While many were thinking what they should do during the time that their Microsoft e-mail accounts were unavailable for 2 or more days of this week, I was thinking what the folks in Redmond would do about the problem, and if they would simply admit the problem was one of overload.

Since I have several accounts with the Hotmail and Live domain names, I do think that the problem is one that has been there for awhile, yet Microsoft seems to do nothing about it. They also are unwilling to admit it. This has been a problem for this company since the days I first became aware of it - around the release of DOS 3.3.  Microsoft has never been able to admit mistakes, and always waited until they were ‘outed’ by some third party to admit any knowledge of a problem.

Not only is this a bad process, it removes the wave of good will that would be generated by Microsoft’s confession of a mistake. The cost of this good will is small, and can not be overestimated. It can only be wondered whether, at each misstep, if the route of acknowledgement and apology was taken, how much larger a company Microsoft would be. Being open about mistakes might have averted the suits by the Department of Justice and the European Union, making the company transform from one reviled by many to one that everyone wished success.

It does appear that the die has been cast for the next few years, as Ballmer and crew remind many of the cast of villains from the Star Wars sagas. That role will be hard to transform, and it appears that no one in the top echelons wishes for the transformation. Imagine though, the difference in customer attitude between the average Vista owner now, and one where the customer has been sent a letter of apology, explaining what has gone wrong, what is being done about it, and the inclusion of some offer to both appease and bolster sagging sales for Microsoft, like the offer of Office 2007 or Vista flavor as a 2 for 1.

This would cost some revenue, but remember, had this course of action been followed since the days of DOS 3.3, the Microsoft legal department could most likely be counted in the tens instead of the thousands.

While everyone seems to be weighing in on the price reduction of various flavors of Vista, the point is missed, as the premise is not clear. Microsoft seems to believe that hordes of people would flood every point of purchase if only the price was lower. This is absurd, as anyone who does even a small amount of research will be able to see that OEM versions of the software can be had, right now, for less than the anticipated price reductions would position the retail offerings.

The mildly knowledgeable might state that an OEM copy of any Microsoft operating system comes with no support, whereas the retail versions include support for 90 days. This sounds good, until one realizes what poor support is given, and the phone bills that can be accrued trying to get help. For most, it is simply easier and faster to get peer support for any non-server Microsoft product.

Another point that might be made by the unwashed masses is that an OEM copy of Windows cannot legally be transferred to another PC. According to the license, it is locked to the machine it is first installed upon. If you happen to be a stickler for adherence to the EULA, then you are so limited - I usually am very strict about adherence to law, but after a few fiascos with Microsoft concerning completely LEGAL actions, I tend to put Microsoft into the realm of “sometimes you gotta say WTF!” Besides, it’s not as if most people are going to be swapping machines that frequently  - those that do can buy retail versions, and hope that Microsoft doesn’t try  to limit them when they do switch.

The thing  that all the others making observations seem to be missing is that what is happening is that this is analogous to each buyer going to a purchase a car from a dealership called ‘Lemon Motors, Unlimited’ and signing a contract stating that the buyer will pay for the vehicle in full up front, knowing full well that every car they might choose has documented flaws, and the contract states that the purchaser cannot take the seller   to court for poor performance, and only has small assurances that the defects might be repaired sometime in the next 5 or so years, unless a new model of ‘lemon’ is called for, and, in that case, all work stops on the model the buyer purchased. Game over. No guarantee of fitness to a purpose is given, and as has been seen in the past couple of days, it is made clear that the seller holds the buyer in complete contempt. For all this, a small discount will be applied to the ‘deal’.

With this knowledge in hand, does Microsoft really expect people to flock to buy this ‘work’? Remember, it is impossible to put a shine on a road apple, no matter how dedicated the effort.

-

Tags: vista, microsoft, discount, documented flaws, service pack 1, retail packages