calls.
Both times you failed them.
Too bad you don't know what you're talking about.
Like Linux, Mac OS X is a unix-based (actually, Darwin is based on BSD) OS.
I've been in IT for 20 years, and hold a computer science degree, MCSE, CNE, CCNE and a handful of other certifications to appease the Pointy Haired Bosses of the world. My specialty is corporate network design and implementation.
Mac is an excellent choice for many users. It, like Linux and other unix-based OSes, IS more stable and secure than Windows. Because I'm comfortable in Linux and Unix environments, getting "under the hood" in OS X is easy.
I had been a Red Hat, and later Ubuntu and Novell SuSE Linux user. I have no issues with any of them. But when it was time to replace my personal PC, I had a choice of using the perpetually broken Vista, installing a Linux distro, or move to a Mac. I chose Mac to expand my horizons. I can say that switching to Mac was the best move I ever made. No viruses, no malware, no DLL hell, no weekly reboots, no BSODs. It is also the perfect OS for my other passion: Music. There's a reason why most of the major recording studios either run Logic or Protools on a Mac.
In terms of productivity, I don't need MS products at all. I and Linux users alike can use many equivalent (and often free) software to accomplish the same goals. Instead of MS Office, I use OpenOffice or iWork (for basic stuff), both of which are compatible with MS formats (except for VBA), just so you can share documents with the rest of the world. If you NEED to use a Windows-only app, you can use Crossover, or if you REALLY need Windows, you can run it in Bootcamp or in a VM. But most users won't need it.
Like Linux, Mac OS X is a unix-based (actually, Darwin is based on BSD) OS.
I've been in IT for 20 years, and hold a computer science degree, MCSE, CNE, CCNE and a handful of other certifications to appease the Pointy Haired Bosses of the world. My specialty is corporate network design and implementation.
Mac is an excellent choice for many users. It, like Linux and other unix-based OSes, IS more stable and secure than Windows. Because I'm comfortable in Linux and Unix environments, getting "under the hood" in OS X is easy.
I had been a Red Hat, and later Ubuntu and Novell SuSE Linux user. I have no issues with any of them. But when it was time to replace my personal PC, I had a choice of using the perpetually broken Vista, installing a Linux distro, or move to a Mac. I chose Mac to expand my horizons. I can say that switching to Mac was the best move I ever made. No viruses, no malware, no DLL hell, no weekly reboots, no BSODs. It is also the perfect OS for my other passion: Music. There's a reason why most of the major recording studios either run Logic or Protools on a Mac.
In terms of productivity, I don't need MS products at all. I and Linux users alike can use many equivalent (and often free) software to accomplish the same goals. Instead of MS Office, I use OpenOffice or iWork (for basic stuff), both of which are compatible with MS formats (except for VBA), just so you can share documents with the rest of the world. If you NEED to use a Windows-only app, you can use Crossover, or if you REALLY need Windows, you can run it in Bootcamp or in a VM. But most users won't need it.
probably killed themselves after struggling with the required big head syndrome and trying to get that far up themselves proved too painfull.
Adrian this was best not even propogated. To publish this as real news is not responsible.
This is the crappiest, most half-baked 'education' program I've ever seen. If you were presented with this training, how long would it take you for your eyes to glaze over, three seconds? Four? The real shame is, Windows 7 really DOES have some real points of difference that make it a good product (ease of use for the GUI, for example); hammering those items makes sense and helps move product. This is just, well, ignorant. It's like the person who developed the training never even used win7, and just took an e-mailed list of talking points as a basis.
If a Linux netbook cost less I buy Linux and then install a spare copy of Windows on it. Most customers aren't techie enough so they get all this FUD fed to them. I like Linux but many applications that are important to don't run on it, even with WINE. At home we've bought three new computers and I had to remove Vista and install XP on all of them. The positive thing about Linux is you can get new hardware without paying the Microsoft tax.
I hadn't realized that MS was so worried about Linux (that speaks volumes). Any of the slides that pertain to go against Linux can be debunked in a second. How pathetic. I do love the updating one. What they failed to say was that Linux updates when an update is needed not when it's convenient for the company, as is the case with Windows.
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