RSSFinally, we learn what the Windows ad campaign was about
By Tim Conneally and Scott M. Fulton, III | Published September 19, 2008, 11:55 AM
The third installment of Microsoft's $300 million ad campaign finally grabbed the "I'm a PC" invective and wore it like a crown. Yes, I am a dork, I wear glasses, but I am also an athlete, scientist, teacher, artist, and everything in-between.
Tim Conneally: I'm a PC indeed.
Microsoft's latest shift in advertising technique, whether it was actually planned this way or whether it was forced upon the company, is no non sequitur. Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates were the warm-up act that came out before the show to engage the crowd and get them ready for the headliner. Microsoft opened its "feel good" campaign with a puzzling comedic approach before throwing open the curtains on a strong emotional play.
But suggesting that a direct change will come as a result of an ad campaign is short-sighted. Further, likening Apple's rise in popularity to an advertising campaign and nothing else, is just false. Time has shown that the biggest seller of Macs is the iPod. It's a hard-hitting peripheral with the power to sell other goods. Call it "reverse attach rate"...like when a piece of killer software sells a system. Witness: Two weeks ago, I bought a PlayStation 3 strictly because it was the only system with Disgaea: Absence of Justice. Or, on a larger scale, look at the way Japanese consumers are gravitating toward the Xbox 360 in large part because of two new role-playing games (the even larger part, it could be argued is the console's new price point).
I was left slightly aghast this morning at quotes by ad executive Kathy Sharpe of Sharpe Partners with whom CNET's Ina Fried spoke on this subject. Sharpe says "Somehow the Mac always wins, but they do so charmingly, it's just a very well done campaign," along with, "Apple is just smarter at that sort of thing." I would beg to differ.
First of all, what has Apple actually "won?" I don't intend to vilify the mighty fruit, but Apple's ad campaign does not sell Macs to any significant (or "winning") degree, nor does either campaign address iPhone versus Windows Mobile device penetration (a battleground with far more potential for upset). Instead, its ads are what make Mac users feel special. The term "cult of personality" often comes to mind when thinking of Apple in the eyes of its users. Those ads pat Mac users on the back and tell them that they are cool because of their choice of OS. The product defines the audience.
Microsoft has now taken the exact opposite approach, saying, "Here are the people, they make PC what it is," and not, "Here is the PC and here's what it makes you," like Apple has done.
| Bill Gates does make an appearance in this latest phase of the Microsoft ad campaign, along with actress Eva Longoria. But gone are the fake leather shoes, the underwear jokes, and the "moist, chewy goodness." |
Scott Fulton: First of all, the new phase of the Windows marketing campaign is what the first phase should have been to begin with. It's a way to draw new boundaries around the definition of the product, and make it more personal. The Seinfeld phase of the campaign was an ad about nothing. This is an ad about something, and something real.
I'll be the first to say it: The way you turn around a negative impression that's been pinned to you by your competitor, is to wear it with pride. It's how Hardee's/Carl's Jr. launched its comeback in fast food, first by literally admitting that its food "sucked," and that it was taking bold steps to change it. It's how Jimmy Carter wore the buck-toothed, backwoods peanut farmer moniker to victory in 1976, and it's how Arnold Schwarzenegger captured a second term as California's governor. It's how Lipton powdered chicken noodle soup mix sales suddenly soured a half-century ago, after pitchman Arthur Godfrey challenged customers to see if there was actually any chicken in it, and if they found some, if they could mail it to him. It's how Coke Classic secured a bigger chunk of market share than it had before, after the New Coke debacle.
The ongoing Apple campaign, which the latest phase of the Microsoft campaign openly mocks, succeeded in defining its competitor in exactly the box Apple wanted to paint it in. In terms of actually converting viewers into Macintosh customers, it may actually be nowhere near as successful as the everyday, forgettable automobile product launch ad, but it's as successful as Apple needs it to be.
It successfully sustains the old Steve Jobs vs. Bill Gates debate long after the principal distinctions between their two products have pretty much faded, or completely died out. The war about the underlying technology, sparked by the great 80386 vs. 68000 debates of the 1980s, is an historical remnant. Macs run on Intel Core 2 Duo chips now, and a great many of them run Windows software by virtue of Boot Camp or a low-cost virtualization option. Indeed, there's Mac software that's still somewhat better and nicer than anything that you'll see on Windows today, but the differences have become so aesthetic, so esoteric, that any debate over the weight of those differences has become boring.
Thankfully, that's not what the Apple campaign has been about. It simply plants the idea in viewers' minds that the Mac is as cool as that guy who used to play the high school kid on "Ed," and that the PC is that thing that runs Vista that runs stodgy software and gets on people's nerves.
That's the stereotype that Microsoft has decided, in this second phase of the campaign, to wear with pride. And for once, I appreciate what they're doing with this. It's a good attempt to wear the badge proudly, to be a little more self-deprecating, less monolithic...less Microsoft.
The problem is, I'm not a PC.
Granted, this is the badge that Microsoft must wear if it's to pull of this phase of the campaign. But perhaps you've checked the state of the market yourself, so you already know this: The "personal computer" is evolving, mutating, transforming into a very different type of connectivity device. It's not so much a box with Windows on its hard drive anymore; the computer, to borrow a concept from a much greater comedian than Jerry Seinfeld, is simply becoming the temporary place for your stuff.
Specifically, your "stuff" is your data and your productivity. It's becoming transferrable, from your home machine to your laptop to your hip pocket, but it's the same work and the same data. The software is the medium; the "PC" is just one kind of a box that can house it for the time being, like a waypoint rather than an anchor. Check out what's happening in the field of Windows Mobile, where HTC and Motorola and Samsung are all capable of making it look and feel the way they need it to for their own devices. And look at HP, which has started asking, why can't we do the same for notebooks and desktops? Before too long, not even the PC will be the "PC."
So the next trick for Microsoft will be to wear the "PC" moniker proudly, for a little while -- just long enough to answer Apple, at long last. But then it has to cast it aside, to make way for the reality of the modern market. The "PC" doesn't matter anymore -- not for most people -- any more than the refrigerator matters more than the milk and the cheese and the eggs you keep inside of it.
If Microsoft starts at some point soon defining the computer the way we, like the people in its ads, use the computer -- by what it does, not what it is -- then finally, Microsoft will have returned Apple's volley, and the ball will be in its court.
unfortunately, the "I am a PC" as a brand is faulty, since Mac's are personal computers too and there are pc's with other operating systems.
microsoft should not have capitalized on "PC" as a brand in the ads.
it only proves that the MAC ads were successful and branded microsoft as "PC" and microsoft fell for it hook, line and sinker.
yeah, people my fall for the "i am pc" statements by the famous people in the ad's. but it doesn't mean that they are windows pc's users.
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|You missed the point of the entire ad...
MAC= Media Access Control
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|yeah, it is a funny point you made.
-----------
it could also be the King vs the Clown, as in whopper vs the cheesy mac.
perhaps, microsoft needs to offer supersize upgrades and dollar value software.
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|Watching internetworld7 scream and whine like a little girl is entertaining enough.
You can obviously see he's on the defensive. What a tool.
The commercial is brilliant BTW.
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|I'm glad you're keeping up with me. BTW, how's that "keeping it in the family" working out for you? It must be kind of convenient during Christmas and birthdays when your father is also your uncle... Nice.
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|That's nothing. I'm my own grampa.
You should have something more important in your life than Apple however. It's kind of pathetic.
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|You know, you raise a good point... If MS could capture some of his ramblings and put it into commercial form... They could completly destroy Apple's image.
This is what happens to you when you use Apple Products. *Picture of Ineternetworld7*
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|Heh, that movie ruled, Tom Arnold is funny when he gets a decent role...his best was True Lies though
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|Well, I am a PC, okay. But what is the connection to Vista? I mean, come on. A PC can run DOS or WIN 3.1 or OS/2 or Linux or whatever.
...oh, and by the way, nobody buys into the Seinfeld as the New Coke story. Just forget about it.
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|Did Seinfeld make people start talking about the PC again?
Yes
Did people continue to watch?
Yes
Seems like they made their point...
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|Personally I would far rather a PC, simply because I can fix a PC, and also the fact that I built my own PC.
Even if I was enough of an idiot to pay 4 digits for a freakin' MAC, I don't believe I would be able to fix it myself so then I would be pay a crap load of monies to have it fixed.
My PC that has Windows Vista Ultimate has almost never had any problems (2 in almost 2 years) and I've fixed it everytime. How many MAC Users new or old can actually fix their own computer and not break it?
A MAC user may joke about it but I'm willing to bet most PC users can fix their own s*** and not have to worry about whether or not they've broken it.
I am currently using Ubuntu, and I like it. However, the only thing about it that I liek better than windows vista is the fact that it is free. So you get what you pay for, if it is free you'll have to crane your neck and sell your should to get it working. (I'm using Ubuntu 7.01 on a Virtual PC on Vista, so it took some doin)
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|Ubuntu on VirtualBox takes less doin'... plus, it has USB support.
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|"sell your should??" I know Linux operates in an obtuse manner, but really!
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|You Windoze fanboys really should stop smiling and giggling like a bunch of high school girls over this. What's really funny is how this whole ad campaign just lost all credibly as IT WAS MADE ON A MAC:
http://www.roughlydrafte...-pc-ads-created-on-macs/
http://i34.tinypic.com/2ajzvvr.jpg
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|oh man you are such a dumb ass. How ignorant are you? If I will buy a Mac, I will put it in my toilet for dumb asses like you to excrete s***. Mac is crap so is their crap OS X. Don't believe me? try this:
http://www.mac-sucks.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CrQjfgvqJQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygG5rWF5z3s
http://themacsucks.com/
Dude, now got anything to say? Now please don't paste links and tell me to purchase that crap or move away from Windows, damn it what a moron and don't forget Windows 7 is COMING to kick Apple's a*s very badly. Poor Steve Jobs
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|and nobody cares but you, which means nobody cares
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|MS didn't make those ads. The ad agency did.
The manufacturer of iPod uses Windows in its process. Did Apple lose credibility because of that?
Besides, MS Expression Studio isn't meant for TV ad creation at all. How ignorant.
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|We're not talking about iPods Einstein. Apple doesn't market it's iPod against Windoze. Wow, unbelievable. How ignorant.
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|LOL.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvskEGWMLp4
http://www.youtube.com/w...jvs&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHK8Irb3P5E
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|Or how about the fact that some Apple stores use Windows on their mobile check-out units?
If you want to talk about being ignorant, then perhaps you should educate yourself about the reality of the world around you.
and still... You never answered my question.
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|Here is some wording from an advert I designed some years ago.
By the way I'm a Windows user ;-)
"PC used to mean Personal Computer ...
and my Personal Choice ... is a Mac"
(C) 1991 SteveJohnSteele
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|NOW IT'S TIME FOR APPLE LAUNCH MACOSX FOR PCS AND CHANGE THE ADS.
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|I'm a PC.....and I crash! HAHAHHAHAH!!!! joke!
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|I'm a MAC and I crash differently! HAHAHHAHAH!!!! Also a joke!
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|How does a MAC (Media Access Control) crash differently from a PC? I'm sorry but are you retarded?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAC_address
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|Well linux also runs on PCs :)
I guess they were talking about that kind of pc :)
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|With a 0.68% desktop market share, I don't think so. :)
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|Commercial was OK, not great. Far better than those horrendous Seinfeld/Gates ones though. What a waste though. How many people were in this? How much did it cost? The Mac commercials have 2 guys on a white backdrop doing a funny little bit that gets their point across much better. These could be much cheaper and get their point across much better.
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|As mentioned, the Apple commercials don't really sell MacOS. It brags about being able to run MS Office and something called "Leopard" that anyone not familiar with Macs will just be completely confused by. They don't point out any virtues. Their point is, "I'm cool and people diss Vista", which is a pretty stupid point.
Running a positive campaign may help MS a lot more than trying to attack Apple.
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|Let's stipulate: These apple/MS/new-PC ads about operating systems, not hardware.
Honestly, at this point, I could f-ing care less which OS you use. I'm GNU/Linux, an OS that's all about freedom and great coding. You're Microsoft, an OS that's all about insecurity and lock-in. That rich little snotnosed twit over there is Mac, an OS that's an obama-like/scientology cult.
You smoke yours; I'll smoke mine.
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|Let's stipulate: These apple/MS/new-PC ads about operating systems, not hardware.
It's ALL about the MONEY.
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|How is that robust little print server 'smokin'' for you? ;-)
Now, if they just had more apps - and please don't respond with OpenOffice! ;-S
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|Yawn, even Microsoft doesn't like to use their own OS.
http://www.appleinsider...._created_with_macs.html
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|Pretty much.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvskEGWMLp4
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|Well i'm assuming Microsoft hired an ad agency to do their ads, the ad agency runs Macs...I honestly doubt the ad agency is going to dump their macs because they're doing a pc commercial...get with the program.
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|Agency: Crispin Porter + Bogusky
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|Its 10+ year old news that MS uses Macs for their internal graphic design...
Not to mention that MS is the LARGEST Mac developer.
Yawn.
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|Ya Nice one.. was he talking about v6 or v7 of the mac?? As I recall apple dumped verything at OS 9.3 and turned to FreeBSd
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|The point of the video is that your hero and role model Bill Gates was and still is an Apple fanboy. Also I think you meant 'everything' not 'verything'. Apple turning to FreeBSD would prove to be an excellent decision.
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|Apple did turn to FreeBSD. OSX uses Darwin as the base OS which is an amalgam of FreeBSD running the MACH kernel.
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|bravo on well thought out comments Tim Conneally.
I am glad I am one of those...hopefully not one of the FEW...that need no accessories to let the world know, that I am cool, in some strange fashion.
I am a PC ;)
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|300 million dollars and what a waste of money because no one is storming out the door wanting to buy a pc. in fact everyone that has likely seen the ads are still at home criticizing them and perhaps contemplating buying something from someone that they plainly understand.
btw bill: don't beleive what they are telling you. you are actually running around your kingdom in the nude.
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|Hmmm... Few questions.
1. Could anyone please tell me what was the purpose of the two ads before? I mean, they got ZERO logical connection, meaning they could have simply run this one and that's it.
2. MS paid big buck to Crispin Porter + Bogusky for their supposed "creativity". Could anyone tell me what is so creative about this? I mean, to start with, the conception of an "answer" to mac ads is the very first thing comes to mind as a general concept. Two, simply showing people telling that they use PCs ("im a pc") is kinda the second thing that comes to mind in terms of "how" to play out the "answer".
So... Hmmm... 300 million ad company. ZERO creativity so far: only the VERY obvious ideas. I'm totally NOT hating on MS, I'm a windows user and I always will be. It's just that I don't really see the point behind paying for such an average idea and implementation AND I see very little point in making such an average campaign public.
And a message to Crispin Porter + Bogusky: guys, seriosly, you need to step your game up. Because this is kinda average, bordering on being plain old "weak".
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|Doesn't have to connect. Gets people talking about the ad campaign...that's all. It's like the opposite of those artsy ads where it's women running through Paris streets at midnight, under a full moon. She runs into a small house. You see her look back at the camera and close the door before "The worlds rides on Firestone Tires" appears on the screen...except these are funny. Those are annoying and eat up space on my TiVo.
-DW
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|Someof those people sound like they are saying, "I'm a pissing!"
This is a better ad, I guess. These people are a "PC" because they know no different.
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|Riiiight...because if you've used a Mac PC, you'd never use a Windows PC again...
*yawn*
Whatever.
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|Holy Cow! You finally get it PC_Tool! So when are you getting a Mac? I'll even go half & half with you if you make the switch. :)
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|If you'd been paying attention at all, you'd know I happen to have two Macs.
I still use the Windows desktop and my Windows laptops for damned near everything I do. the Macs are simply too slow (they are also several years old, which may account for their slowness...)
Regardless, I have owned Mac PCs. Now, I use Windows PCs.
Amazing, isn't it?
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|Cool. Let's get you up to date with a 3rd Mac. That 3.06 GHz iMac's speed will knock your socks off and put your PCs permanently to rest.
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|yeah right son, my hackintosh is running in a quadcore @ 3.8GHz
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|No, it won't.
We have 3 MacBook Pro's in our design department. (Design and Marketing)
I've used all three of them. Still using PCs.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but not all of us can be converted into iSheep.
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|Wow, that's a startling revelation. Without the Macs in your design department you would be unemployed...
By the way PC_Troll, how's your fat old wife doing?
Has she lost any weight yet? Or does she still look like this:
http://www.medlaunches.c...s/0408/29/fat_woman.jpg
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|When faced with logic, you yet again fall back to petty, immature insults.
How ... typical.
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|I find it really sad that so many people are willing to personally identify themselves AS the computer they use. A mentally balanced person should be able to distinguish emotionally between himself and the tools he uses. The Apple ads used the metaphor of machine personas. The computers did not represent people; the people represented computers, or sometimes companies. Why do so many PC owners feel personally attacked? I do not.
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|Well said. Like any advertising, the way you get people to buy your product is to make it appear as if it is better than all the alternatives. For some, that means Apple products fit their need. Others, it's a Windows box.
Heck people; it's your money. "Sticks and stones..." right?
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|Oh, now you've gone and exposed all the superior latte-drinking black-turtleneck-and-jeans wearing Mac types for what they are. I don't identify with brands, I just use what I think is best, and I refuse to pay for "style". Apple does some things really well, but IMO the iPod/iTunes isn't one of them.
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|I can't build my own Mac
But Vista is just awful
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|So much money.
So much ado about nothing.
Seinfeld was an appropriate choice.
Who cares?
Yawn.
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|Typical comeback from a fanboy that knows when hes lost a battle.
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|Lost a battle? LOL. Microshaft has a lot of catching up to do in terms of public perception. M$ is still perceived as an incompetent, dimwit company that is quickly becoming as relevant and vibrant as the Netscape browser...
Placing your faith in Winblows 7 a.k.a. Windows Vista 2nd edition? Don't hold your breath on it. Microshaft has already indicated it will be just as bloated and slow as it's predecessor.
Microsoft
Your Frustration, Our Fault ™
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|"Microshaft has a lot of catching up to do in terms of public perception."
This is irrelevent. They have deals with basically every OEM manufacturer to have their OS pre-loaded onto just about every PC sold.
"M$ is still perceived as an incompetent, dimwit company that is quickly becoming as relevant and vibrant as the Netscape browser..."
By whom? While they may have made some bad decisions, what company hasn't?
"Microshaft has already indicated it will be just as bloated and slow as it's predecessor."
Really? Where? I don't see any documentation on that at all.
You like Apple products, I get it, but this all sounds like opinion and rhetoric rather than actual fact. Microsoft is still the top player in the software market, they have the dominant OS on the desktop (and will for the forseeable future) and the only reason they probably even began to advertise was to counteract the bad Vista press. (Which, after trying it for myself, is only about half as cumbersome as it's made out to be. (Disclaimer: It was only a few hours.))
For all anyone knows Windows 7 will be another XP, which many did not enjoy in the beggining, and look how that caught on.
/rational mac user.
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|Fanboy? You ARE an idiot.
I like choice, and I routinely move from UNIX to Windows and to other platforms as the need exists.
I simply get tired of the same tired emotional stupidity expressed by the Windows camp about the Mac - just as I get sick of the adolescent slaves to image that so often tout the Mac.
The Mac affords those who need it more choice and greater productivity.
And I am well aware of the much greater problems that are routine with Windows on the desktop than one encounters on any other major platform.
Given the choice, Windows is the LAST platform used.
Lost a battle? I use what is available that works - and to the degree that other platforms are available - especially in the larger 64 bit and massively parallel systems on which I have lived for the last 10+ years, Windows doesn't even make a dent. And to the degree that I can use a desktop that talks natively with these systems as well as providing the tools to do what I need natively, the Mac simply provides the most flexibility and power.
And that having been said, I think the way Steve Jobs runs the company absolutely sucks.
So your analysis of what I like and why is absolutely stupid. Take a bow, genius!
Funny, Tool thinks I am an AIX fanboy (which I must admit is not that far off - yet not for a general desktop)
Heck, the Windows fanclub is still dominated by idiots who don't know that a Mac is just a PC and think that by virtue of Apple going with an obtuse standard known as TCP/IP back in 1993, that Apple became incompatible - all because MS stuck with their lousy NetBIOS until ~2004! Yup, the world revolves around NetBIOS! But as ignorance is bliss, you must sleep very peacefully. In fact, judging from the inactivity of those oh so peaceful brain cells, its hard to distinguish when you are asleep from when you are awake. LOL!
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|Can I be a foxfyre fanboy?
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|If this ad is a success, it's because of the very reason that PC's have always been used by the majority of people: shallow, muddy thinking and the inability to analyze a decision based on specifics rather than emotion. The MS ad is all about people who, although they have to admit that the specifics of the Apple campaign make sense, have already spent their money, and they don't like feeling like slowbees and mouth-breathers, so they pat themselves on the back, and act proud of themselves anyway. Rather pathetic, in my opinion. They are proud of who they are; that's fine. But can they be especially proud of their technological choice? So, owning a PC does not make you a total dork or worthless? Who ever said that it did? Not Apple, that's for sure. It shows that MS and its clients do not even UNDERSTAND the Apple ad campaign! And that's why they don't own Macs! If they did, they would! In contrast, each ad by Apple focuses on a specific feature or two, comparing and contrasting the machines, not the people. The two Apple actors are personifications of the respective machines, not the people who use those machines. It is the "If the Mac and PC were people, what would they be like?" idea. But neurotically insecure PC owners see it as the "What makes PC owners such worthless dorks?" idea. Apple contrasts the personas of the two machines, and the poor PC owners take it personally. They are so tied to their investment that they see every criticism of their second-class purchase as a personal attack, rather than an encouragement to think differently the next time around. Are there things that PC's do better than Macs? You bet your booty! I own one, and I love to use it to play high-powered games and interface it with all sorts of cool peripherals that aren't available for Mac! PC's have plenty to recommend them for specific apps. Is Windows clunky, unreliable, and prone to security attacks? Yes! But there are niche applications for it that are either far superior or that you just can't do with a Mac. I see my PC as my quirky, needy, sometimes annoying, but very powerful playground; but my Mac is an elegant, helpful, dependable friend that I take with me wherever I go. That's the kind of content and focus that makes ads successful, persuasive, and entertaining, not a bunch of personally insecure PC owners futilely reassuring their troubled consciences and lashing out at a perceived personal attack that never occurred in the first place. I often wonder how many PC owners who have taken the Apple ads personally even know that the Mac actor is admittedly a computer novice, while the PC actor is an avid Mac owner..........LOL!
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|Yeah, you lost me there. The kool-aid must have had a lot of caffeine in it. Blah blah blah.
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|Then I advise you to stop drinking it......
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|Uh, no. That's the caffeinated Steve Jobs Kool-Aid you've obviously had.
You might try being concise with your Apple fan-boy rantings.
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|I apologize that my comment was too hard for you to understand. But on the other hand, I don't really care.....
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|Is not about how hard it was but how bad formatted it is. Who cares then about its content.
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|That shows in your comment that you don't care.
deecon (or was it D*con?), isn't that rat poison?
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|You said:
"but the differences have become so aesthetic, so esoteric, that any debate over the weight of those differences has become boring."
I beg to differ. Both the Mac ads and the PC ads correctly define their strengths.
The new Windows add plays to the fact that so many people use Windows. A lot people buy Microsoft products not because they are "better", but because "everyone else uses it". (gotta say it: So, if everyone else jumped off a cliff, would you?....)
The thing is, buying a Windows PC is jumping off a cliff, of sorts. And, that is part of what the Mac ads have been about. Windows isn't nearly as stable nor as efficient as Mac. I know, I used to be a network administrator for a 70-person office using Windows. I have nightmares about the Blue Screen of Death. But, there's more to it than that.
One commentary (when talking about the BeOS... you know, that great OS that Microsoft killed) said that an operating system should be enabling, not limiting. Windows is limiting. Mac is enabling.
Aside from being easier (and providing a model for Microsoft to aspire to), the Mac is more efficient, and therefore enabling. I use Architectural visualization software that is available on both the Mac and the PC. On one very complex exterior remodel, it took 30 minutes for my little Mac Mini to generate the elevations. But, my client, whose Windows PC was nicknamed "Bad Boy", was not only unable to generate the elevations, but he couldn't even open the project without first clearing the elevations. I think this goes to the ongoing memory limitations that still exist in Windows. But, it doesn't really matter why. The fact is, the little Mac Mini was able to do what a tricked out Windows PC couldn't do using the exact same software.
So, don't go saying that the difference between Windows and Mac is esoteric. The difference is very real. In fact, the Mac commercials speak the truth, albeit in a "charming" way.
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|I've a PC, I work on Mac...I love my PC
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|The most recent "I'm a Mac" ads are not so much about features as they are about the PC guy trying to trick people so they will buy PC's. Great ads like this "I'm a PC" ad don't hurt Microsoft but they can't fix the basic problem. People don't trust Microsoft. The double speak, empty nonsense marketing speak, intentional incompatibility, undermining of standards, and planned obsolescence just leave people with that used car salesman feeling.
But it does feel better to know you aren't the only sucker.
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|"The double speak, empty nonsense marketing speak, intentional incompatibility..."
"It just works" - hasn't that been BS for Apple lately?
"...and planned obsolescence just leave people with that used car salesman feeling."
And just how backward compatible is OSX? That was planned obsolescence!
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|Apple was smart enough to not allow themselves to be burdened by 20 years of every design decision they ever made in the pursuit of a backward-compatibility that really isn't all that useful. Why ruin your product for 10% of software. I think making OSX was a brilliant decision. MS started down that road with Vista, and if it didn't suck on toast and actually offered something better than XP, it would be a good tradeoff.
I use Linux fulltime now, and I do not have to worry about any company breaking or ruining the OS I use.
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|Integrity is not relative. You sound like a 14 year old with a piercing. But look at what they did!
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|It took Microsoft 2 years to reply to Apple by trotting out Gates and Seinfeld. "Humanity vs. smugness"? More like "vague and stupid vs. cool and effective."
The reality is: If you want to fuss and administer, get Windows. If you want to be productive and have fun, get Apple.
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|Be sure to buy applecare for your hardware, cause you don't want to spend $600-$800 for a motherboard, or $200 for a powersupply. If you don't believe me, look to apple discussions and read what people had to pay to fix something out of warranty. Don't forgot you need to make an appointment to have your computer looked at at the apple stores also, cause if you just walk-in, they will tell you you need an appointment! WTF.
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|Where do you take your PC problems! To the Dell store? LOL
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|To the person who made the derogatory remark about buying Applecare protection, I would submit that even with buying Applecare protection, the Mac is a far superior investment. I used Applecare to replace the hard drive and screen controller for a Powerbook I bought nine years ago. It saved me (net) $600, and that Powerbook has been running for NINE years without a single crash, and it's never been shut off except to restart after installing software. It didn't just sit there either - I used it full time for my professional work as a Web and graphic designer. Now my 11 year old daughter is using it. IT HAS NEVER CRASHED. Most PC people will probably think I'm lying. Vista, XP, etc., none are in the same software league as OSX.
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|I am a fulltime programmer and I have been using XP since 2001 and for the last 2 years my son's using it and it has never crashed. Been using Vista since the beta days...and all I can say is people don't know how to use it correctly.
The only reason ever Windows crashes is because people install junk software / hardware (because they can, sometimes free) and then blame the OS.
With Apple you got to pay for every damn thing..that is why Mac is never famous outside the US...you know why...because all Mac customers are ...well you know...kinda dumb folks with money to kill.
Macs are seriously crappy. You can't build the hardware, there are very limited freeware.
I can upgrade the hardware, when I need it, how I need it and I can do it myself. I don't need "folks" trained for it nor pay for the warrantly.
You are right, Mac and XP/Vista are not the same league.
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|Re: "... people don't know how to use it correctly"-- Yeah, that's a big part of the Windoze problem-- it should be MUCH more self--evident, uh, kinda like Mac OS X...
Re: "junk software/hardware"-- too bad Windoze is so fragile...
Ad hominem attacks "... kinda dumb folks with money to kill..." DO NOT boost your case.
Re: "... crappy... can't build the hardware..." DUH! 1) Macs get consistently high ratings from the like of J.D.Powers, etc. 2) Most folks who drive don't want to be auto mechanics! Get it? 3) You're just plain WRONG about freeware on Macs!
Re: "I can upgrade..." Yeah, same tired argument as above. You want to doodle with your '67 GTO-- go right ahead. Most Mac (AND PC) users just want their machines to WORK RELIABLY FOR THEM.
You are right, Mac and XP/Vista are not the same league. Macs are in the MAJOR leagues...
Have a nice day!
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|Cheers man!!! I like my computer my way.. XP/Vista lets me have it my way.
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|Oh yea great comeback.. Why the heck are you comparing a computer to a car. I bet alot more people want to upgrade their computer then want to upgrade their car. PCs let you upgrade all you want IF you want to. Thats freedom at its best. If anything I compare Macs to a dictatorship and PCs to a Democracy.
I welcome all the fanboys to eat that comment up!
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|> there are very limited freeware.
Only practically everything that runs on Linux. Windows freeware is 95% garbage.
What a snot. Just because you haven't had problems doesn't mean people who do don't know what they are doing. My laptop that came with Vista bluescreened for me, and I've been using Microsoft since DOS 1, and spent 15 years developing for Windows. I know what I'm doing and IMO Vista is worthless. To each his own.
BTW, I use Linux on all my machines now and have been programming for Linux professionally for about 3 years and don't miss Windows at all. Not even XP, which I really liked.
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|Scott Fulton: First of all, the new phase of the Windows marketing campaign is what the first phase should have been to begin with. It's a way to draw new boundaries around the definition of the product, and make it more personal. The Seinfeld phase of the campaign was an ad about nothing. This is an ad about something, and something real.
I think you're very wrong here. Would everyone have been talking about this more meaningful 3rd installment if there hadn't been such a huge buzz from installments 1 and 2? Hardly. #3 would've been just another commercial that most people would have skipped over with their DVRs. Don't forget that "Seinfeld" (the show) was a show about nothing, and yet it was one of the most successful and popular shows of all time.
to borrow a concept from a much greater comedian than Jerry Seinfeld, is simply becoming the temporary place for your stuff.
I'm not so sure everyone would get that George Carlin reference.
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|While I agree with the conclusion, that it's not the computer but what you do with it that counts, Microsoft has some actual work to do before I will buy another one. Coolness has nothing to do with it. I can run almost any title that I need on a Mac or PC, so in that sense, it doesn't really matter. BUT, until someone comes up with a solution to the malicious software that takes over your PC on an all too frequent basis, I'll stay with a Mac. I cannot tell you how many PC's I've spent hours and days recovering from viruses or spyware. I don't even run the anti-virus stuff on my Mac. The "whys" of why Windows gets targeted don't matter. It keeps me from "doing" what I want with the PC. I'll start listening when I hear Microsoft say they can say that the Windows OS is no longer subject to endless security patches and that malware is no longer likely hijack my time by taking over my PC. By the way - I have both.
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|Apple = Security through obscurity.
When and IF their market share goes up to a significant level there will be plenty of spyware and viruses targeted at OS X.
You must have piss poor web habits. I've run Windows XP without antivirus software or a software firewall for years without any problems.
Remember, if the attachment has anything to do with Anna Kournikova don't open it.
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|I agree that the most likely reason the Mac OS is safer is a result of market share. Nonetheless it is reality.
I don't have "piss-poor" habits. One time my PC was hijacked simply by going to a website to look up song lyrics. My IE settings were on the default. I did nothing, and witnessed the active-X control install without even a "Click OK to continue". I've worked on PCs since 1986, part of that time as a PC support specialist. Before the song lyric incident, I didn't think it was possible for malware to install itself without some blunder on the user's part. I was wrong.
Then, of course, there are the kids and others who may use my PC. And my mother, whose computer is constantly hosed. The Mac is just safer, not better - and that's my point.
Anna K - yes I get that. You can believe that after numerous PC rebuilds, when I am on a PC, I'm pretty darn vigilant. On my Mac, it doesn't matter. This makes using my computer less stressful, and more enjoyable.
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|you can twist it either way good sir. The Macs are less stressful in terms of viruses, but when It's time to play my favorite video game...OOPS...not supported. So when i'm *actually* stressed (tough day at work) i'd rather be busting up 2Fort on Team Fortress 2, than finding something to do on my "secure" Mac.
And Lyrics sites are known for aggressive advertising, that's how they make their money. Generally I avoid them.
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|Wrong thinking again XP alidocious.... it's not about the market share- it's about the viability of the system. You think the nitwits who write viruses haven't tried to attack OSX? Microsoft made some lucky business moves early on, but that's not what makes good programming and design happen- that comes from thinking different.
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|I agree with you. For games, I play the Wii. LOL
For desktop applications including games, the Mac OS is not superior, and Windows has many more software titles. It's when I browse the good-old-internet or handle email that the Mac is safer.
Lyrics sites - the price of education :). Now I employ McAfee Site Advisor to help me screen web sites that are new to me.
Best regards
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|Don't give me that bs.. Apple just released an update with 20 some SECURITY fixes.. If OSX was so secure why would there be anything to fix?
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|OS-X isn't perfect, and there is validity to the idea that Microsoft is targeted because of their market share. Malicious software writers do it for glory, and the more havoc they wreak the better for them.
OS-X does require security patches. All I'm saying is that OS-X is safer because there are fewer malicious developers shooting at it. That could change if Apple succeeds in it's marketing. But until then... :)
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|And what OS is responsible for hundreds of thousands of zombie machines jamming petabytes of spam down our throats?
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|I use Firefox. IE is a death trap, even now.
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|Playing video games? LOL, what are you, 12? If you must have your toys that is what a game console is for or Nintendo DS/PS Portable, etc.
You could also just install Windoze via Apple's Boot Camp utility which by the way runs Windoze better than any PC. Then when you're done playing with your toys, you can enjoy using OS X again. Simple.
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|Why can’t someone play games on a Windows PC? To have the possibility to play music/videos/games, surfing the net, etc... with one piece of hardware is pretty neat. Cost less than having all those equipments to do it. And they didn’t make the games I play on any console... I don’t get the point where an Apple PC could run better Windows than a Windows PC..., Intel cpu, Nvidia gfx, Seagate hdd, DDR2 module, sounds like a pc to me, so if it’s an Apple branded chassis of an OEM chassis... that’s what makes the difference? Oh, and its Windows btw, does distorting names sounds a little too 12yo to you? Windows and Mac OS have all their pros and cons, you choose which one fits you better and that’s it. No need to bash your neighbour because he opted for cable and you for dsl, you’ll all go to the same place. Cheers!
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|A game console doesn't compare to a decent PC. And few MMOGs on a console. Get a clue. Do you really think only 12 year olds play video games? Just how much brain damage do you have? Toys? Don't you have a better vocabulary?
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|Awww poor little boy, did daddy hurt your feelings? I'm sorry. You're just a brave, mature and responsible man who just happens to like toys... ahem... I mean video games. ^__^
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|You're my "daddy"? You wish. Someone needs to hurt you badly. How's middle school working for you?
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|Microsoft = Epic Fail
Don't tell anybody I told you guys this, we wouldn't want everybody to know this but M$ makes Windows NOT PCs. Shhhhhhh... Let's keep that a secret.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upzKj-1HaKw
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|Macs are for losers.
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|Please tell me that you watched the whole video and not just this excerpt?
If you did you would learn that
A) At the time of this interview Steve Jobs was fired from Apple. (He wasn't to kind about Apple either).
B) The GUI concept was originally developed in the late 70's by Xerox PARC. A few brain childs got their ideas from this (including Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.) There were also a couple of other ideas that was brought into fruitation because of Xerox PARC.
C) There was a great spat about the concept of an icon being copyrightable.
D) The end of the video was the launch of Windows 95. It's not exactly new.
If you have not watched the whole video you are missing some important details on computing history. Most importantly Apple isn't the great innovator they put themselves out to be. You will also find out how IBM/Intel/Microsoft/Compaq got it's start in the PC business and how they themselves copied a lot of ideas.
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|That's right- the ones who lost their files running on Windows when it crashed, the ones who lost hours installing all those stupid virus software updates, the ones who lost the valuable time of life restarting their clunky Windows machines because of lame software, lost their money replacing PCs every three years, etc., etc., etc.
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|Exactly the reason why you should be using one. ^__^
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|Well either you have one and you're a loser...Or you don't have one and worship them anyway and you're still a loser...
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|I did! But suddenly I couldn't help winning on all fronts any longer so I had to get rid of it.
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|PC fans love to think that the resurgence in Macintosh use is simply a function of marketing.
"the principal distinctions between their two products have pretty much faded, or completely died out." --Nothing could be further from the truth.
Actually, it is precisely because the two systems now run on Intel that the differences in the SOFTWARE have become so staggeringly obvious (and have become the proper focus of the Mac/PC adds). Even PC Mag calls the Mac OS superior to Windows. No feel-good marketing is going to change that.
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|PC Magazine never said that.
And feel-good marketing has clearly helped Apple. The difference between these two operating systems are not that significant to the casual computer user...
except for the Apple software that crashes (?deliberately) Windows.
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|Apple software never crashes.
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|LOL.. ya if you dont use it
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|Au contraire:
"After seven months with Apple's Mac OS X Leopard Version 10.5, I have three main things to say about it. First: Despite minor problems, it's by far the best operating system ever written for the vast majority of consumers, with dozens of new features that have real practical value—like truly automated backups, document and spreadsheet preview images in folders, and notes and to-do lists integrated into the mail program. Propeller-heads with IT know-how will no doubt hold up Linux as the better choice, and even Vista SP1 has some devotees somewhere, but, for the average user, Leopard is the most polished and easiest to use OS I've tested."
Edward Mendelson, PC Mag, 05.29.08
http://www.pcmag.com/art...2/0,2817,2207556,00.asp
MS software has been crashing Macs since 1984. But now the Mac version of Office has many features not found on the PC version due to the cool things developers can easily do in OS X. Research it. Apple has always had good marketing, but market share has only begun growing again since the maturity of Mac OS X.
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|iTunes 8 blue-screened Vista. Great quality control they have there at Apple.
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|PC Mag is irrelevant. And one review with lots of caveats. Big deal.
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|You should really take a gander at the OSX support forums on occasion. You might not come across as such a complete imbecile as often as you do.
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|Okay, here is another one. If these full reviews are "irrelevant" then what does that make our posts here?
http://www.pcmag.com/art...2/0,2817,2273486,00.asp
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|"Apple software never crashes."
It just becomes temporarily inoperable!
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|I check it out all the time and I've yet to come across one complaint from a Mac user.
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|It's also hard to come across a Mac user.
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|Or permanently inoperable. The spinning balloon of death. Of course, it's still better than Windows.
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|As OS that can be bluescreened by an app. Great quality control there Microsoft. Who can blame Apple for writing crappy Windows software when Microsoft can't even do it.
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|It should be noted, that iTard7's definition of a Mac User is what we would normally call iSheep.
Users who realize Jobs ins't God and the Mac isn't the Holy Grail aren't real "Mac Users" in his world.
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|Try to read more than the URL. :)
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|The product (Apple) definitely defines the person. Very similar to cigarette ads and the way cigarettes define a person. People embrace these things which they see as cool. Advertisers have always understood this. They also understand that the easiest group to influence is the young.
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|"First of all, the new phase of the Windows marketing campaign is what the first phase should have been to begin with."
Hear! Hear! Marketing Genius SF3 has spoken! The brains at Crispin Porter + Bogusky are sobbing and crying!
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|I just watched it on my PC running Linux.
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|I have to say I totally agree with both Tim and Scott (for a change). A well written article.
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|The ad campaign is brilliant. As Paul Thurrott said comparing Window's ads to Apple's:
"Humanity vs. smugness. Which side are you going to choose?"
It's too soon to say if the ad is successful. That will take a quarter or two and some careful objective analysis.
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|Smugness is a human trait. Animals and rocks do not exhibit smugness. If you are human and have reason to be smug, then you are acting humanly. Your evaluation is irrational. But that is what sells. Hence the success of MS.....
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|I have observed many animals acting smug, no smug rocks though.
... and I'm a PC.
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|As far as I can see it's invisible. Is this on TV? I think I cover a reasonable spectrum of channels, but I have yet to see one commercial.
Geico ads, on the other hand are more numerous than flies on roadkill.
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|Agreed.
Have yet to see it, but admittedly, I watch FX, Sci-Fi, and the wife's channels (Ion, Tru, HGT, etc...), so my chances of catching it are incredibly slim.
IMO, the entire "debate" over the commercials is a "debate" about nothing...
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|Maybe somebody could let us know where they've seen it. (other than youtube)
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|I finally saw thier first commercial on tv last night on the discovery channel.
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|I saw it during a football game last sunday and monday.
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|So what you're saying is that your wife wears the pants? Pathetic.
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|> The Seinfeld phase of the campaign was an ad about nothing.
No, it was a failure. That it was a failure was admitted by Microsoft's PR team.
The ad campaign is not working out at all as well as Microsoft had hoped, in spite of the extreme attempts here to spin it otherwise.
Microsoft will have returned Apple's volley only when everyone and his brother stop laughing at Windows Vista, not sooner.
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|Why are people laughing at Vista? Vista sells a million percent more then anything else in the market. It's Microsoft that can't stop laughing at people that think they are doing bad.
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|True value isn't always measured in sales dollars. If Microsoft really were bothering to laugh about people thinking they were doing bad, it would verify their lack of vision. I have a Mac I've been running for nine years (ten in November)- it has NEVER CRASHED. I've never seen a PC last that long, that's why they have to sell so many- think about that my friend when you read about so many computers ending up in landfills.
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|Yep- it's just another example of MS equating spending money with creative thinking.
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|When you have such a monopoly you can force your product to be sold with 95% of computer, sales has nothing to do with how good or bad you are.
Vista sells well only because Microsoft is a monopoly, otherwise it would have utterly failed.
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|Probably because everybody likes to consume electronics more and more, didn’t have a VCR for ten years, neither a cd player, console, pc nor a DVD player. I don’t think somebody will have is iPod or iPhone for ten years, it will be replace by a new version, or what will be popular by that time. But congrats to you for you soon to be 10 years without crashing. 10 years... that means I would still by using my Intel Pentium MMX 200 MHz and 64Mb of RAM and a 6go hdd... no thank you!
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|Whatever helps you sleep at night. *wink*
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|