Low End Mac Reader Specials

TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com

OWC: We Make DIY Upgrading Easy! Maximize your Apple MacBook / MacBook Pro. Up to 8.0GB Memory, up to 1.0TB HD & More. Easy Guide + Free, Detailed Installation Videos. Click here

Poker Mac Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full Tilt Poker Mac.

Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.

Stop the Noiz

How Microsoft's Reality Distortion Field Works

Frank Fox - 2008.03.04 - Tip Jar

Popularity: LEMLEMLEM

del.icio.us Bookmark in del.icio.us

Who has the best Reality Distortion Field, Apple or Microsoft?

Picture this: Steve Ballmer is in his office throwing chairs. He shouts, "Why aren't we the market leaders in software for music. We are the largest software company in the world. How can Apple possibly beat us with their tiny R&D budget?"

"What should we do?" his hovering sycophants ask.

He yells back, "Start up the reality distortion field, turn the FUD up to maximum volume. And don't forget who we are trying to copy."

The events that follow:

Fear

Ballmer calling all the major music executives. "You know, Apple with their market share has got you guys by the balls. They won't move on their pricing scheme that only helps to make them rich. Give us lenient terms and help us launch our own competing music store. Sign us up for some exclusive content so we can show we are better than Apple."

Uncertainty

Ballmer talks to the press about how wireless sharing will be great on the Zune - and Apple doesn't have it. Later, when a hot new product is soon to be released by Apple, he talks smack about how expensive it is and how no one will buy it.

Doubt

And last but not least, Ballmer starts the engine for creating false marketing buzz:

  1. Find some loser guy who'll tattoo Zune on this body.
  2. Talk about how well your product did for one week after release compared to a single model of iPod. Claim this shows you will be catching up to Apple soon.
  3. Make promises about how future products will out perform anything Apple is making today. (This doesn't require you actually are working on these, you only need to give the impression that you are and will out do any competitor.)

Then feed news to those favored media sources that take pleasure in hyping Microsoft and trashing Apple whenever they can. Encourage these stories to be picked up by bloggers, who will spread the FUD around.

It is a well-used recipe that Microsoft has spent years perfecting. Just look how long they strung the business world and the media while they first promised Longhorn and eventually rushed it out the door renamed as Vista. They are masters of "reality distortion".

Think about it this way. Apple doesn't often discuss future plans. They like the element of surprise. So whatever "reality distortion" Jobs uses, he has to do it with an actual product or software that is going on sale. Compare this to Microsoft, who for years bragged about their next operating system and didn't have to produce anything but vaporware promises and beta copies.

The Best RDF

Now ask yourself, who has the best reality distortion field?

If you said Apple, you are correct. Microsoft is just a bag of hot air selling bug-riddled software and copycat hardware. They distort reality only enough to create FUD about other people's products and false promises about their own.

Steve Jobs has a tougher job: he draws you into seeing a live product as something special and makes you want to open your pocket book. Now that takes a little bit more talent.

Until next time, try to stay away from all RDFs greater than a Macworld Expo. LEM

Recent Stop the Noiz Columns

Links for the Day

Recent Content on Low End Mac

Recent Deals

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2009 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
  LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
  Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
  Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
  PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
  Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, iPhone, PowerBook, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.

Custom Search

Amazon.com

Navigation

Used Mac Dealers
Apple History
Video Cards
Email Lists

Favorite Sites

MacSurfer
MacMinute
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
Macs Only!
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac
   Museum
DealMac
DealsOnTheWeb
Mac2Sell
ramseeker
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System 6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End
   Mac FAQ
Abandonware
   Petition
Mac vs. PC Info

Affiliates

The Apple Store
Mac Connection
B&H
MacMall
TechRestore
ExperCom
Crucial Memory
batteries.com

Advertise

All of our advertising is handled by BackBeat Media. For price quotes and advertising information, please contact at BackBeat Media (646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only.

Open Link

Problems viewing this page with Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6? It works fine in other browsers, including IE 7. We recommend Firefox for those using Windows, as it is standards based and more secure than IE 6 (and earlier). More LEM visitors use Firefox than any other browser.