Mojave Experiment

The Mojave Experiment is an advertising campaign by Microsoft for the Windows Vista operating system. The participants in the experiment were asked about their perceptions of Windows Vista and then were shown a ten-minute demo of Microsoft's "next OS," codenamed "Mojave". After the experiment was over, it was revealed that "Mojave" was actually Windows Vista.^[1] As a result, the average rating of "Vista" was 4.4 out of 10, but the average rating for the "Mojave" OS was 8.5 out of 10.^[2] The official goal of the Mojave Experiment is to get consumers to "decide for themselves" rather than accept the commonly held negative perceptions of Windows Vista, providing links to product demo videos and other product advertising.

Test procedure

The Mojave Experiment is a public case study designed by Microsoft to determine computer users' thoughts of Windows Vista, in the absence of prior experience. The study begins by asking the participant's thoughts of Windows Vista, with their answers based solely on their knowledge from word of mouth. They were then asked to rate Windows Vista, from 0 to 10. Next, the participants were introduced to Windows "Mojave." This was actually Windows Vista, rebranded to prevent preconceived bias. The users were guided by a Microsoft assistant to test "Mojave." After the test, the participants were then asked to rate "Mojave," from 0 to 10. It was then revealed to the participants that "Mojave" was simply Windows Vista, rebranded.

Reception

The experiment was criticized by Gadgetzone.com^[3] for cherry-picking positive statements and not addressing all aspects of Vista. The necessary hardware and software was already set up for the participants and demonstrated by a salesman, so they were unable to try out the software themselves. The criticism from the blogosphere was echoed by the New York Times.^[4]

See also

• Windows Vista editions
• Windows Ultimate Extras

References