As they say in comedy, if you have to explain 'em, don't do 'em. So, maybe this spot is too geek for the room.
For a baby bear explanation there's Robert McMillan in InfoWorld : "UAC has been one of Vista's most controversial features with early testers complaining that they were overwhelmed with pop-up messages warning them about every little change they made to the system."
For the mama bear explanation there's Paul Thurrott's review: "In use, UAC can be annoying, and while you can turn off this feature from within the User Accounts control panel, I advise you not to do so. UAC's predecessors on other systems prove the worth of this type of protection, and the truth is, you won't really see UAC rear its ugly head all that often once your applications are all installed and your system is fully configured. The occasional minor irritation is definitely worth the peace of mind: Thanks to UAC, spyware and other malware will have a harder time silently installing themselves on your PC.
"In managed environments, UAC can be configured to specifically block certain applications as well. This means that IT administrators can prevent users from running applications that are known to be dangerous, of course, but they can also filter out applications such that might be undesirable at work, such as instant messaging, file sharing, and digital media solutions."
And if you want to hear from papa bear himself, head to Jim Allchin's blog. I dare you.
I took your dare... But a few paragraphs in, the fog of Microsoft prose began to engulf me, and I extricated myself and ran for daylight.
My main trouble with the Mac spot wasn't the technical content, but the confusing way it's presented. There's a guy standing there, you wonder "who's he," he speaks alert box gibberish, you figure out he's some kinda security wall... This, while following the 3-way dialogue, which is as wordy as usual in these ads.
So if I'm Joe Shmoe half watching the teevee (and I am), it's a lot of density to wade through. Joe may well say "I won't dense, don't ask me."
I say, take out the third guy (Mr. UAC) and replace him with supered dialogue boxes over Hodgman, with him having to push a button before he can do anything. These hypothetical boxes would have to suggest the Windows look without actually ripping it off, I guess.
Of course, this cut of the ad already exists in a parallel universe, so never mind.
P.S.: The enjoyably named Jim Allchin brings us to today's stumper:
Who was Mr. Tremblechin? And, for extra credit, What was the name of Mr. Tremblechin's boss?
5 comments:
Nice, pointed ad, but I think a little dense for the casual, non-geeky viewer.
I'm non-casual and non-non-geeky, but it took me a couple of viewings to sort out the trialogue.
Still, Touché! (Am I using that right?)
As they say in comedy, if you have to explain 'em, don't do 'em. So, maybe this spot is too geek for the room.
For a baby bear explanation there's Robert McMillan in InfoWorld : "UAC has been one of Vista's most controversial features with early testers complaining that they were overwhelmed with pop-up messages warning them about every little change they made to the system."
For the mama bear explanation there's Paul Thurrott's review: "In use, UAC can be annoying, and while you can turn off this feature from within the User Accounts control panel, I advise you not to do so. UAC's predecessors on other systems prove the worth of this type of protection, and the truth is, you won't really see UAC rear its ugly head all that often once your applications are all installed and your system is fully configured. The occasional minor irritation is definitely worth the peace of mind: Thanks to UAC, spyware and other malware will have a harder time silently installing themselves on your PC.
"In managed environments, UAC can be configured to specifically block certain applications as well. This means that IT administrators can prevent users from running applications that are known to be dangerous, of course, but they can also filter out applications such that might be undesirable at work, such as instant messaging, file sharing, and digital media solutions."
And if you want to hear from papa bear himself, head to Jim Allchin's blog. I dare you.
I took your dare... But a few paragraphs in, the fog of Microsoft prose began to engulf me, and I extricated myself and ran for daylight.
My main trouble with the Mac spot wasn't the technical content, but the confusing way it's presented. There's a guy standing there, you wonder "who's he," he speaks alert box gibberish, you figure out he's some kinda security wall... This, while following the 3-way dialogue, which is as wordy as usual in these ads.
So if I'm Joe Shmoe half watching the teevee (and I am), it's a lot of density to wade through. Joe may well say "I won't dense, don't ask me."
I say, take out the third guy (Mr. UAC) and replace him with supered dialogue boxes over Hodgman, with him having to push a button before he can do anything. These hypothetical boxes would have to suggest the Windows look without actually ripping it off, I guess.
Of course, this cut of the ad already exists in a parallel universe, so never mind.
P.S.: The enjoyably named Jim Allchin brings us to today's stumper:
Who was Mr. Tremblechin? And, for extra credit, What was the name of Mr. Tremblechin's boss?
Well, I liked the spot. It made me laugh. Especially the punch word. Which, come to think of it, is the part you're supposed to laugh at.
As for Mr. Tremblechin and his boss, they're outside the areas of my expertise.
But I'll give you a tip of the Mickeleh Yarmulke for suggesting the question.
And now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go put a little iodine on a boo boo.
Thanx for the yarmulke tip, Mr Bigdome!
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