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Microsoft PR Rep is the Switcher
Posted by
jamie
on Mon Oct 14, 2002 07:55 PM
from the ann-onymous dept.
from the ann-onymous dept.
Here's a followup to our
earlier story
about Microsoft's "inverse switch" campaign. The AP tracked down the switcher and spoke with her:
she's an employee at a Microsoft public relations firm but says she actually did switch from Mac to Windows. Microsoft's
page
is still 404 (but Google's
cache
still works).
The interesting part to me is that the AP "tracked Mallinson by examining personal data hidden within documents that Microsoft had published with its controversial ad." Hmmmmmm.
(Kudos to obidonn, the first to
demonstrate
the use of a stock photo, which piqued interest in this story.
As of noon EDT Oct. 15, other
stock
photos
are still being used in anonymous Microsoft "testimonials.")
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Hoax? (Score:5, Funny)
How do we know the Anonymous Poster isn't an employee of Linux and is just trying to discredit their biggest competitor?
Re:Hoax? (Score:5, Funny)
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AP == Associated Press (Score:5, Informative)
How do we know the Anonymous Poster isn't an employee of Linux
I don't see "Anonymous Poster" capitalized that way anywhere in the blurb or the article.
If you're trying to draw a parallel between "AP" in the blurb and "AC" as a common abbreviation for Slashdot's Anonymous Coward, you're mistaken, but I forgive you: AP == Associated Press.
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Busted (Score:5, Interesting)
I love it. I mean, for the safety of your job, what would you say?
Re:Busted (Score:5, Funny)
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The BEST part of it (Score:5, Funny)
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My Question is (Score:5, Funny)
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Funny tho... (Score:5, Funny)
Where's that photo of a 20-something geek with brown shaded glasses and a bad-collared shirt?
Hmm... (Score:5, Insightful)
Gotta clear some things up (Score:5, Funny)
1) M$ websites stating the advantages of IIS are served using Apache on Linux (or BSD, I don't remember which).
2) M$ PR firm employees have to be coaxed by M$ to switch the XP from their Apples because it has such great things as Office, IE, and multiple users that obviously aren't available in Mac OS X.
Man, with such convincing facts as those, I'm throwing away my Powerbook and switching to Windows!
Why track the IP address ??? (Score:5, Funny)
And this is helpful how? (Score:5, Insightful)
I doubt any national TV stations other than TechTV read slashdot, this can be seen pretty obviously. Time Magazine just published an article on the music companies using glue to seal in unrelased songs for publications to read... I was in awe because it finally made mainstream about a month after it was on Slashdot!
Excuse my rant, but it seems that Microsoft has done a pretty good job tucking this firmly under the proverbial carpet and I really doubt it will see the light of day again...
Re:And this is helpful how? (Score:5, Interesting)
Crispin
----
Crispin Cowan, Ph.D.
Chief Scientist, WireX Communications, Inc. [wirex.com]
Immunix: [immunix.org] Security Hardened Linux Distribution
Available for purchase [wirex.com]
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Re:And this is helpful how? (Score:5, Funny)
Boss: Johnson! What are you doing?
Jonhson: Reading Slashdot, sir!
Boss: Good! I want your report on it by 5:00 tonight. And for the love of god, stop trolling those newbies!
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Associated Press & Yahoo! News Aren't Mainstre (Score:5, Interesting)
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Dead people? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Dead people? (Score:5, Funny)
... and died?
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Re:Dead people? (Score:5, Funny)
Of course they are ... what do you think they run in hell?
I'd just hate to be the SysAdmin of hell ... running Exchange and IIS ... just think of all the hacking going on there ...
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Ironic... (Score:5, Funny)
But on topic, if they tracked her down, how 'bout a real photo of this person? Just for comparison's sake.
It looks like MS is trying to do a "save my face" operation here by spinning the story by (of course) a MS PR person.
Please consider/remember (Score:5, Interesting)
These firms have a mandate from MS to spread out and hit hard. They lurk here and on ZDNet, as an example, just waiting for opportunities to impersonate Joe/Jane Average user.
They pump out hourly press releases that all have the same theme..."MS is best and who can fault a leader?...Join us in the fun and we will do all the thinking for you."
It is all too clear what they think of their customers...brain-dead sheep, begging to be sheared.
To understand the mechanics, it may help to first study a long standing 'marketing' ploy known as 'the big lie'. I don't normally use references like this, but the best manual I know is titled 'Rise and Fall of the Third Reich'.
What surprises me... (Score:5, Interesting)
Without getting too offtopic, I owned a Mac for awhile and wasn't too thrilled with it. Yes, it was usable, but the thought that kept repeating in my mind was "I can sell this on eBay and use the money to buy MUCH better hardware for my PC." - so I did. Do I regret no longer being "biplatform"? Nope...
It wasn't so much that I had anything against the Mac platform... I just didn't NEED it. My PC didn't give me any trouble and all the apps I use for doing what I like to do work fine on the PC. I guess if I felt the same way about the Macintosh to begin with, I wouldn't want to switch either and no amount of Microsoft fluff could change my mind. In the end, it just comes down to using what it is you like to use...
As a side note, I think some of you Slashdotters agree that you'd be more than willing to go "biplatform" if Macs weren't so expensive... There's a $199 Wal-Mart PC for the curious Mac users, where's the $199 Mac for curious PC users?
Re:What surprises me... (Score:5, Funny)
As a side note, I think some of you Slashdotters agree that you'd be more than willing to go "biplatform" if Macs weren't so expensive... There's a $199 Wal-Mart PC for the curious Mac users, where's the $199 Mac for curious PC users?
Same place they sell the $12,000 Mercedes Benz.
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Microsoft saved my job (Score:5, Funny)
One day I asked my boss for a new video camera for my Mac. He said "Remember, your paycheck comes from Microsoft, let's switch you for our new marketing campaign!"
So I switched.
And then my boss said "Hey, Microsoft wants to tell the world that you switched, but you're no prettier than those people Apple used. We wish you looked BETTER than Apple people."
And so they used some stock photos to give me a make over.
People have switched (Score:5, Funny)
But Why Did She Switch? (Score:5, Interesting)
1) The woman works at a PR firm--a business where Macintosh systems are fairly strong, albeit not quite as much as advertising and the graphic arts. So, what kind of Mac did she switch from? A crappy 6-year old Mac or something ancient? Hell, anything would make you switch from that.
2) By being a contractual employee of Microsoft, this ad really doesn't give MS a lot of credit for their product. Can't they simply find a relatively honest person to endorse? I mean, really! Not everyone hates Microsoft, and I'm sure there are enough people to say, "Sure, it works for me."
This can't be a good thing, and it only creates more alienation in a business where getting along still means a little something, if only to make friends before you merge your companies.
Marketing 101 (Score:5, Insightful)
Microsoft is living proof that with enough creative marketing, you truly can wrap a turd in colored foil and call it candy!
Some people may see this as insignificant in light of all the other corporate scandals in the world. However, it's just one more instance of Microsoft treating their customers and/or prospective customers as bafoons.
Many companies have fallen on hard times because they failed to respect the intelligence of their customers. The *only* thing keeping people from ditching Microsoft like a bad habit is the lack of anything comparable. That day will come, and Microsoft will surely rue it.
Valerie G. Mallinson in 20 Years (Score:5, Funny)
Valerie: "Yes, honey."
Daughter: "Did you like it, mommy?"
Valerie: "No, honey."
Daughter: "Why?"
Valerie: "It was for Microsoft."
"A spokeswoman from Apple would not comment" (Score:5, Funny)
"A spokeswoman from Apple would not comment"
Yeah - because she was still cleaning up all of the millk that she laughed through her nose.
How they traced her down (Score:5, Interesting)
$ strings ShowOffYourSkills.doc | less
/* truncated... */
Show Off Your Skills
Normal.dot
Katherine L. Trunkey
Microsoft Word 10.0
valmalgal.com
Show Off Your SkillsTitle
_PID_HLINKS
_AdHocReviewCycleID
_E
_AuthorEmailDisplayName
_ReviewingTo
Comments
Valerie Mallinson (Wes Rataushk & Assc Inc)
Microsoft Word Document
MSWordDoc
Word.Document.8
This "switcher" had her privacy compromised by Microsoft software. Her web site is not yet active but you can look up the "Wes Rataushk" firm to find that it is in Redmond. The following blog belongs to a coworker of hers, perhaps you could ask him more:
http://216.239.53.100/search?q=cache:ncxQ S-5T-OQC:www.pamkeesey.com/+Wes+Rataushk&hl=en&ie
-s.
Behind the Lines (Score:5, Funny)
"But sir... we're running out of feet."
What is all this slashdot traffic? (Score:5, Funny)
Some switch (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Some switch (Score:5, Funny)
*Editor's Note: Now that we've successfully converted our writer to a Windows PC, we will be working on getting her to try a Pocket PC. Stay tuned for more developments!
Gosh, do you think they'll be able to get Valerie to 'try' a Pocket PC? After she's been a FREAKING PROFESSIONAL CONSULTANT on the device? Too bad we'll never find out!
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"Hidden" Personal Data (Score:5, Informative)
- _AuthorEmailDisplayName
property is set to- Valerie Mallinson (Wes Rataushk & Assc Inc)
I guess that's hidden if you don't know much about computers.Be a Super-Sleuth! (Score:5, Informative)
Want to engage in real-life Kompooter Forensics just like AP does? Follow these easy steps!
1) Go to Google's cache [216.239.53.100] of the article, since it has now been pulled by Microsoft.
2) Now click on the link at the bottom of the cache page, which reads "Download the submission form in Word format." Whoops! Looks like those kid whizzes at Microsoft didn't actually remove everything!
3) Haven't made the switch to Microsoft yet? Word still new to you? No prob. Go to the 'File' Menu and select Properties while you are viewing the Microsoft Word document. Don't worry! No chmod here!
4) Peruse the tabs to uncover all of AP's 'personal data', including Valerie's zany new website [netsol.com]. You go, girl!
A freelance writer huh? (Score:5, Funny)
"I am a freelance writer; I demand the best in mobile computing."
But if you work for Microsoft PR, you can't be freelance now, can you?
Perhaps she was misquoted:
"I am writing promotion materials for Freelancer, a game which will demand the best in computing hardware"
why apple will never succeed... (Score:5, Funny)
I mean, look at the difference:
Apple: spends the better part of a year looking for interesting, off-beat, photogenic people. Then they read hundreds of emails. They hand-pick a bunch of folks and pay money to fly them out, coach them, then tape them. They put the ads on nationwide TV.
Microsoft: Somebody at Microsoft's PR firm picks up the phone and says "Hey, remember that writer, Valerie? And remember how the screen on her Mac Centris 610 finally died and she got that Windows laptop? .. What's that? .. Yeah that was funny.. though I probably I did the same thing the first time I used a CD-ROM .. But anyway, track her down and give her $500 to finish some copy for our new campaign. I've already got most of it written.. .. what?.. No, just put a stock photo like usual .. okay .. bye!"
How easy! That's why Apple will always be a "niche" player. They give a shit about stuff like this. Like the guy in college who actually wrote all his lab reports while everybody else just copied one from last year.
Microsoft Word 10.0 (Score:5, Funny)
I love this world.
Re:Good grief, where does it end? (Score:5, Insightful)
No they dont... but unfortunately.. most people still dont know there is something else out there.
90% of the populace still think that Microsoft Windows is the only thing out there and there is nothing else available.
which makes me think... Why doesn't redhat advertise on tv? ad space on tech TV is horribly dirt cheap, as well as almost every cable channel (USA, TNN, SCI-FI, MTV... etc...)
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Re:Good grief, where does it end? (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:Good grief, where does it end? (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't know how true that is. I'm a student (again), but I still do consulting on the side and in the small to medium size business arena, at least in my experience, people just love the MS solution. They're usually already familiar with Outlook and Office and are ready to pay for a few Dells and an 2K server or two running Exchange and MS SQL.
Frankly, the last thing I'm going to do is try to push an OSS solution for a small LAN when their primary needs are Outlook-like shared calendering, Office, and a few of the gazillion MS-only apps out there.
Some of these people are pretty shrewd. They might have both an Apple and a PC at home. They might even know what linux is, but they also know their needs, prefer MS products, and don't mind paying. If a client wants MS and wants to pay for it, its fine and with the proper administration (proper permissions, quick to patch, antivirus scanning and attachment blocking on the email server, etc) it can be just as secure as anything else in corporate America.
The question that geeks are expecting business to ask is, "How cheaply can we do this by using a no-name product?" Lets face it, linux has no brand, its more of a movement than a product. This is like assuming that cab companies are going to migrate over to the Kia Spectra (its a nice car at a nice price with a nice warranty) to save money. They're going to stick with the Caprice or Crown Victoria workhorse even if it costs a premium and if they continue to believe its worth it. Considering all their mechanics know the Crown Vic and the Caprice inside out and their drivers and customers expect a large American car, I doubt Kia will be getting any cab contracts anytime soon.
Of course things change drastically when you're dealing with larger medium sized companies and large companies, but most of these companies start small or small-ish and if BillG is already in the door they will be very skittish about kicking him out too soon.
Don't get me wrong, I would love it if a client wanted to do something from the ground up as cheap as possible and using OSS. A Moz/OpenOffice solution running on Mandrake would really be nice, but no one wants to jump into that pool unless they have to. In the meantime, unless price becomes a major factor then business will continue using MS. Its no wonder that Linux has more potential for market penetration in academia, the public sector, and in embedded devices. MS has the office environment locked and many end-users wouldn't have it any other way.
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Re:Good grief, where does it end? (Score:5, Insightful)
Macs are cheap(er) now [apple.com]. Yes desktop models still cost you a few hundred bucks more than comparable PC models. However high-end notebooks with comparable features and peripheral capabilities are at right about the same price. Cuz in the end you can't build a dependable laptop with cheap parts. Dell did and it screwed me up big time [slashdot.org].
One software supplier? You can buy a mac and NOT run any apple software. Linux kernels, *BSD kernels, and many more unix flavors have all been ported to Mac CPUs. OS X still kicks the shit out of all those operating systems though because well, it just works.
oh and guess what? A whole lot of open-source applications "just work" under mac os x, thanks to the great "Fink" project, located at http://fink.sourceforge.net [sourceforge.net]. I myself have X11, Gnome, Gimp, xemacs, xchat and many more apps working on my OS X.
one software vendor ey? Well check this: Apple supplies the hardware AND the operating system, *optimized* to run in ITS OWN hardware. Guess what that gives you? A POWERFUL, stable, dependable machine that'll never let you down. Not to mention that the core of Apple's operating system is OPEN-SOURCE: that also gives you a SECURE and extendable platform.
Their fastest CPU does run at lower MEGAHERTZ than pentiums, it is still a superior architecture which gives you better performance for certain things, albeit not relevant to some users who desperately need fast-clocked boxes. Currently Apple is at 1.5Ghz. Not too bad i'd say.
With OS X, Apple is responsible for the most significant advance in computing since the original introduction of "The Mac".
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Re:Google cache still works? (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:Google cache still works? (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:Google cache still works? (Score:5, Interesting)
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Re:Man do I feel dumb. (Score:5, Funny)
Can I have your G4, then?
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Re:Misdirected marketing on both parts... (Score:5, Insightful)
The combination of Unix with a great UI and mainstream applications can be a benefit to just about everyone. If you don't think it's worth the cost, that's fine, but don't try to claim there's "absolutely no reason".
(how is clicking start -> programs -> microsoft word harder than clicking Macintosh HD then searching around for your software? hm...)
It probably isn't. On the other hand, you can "uninstall" an app by dragging it to the trash, without worrying about what DLLs will remain strewn about. And you can copy an app from one Mac to another by dragging and dropping (or "cp -r" if you like), rather than hunting for the install CD.
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Re:Misdirected marketing on both parts... (Score:5, Insightful)
It's not that XP is hard to use.. since Win 95, none of the Windowses has really been hard to use... although administration and installation of certain options hasn't been easy.
The thing is the way that Apple tends to think of the little things. I configured dialup connections for my sister and my mother recently. They use XP and OS X respectively. The XP connection wasn't hard per se, but the Apple stuff was easy-breezy: orthogonal seeming, conceptually accesible, easy to find the appropriate controls, etc.
Between these finishing touches and the hardware/software integration, I think it's likely I'll prefer using Apple stuff at home for some time to come.
I've played with XP. Win 2k and XP do not suck. My opinion is that they're not as easy to use as OS X. And when things go south (they do on all computers), they're harder to fix...
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Re:Ed Wood ad agency? (Score:5, Funny)
I can see it now...
Quick fade into rocket taking off. Cut to two 70's crash test sedans in a head-on collision. Horizontal wipe to atomic bomb detonating. Crossfade to fat guy taking a cannonball in the stomach. Star wipe to garish orange screen with Microsoft logo and "Where do you want to go today?" tagline. All done to the tune of cheap, generic classical music.
In a strangely Microsoftian twist, this'd all be done with iMovie, which would be revealed on Slashdot a few weeks later. The ad would be immediately pulled.
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Re:Ed Wood ad agency? (Score:5, Funny)
"Look at the pretty colors"
"It doesn't lock up as much as previous versions."
"Look at the pretty colors"
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