[NewsPoster]

Microsoft has become a more trusted brand than Apple, according to a new Forrester survey. The research group polled 4,551 people, and ranked companies according to its "TRUE" criteria: trusted, remarkable, unmistakable, and essential. Microsoft was the only company to gain "trailblazer" status, with Forrester describing it as "at the forefront of brand building with a unique and distinct brand identity that sets it apart from other brands."

It's suggested that the company's "One Microsoft" approach is working. The company is attempting to synthesize its products, advertising, and corporate structure, following in the path of rivals like Apple and Google. For instance, the "Metro" interface -- first adopted with Windows Phone -- can now be seen in variations for Windows 8 and the Xbox One.

Forrester does note that companies like Apple and Samsung are nevertheless seen as innovative. Microsoft's status is in fact credited as much to its "ubiquity," which makes the company "uncool," but gives it an advantage. Although Apple and Samsung have much greater control of smartphones and tablets, the vast majority of computers are running Microsoft's Windows operating system, and Office is considered the de facto platform for word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations.

[azrich]

Really.... huh...

One ring to rule them all, I guess.

Lets see, follow the link to a blog with a link that leads to a page that, well, the actual report costs $500 to read. Nice. I'll stick with my first reaction and pass thank you.

[davidlfoster]

Rubbish.

[jdonahoe]

Surveys are all about how you phrase a question. Who sponsored the survey? Inquiring minds want to know.

[pairof9s]

I guess this all depends on your definitions of "trusted", "remarkable", "unmistakeable" and "essential" to garner Microsoft as a "trailblazer". Either that, or they polled 4,500 people working in Microsoft's HQ.

[prl99]

I wonder if they asked any Target credit card users about Microsoft since their POS system uses an embedded version of Microsoft Windows and malware on this system allowed hackers to steal millions of users information. I can't trust a company that constantly releases defective software and refuses to fix it in a timely manner.

[TomMcIn]

If you ask the right questions of the right people, you can always get the answers you were paid to get.

[DrSkywalker]

Hahahahahah. Hilarious. A complete disconnect from the Real World. Just goes to show: there are lies, damned lies, and statistics.

[Leatherropes]

This study defies common sense. And who paid for the study? (~wink ~wink)

[cashxx]

Must have been funded by Microsoft.....makes no sense. How can a company be rated more trustful when no one is buying its products anymore??

[makesense]

ridiculous

[panjandrum]

Just to play devil's advocate for a moment here (not to say this is not a real concern however): We may be seeing a delayed response to the current trends in Apple products, both software and hardware. I work with hundreds of Mac and IOS users every day in an educational environment, and with an additional number of Mac and IOS users in a variety of positions on a less frequent basis. While I have "met" many users who are very happy with the direction Apple has taken, all of these people I have "met" are online... I have NEVER (no exaggeration at all) met a single person in real life who is happy with Apple's software changes since Steve began to relinquish control. One recent comment that really stuck home and pretty much sums-up what I'm hearing on a daily basis was "why does my computer insist on opening every d**n program I was previously using whenever I login. What idiot thought up that feature?" Basically, I'm hearing the kinds of complaints about the Mac OS and IOS that used to be reserved specifically for Microsoft operating systems. Sad but true. (Look at reviews of the current version of iBooks and opposed to prior versions, as an indicator of how poorly Apple's software is currently performing in the opinions of people using their software). On the hardware side there are a lot of positives however, but they come along with a lot of negatives. (Cheapening of iPhone brand with plastic toy-like iPhones which many people like, but many dislike. With prior versions they were pretty much universally regarded as beautiful, even by persons who preferred other phones). Anyway, I feel we may be looking at a problem where Apple really is losing the trust of consumers; it is possible that this survey reflects that.

[msuper69]

@panjandrum: One recent comment that really stuck home and pretty much sums-up what I'm hearing on a daily basis was "why does my computer insist on opening every d**n program I was previously using whenever I login. What idiot thought up that feature?"
You have to opt-in upon restart for OS X to reload any applications currently running at shutdown.
Sounds like a user education problem.

[panjandrum]

@msuper69
Yes, it is certainly a user education problem, but the underlying issue seems to be that people now have to "fight" to get their Macs to function they way they wish, and sometimes even that is impossible (look over all the complaints regarding multi-screen support in Lion and Mountain Lion, where Apple broke something that worked perfectly and took years to fix it, to many user's frustrations). As much as I hate to say it, having to fight the way an operating system works, rather than feeling that it is "working with you" is VERY Microsoft. It is not what the Apple experience should be.