Microsoft gives users the finger

Microsoft thinks you are a redundant dinosaur if you haven't yet switched to Office 2003. They won't say it out loud, but that's the message they send with their latest marketing campaign for the productivity suite.

It's always nice when your vendor tells you he appreciates your business in such a clear way.

It reminds me of an advertising campaign that a cable company once ran. They showed people that looked their dumbest with the accompanying text asking the reader: "Or do you want to keep progress out?" Of course this made me run to the phone. Not to order their broadband internet or VoIP telephone service, but to tell them that I hate them too. And that I don't appreciate it when people say I'm stupid, especially when those people don't know me.

So, dear Microsoft, why don't you come over? Then you can learn that I don't need XML in my word documents. I don't need to build connections between my enterprise applications and Excel or Word. And even if I would want to, there are other ways that don't include your overpriced Office 2003.

Or maybe you mean to say that you think your product is too advanced and overpriced for me. Are you trying to tell me that I should take a look at OpenOffice? Now that's the smartest thing you've said in a long time.

28 Apr 2005

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Regardless of what you think of Microsoft, people with dinosaur heads are just plain disturbing.

Posted by: george 27 Sep 2005

Microsoft's hold is getting weaker, there are much better products and an os's that has no need of their resource hungry and drive space gobbling software.Better still, no need to upgrade memory after each new office patch installed.Thank-you Linux and open source!

Posted by: carel 30 Apr 2005

Yes! Thats true. moreover Office has many features

Posted by: sbikram 29 Apr 2005

I have to agree. My response was to send them the following comments: I have to agree that business practice has evolved, and so have I, since you asked. At my last hardware update I discarded MS Office and went open source. I now feel much more secure in a MS Free environment.

Posted by: Bill 28 Apr 2005

Brilliant observation, my own reaction to the MS Dinasaur ads was similar. What struck me is the arrogance of Microsoft calling users of ITS OWN PRODUCTS outdated, and ready for extinction. The ads seemed screechy, desperate ... and perhaps contained within the seeds of truth about Microsoft itself these days. With the OS competition getting increasingly fierce, Microsoft must be asking itself if it, like the giant dinasaurs who once ruled the earth, is due for a massive die off soon.

Posted by: bruce m 28 Apr 2005

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