February 13, 2007
Apple "Vista Dude" Replaces Agent Smith as My Personal Hero
You know what's a great affectation? An ear piece... Seriously. I've always liked them. I guess it's because it's the stereotypical "man in black" thing - like a black suit (I have one of those) or some dark sunglasses (have them too). All sorts of interesting characters sport the ear piece, which makes sense because they're both chic and a mark of authority. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones had them in Men in Black (cool and chic) whereas Agent Smith from the matrix had one (mark of authority). Anyway, joining these ranks is Apple's new "Vista Dude" (pictured right.) Now, you've probably already seen the ad, but in case you didn't, here's the brief rundown - the "I'm a PC" guy has Vista installed and now he's gained a "security dude" that asks him "Cancel or Allow" whenever he says or does anything. Hilarious.
There's also an accompanying tagline from Apple: "114,000 Viruses? Not on a Mac. Mac OS X was designed for high security, so it isn't plagued by constant attacks from viruses and malware like PC's. Likewise, it isn't plagued by never-ending security dialog boxes like those in Vista. So you can safely go about your work - or fun - without interruption." Here it is so you can see I'm not lying:
Now, before I start in on this... remember that I'm a Mac user. Actually, I'm using my iBook to type this post. I'm also not one to arbitrarily make the claim that Vista is a secure platform. (Well, OK - some press folks did report me as saying that, but what I actually said had a bunch of qualifiers that didn't make it into the story.) Anyway, my point is the same one I've made all along (remember, as a Mac user); specifically, that Apple's current line of advertising (entertaining though it is) is problematic to Mac users in the long term. Why do I say that? Let's break it down:
1) The subtext is untrue. Apple says "Mac was designed for high security..." (implied subtext is that Vista and other OS'es were not.) Aside from it arguably not being a fair representation of Microsoft's approach to Vista, the statement is meaningless. I mean, it has an implied logic that doesn't hold up under scrutiny. For example, "it's designed to be secure, therefore it doesn't have malware" is crap. How about "the Titanic was designed for seaworthiness, ergo it didn't really sink?" Same logic - does it make sense there? No. Trying to make the case that users should take a vendor at their word based on a statement of their intent at the time of development is ludicrous.
2) Asking the user. Sometimes you have to ask the user for a decision. For security decisioins, you're more likely to have to ask the user for input. My Mac asks me to make security decisions all the time - like whether I should enter my root password when I'm installing new software.
3) It does down the earpiece. Respect the earpiece. I won't see it defamed in this way.
4) (and now the real reason this tweaks me...) Security is more than malware. Some of us Mac users happen to think that the current dearth of Mac malware has more to do with percentage of population and user base rather than inherent features of the Mac. If that's true, defining the Mac as being "secure" because it has less malware short-circuits Apple's position in the long term. Why? Because if they hope to become the dominant platform, they will have malware too. If they get us to buy-in that lack of malware equals security, aren't we going to view them in the same light that we view MSFT today? Not a good idea...
Anyway, I love these commercials. But I also want Mac to succeed. And they're not helping themselves in that regard.
Posted by Ed at February 13, 2007 10:07 AM | TrackBack