GUIs 'forced' on people (was Re: Here's something to consider.)

From: Eric Smith <eric_at_brouhaha.com>
Date: Wed Sep 16 19:26:03 1998

Sam Ismail <dastar_at_ncal.verio.com> wrote:
> Oh, I disagree.
...
> M-A-R-K-E-T-I-N-G
...
> Mac vs. Windows - who won? Microsoft. Why? Marketing.
> PowerPC vs. Pentium - who won? Intel. Why? Marketing.
> Those are simply two of the most obvious examples.
>
> Anyway, sorry for the rambling. But I hope you see my point. The

No, I don't see your point. You wave around the word "Marketing" as if
it was magic. (Which perhaps you are asserting that it is.)

However, you don't give any *evidence* to support your claims.

Although there can be no "proof" either way, I at least cited a possible
(and widely believed) non-marketing reason for the success of VHS over Beta.
You neither refuted my example, nor did you provide support for your claim
that marketing is the primary cause in your two examples.

I could just as easily claim that Mac vs. Windows and PowerPC vs. Pentium
were decided by consumers solely on the basis of cost. I could probably
come up with half a dozen other expanations that have nothing to do with
marketing. I don't need to invoke any mystical, unsupported "marketing"
claim.

I won't deny that marketing influences consumer perceptions and decisions;
that would be absurd. However, I think you grossly overestimate the
degree to which marketing is able to override other considerations that
consumers may have.

For instance, before 1990, Apple had much better marketing than Microsoft,
yet Microsoft was outselling Apple by a considerable margin even then.

Eric


This isn't an argument; it's just contradiction.
No it isn't.
          -- Monty Python's argument clinic sketch
Received on Wed Sep 16 1998 - 19:26:03 BST