So Baidu is offering me money...

[Jaspion]

No, not like that. It's just a market research. In person or by phone, they'll pay me to hear my opinion.

Honestly, I think market research is bullshit. You end up with a product that everybody thinks is so-so. If you really know what you are doing, you don't need market research. But who am I to say such things, right?

The message (by Google Translate):

Spoiler

Dear

Baidu Antivirus is a free, lightweight and professional antivirus developed by Baidu.

To improve the service of Baidu antivirus, we would like to invite you to participate in our survey of users, and thus help us improve our products.

Please click the link below and fill out a quick registration form that will take 2 minutes maximum. Case meets the requirements of our activity, we invite you to participate in our interview. Those who participate in the interview will make money as a reward. Looking forward to your participation, thank you!

http://dosurvey.baidu.com/index.php?sid=52424&lang=pt-BR



your sincerely

Baidu Antivirus
http://antivirus.baidu.com/pt/

Link to the Google-translated questionnaire.

P.S.: a comment on their professionalism: the email arrived with all recipients in the To: field, so all 49 recipients now have each-other's email addresses. That's not as unprofessional as offering "powerful tools" that simply don't work, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

 

[cruelsister]

I personally love market research. It gives you a chance to vent to your hearts content and actually have frustrations read by some committee or other in charge. It also can be quite lucrative if you get on selected Intel or Microsoft focus groups.

 

[Jaspion]

I know, maybe I overreacted. Or maybe not. I have participated (working, not interviewed) in a market research for Ford here. On the last day the director came, on that day they called people who were involved with design somehow, and they wanted to know which new look was better for the new EcoSport model; and the Ford director actually asked the participants which of the designs better gave the illusion that it was a strong off-road car. Then he tried to hide his true intentions a little bit by "correcting" himself and repeating that he wanted to know which design better "transmitted that idea"...

What pisses me off is that a company will spend hard cash to find out how to fool people, instead of using that money to actually make a good product.

With so many broken features, this is no time for market research and new features. This is time to fix the broken features! My point is clear and self-evident. What's also evident is that this is no priority for Baidu.

Professional antivirus? I wouldn't pay for it.
Keylogger protection? None at all!
Screen capture protection? Forget about it!
New virus on the Friday night? Wait until Monday to be protected!

All of these things are extremely important and broken in Baidu. Now they are doing market research? Like it isn't obvious where they have to improve? I'll be seriously surprised if they actually make this a good, solid, professional-level product.

 

[cruelsister]

I feel your pain. On the Microsoft Focus group I've been shouting/whining/crying/cursing for them to eliminate the Metro interface in Win8 for over a year. Perhaps if I wore a shorter skirt...

 

[Jaspion]

I feel your pain. On the Microsoft Focus group I've been shouting/whining/crying/cursing for them to eliminate the Metro interface in Win8 for over a year. Perhaps if I wore a shorter skirt...

Sis, I think these companies do like that (at least alleged) Robert Downey Jr quote: "Listen, smile, agree, and then do whatever the ##### you were gonna do anyway."

I get the impression that they do market research in order to validate their own choices. Seriously, if they listened, they would know that most PC users prefer Win7 over 8.

I find it funny when the supposed specialists have to do market research. WHO IN THE WORLD DOESN'T KNOW WHAT AN ANTIVIRUS SHOULD BE LIKE? UNOBTRUSIVE AND EFFECTIVE. PERIOD. Oh, that was all in caps, sorry.

 

[cruelsister]

See? Isn't a rant good for you soul?

 

[Deleted member 178]

I feel your pain. On the Microsoft Focus group I've been shouting/whining/crying/cursing for them to eliminate the Metro interface in Win8 for over a year. Perhaps if I wore a shorter skirt...

lucky for me they didn't listen you; i like Metro and honestly i even dislike the win7 start menu now ^^
With Metro & apps, i have all the infos i need in one place with a single glance.

 

[Jaspion]

See? Isn't a rant good for you soul?

That depends. In this case, my soul wasn't stirred. Just getting a little worked up about technical issues.

Umbra, I can't say I agree with you, and I can't say I disagree either. I haven't tested the Win8 yet. But honestly, Umbra, cruelsis, the Baidu issue is worlds apart from the Windows interface issue. Between Win7 and 8 we have a matter of preference, mostly. The Baidu issues are because of half-assed core features that make the product a lot less powerful than it portends to be.

 

[Deleted member 178]

because of half-assed core features that make the product a lot less powerful than it portends to be.

You know, more i test AVs, more i saw flaws/imperfections/wasted resources/useles features & co; it is why i went from my paranoid-fortress-layered-security setup to what i have now.

When you start to dislike, better change right away before being disgusted.

 

[cruelsister]

I'm actually not surprised about Baidu. Remember BAV was created as a reaction a few years ago to Qihoo360. Qihoo was a security company that got into Web search whereas Baidu was (is) the premier Chinese web search company that happened to get into security. So although not surprising that the product is not as mature, it is surprising that a company with a Market capitalization of over 60 billion USD can't do a better job.

 

[Jaspion]

You know, more i test AVs, more i saw flaws/imperfections/wasted resources/useles features & co; it is why i went from my paranoid-fortress-layered-security setup to what i have now.

When you start to dislike, better change right away before being disgusted.

I've always liked experimenting, as anyone who saw my 12-engine Chinese monster combo will know, but after gathering some experience, yes I do agree with you. Right now all I have is Online Armor. Nothing runs or grabs keystrokes or screen content without my consent. No AV needed, really (in fact this level of protection is much better in OA than PF or Comodo Sansbox). I'm thinking of installing some AV(s) for on-demand only with no real-time components for the occasional unknown folders, but that's it. For the single file there's always VT.

I'm actually not surprised about Baidu. Remember BAV was created as a reaction a few years ago to Qihoo360. Qihoo was a security company that got into Web search whereas Baidu was (is) the premier Chinese web search company that happened to get into security. So although not surprising that the product is not as mature, it is surprising that a company with a Market capitalization of over 60 billion USD can't do a better job.

Yeah, money isn't the problem. They really need to get their act together.