How Microsoft Can Fix Their "Stodgy" Image

Recently, brandchannel.com asked about 2,000 people a set of questions regarding popular brands. Questions like "What brand do you think is truly 'green'?" and "What brand can you not live without?" Presented on their Web page are the top five answers for each question, with percentages and some choice quotes. Apple came out on top in many of the categories, with many lavish quotes about how wonderful the company and its products are. Microsoft didn't fare so well, "winning" only those questions that have a negative connotation, such as "If you could rebrand any brand, what brand would it be?"

Of course, this is about as poorly constructed a poll as you can get. It's an online survey of site readers with a relatively small sample group, which means fans (or employees) of any company could easily flood the system and skew results. Still, it holds some merit. If Apple fans flooded the online polling, the results might not be accurate, but it then begs the question: Why doesn't Microsoft (or Ford, or Coca-Cola) have the kinds of fans that will flood online surveys in its favor? In truth, I think Microsoft's brand power certainly has languished in recent years, and the trend is probably continuing to sour as its competitors in multiple areas (Apple, Firefox, Sony, etc.) continue to pressure the company with market-share gains.

All hope is not lost, though. Microsoft is a powerful brand that is certainly known by a huge percentage of the populace, and making sure the brand conjures good thoughts and feelings can have a big payoff. Here are five ways Microsoft can turn their brand around.

Five Ways to Fix Microsoft's Brand Image

1. Cooler advertising: Microsoft shows all the time with their internal corporate videos that they have a sense of humor. Their ads in magazines and on TV are the very definition of boring, though. I can just see a room full of marketing executives analyzing ads, making sure there's nothing that would offend anyone even a little, scouring ads to make sure every ethnic and racial group is represented, going over a "bullet point list" of product features that need to be mentioned, etc.

There are too many cooks in the kitchen. Let one creative type make an "image" ad that doesn't discuss any product features, with a single goal in mind: Make people smile (or even laugh) and associate that feeling with a Microsoft product usually not tied to such feelings like Office or Vista. Here's a hint for the marketing people: Showing other people smiling and laughing in your commercial is not the same thing

.

2. Put the old guys away: Never trot out Steve Ballmer or Ray Ozzie at a press conference, convention keynote, or product demo where there are going to be lots of users and press in attendance. Save those guys for the corporate meetings and business briefings. I know they're high-ups in the company, but they're not great public presenters for an age where thousands of potential customers are going to watch streaming video online of their pitch. The company has more dynamic, youthful execs (lower-level execs). Train them to be good presenters and have a little fun on stage. Conference presentations are no longer seen by just the few hundred people in the room, they're seen by your customers. You'd think a company that keeps trying to launch a YouTube competitor would get that.

3. Xbox marks the spot: Hey, the Xbox brand is great. People love their Xbox 360s. People all over the country camped out overnight in the November cold to get 'em—how many other Microsoft products got that kind of reception? Not Vista, that's for sure. The Xbox brand resonates better with its customers than the Microsoft brand not only because it's an entertainment device, but because the experience is totally different from other Microsoft products.

4. Open the Kimono: Isn't it odd that Apple, one of the most closed, hostile, and secretive computer companies around, is so well-loved? How do you combat that? By going the other way! Actually, Microsoft has opened up a lot in the last several years, letting its employees blog about what they like (within reason) and demoing cool new technologies like Worldwide Telescope. But Microsoft works on a ton of cool things that it never shows anyone. And it works on them too long, letting more nimble companies beat them to the punch.

5. Make Windows 7 the First Non-Windows OS: Your marketing execs will never let this fly, but you shouldn't listen to them. The next Windows after Vista should not be called "Microsoft Windows ______." Drop the Windows moniker from your next OS. Seriously! Sure, your marketing guys will jump up and argue about all the "brand equity" in Windows. Bullcrap. A past history of zillions of sales does not automatically equal future success.

What "equity" there is in the Windows brand is not positive, it's baggage. The expectation is that a "Windows" OS is not secure (even though that's not entirely true), hard to use (again not true), buggy (okay, sort of), crashes a lot (that can certainly happen), and so on. Yes, everyone knows "Windows." And they hate it. It's time to re-brand the most valuable part of your business. Nothing will tell the public, and corporations, that Microsoft is "moving on to something better" and that "maybe this time will be different" more than moving to what would be the company's first non-Windows OS since the days of DOS.

It gives you an automatic excuse for any incompatibilities that pop up, and you get to claim "compatible with most of your Windows applications!" like it's some sort of novel thing. It gives you license (and imperative) to drop decade-old Windows UI conventions in favor of something better. But most importantly, it gives every potential customer in the world hope. Hope that the next operating system won't do any of the bad things they don't like about their current one. It's going to be ten times harder to convince people of that if the next OS, regardless of what it is, carries the Windows name.

How to beat spyware and viruses, 2008 edition

The last time I wrote a piece on how to remove spyware from your computer was in 2006. Time for an update, I think. Here's my perennial "How to Beat Spyware" howto, revised and updated for 2008 (and combined into a single file instead of two parts).

Here's what to do if you suspect an infection on your Windows PC. (Please note these steps apply to both Windows XP and Vista.)

1) Are you sure it's spyware or a virus? Windows pop-ups and alerts can often seem invasive enough to be viruses, especially with Vista. Try searching the web for the exact text you see on the screen to make sure you aren't dealing with an aggressive Windows message. (Many of these can be turned off, so try whatever instructions you find.) On the other hand, some viruses masquerade as Windows alerts, so tread lightly.

2) Boot in safe mode.
If you have a virus, first step is to try booting in safe mode. You can get to safe mode (a simplified version of Windows that disables
a lot of extra gunk, possibly including some spyware apps) by
restarting your PC and tapping F8 during boot. Soon you'll get a menu
of options. Select "Safe Mode" (it's at the top of the menu) and wait
for the machine to fully boot. The system will look funny (with a black
background and larger icons, probably), but don't worry about it. This
is only temporary. (Also note that many spyware applications
can disable safe mode, so if you find this doesn't work, just boot
normally.)

3) Run your antivirus application. This is of
course assuming you have an antivirus application. (Need one? Check here.) You're in safe mode
now, so run a full scan of your PC at maximum security levels (include
the option to scan within compressed files, for example). This will
probably take an hour or more, so be patient. Fix any problems the
virus scan turns up. Then reboot into safe mode again using the procedure in
step 2.

4) Run one or two anti-spyware applications. I used to recommend running multiple anti-spyware apps, but virtually all antivirus apps now do a pretty good job at getting rid of spyware too, so you don't need an army of additional applications just for spyware. Also, I now recommend starting with AdAware

(which is free) and moving on to Spyware Doctor (free as part of the Google Pack) if you feel you need additional help. (Please note that recent versions of Spyware Doctor and Norton Antivirus have some trouble with each other.) You can try other apps too, but the once-recommended SpyBot Search & Destroy is no longer very effective, sadly. (Neither is Microsoft's own Windows Defender.) Of course, fix anything and everything
these apps find.

5) Reboot normally. (Not in safe mode.) Now
take stock. Still got spyware? It's time to move along to my more
advanced techniques for removing the nasties.

6) Run HijackThis. HijackThis
is a free software tool that scans your computer to find malware that other apps might miss. Scroll down to "Official downloads" to download the
tool. Next, simply open the ZIP file you downloaded, extract the
application, and run the tool (you don't need to install it). Click the
"Do a system scan and save a logfile" button. You'll receive a large
text file as well as a dialog box which gives you a list of
active software processes, which you can then choose to delete.
Unfortunately, this list includes both helpful and unhelpful software,
so don't just start deleting items. Continue in step 7 to figure out
how to fix your spyware infection.

7) Post your log file online. Visit this page, which offers a list of forums staffed by volunteers who can help you interpret your HijackThis log. The SWI Forums are especially busy, but most of the forums on the list are equally
apt. Go to SWI and visit the "Malware Removal"
forum which has over 50,000 topics listed: Those are all people like
you who are seeking help getting rid of spyware. Register for an
account, read the FAQ, then visit that Malware Removal forum, and post
a new topic. Paste the content of the text file you created in step 5
into this topic and (politely) ask for help. You will get a response
from a volunteer helper, typically within 3 days. You'll be given
specific advice on what entries to remove with the HijackThis tool, and
you might be pointed to additional software to run to help remove
common spyware infections. Follow all the instructions and keep working
with the forum helpers until either you or they give up. (And no, don't

send your log file to me or post it here. I am not nearly the spyware
removal expert that these guys are.)

7a) Alternately: Paste your log file into an automated tool. Don't have three days? Try simply pasting your HijackThis log file into this form. It does a pretty good job at auto-analyzing what's wrong with your machine, with no waiting. As well, if that doesn't work, you can search for the items you find in the HijackThis log by name to see what they are and how to remove them, if they're spyware. This can be quite time consuming, though.

8) Try System Restore.
If that doesn't work, you might try running Windows System Restore to
roll back your OS to a time before the infection happened. This isn't
foolproof: You might not have System Restore turned on, or the spyware
might have shut System Restore off, as well. But it's worth a shot.
With either XP or Vista, System Restore can be found under Start > All Programs >
Accessories > System Tools > System Restore.

9) Give up and wipe your hard drive.

At this point, you've exhausted all the options I know of. You might
try again at steps 6/7 to make sure you've done everything you can to
salvage the PC. Forum helpers will often work with you for weeks to
help fight a spyware infection, but there are tens of thousands of
possible variants out there, with new ones cropping up every day. It's
just not possible to clean them all, every time. Sometimes the only
thing you can do is call it quits, reformat your hard drive, and
reinstall your OS. Again, make sure you have your backups ready and
verified. Once you're up and running, reinstall your antivirus and
anti-spyware applications, and stay vigilant against infection. Good

How to answer 23 of the most common interview questions

Let’s face it; no one likes the interview process. Well, certainly not the people being interviewed anyway. You have to be on your best behavior, you only get one chance to get it right, and it’s like taking your driving test all over again. Over the years I’ve been to countless interviews. To get my first job out of college I attended some 15-20 interviews a week. Whether it was in Britain or over here in the States, the questions never really seemed to change from job to job. Not only that, but the answers to them are usually the same, with your own personal interpretation of course. Here I present 23 questions you’re likely to be asked, and how I have learned to answer them. Why 23? Because I had more than 20 and less than 25. Remember, being interviewed is a skill, and if you do the preparation you should ace it every time.

1. So, tell me a little about yourself.
I’d be very surprised if you haven’t been asked this one at every interview. It’s probably the most asked question because it sets the stage for the interview and it gets you talking. Be careful not to give the interviewer your life story here. You don’t need to explain everything from birth to present day. Relevant facts about education, your career and your current life situation are fine.

2. Why are you looking (or why did you leave you last job)?
This should be a straightforward question to answer, but it can trip you up. Presumably you are looking for a new job (or any job) because you want to advance your career and get a position that allows you to grow as a person and an employee. It’s not a good idea to mention money here, it can make you sound mercenary. And if you are in the unfortunate situation of having been downsized, stay positive and be as brief as possible about it. If you were fired, you’ll need a good explanation. But once again, stay positive.

3. Tell me what you know about this company.
Do your homework before you go to any interview. Whether it’s being the VP of marketing or the mailroom clerk, you should know about the company or business you’re going to work for. Has this company been in the news lately? Who are the people in the company you should know about? Do the background work, it will make you stand out as someone who comes prepared, and is genuinely interested in the company and the job.

4. Why do you want to work at X Company?
This should be directly related to the last question. Any research you’ve done on the company should have led you to the conclusion that you’d want to work there. After all, you’re at the interview, right? Put some thought into this answer before you have your interview, mention your career goals and highlight forward-thinking goals and career plans.

5. What relevant experience do you have?
Hopefully if you’re applying for this position you have bags of related experience, and if that’s the case you should mention it all. But if you’re switching careers or trying something a little different, your experience may initially not look like it’s matching up. That’s when you need a little honest creativity to match the experiences required with the ones you have. People skills are people skills after all, you just need to show how customer service skills can apply to internal management positions, and so on.

6. If your previous co-workers were here, what would they say about you?
Ok, this is not the time for full disclosure. If some people from your past are going to say you’re a boring A-hole, you don’t need to bring that up. Stay positive, always, and maybe have a few specific quotes in mind. “They’d say I was a hard worker” or even better “John Doe has always said I was the most reliable, creative problem-solver he’d ever met.”

7. Have you done anything to further your experience?
This could include anything from night classes to hobbies and sports. If it’s related, it’s worth mentioning. Obviously anything to do with further education is great, but maybe you’re spending time on a home improvement project to work on skills such as self-sufficiency, time management and motivation.

8. Where else have you applied?
This is a good way to hint that you’re in demand, without sounding like you’re whoring yourself all over town. So, be honest and mention a few other companies but don’t go into detail. The fact that you’re seriously looking and keeping your options open is what the interviewer is driving at.

9. How are you when you’re working under pressure?
Once again, there are a few ways to answer this but they should all be positive. You may work well under pressure, you may thrive under pressure, and you may actually PREFER working under pressure. If you say you crumble like aged blue cheese, this is not going to help you get your foot in the door.

10. What motivates you to do a good job?
The answer to this one is not money, even if it is. You should be motivated by life’s noble pursuits. You want recognition for a job well done. You want to become better at your job. You want to help others or be a leader in your field.

11. What’s your greatest strength?
This is your chance to shine. You’re being asked to explain why you are a great employee, so don’t hold back and stay do stay positive. You could be someone who thrives under pressure, a great motivator, an amazing problem solver or someone with extraordinary attention to detail. If your greatest strength, however, is to drink anyone under the table or get a top score on Mario Kart, keep it to yourself. The interviewer is looking for work-related strengths.

12. What’s your biggest weakness?
If you’re completely honest, you may be kicking yourself in the butt. If you say you don’t have one, you’re obviously lying. This is a horrible question and one that politicians have become masters at answering. They say things like “I’m perhaps too committed to my work and don’t spend enough time with my family.” Oh, there’s a fireable offense. I’ve even heard “I think I’m too good at my job, it can often make people jealous.” Please, let’s keep our feet on the ground. If you’re asked this question, give a small, work-related flaw that you’re working hard to improve. Example: “I’ve been told I occasionally focus on details and miss the bigger picture, so I’ve been spending time laying out the complete project every day to see my overall progress.”

13. Let’s talk about salary. What are you looking for?
Run for cover! This is one tricky game to play in an interview. Even if you know the salary range for the job, if you answer first you’re already showing all your cards. You want as much as possible, the employer wants you for as little as you’re willing to take. Before you apply, take a look at salary.com for a good idea of what someone with your specific experience should be paid. You may want to say, “well, that’s something I’ve thought long and hard about and I think someone with my experience should get between X & Y.” Or, you could be sly and say, “right now, I’m more interested in talking more about what the position can offer my career.” That could at least buy you a little time to scope out the situation. But if you do have a specific figure in mind and you are confident that you can get it, I’d say go for it. I have on many occasions, and every time I got very close to that figure (both below and sometimes above).

14. Are you good at working in a team?
Unless you have the I.Q. of a houseplant, you’ll always answer YES to this one. It’s the only answer. How can anyone function inside an organization if they are a loner? You may want to mention what part you like to play in a team though; it’s a great chance to explain that you’re a natural leader.

15. Tell me a suggestion you have made that was implemented.
It’s important here to focus on the word “implemented.” There’s nothing wrong with having a thousand great ideas, but if the only place they live is on your notepad what’s the point? Better still, you need a good ending. If your previous company took your advice and ended up going bankrupt, that’s not such a great example either. Be prepared with a story about an idea of yours that was taken from idea to implementation, and considered successful.

16. Has anything ever irritated you about people you've worked with?
Of course, you have a list as long as your arm. But you can’t say that, it shows you as being negative and difficult to work with. The best way to answer this one is to think for a while and then say something like “I’ve always got on just fine with my co-workers actually.”

17. Is there anyone you just could not work with?
No. Well, unless you’re talking about murderers, racists, rapists, thieves or other dastardly characters, you can work with anyone. Otherwise you could be flagged as someone who’s picky and difficult if you say, “I can’t work with anyone who’s a Bronco’s fan. Sorry.”

18. Tell me about any issues you’ve had with a previous boss.
Arrgh! If you fall for this one you shouldn’t be hired anyway. The interviewer is testing you to see if you’ll speak badly about your previous supervisor. Simply answer this question with exteme tact, diplomacy and if necessary, a big fat loss of memory. In short, you've never had any issues.

19. Would you rather work for money or job satisfaction?
It’s not a very fair question is it? We’d all love to get paid a Trump-like salary doing a job we love but that’s rare indeed. It’s fine to say money is important, but remember that NOTHING is more important to you than the job. Otherwise, you’re just someone looking for a bigger paycheck.

20. Would you rather be liked or feared?
I have been asked this a lot, in various incarnations. The first time I just drew a blank and said, “I don’t know.” That went over badly, but it was right at the start of my career when I had little to no experience. Since then I’ve realized that my genuine answer is “Neither, I’d rather be respected.” You don’t want to be feared because fear is no way to motivate a team. You may got the job done but at what cost? Similarly, if you’re everyone’s best friend you’ll find it difficult to make tough decisions or hit deadlines. But when you’re respected, you don’t have to be a complete bastard or a lame duck to get the job done.

21. Are you willing to put the interests of X Company ahead of your own?
Again, another nasty question. If you say yes, you’re a corporate whore who doesn’t care about family. If you say no, you’re disloyal to the company. I’m afraid that you’ll probably have to say yes to this one though, because you’re trying to be the perfect employee at this point, and perfect employees don’t cut out early for Jimmy’s baseball game.

22. So, explain why I should hire you.
As I’m sure you know, “because I’m great” or “I really need a job” are not good answers here. This is a time to give the employer a laundry list of your greatest talents that just so happen to match the job description. It’s also good to avoid taking potshots at other potential candidates here. Focus on yourself and your talents, not other people’s flaws.

23. Finally, do you have any questions to ask me?
I’ll finish the way I started, with one of the most common questions asked in interviews. This directly relates to the research you’ve done on the company and also gives you a chance to show how eager and prepared you are. You’ll probably want to ask about benefits if they haven’t been covered already. A good generic one is “how soon could I start, if I were offered the job of course.” You may also ask what you’d be working on. Specifically, in the role you’re applying for and how that affects the rest of the company. Always have questions ready, greeting this one with a blank stare is a rotten way to finish your interview. Good luck and happy job hunting.

How Apple sells 45 million iPhones in 2009

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster took a lot of heat back in June 2007 when he predicted, three weeks before Apple even began selling the iPhone, that the company would be shipping them at the rate of 45 million a year by 2009.

But Munster is sticking to his guns, and on Monday released a detailed report to clients in which he lays out the steps by which he expects Apple (AAPL) to hit his target — quadrupling 2008 sales.

By introducing a 3G iPhone within the next 3 to 6 months

By offering a family of 2 to 3 iPhones — including lower-priced models selling for $200 to $300 — by Jan 2009 at the latest

By entering new countries, effectively doubling the addressable market every year for the next two years.

By adding new features, such as games (Tiger Woods Golf, played by swinging the iPhone?) and remote purchases (Starbucks lattes without the wait?) starting in June.

Conceding that most investors consider his 45 million estimate “outrageously aggressive,” Munster supports it with a somewhat mysterious chart that compares the 409% year-to-year growth rate of the iPod in its breakout years with his estimate of just over 300% for the iPhone.


What’s mysterious about this chart is that it shows sales of 35.6 million iPhones in fiscal 2009, not the 45 million Munster is projecting. The discrepancy may be due to the difference between Apple’s fiscal year and our calender year, but Munster does not explain it.

Slightly clearer is the roadmap Munster offers for Apple’s overseas expansion. He points out that iPhone has achieved roughly 3% penetration of the 153 million subscriber base in the six countries in which it is currently sold. The following chart shows how he expects Apple to double that addressable market over the next two years. Note that Japan is the only Asian country he’s counting on for 2008. China, he says, is not likely to sign on until Apple drops its insistence on revenue sharing, something he expects the company to do in 2009.

HOW YOU CAN BE A GENIOUS

April 17, 2007 -- AS you prepare to open those college rejection letters, or worry about having to take summer school classes, fret not - being brilliant is not in the numbers.

A roundup of IQ studies from Cambridge University Press, called the "Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance," proves that Thomas Edison was right all along: Genius is 99 percent perspiration.

"There are international chess masters that have below-average IQs," says Dr. K. Anders Ericsson, a professor of psychology at Florida State University in Tallahassee, who edited the handbook.
"Basically, there is no indication that people with higher IQ are able to reach the top faster. We are finding people who meet the criteria for being skilled surgeons, chess masters, athletes or magicians. Once you start looking at what makes them successful, IQ doesn't make any difference."

The 918-page book raises the question of whether we should eliminate the idea of determining one's potential through IQ altogether. Instead of accepting a child into an elite school for a number they scored on a test or scouting a CIA recruit because of his IQ score, we might "speak instead of expertise, talent or even greatness," Ericsson says.

Writes British journalist David Dobbs in New Scientist magazine: "Examine closely even the most extreme examples - Mozart, Newton, Einstein, Stravinsky - and you find more hard-won mastery than gift.

"Geniuses are made, not born."

In one study of adult graduates of New York City's Hunter College Elementary School, where an admission criterion was an IQ of at least 130, researchers found most had average lives, with few achieving an extreme accomplishment.

"There were no superstars, no Pulitzer Prize or MacArthur Award winners, and only one or two familiar names," said study leader Rena Subotnik, a research psychologist with the American Psychological Association.

The three keys to success? Hard work, persistence and a solid upbringing.

The Cambridge studies show that people who have become internationally successful invariably worked with a mentor who has been at that level.

"Ability doesn't seem to have anything to do with it," Ericcson says. "You need to accumulate your experience. Perfect practice makes perfect. If you're out playing tennis and you miss an overhand volley, the game will go on. The next time the identical situation happens, you're not going to be more successful. In order to improve, you need a special training environment where a mentor will give you appropriate shots."

The Cambridge "Handbook" also makes the claim that in order to achieve (or overachieve) genius status, one must put in five times extra work and 10 years of effort more than an amateur.

"A lot of people think highly talented people can become good at anything rapidly," Ericsson says. "But what this study says is that nobody has been able to rise without having practiced for 10 years. In [classical] music right now, it takes more than 15-20 years before they start winning in competitions."