Sometimes I really wonder how it is that Apple hasn’t kicked Microsoft‘s butt up and down the marketplace by now. Witness these ever-so-useful logos intended to help hardware shoppers make the right decisions. Together they’re a coup of non-helpful graphic design cloaked in uninformative marketing noise.
Our first contestant, in the tasteful if subdued grey, is the “Works with Windows Vista” logo. As one might imagine, this means that the manufacturer and reseller of the product you’re looking at will inter-operate appropriately with Windows Vista. Upon digging a little into the 315-page PDF detailing the harware requirements, I find the following, somewhat-more-helpful description of “Works with Windows Vista:”
“Basic” logo level (previously known as “silver” or “standard” logo level )
A product being tested is deemed compliant when it meets the basic logo requirements as defined in this document. This level of compliance indicates to a customer that the product works well with Windows. The basic logo requirements ensure reliability, stability, security, and proper installation, as well as implements functionality that take advantage of some of the latest Windows innovations.
Systems that are “certified for Windows Vista,” on the other hand, provide the “richest experience” for the upper-end variety of Vista’s bewildering assortment of variant releases. This basically means that they think Aero and Media Player will function well on them, and your system probably won’t be totally obsolete in a couple of months. A less spit-polished marketing-department version:
“Premium” logo level (previously known as “gold” logo level )
A product being tested is deemed compliant when it meets the premium logo requirements as defined in this document. This level of compliance indicates to a customer that the product enables additional or enhanced capability with Windows, thereby enabling a premium experience. For audio devices, although the basic logo includes requirements for basic audio support, the premium logo includes requirements to support high fidelity to enhance the audio experience.
This leaves me, of course, wondering why they even bothered differentiating. Why not make a “Certified for Windows Vista” seal of approval and let the penny-pinching plebians ask themselves if they’re really ready to upgrade quite yet? Now, the different logos mean different things, granted. What they fail to do is immediately and clearly communicate these differences to the consumer. “Works with Windows Vista” means “Works with Windows Home Basic” while “Certified for Windows Vista” means “Works with Windows Vista.”
Damn you, Apple, why can’t you run your company competitively? These tools have been mopping up the market with your sorry ass for years, so what does that say about you?
Apple’s industrial design and marketing have always been more than enough to bring in the dough and and allow them to provide awesome and reliable products. It is ironic that Microsoft, with their lack of shimmer and cyclopian approach to marketing, have out-sold Apple for so many years, yet there is little question, at least in my own mind, as to who has the superior product.
Speaking of the inherent superiority of Apple products, have you had any luck getting those Matroska files to run on that red-headed stepchild of an OS of yours?
Touche, mungo-man. Touche…
Nice use of cyclopian by the way, Lovecraft would be proud. 😉