What can we learn from Bill?

Posted by Mark Flavin
February 1, 2007 at 8:19 am

Hey everyone,
Just taught I’d share a really great interview with Bill Gates.
It’s from one of my favourite shows The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

The interview is great fun and we can learn a few little marketing gems from it too.
Bill talks about aspects such as Research & Development & the interview is obviously at a very
appropriate time with the launch of Vista. So there’s a little to be learned about product pre-launch too!!

Also if you’d like to discuss Vista & Microsoft in general & if your going to upgrade or how you
think Vista will affect you & your business just leave your comments below.

Best post gets a Mark Flavin Marketing t-shirt from our merchandise store absolutely free. Enjoy the vids.

Leave your comments below….. (Click the “Comments” link)

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Category: marketing, business, advertising, internet marketing, mark flavin marketing, mark flavin, prelaunch, microsoft, bill gates, vista, windows vista
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  • Jude Says:
    February 1st, 2007 at 8:57 am

    Wow, they bothed LOOKED kind of cute. lol The vid woulden’t work for me. :(

  • Gerry Kenny Says:
    February 1st, 2007 at 9:14 am

    Mark
    great idea I loved the video, learned a lot
    Congrats on the blog GREAT
    Gerry Kenny

  • Jeremiah - Affiliate Landmines Says:
    February 1st, 2007 at 9:20 am

    Thanks Mark, I enjoyed that! :-)
    Learning can be fun!!!

    Jeremiah

  • Jobin Jacob Says:
    February 1st, 2007 at 9:29 am

    I prefer to stick with Windows XP itself. Vista is quiet
    high on system requirements. Seems like the interface has been
    improved along with security features. If you are really a
    hardcore Windows XP fan, I recommend go for it.

  • MistrTim Says:
    February 1st, 2007 at 9:51 am

    Hi Matt,
    Thanks for bringing this to us.. I laughed like crazy as Jon tried to wiggle Bill’s passwords from him (in jest of course)
    It was interesting to watch Bill promote the software, but the info he provided was pretty slim on real content.
    I had a chance to talk with a friend who is a Host provider that was running the Beta version of Vista, and as we were talking he was in the process of removing it. At least with the Beta he wasn’t overly impressed, but he did say that it appeared to be very stable, and for someone like him stability is paramount!
    I also read another article that speaks more to the average user, and we all know that’s where the biggest impact will be made. With 1 Gb Ram requirement for Vista, we are going to see a large segment of users unable to run it, and added to that will be those who prefer sticking with XP (those who are resistant to change), and then add to that all those who will find the price tag more than they can afford… I expect that Vista might not make the “splash” that Microsoft was hoping for.
    5 years and BILLIONS in the development..one might even say Vista has the potential to become the biggest flop of 2007!

  • Jobin Jacob Says:
    February 1st, 2007 at 10:04 am

    I prefer to stick to Win Xp. Vista is high on requirements.
    Vista seems to be stable with added security features and a
    slight improvement in the GUI. If Windows fan go for Vista.

  • Scott LaPlante Says:
    February 1st, 2007 at 10:04 am

    Hi Mark!

    Thanks for the videos, I have talked to other people about this and quite a few might not buy it for some time due to upgrading of the computers or buying a new one just to support windows vista.

    For me, I think I also will wait to get this, my computer is working just fine for now.

    Also,I think Bills’ chilhood pets’ name was Fido.

    Scott

  • MistrTim Says:
    February 1st, 2007 at 10:22 am

    I forgot to add to my comment that it was more interesting to me what Bill DIDN’T say about Vista, than the little he did say. He talked most about the security of Vista, and from what I heard they did include something on the order of 3500 security issues, (as opposed to the 1500 or so in XP). What Bill didn’t talk about was the system requirements, and of course didn’t speak to the latest rumour that Vista had already been hacked ;-)
    Also for any of you checking my site, the link is just new (yesterday) and the website is presently just under development. It should be ready in a few days ;-)

  • donaldo Says:
    February 1st, 2007 at 10:29 am

    re the vista pissa

    bill gates has been over in edinburgh scotland this week conning the scottish government into using vista by investing zillions of cash into schooling for disadvantaged kids. The only advantage the kids will learn is how to con the world into buying a product that doesnt work very well.

    as above comments - I agree that the cost and the “F*** me not another upgrade - I was just getting the hang of XP (short for XPeriment)” will put people off. until they go buy there next PC…..da da de da de da “why is this crashing……help me Bill”. Sorry too busy trying to come up with an iphone thingy…

    all the very best from sunny edinburgh / bonnie scotland
    donaldo
    digitalTRAFFIC

    —

  • Patricia Quackenbush Says:
    February 1st, 2007 at 10:35 am

    I am a newbie to internet marketing. I’m sure I will eventually need more than one computer. Will this new Vista system be applicable as one system to my business or will I need more than one account.

    Comment: Patricia Quackenbush - February 1,2007 11:27am est

  • Paul Legge Says:
    February 1st, 2007 at 11:19 am

    Hi Mark,

    If you have never read a biography or book about Bill, many would be quite surprised at what they might discover about this character. Even with the finalized version, you should still wait like 6 months to let the bugs be fixed that haven’t been found. Personally, I am sticking with XP. One thing for sure, one can learn a lot from Bill as he definitely knows how to make money, but for me, I’ll stick with you Mark, ;0)

  • Fermin Says:
    February 1st, 2007 at 12:04 pm

    Thanks for the videos. I am in the camp of “lets wait a good 6 months to a year” before adopting Vista.

    On another Bill Gates topic: I read somewhere where Bill Gates agrees with the concept of Agloco, letting the users share in some of the revenues being generated by these big internet companies.

    That really got me thinking that this company may be on the right track. Get on board just in case.

    Thanks,

    Fermin

  • Olov Forsgren Says:
    February 1st, 2007 at 12:16 pm

    To me it has always been a mystery how one can bee the richest man on the planet by selling crappy software like the Microsoft products. It must be that they have always been early with hot and useful programs, so early that the quality have been suffering.

    I am using two operating systems, Windows XP and Linux (Red Hat). When I just checked the Linux system for uptime, it had been up for 167 days. While doing that I recalled that 167 days ago I had to take it down in order to move it physically. Compare that to the Windows system which I have to restart a couple of times each week in order to get it to work properly. If you then consider that Microsoft software is developed by people who has enormous resources to their disposal and the Linux system is developed by a bunch of enthusiasts who are working on their own with very limited resources. It’s a mystery indeed.

    I run my Linux system on a seven year old PC and it runs brilliant, but if I want to upgrade my XP, which I run on a one year old PC, to Vista, it’s not possible, I have to buy a brand new one.

    I wonder if it could bee like this. If you make a big mistake the risk of being fired is much higher if you make a mistake very few others make. If you do the same big mistake as everyone else, you are much safer. So I recommend Microsoft because every one else is doing it and I will not change until every one else have changed.

  • Daniel Says:
    February 1st, 2007 at 1:49 pm

    Hay Mark,

    Thanks for allowing me to say a few words here about Vista and yes Bill is Bill as usual. All the above with the issues with Vista and the Hack are true as far as I know so I will not repeat them, what’s the point?

    Well for sure Bill has got the cart before the horse again as always. At this point it seems to be worse than last time with XP. Great Job Bill, Well Done Bill, with the almighty dollar to be made for your pocket and causing operating system problems again for everyone. Just wish he would get it at least correct for the most part the first time.

    Also wish someone would come out with an operating system that is not so expensive and replaced so often. If their really is something some information on cost and good and bad points of the operating system.

    I think most people out on the internet will agree with what I and others have said about this Vista issue. There are so many issues with all this that it would God only knows how many Gigs to explain the ups and downs of the whole Microsoft thing.

    Such crap for the money and so much money for such a short time before the forced replacement with a whole set of new problems to go with the old ones that never go away as I said just new ones to go with the old.

    I have what is to be considered a pretty fast computer setup and all the issues that have always bogged the computer down to the bone I have traced to the operating system WINDOWS 98,2000, and XP every time, hellooooo everyone what is up with that??? Daughhhh Microsoft with Bill BS. as it will most likely always be until we all stand up together and just do something about it.

    Daughhhh fat chance of that as we all can’t seem to be together on anything in this world. Best of Luck to all.

    Enjoy Thanks To All,
    Daniel.

  • Laurence Says:
    February 1st, 2007 at 2:38 pm

    Gee, Mark…where to begin…

    Bill Gates is NOT funny, and Jon Stewart is usually hit-or-miss…so, I’m sorry, but I didn’t find anything particularly illuminating here.

    But, suffice it to say - and I’m sorry if I offend anyone - but Bill Gates, Microsoft, and its products are but a scourge on the planet, nothing more than a huge brain-drain…a soul-snatching pariah…let loose upon the human collective consciousness.

    In the time of John D. Rockefeller, Theodore Roosevelt, and the muckrakers…corporations like Microsoft would have been cut down to size…so they could not dominate the intellectual “property” industry…like they have been allowed today.

    Why, you might ask?

    It’s because this geek and his company have usurped the lever of power over our lives like few others in modern recorded history, for one thing.

    And for another, it makes me physically sick to see another “captain of industry”…another “corporate pirate”…rob us blind us while we actually celebrate him and his acts of piracy in the popular media.

    When part of my wealth is stolen…when I get my pocket picked…and when at least half my productive life is spent trying to figure out how a whole bunch of geeks decided how I might use their operating system…to work alongside a plethora of other branded circuitry…and I allow a part of my freedom to also be taken from me…I can’t, for the life of me, feel like jumping up-and-down from the giddy pleasure of it all.

    It forces me to re-examine what accumulation of wealth and my notions about monetary exchange are doing to me - how I might redefine these things to suit my own purposes.

    We have been forced as marketeers (buccaneers?) to “bow down to” Bill Gates and Microsoft!

    I don’t know about anyone else but I can’t get excited about a world run by man-made machines…any more than I can get all-worked-up about these same machines taking over our lives.

    Who are these men…that we would freely give in to their mega-maniacal machinations?

    Who are we…to buy into this reality…like a theater of sheep…being herded about and bred for human consumption?

    Molly Ivins, the recently-deceased, fondly-remembered and fearless muckraker herself, was once fired as an opinion journalist employed by the New York Times because she once described a “chicken killing festival” as a “gang pluck”.

    I wish like hell someone would castigate me too…if I were to describe a “corporatist takeover” of the planet…and the minds of free men…as a “cluster***k”…

    …because this is exactly the brave new world we live and play in, isn’t it?

    But human nature being what it is, I really do believe the study of marketing should be required subject MATTER FOR EVERYONE on the planet…for its examination into what makes our society tick…it’s so damn sick…because we ourselves stupidly “think” our superior intelligence will somehow ennoble and enrich us…and, therefore, make us celebrated pirates too.

    So, don’t mind me…but I’m off to another “gang pluck”…errr, I mean…”cluster***k”…to the same sort of verisimilitudinous game ALL my people play.

    Care to join in the fun?

    Lark

    Mainspring Mindshares

    [P.S. - Cool logo on the t-shirt, Mark!}

  • Mark Flavin Says:
    February 1st, 2007 at 6:32 pm

    WOW!! loads of different opinions… keep em coming. I agree with Paul & Fermin, I too will be waiting at least 6 months to upgrade.

    Also some interesting points made by Laurence, is it right for one company to have such a stranglehold on such a major market?

    Also thanks to Mistr Tim for the info from someone with first hand experience of Vista.

    Thanks to everyone who posted, keep em coming. Start posting some replies too!! Best post gets a t-shirt!!

  • Paul Bradshaw Says:
    February 1st, 2007 at 11:43 pm

    I think this is going to much the same as any of the other Windows products relesed to date. It will have a few more features to keep us interested but it will also reveal a whole new set of bugs. I have always believed in the saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

    This may be one of the reasons why it took 5 years to release a new version of Windows. XP seems to be doing a fine job of things. Few bugs, smooth running system, etc., etc. The real die-hard, change resistant people may still be using Windows 95 or 98. (This would be unadvisable considering the souce code was released in the internet up to Windows 2000.)

    Sometimes I wonder if the big corporations have hired people to release viruses just to keep the need for bigger & better programs. This is just a conspiracy theory, though.

    Anyway, I’ll be happy with XP for the next while at least. I also agree that it would be advisable to wait 6 months or so. By then there will be patchesand updates to deal with bugs.

    I’ll also keep playing Gear Wars on my Microsoft Xbox 360. I picked it up from Gamecon. Check out the site; it’s new but they got alot of stuff: http://www.storesonlinepro.com/store/1924359/home

  • T.M. Harris Says:
    February 2nd, 2007 at 4:18 am

    Interested in the videos, but I can’t view them :(

  • Lynn Says:
    February 2nd, 2007 at 7:34 am

    It is a great shame that the low-life of society has made it so difficult for the rest of us to have an operating system that is user-configurable. With each new version of Windows, the extra security measures have left us with less freedom to control our own hardware in the way that we wish.

    With Windows 98 and earlier, when something went wrong, you simply went into DOS and reset all your controls and re-installed as necessary. You still had access to all your precious files.

    When something goes wrong with XP, it can completely lock you out of your own PC. This happened to me a few years ago and it was only due to the fact that I had an installer file on my network together with a copy of the old DOS based PKZIP, that I was eventually (after about 12 hours) able to regain control of my system.

    The other thing I hate is the assumption that we all want to store everything we have in a “My Documents” folder. XP has an annoying habit of creating folders I don’t want and placing them in places I don’t want them! Even as an experienced user, it has taken me years to discover ways in which I can “configure” XP to organise my files the way I want them.

    Vista is even going to be even worse in this respect. From what I’ve seen of it so far, it looks like a facsimile of Mac OSX. Since my Mac is the only machine I have that is powerful enough to run Vista, I doubt that I will be requiring a copy of it.

    As far as the other machines on my network, I have one running XP, one running windows 98SE and one running Linux Ubuntu. If it wasn’t for the fact that I also enjoy playing the occasional graphics intensive game, I would not need Windows at all, as Ubuntu includes everything else and its all free.

  • Sergej Rinc Says:
    February 8th, 2007 at 9:20 am

    Well, first some common facts for all wanting to upgrade to Vista. Don’t change a system (your PC) which works. Every Windows upgrade I’ve experienced (say, more than 200 in 11 years) was not 100% successful. Talk about drivers, missing links, false registry etc.

    Buy Vista with a new laptop you plan to have. That’s chepaest method to have brand new hardware and software if you like. For moving up your existing software I read good news from my friends for one very affordable product from Serif Software which is not their’s but probably discounted PCMover for $49.95, best review I’ve found was title="Techgage review">this one.

    (Serif is known to not sell latest and greatest version of various software but Laplink is offering upgrades so don’t blame me if you buy anything from above links - I just like to suggest there are better options than File Transfer and Settings Wizard or so in XP)

    I don’t like Microsoft but they have probably (beside marketing) world’s biggest usability team in IT company. That brings benefits like faster searches, easier application switching (in Vista), new “ribbon” bar in Office etc which ease and shorten time to actually do your work on computer. That’s worth any reasonable price if you ask me.

    You have an option - one of Linux distributions. I personally like SuSE/Novell but there are others like Ubuntu. You have a document option, too - Microsoft helps developing free converter called OpenXML Translator between OpenXML (MS Office format) and OpenDocument format - ODF - (OpenOffice format among others) so you are not tied to file formats which might be unreadable in couple of years. Many governments in the world are standardizing to ODF.

    For the memory requirements - Vista’s joke of faster working is that mostly used applications reside in memory longer so if you close one application and soon after that run it again it will open much more quickly. Even USB key you plug in will help with that etc.

    But your system will work with 512 MB many PCs now have. It might just need more time for graphic display and disk operations … and every Windows version till now works faster with more memory. And for the graphic card requirement - if you don’t need new user interface called Aero you might as well work like now in XP with an average graphic card these days (64-128 MB RAM).

    So, counting also on speech, Internet and other features Microsoft is getting there - to one box which will be a PC, TV and entertainment center. Vista won’t run it yet though Vista Home Premium is getting closer (forget about special XP Media Center edition - it’s features are now integrated).

    Final note about laptops and Vista - go for at least ATI Radeon 1600 (or
    1800) or NVidia GEForce 7600 based graphic card to have responsive Aero interface and games, too … but that means more expensive laptop (with 1 GB RAM, 120+ GB disk etc). At least you won’t be dissapointed, mind you.

    And always remember - computer must wait on you, not you on computer. In that regard Vista is recommended because hardware upgrades (possibly just RAM and graphic card) will cost you less than Vista’s price but might let you finish your work faster than now.

    And before somebody asks me a question about recommended laptop I’m considering Toshiba Satellite Pro A100-921 as a good price/performance/quality model but you might get it cheaper than me in my country (arround $1500).

  • tina gregory Says:
    February 8th, 2007 at 10:22 am

    thanks alot, Bill Gates is a favorite of mine! I want to grow up and be just like him! :)

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