lunatechian (lunatech-ian)

Originally posted posted Thu, 13 Nov 2003

I came across an interesting essay, Consumer Angst, today. It mirrors very well what I feel about products that try to ride on advertising instead of innovation. Take Microsoft, also known as the evil empire, and Linux. Everyone (well almost everyone) agrees that Linux is more scalable and robust than Microsoft < insert your Windows version > . Yet, there is this amorphous resentment, this inclination to trust a glossy advertisement more than an impartial report by your IT department. Well, my bile seems to be spreading all around and getting out of hand, so I will return back to the essay.

The reason I like the essay is that instead of ranting (like me), he fleshes out the issue very well. Here is an excerpt from the essay

Here are some examples of the minor lies that are included n advertising to support the big lie:
"New!" - How can something be simultaneously new  and absolutely essential to survival? Or, given the thesis that new is better, the advertiser should honestly list the ways that the old new product failed us, thus setting the stage for inevitable disenchantment with the new new product.

Another of my favorite quote (and especially relevant in an argument between Linux and Microsoft) is

"It costs more, but it is worth it." By implication, things that cost more are worth more, and by negation, things that have no price also have no value. This is an appeal to reject the entire natural world out of hand.