I was going to link to this post about the Windows 7 ad campaign, and offer my own opinion.
Then while researching Windows 7 ads on an official Microsoft page this site survey modal dialog hit me:
Unbelievable.
First of all, These “Like our site? Please take a survey!” modals are a plague. They interrupt users, and usually at the worst possible time (like when I’m trying to find support for my broken HP printer).
Second, the surveys themselves are useless. They ask the wrong questions and lots of them, just like every other customer satisfaction survey. I doubt anyone at Microsoft looks at the survey results, and if they do, I super duper doubt that anyone takes action based on the findings.
You know what site surveys are? They’re a checkbox in a Microsoft.com site manager’s laundry list to be mindlessly checked off, regardless of how they effect the user experience.
This is the kind of stuff I’m talking about when I say Quality is Fractal. It’s a sign that Microsoft is just going through the motions. Windows 7 is an important launch, not quite a “bet the company” moment, but close. And this is how they execute it, with a modal dialog that steps all over their pitch and looks terrible.
In the interest of constructive criticism, this is what Microsoft should have done: steal Apple’s page.