Microsoft voted Britain's favourite brand Options

[Spook Tooth]

The Inquirer announce the results of a consumer brand survey run by the marketing organisation Superbrands.

Microsoft came top as Britain's favourite brand but those members of the public polled must've been nuts or something surely? Apple came only 25th, whilst Amazon and Ebay were 53rd and 60th respectively.

I think the heat must be getting to people more than we suspect. Hopefully the 2,373 interviewees who took part in the survey are not a representative sample. Else we are all in serious trouble...

[Cataclysm=J]

Yeah, we need Microsoft to do down the drain if we ever want a decent operating system, just shows how easily they can cover up their crappy programming with a pretty wallpaper and get away with it.

[Sureshot]

I wonder who paid superbrands to carry out the survey?

me smells a rat!

[Reveal-O-Swayze]

Yes, yes - Microsoft, they're just so evil aren't they?

Why we all should be sitting in-front of Macs and using their software! How dare we use Windows just because it made things easy for the common man!

Don't you understand?!

We should all be using Linux, because they don't demand our money, and are so much better than Microsoft! Oh, they are! They are! It's just that Linux takes more learning....

Whatever.

Anyway, since Porsche is Britian's fifth favourite brand, I think this had more to do with the first brand name that people thought of when asked a question really quickly by a man wielding a clipboard - don't they understand that we just want something to eat and then go sit at our desks for the remainder of the day, pretending to work whilst quite openly sending personal emails - don't they understand that?

The reason Microsoft (note the lack of dollar signs when I spell that folks) came top, is because the first thing most of us see when we boot up our PCs in the morning is Microsoft Windows - it's probably some form of subliminal advertising.

[Cataclysm=J]

Why we all should be sitting in-front of Macs and using their software! How dare we use Windows just because it made things easy for the common man!

I am at the moment. And easy how?

[Reveal-O-Swayze]

I suspect that you're in the minority.

Your question baffles me - easy as in 'easy to use'

[Cataclysm=J]

Does poor security, incredible inefficiency and decades of appuling programming make it a good thing then. A good performance engineer can make a machine running Linux perform over 50 times faster than Windows on the same hardware. We don't need to upgrade our hardware every 2 months we just need a good operating system, one thats actually a system and operates. By definition Windows is not an Operating System, it is infact an application due to the fact that it runs a single layer operation.

You can have Linux machines running for years and they'll be fine, you have to format Windows machines just to keep them 'working' and if you don't know how to do that or diagnose the problem you have to take it to some computer shop and pay them high prices to perform a simple task that shouldn't need doing. How is that easy?

People like it becuase they don't understand it and they don't understand what a real operating system is like and how it should perform because most people have never seen one in their whole lives.

[Reveal-O-Swayze]

Perfomance engineer you say? And there was me thinking I'd typed the words 'common man'.

Oh wait, I did!

I never said Windows was the superest thing ever, I just said that it was easy to use - proof of this can be seen in the fact that it's the dominant OS-esq thing; I don't see lots of offices flocking to use Linux; there must be a reason for this - don't you think?

If you don't know how to format or fix a Windows machine, there's every chance you won't know how to do the same to any other - and I don't think shops charge a special low 'linux rate' for repairs.

If the people like it, leave the people alone - don't force your bile-laden rants down their throats, or as an alternative focus on the positives of the other Operating Systems, and don't spend your days hating something when you could be loving something else.

[Cataclysm=J]

The American government are changing to Linux reason being the windows servers/desktops arn't up to the job at all, why should we loose out on a lot of performance becase the operating system is crap.

Its popular becuase it was around in the early days and its the only OS that came with a 'pretty' little interface at the time.

[Spook Tooth]

don't force your bile-laden rants down their throats

As far as I am concerned the only ranting is coming from you, Reveal-O-Swayze. That is, I've seen arguments made against your tirade that M$ aren't as sh^t as everybody seems to think and nothing much from you except vitriolic comments (like the one quoted).

I don't think it is too hard to imagine most people would be surprised that Microsoft should be polled as Britain's favourite brand. The only good point you made is people see their logo and see their software practically everyday when switching on their PC (if they have/use one of course).

This thread wasn't made to argue the good and bad points of operating systems. The news story was posted as I thought it was interesting and quite shocking to the 'common man' to see a niche* American software company rank first amongst all brands in 'Britain' of all places. That may not be the case though, as there are those who do like MS as a brand name to the point of rating it above all else. Perhaps it would be better to stick to discussing the initial findings and in that way present arguments for why you seem to like MS as a brand over others or rather why you're not so surprised they came top.

Maybe Sureshot was right, and perhaps the marketing company responsible for the survey had a lot of subliminal messages going on - the survey participants had to input their answers into a laptop running XP or something or it was indeed sponsored by MS/whatnot or had big pictures of baby-eating Bill Gates in the background with thumbs up or something. Maybe they were paid? Who knows and who cares? Not enough to get stroppy about and that's for sure.

*ok so it's a pretty big niche but specialised all the same

[Reveal-O-Swayze]

Interesting, interesting; but how about this...

My only real praise for Microsoft has been that they've produced a rather user-friendly OS that has managed to become the standard for what we expect packaged with our pre-bought PCs; my excessive dramatisation of the kind of reactions I tire of reading aside - what else did I do to declare my love for the big fluffy M?

Brandings are a much more global thing these days; where as once you could get all kind of more local suggestions (I'd like to nominate Mr.McGorry's Teabags from my local cornershop, for one), now all big brands tend to span the globe.

[Cataclysm=J]

Yes, yes - Microsoft, they're just so evil aren't they?

Why we all should be sitting in-front of Macs and using their software! How dare we use Windows just because it made things easy for the common man!

Don't you understand?!

We should all be using Linux, because they don't demand our money, and are so much better than Microsoft! Oh, they are! They are! It's just that Linux takes more learning....

Whatever.

Your question baffles me - easy as in 'easy to use'

Perfomance engineer you say? And there was me thinking I'd typed the words 'common man'.

Oh wait, I did!

Interesting, interesting; but how about this...

The only problem that I have with his ranting is that every post he/shes made so far has been sarcastic to almost an offensive level. I don't think we've ever had an intentionally offensive person on this formn before and I have to say it doesn't make for pleasent conversation.

I only hope I've got this person all wrong.

[The Ghost of Inept Pig]

Hmm..

Quote #1 - High drama (as already commented upon)
Quote #2 - Honest reaffirmation of what was meant by easy?
Quote #3 - Well...
Quote #4 - A recap of his Microsoft comments followed, for those who wanted a quick summary without having to read all the thread?

I suggest that you draw a line under it, and accept that people have different opinions.

Would be interested to see exactly who they surveyed though.

[Spook Tooth]

My only real praise for Microsoft has been that they've produced a rather user-friendly OS that has managed to become the standard for what we expect packaged with our pre-bought PCs

Fair enough. That's your view. Others beg to differ and give good arguments supporting why they do. You only give hearsay.

This thread was still about branding and not the technical aspects so much, though I accept that as far as product goes, some of MS's past software could be said to fall way short of 'fitness for purpose'. But again that might get into far more complex arguments about why ME (for example) was so utterly dire as a stable and reliable operating system.

But yes, I'd agree that XP sort of does what it says on the tin but, I support Cat when he states that it gobbles up ridiculously large amounts of computational power when compared to other OSs like Linux. The fact that the forthcoming Windows Vista will demand even more silicon grunt is testimony to MS's approach and attitude towards programming and likely getting more and more people to buy new PCs in order to run the next latest and greatest thing. Which is kind of convenient, wouldn't you say?

So yeah, they're in it for the money and capitalist. Shock horror. Not quite. They are just good examples of extreme capitalist monopolisers using their global position and clout in adverse ways that affect the typical average consumer who's never heard of Linux. Anyway I also get fed up with hearing the same tired 'stick up for the bad guy arguments' as gee they're just companies doing what they can to survive in this real (read greedy) world so that makes two of us who tire of fanboy for/against arguments.

Brandings are a much more global thing these days

Yeah, that's true. You don't see many Middle Eastern or South Asian brands except for Osama Bin Laden or Mr Squishy. I wonder why that is?

As Mr Pig says, it's best to just accept there are differing views and opinions on subjects that can get out of hand. Personally, I don't really give a toss about half the crap I write so it's probably best to just steer clear of flame wars unless you have a perverse enjoyment of stirring, in which case I'm sure you'll find yourself in good company on this here internet. But maybe not here though. We tend to just ease through the day without causing too much offence or being excessively sarcastic. You're welcome to stick around if you can learn to be a bit more congenial to other forum members who've done their best to make you feel welcome afterall.

[Reveal-O-Swayze]

Again - I said easy to use; I did not say programmed to perfection, I did not say makes good use of resources, I did not say that Microsoft were the devine intervention that computers needed and we should all give them our first born. Do I need to prove that it's easy to use? I imagine most forum members use some version of Windows, if not for the ease - then why?

Your comment regarding brands; I think it's the approach to advertising, the people of the Middle East always seem to be calling us 'Infidels', and that's a marketing no-no (it's a joke, I'm not making such a sweeping statement with serious intent).