Microsoft's Mojave Experiment "promotes" Vista -- Ashton Kutcher-style

You may have heard that Microsoft is "like, totally serious, guys" about patching up Vista's good name, and, well, so far they're off to a rocky start. After pushing up a few lackluster web ads, they've decided to trick users en masse to prove a point. They've termed the Punk'ing the "Mojave Experiment," which placed 120 regular computer users of all different OS persuasions in front of a Vista box, except they were told they were getting to look at the next Microsoft OS, codenamed "Mojave." Results of the test will be unveiled tomorrow in what are sure to be glowing customer reports. Scientific validity of this test aside, we're not exactly sure testimonials from a blind taste test are going to turn the tide of Vista ill-will, but now we're starting to sound like Demi Moore our parents.

[Via Techdirt]

[Lamp @ Jul 28th 2008 5:15PM]

10 minutes to rate an OS?

inadequate me thinks.

[King Mustard @ Jul 28th 2008 5:17PM]

First impressions are important.

[DYLAN C @ Jul 28th 2008 5:19PM]

The keyword is "demo". Of course their not going to be able to show them in-depth features such as a networking or audio stack and new multi-task management in 10 minutes.

It just serves as a "demo".

[BigD145 @ Jul 28th 2008 5:18PM]

If it takes 10 minutes to boot, that's adequate enough to rate it. If it take 30 seconds to boot and over 9 minutes to ask permission to open one program, that's also adequate.

[John @ Jul 28th 2008 5:20PM]

Vista takes 10 minutes to fresh install and be at the desktop vs the 45minutes to an hour on XP

[BigD145 @ Jul 28th 2008 5:22PM]

How often do you fresh install, John? You must do it often if you're worried so much about the time it takes.

[John @ Jul 28th 2008 5:25PM]

I recently went from 32bit to 64bit and happened to notice how long it took to install. Took another 20 minutes to do a complete restore of all my automatic backups.

[Zorque @ Jul 28th 2008 5:53PM]

BigD(some numbers): It takes 30 seconds to turn off UAC.

[yibrushn @ Jul 28th 2008 7:17PM]

I love Vista TOO :) I can't stand the morons that have never used it or try to run it on a $400 budget comp that really would only run win98 well tell me that it's a "TOTAL FAILURE". How dumb.

[Nohone @ Jul 28th 2008 7:33PM]

Why would 10 minutes be inadequate? Apple fan boys are able to rate everything ever produced by Apple as absolutely perfect and without flaws before they are ever released and just a glimmer in The Jobs (PBUH) glorious mind. They are also able to determine that everything else is utter crap before it is released and without even trying it.

So why is it a stretch to say "Hey, this is not bad" in only 10 minutes?

[ill trooper @ Jul 28th 2008 8:52PM]

"First impressions are important."

Agreed. Which is why the world looks at Vista how it does, with a scornful sideways glance... "Who farted?"

[roach @ Jul 28th 2008 11:10PM]

... and no actors with scripts.

[loosely_coupled @ Jul 29th 2008 1:12AM]

No kidding! This is the stupidest BS I've ever seen. The problems with Vista are not READILY APPARENT! Now, go buy a retail copy and try to install it on a 2 year old PC and get it working with all your old hardware and software!

On a new decent-spec PC, Vista runs just fine. Is it worth the ~$200 to upgrade from XP Pro? Not to me! There are just not enough features to justify it. All the primary "new" features of Vista are already available (and better most of the time) from third party software. Software and hardware compatibility have no doubt gotten better since it's launch, but it still can be a nightmare upgrading an old PC.

Also, For me at least, XP just feels a lot faster and lighter.

[Andrew Fong @ Jul 29th 2008 6:00AM]

So the other day, I dug out an old Win98 laptop I hadn't touched in four years. It's been through it's fair share of wear and tear -- keyboard falling apart, spyware, etc.

Amazingly though, it just felt fast. Responsive. More so than XP, Vista, or even OS X or Ubuntu. Old version of MS Word booted up quickly, the menus popped open quickly, and web browser launched in record time.

Of course, it crashed really fast as well, but I was more than a little surprised that an old OS could feel that zippy. Makes you wonder how fast these next-gen OSes could be if you just turned off everything you didn't need.

[Vincent Nhieu @ Jul 30th 2008 9:52AM]

Also a Windows Vista Ultimate x64 user since it was released. Rock solid stable. I'm starting to be annoyed by the Vista bashers because:
1. They never used it before for more than 1 day
2. They listen to all the "other" people that bashes Vista.
3. They complain and blame Vista if there is ANY slight problem that has nothing to do with Microsoft at all.

And UAC is NOT annoying, it is annoying because you keep doing something that changes the system directly or indirectly, which in why in first place you are not supposed to doing that. (I mean who the hell clicks on device manager, copies files into the system directories, rename files in system directories & start menu, etc ALL the time?)

[Kris @ Jul 28th 2008 5:16PM]

Sometimes I think I'm the only one who likes Vista... oh well.

[Jamma @ Jul 28th 2008 5:21PM]

I'm with ya pal, vista works fine if you buy an adequate computer with vista pre-installed

[Nik @ Jul 28th 2008 5:25PM]

Exactly, I don't get what's wrong with it, it works fine for me. Is it because it's not apple?

[Shinigami @ Jul 28th 2008 5:25PM]

I'm with ya pals. Vista works fine if you buy a decent PC AND a licensed copy of Windows, either pre-installed or purchased by you.
Pirated Vistas are piece of crap, same as most of other pirated software. Always get licensed software, friends.

[Kamokazi @ Jul 28th 2008 5:27PM]

I won't let you get low-ranked on your own. I'll admit it. I like Vista, too.

But there are certainly a hell of a lot of caveats. There are some annoying new things you have to get used to (UAC is only the beginning of the security headaches). It needs some tweaking to get performance up a bit--and don't even think about it on older hardware with less than 1GB RAM...and you really want 2. Driver/App compatibility was pretty bad, but it's MUCH MUCH better now. I rarely run into a problem with it anymore.

But there's a lot to like: The file copying dialog is probably my favorite (it's the simple things in life..), Network and Sharing Center, tweaks to the folder explorer navigation, the Personal folder w/ subfolders layout (Download folder finally omfg). And yes, the damn eye candy always helps (but if you need performance turn it the hell off). I've been using it on my work laptop for a little over a year now, and I prefer it over XP...using XP now seems a little antiquated, missing features, etc.

I wouldn't recommend anyone currently using XP to go out and buy the upgrade, but if you're buying a new PC and willing to give it time, you may just end up liking it.

[Brian @ Jul 28th 2008 5:33PM]

I love my Vista. The only problems I've run into with Vista are drivers... very little of which can be faulted to Microsoft.

[Forrest @ Jul 28th 2008 5:42PM]

I'm loving Vista.

I would agree, though, that you're more likely to get better results on a machine with it pre-loaded. It works well enough on my desktop, but nVidia's drivers for SLI on 64 bit Vista with my cards (7800 GTs) are, well, sucktastic.

Vista runs beautifully on my laptop, though, and I feel like I'm stepping back in time when I sit down in front of my desktop.

[Anthony @ Jul 28th 2008 5:48PM]

I actually like the idea of Vista, but have had problems with incompatibility & driver issues. You can blame the 3rd party vendors, but at some point MS needs to work things out.

In fact, I'm currently setting up my second Lexmark printer because the first was so buggy with Vista (frequent "loss of communication" messages) while my XP laptop worked just fine all the time.

[Mills @ Jul 28th 2008 5:49PM]

I love vista too, and this is coming from a hardcore apple fanboy. I dual boot vista ultimate on my MBP and wouldnt use anything else. I hate xp, cant stand linux, but vista is a beautiful operating system....

and i dont care what anyone says about UAC, the first time i used a vista comp, I actually felt safe about browsing the internet and typing in passwords...

[M Burke @ Jul 28th 2008 5:50PM]

dittos... 64bit is a dream. And I can install it on whatever hardware I own, I don't have to buy it from Microsoft (or Apple).

[Drew Green @ Jul 28th 2008 5:50PM]

Never had a problem with Vista. I love it. Been using it since Jan. 31 2007 (release day).

[Mark Anderson @ Jul 28th 2008 5:54PM]

I like it too, especially as the third party drivers work now.

I'm looking at you nVidia.

[Andir3.0 @ Jul 28th 2008 6:04PM]

My only post on this topic:

"The only problems I've run into with Vista are drivers... very little of which can be faulted to Microsoft"

Remember that when you claim to never want to use Linux for lack of software or hardware support.

That is all.

[Brad @ Jul 28th 2008 6:51PM]

It would be great to show engadget a few of pages of how everyone is actually loving Vista...I know I do!!! And it works GREAT!

Maybe then, their Vista coverage (and Microsoft stories in general) will have a more positive spin from their fruit loving writers. BTW, most people that read your site are smart enough to pick up on your slight remarks of insult.

SO POST:
How much u love VISTA!
FTW!

[EliteBeatsAgent08 @ Jul 28th 2008 6:53PM]

I'm with you guys.

I love Vista and I'm not ashamed of it in the least. Honestly a very sweet OS that looks good and performs well on my laptop.

[Alber1690 @ Jul 28th 2008 7:16PM]

Yay! We're not alone! Let our voices be heard, loud and strong. The silence has forever been broken, we can use Vista freely now...

[Good_Bytes @ Jul 28th 2008 7:21PM]

I love as well.
You must remember something.
People tend not to go "OMG IT"S FREAKING AMAZING!!!!" when stuff works perfectly... ok I lie... some Mac...fanatics/enthusiast does that, but you know what I mean.
People tends to speak up loud when stuff doesn't work. But wit their is the Internet. A person name usually varies form forum to forum, and the unhappy people (I am being general here, this is true for almost every product), will share their bad experience on many sites. So you and me, as reader sees that more people actually hate a product then what they actually are.

[Mr. Snuggle Bunny @ Jul 28th 2008 8:53PM]

I'm with you guys as well. Vista Ultimate runs flawlessly on my 2Ghz machine with 1.5GB of RAM. I've used it on 1.8Ghz and 768 MB of RAM before as well, and I don't see why people complain about it being a resource hog. Worked fine for me.

But then again, I do simple web browsing and some gaming as well. It just makes me mad when people ASSUME Vista would have the PC crawling with a 1.5 Ghz processor and 512MB of RAM without even using it themselves.

Vista runs just as good as XP did when I had it on this machine, and it opens up applications a bit faster too.

[ill trooper @ Jul 28th 2008 9:04PM]

Look how cute this is! All of you guys writing about how much you like Vista, how "it just works," and how you don't care about if no one else likes it.

...and high-ranking each other as well!

Cute.

[Matt @ Jul 28th 2008 11:09PM]

Some driver incompatibility IS actually Microsoft's fault.
Well, I have an HP printer for which no Vista driver was released. But the driver for some other HP printers that was included with Vista works fine with it. However, Vista did not detect this, I had to install it manually, and I only found out through trying various drivers and getting information from a Linux printing site.

[Hamidxa @ Jul 28th 2008 11:50PM]

Count me in too.

Vista is the best OS i've used to date, bar none, going all the way back to the Pre-Windows days at that.

[WilfordBrimley @ Jul 29th 2008 12:49AM]

I agree hardware drivers cause much of Vista's headaches. I saw a few weeks ago that Creative Labs finally updated their Audigy 2 driver for the first time in 15 months. This came 3 months after Vista SP1 hit Windows Update, which refused to install SP1 if it detected the old Audigy 2 driver.

When Microsoft explicitly codes a hard block against installing a long-awaited service pack upon detecting the presence of your year-old driver, you know your driver support is lame.

[Robert @ Jul 29th 2008 1:04AM]

Me likey Vista too. It has been very very good to me.

[Macca @ Jul 29th 2008 3:51AM]

@ill trooper

Your outnumbered.

I use XP, but I've wanted Vista since just before SP1, seeing as NVidia have been working hard to get drivers working well.

[chickenator @ Jul 29th 2008 3:56AM]

"vista fanboys spotted!"

[chansthename @ Jul 29th 2008 3:57AM]

I find that vistqa should never be installed on a computer without a decent graphics card but on my laptop a inspiron 1520 ive been using XP Pro. my computer needed a fresh install so i upgraded to vista and i can say my computer has never been faster. Ilove vista now i was reluctant after all the bad reviews but my only niggle with vista is the way i have to install msi files

[shawnmos @ Jul 29th 2008 7:04AM]

I love Vista and I don't know how I lived without it's Media Center.

[ViaTorci @ Jul 29th 2008 10:42AM]

Vista is fantastic. Never had it crash even after extensive tweaking. Never gotten a virus. UAC only pops up occasionally and takes only 3 seconds to click through. Only a few programs don't work by default but are fixed by running them in compatability mode. All the new features are wonderful and time-saving. Not to mention the OS looks wonderful. This is coming from someone who uses OSX on a daily basis at work, and dabbles in Linux frequently. OSX feels like it's too cushioned and restricted preventing me from digging deep into the OS (though my terminal was disabled by the sysadmin). The programs I need for my livliehood don't run in Linux or WINE and have no quality substitutes (yet). For know, my only choice is Vista.

[Mike10010100 @ Jul 29th 2008 11:21AM]

I just got an hp touchsmart 2 computer, and it was the first vista computer my mom and i had in the house. She has had a vista computer at her office since vista came out. Gotta say that the touchsmart is extremely useful. It's sitting in our kitchen as a replacement for our tv. We can look up recepies, watch tv, and access our other pc's in the house and at my mom's office. It has the same processor specs as my desktop computer, which is running xp, and i've noticed that it pulls up firefox (as well as other applications) faster than my desktop. It also doesn't come with bloatware. Like none. There were about 5 icons on the desktop screen and none of them were to sign up for things.

Vista is good on a computer that was made to run it. Don't kid yourself into thinking it's going to run on a 2 year old computer. That's not the way Microsoft works.

[B166Er @ Jul 31st 2008 1:37AM]

Can't deny it, I love Vista as well. I'm a power user, as I do audio/video, and while I wasn't happy with my hardware vendors for their slow driver rollout, Vista has NOT crashed on me ever and my second machine (my testbed) is a pirated version, only cause I put everything that's junk on there (OSX, Linux, pirated stuff I might buy.), its still a trooper! I cant imagine how anyone could possibly have a true basis for hating Vista other than UAC, which I'm still not happy about, I'd rather have the option of turning it off at install, and no annoying nags telling me I need it on.

[Jonathan Keim @ Jul 28th 2008 5:17PM]

Better hope those 120 don't hear this news before tomorrow... or wait, wasn't Vista out for like over a year?

[neofolklore @ Jul 29th 2008 8:16AM]

another top secret launch party in the Mojave desert.

I went to ZERO HOUR, the xbox360 launch event, I'll spoil everything:

Palmdale, CA
Hangar 703

[Todd @ Jul 28th 2008 5:18PM]

Nothing new. I have been getting "punk'd" by Microsoft since the late 1980s.

[John @ Jul 28th 2008 5:18PM]

Why dont you guys bitch about Pizza Hut's Tuscani pasta commercial that fooled new yorkers in the same way?

[Al @ Jul 28th 2008 5:41PM]

Carl's Jr. did the same thing.