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December 20, 2007

business

Microsoft needs to learn from Apple about OS launches

Posted Dec. 20, ’07, 8:07 AM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Business

Joe Wilcox When I wrote about NPD’s Leopard launch analysis, I didn’t once think about Vista’s launch and the problems that have plagued the product. Luckily, for us, uber Microsoft fanboy Joe Wilcox has let the envy drive him to do it for us. While Leopard has hit record sales numbers for Mac OS products, Vista has… er… “struggled”. By struggled, I mean that people are not only refusing to upgrade, they’re demanding the older OS on new hardware.

Wilcox hits on several key points that are absolutely compelling. First, Vista lacks a real family pack. You might remember that nearly 1/3 of all Leopard sales were family packs. Assuming you find a sucker someone that actually wants to upgrade their PCs to Vista, chances are, they’ll have multiple PCs to upgrade. Microsoft offered a bundle of Vista Ultimate with two Home Premium licenses, but that just doesn’t fit most situations. If Microsoft is serious about promoting upgrade to its user base (which I don’t think it will ever be), then a real family pack is a necessary component.

The other part worth note is the way that Microsoft interfaces with its user base. While Apple, and its lack of activation schemes, implicitly trusts their users to do the right thing and minimize customer inconvenience, Microsoft assumes the opposite. You are guilty. You are a criminal. We won’t believe that you actually paid for the product until you enter a large string of letters and numbers (and then sometimes called to beg daddy dearest for another code).

I do think it’s time Microsoft took a look, at least in the consumer sector how Apple’s doing business and did a little copying.


6 Comments

Grapho said:

I think you miss the point of activation. If Apple was loosing sales of it's OS through wide spread piracy, it might do the same thing like Adobe, Quark or Microsoft are doing. Forcing you to activate. For Apple, the money is in the hardware, so if a couple of Macs get updated with out a proper license, it's really not such a big deal. For ONLY software companies, it's a different situation.

December 20, 2007 9:59 AM
tony.d. Author Profile Page said:

When Leopard was released MacWorld and Apple's forums were loaded with questions if it was OK to load a single Leopard license on several machines, including girlfriends and relatives. Regardless as to what constitutes a home machine(s), Apple's rules are Apple's rules. The fact that Apple "implicitly trusts their users to do the right thing and minimize customer inconvenience" doesn't mean this policy will last forever. When people begin to abuse it we will all pay in the end....

December 20, 2007 10:21 AM
Goobimama said:

Not even a serial number for the installation is truly amazing. I have yet to come across such a thing as no serial number for any paid software.

Granted you can only install Leopard on apple hardware, but software is still to be paid for.

Why make the 'real customer' read a serial number printed on some box while a pirate just copy-pastes it from a text editor? It just makes it easier to pirate than to buy the real software (Vista is a prime example of this).

December 20, 2007 10:27 AM
thebyrd Author Profile Page said:

The problem is GREED. If they would price software as Apple does where it is affordable to the average person, they would have to worry about piracy. This has been proven time and time again. MicroSoft Office $500 .... iWorks 08 Family Pack $99.00 (3 legal copies). The same thing has happened to may companies who try to rip the average people off. Hundreds of sights out there to crack Windows, PhotoShop....etc. Price these where they should be priced and profits will soar and no need for all the ridiculous serial numbers as Apple has proven many times over.

December 20, 2007 3:12 PM
spiderbat said:

Activation is, IMHO, the lousiest form of anti-piracy policy. Any activated sw is like a time bomb that will explode when the damage for the user will be maximum (after all, Murphy's Law has no exceptions!).
After some unfortunate experience with activated sw, I resolved in avoiding it whenever possible, and purchasing it only after knowing that, in case of necessity, a crack is available that would allow me to continue using it without depending on the good will (or on the survival) of the parent company and its commercial representatives.

December 20, 2007 3:45 PM
J Evans said:

For the guy that says its "Greed" is obviously clueless. I have seen $10 software pirated so it has absolutely nothing to do with price. The problem is the theives that steal the software. How come nobody blames them ? Its not MS, Adobes or any other companies fault. Its the losers that steal the software and the blame should be put on them 100%. Everyone knows someone that steals software. Get on them and tell them they are the reason for activation. Did you ever think maybe the price would be lower if everyone paid and the companies didn't have to make up for lost sales do to these thieves. MS and other companies are out to make money. They are surely not in business for you convience. Get real and put the blame where its needed.

Happy Holidays.

December 21, 2007 7:32 AM

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