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Love the new 'Get a Mac' Ad's :D Can't decide if 'Biohazard Suit' or 'Time Traveler' is my pick... (-: Clever and funny.

This Ad's will no doubt make many Micronerds really mad ;)
:rolleyes::apple:

They sure are mad, Microsoft says Macs are overpriced and can't do much and they are praised as being geniuses. Apple says PC's are virus ridden and crash and they get bashed, WTF.

I agree that they are great commercials. From a marketing standpoint, it is quite ingenious. They do not mention how Vista sucks. (Yes, it does suck as a product.) They stress the hardware over the software while dismissing the competition, quite effectively and with subtlety.

I wish that Apple would have done something to have addressed this perception of the "apple tax". They could have done a Mac vs. PC commercial showing off the "pc discount" for having to deal with Viruses, the trial software, and Vista.

LOL at this dude, you want Microsoft to mention how Vista sucks in their own ad.


Very very tired. Same crap they've been saying for years that still isn't true. They make it sound like every single PC gets a virus the instant you turn on, when in reality I don't know very many people at all who've gotten a virus on a PC, even when they weren't running AV software (outside of a corporate setting, where you're always going to have to deal with idiots infecting an entire network). Macs aren't magical, they're just as vulnerable and actually easier to hack, but no one bothers messing with 7% of the market. Sure there are more stories of people having trouble with PCs, but that's because there's 20 times as many people using them.

And what is this "maintenance" cost that they always talk about? Doesn't almost everyone in the world know at least one PC geek who will fix your computer for free if you actually do have a problem? Maybe if you live in backwoods Idaho or something.

Faces is a gimmick that doesn't work very well. It's something I guess, but a real highlight? If they hype it, people are just going to be disappointed. Bottom line, after being on the rise for a while, their market share is falling because overpriced merchandise + bad economy = lower sales. I always see a lot of people in Apple stores because they look so hip and trendy, but very few walk out with Macs -- if they have anything it's almost always an iPod or iPhone, or something small like a case. They play with the Macs, but one look at the price tag and they walk away.

LOL at the PC fanboys crying because Apple hurt their feelings, want a tissue.
 
And yet it's not a better product - a BSOD is a BSOD, even if it doesn't announce itself as one. Anyway, I'm not asking for a full memory dump, just a "polite" admission that the computer has in some way messed up, not the user, with perhaps a hint as to where the blame might lie (hardware/OS/third party software). I've been developing for long enough, and yet the first time I saw a post-10.2 BSOD I didn't even know what was up.

What would you like the message to be? The BSOD/GSOD means that something entirely unexpected happened. At this point all the kernel can do is dump the memory and bail out. I've seen my share of BSOD's and I have never gotten anything more useful out of them than: "Something went wrong. Restart and cross your fingers".

Had something just installed in the background and require a reset - if so, why can't I Command-Tab out and shut down cleanly? Can I get out of this thiing so I don't lose work? Had I accidentally pressed a quick restart combination of keys? Was there some hardware failure, e.g. a thermal event?

So, what would you suggest? Given that the OS can most probably tell you nothing specific about the error.

Agreed. They shouldn't need to know what Activity Monitor or "force quitting" is, either, but the OS is fairly poor at keeping misbehaving apps in line. Mind you, this is a common problem of consumer operating systems.

Sure, but that is a different issue. At least they don't need to know "killall -9"
 
I've never understood criticisms like this. I mean... they're ads, fer @#$%& sake, not high art. Since when are ads tasteful? There's no such thing as a tasteful ad and if you think otherwise, you've been spending too much time in front of the TV.

And anyway, Apple has gone the so-called tasteful route before and their market share didn't budge. I always bring up the airplane ad, the one where the two people on either side of the Mac user are just amazed at what iPhoto can do.

Bo-ring!

That just didn't work. Not at all. In fact, that was at a time when Apple's market share was even dipping a little and going under 2%. That was an ugly time. Apple found their groove with these ads and their market share has crept upward which means they're getting attention and people are buying the product. And that's the sole measure of success when it comes to advertising, tastefulness be damned.



Please tell me you're being ironic with all this. Or is this the part where all the small print comes up?



This "market share means more viruses" argument was buried ages ago. Give it up already. There's no supporting evidence for it. If you have some, cite it. The only example we have is Windows and that's mostly the result of Microsoft's sloppy attitude toward security ("Gee, let's have Outlook automatically open attachment... what could go wrong?") And people have been saying this about Macs since they were 2% of the market. And Macs are moving toward 10% now. I mean, what's the magic number? What market share percentage will precipitate this nightmare invasion of OS X viruses?

Well said, we've been waiting for the invasion of viruses for years.
 
Microsoft releases a campaign of new ads attacking Apple, that receive tons of attention and start a lot of discussion.

Apple, in response, releases a series of ads that could easily be confused as being a few years old by the average consumer.

The 'ad war' isn't with the consumer - it exists in the minds of people like you. Microsoft can keep on saying their products are cheaper; these ads make the point that PCs are less reliable and don't work as well. The combination makes PCs seem like cheap rubbish, which is what Apple would like people to recognise.

It puts Apple's message across. Maybe they are more expensive, but there are benefits. That's all Apple needs to say.
 
Leopard is fully 64 bit capable, so that complaint should be directed at the software devs, not Apple.

Leopard is a 32-bit operating system, with support for 64-bit application virtual memory.

Snow Leopard is a 64-bit operating system - Apple is realizing that Windows did 64-bit right the first time, and 10.6 is a scramble to do it right in OSX.


Adobe practically said, "We didn't feel like it this time, but we'll get you next version..." which is why I personally skipped CS4.

Perhaps, but this short-term bump will lead to advantages long-term as this will force developers to finally move to the newer Cocoa. Personally I can't believe that Apple themselves hasn't moved everything of theirs to Cocoa.

Apple shafted their third party partners by the last minute cancellation of 64-bit Carbon.

This forces the partners to do a lot of re-engineering just to stay in the same place. This is expensive, and can lead to new bugs in the re-engineered code.

Software houses prefer to put their effort into adding features for their customers, not to make the effort just respond to the operating system removing features.


Might as well. Windows 7 is just Windows Vista with a personality transplant and a new pair of Nike's ;)

Actually, that's a good thing. Vista is a solid, stable system with some UI issues.

Microsoft listened to the feedback on the UI, and Windows 7 is a nice, new personality on top of the solid Vista foundation.

Apple is going to looke even more stupid than the PC vs. Mac ads if they try to push the "personality transplant" angle....


2. Driver updates -- please list some.
3. Mac OS X auto-defrags the drive, no need for users to do anything.

Wait until 10.6 when Apple users have the problem with 32-bit and 64-bit drivers.... Every existing driver will need to be re-written in 64-bit.
 
Watch the MS ads.

They SCREAM cheap, low-budget, Wal Mart, lower-middle class. It really isn't something people would associate with willingly unless (economic) circumstances compelled them to.
Meanwhile, outside of small pockets of bounty, everyone is "lower-middle class". What's to be ashamed of? Not everyone either follows the American Dream, or believes that the American Dream is necessarily about material wealth.

I'm proud to fashion something together myself that works. I'm happy when I've selected something satisfactory that uses the minimum of resources. There's a strong legacy of puritanism and protestant work ethic in the US that fosters both these feelings. These ideals, not over-consumption, built America.

macsmurf said:
(on BSODs) So, what would you suggest? Given that the OS can most probably tell you nothing specific about the error.
1. That there was an unexpected problem.
2. That it's not the user's fault, but perhaps hardware or software fault.
3. That the system cannot continue operating.
4. What Apple or (identified) third party code executing during crash.

e.g.

"The system encountered an unexpected problem and cannot continue without being reset. Unfortunately, unsaved work may have been lost."

"It is unlikely that you did anything to cause this. There may be an issue with (VMware Fusion/Mac OS X/the hardware), so (a report has been created that you can send to its author after reset/ditto to Apple/you may wish to call Applecare quoting reference BLAH)."
 
Only if they released a Netbook to compete with the Netbooks for SOME of which, that MAY be the OS with which it is distributed.

Until Apple get off their high horse and produce a Netbook for £300 - then they have nothing to compare to the machines for which that Windows 7 verison is intended.

Dude I'm sure if Apple released a netbook with Mac OSX it wont be limited to running 3 apps at a time.
 
i hate to say it but im dissapointed

the biohazard one really didnt repeat anything new... it just pretty much was saying "hey yeah, in case you guys forgot macs still have no viruses, just making sure you know"

time travelling one had to use the same old "ohh pc just froze" joke *rolling eyes*

the Stacks one was an obvious attempt brag about some feature macs have... which i guess works because apple should spend more time pointing out WHY macs are better instead of why PC's arent that great... but it still seemed like a bad ad.

the legal copy one was kinda funny, but again it was still just repeating same old same old "pcs arent perfect LAL!"


And the Microsoft ads said what was new? Oh yeah I forgot that they didn't. They said the same things pc users have been saying all along.

Note: Yes, both sets of ad's do repeat, but that's advertising, and it works.

~ Shoe
 
Why should they? It's not too expensive for me. It's not too expensive for the premium end of the market, which they are targeting.

Why should Apple deal on the cheap? That certainly isn't their image. If I was worried about price I wouldn't have bought a Mac.

Apple is certainly not going to start compromising their image and industry/consumer perception simply because there is a recession. It is perfectly feasible for a company to offer a product at the same high price point as before - the only variable being what kind of (greater) value that product now offers.

The last thing Apple should do is cave in to the low-cost netbook market and compete on price. That's a losing game and pretty horrible in terms of differentiation over the long-term. If Apple does offer a "netbook" solution, it'll be a more robust product with a higher price tag, that differentiates via small form factor + software rather than via a "cheap" alternative to a notebook, which is what nearly all netbooks are these days.

Image is everything. Image determines what the consumer, over the long-term, wants to associate themelves with.

I've seen some Hyundai ads attacking BMW and Mercedes saying you can can get one for cheaper, I guess BMW and Mercedes should start airing adds addressing Hyundai and why you should get one of their cars instead.
 
True, but largely hypothetical. Mac will never come even close to PC level market share, at least if they intend to maintain a 25-30% profit margin. Without a large market share, and especially in government and business, the Mac just isn't a profitable target for serious malware proliferators.

Who cares, right now Macs don't have a virus problem. Meanwhile in PC land they are dealing with Conflicker.
 
The 'ad war' isn't with the consumer - it exists in the minds of people like you. Microsoft can keep on saying their products are cheaper; these ads make the point that PCs are less reliable and don't work as well. The combination makes PCs seem like cheap rubbish, which is what Apple would like people to recognise.

It puts Apple's message across. Maybe they are more expensive, but there are benefits. That's all Apple needs to say.

All the recent customer satisfaction reports have Apple on top with all the PC companies dropping the ball. You buy cheap crap, you get a bad experience. This is the message Microsoft wants you to buy into when you buy on price.
 
Well, they did,

I disagree. This is exactly how Apple needs to address the Microsoft ads -- with the same tactic that been getting people to make the switch.

I agree.

If Apple were to respond to the accusation that Macs are "more expensive", it would work against Apple.

They did, they just did it the Apple way
PC: "That sounds expensive"
Mac: "Not really"

Just as every time Microsoft mentions a Mac in their ads, it works for Apple. I think more of these ads are what is needed to keep going in the right direction.

Truely.

Besides, I'm sure it just angers Ballmer even more knowing that Apple just isn't budging!


It's like Steve has a new toy to play with up in Redmond. A pet gorilla or something. Ballmer must really put a spring in his step.
 
Dude I'm sure if Apple released a netbook with Mac OSX it wont be limited to running 3 apps at a time.

Good thing for us Apple has said that the netbook market is a nascent one they wont be competing in. Something about their inability to make a good computer for under 500USD...
 
yes, may be some more change is needed

I thought the previous ad, the one where PC pushes all the money for fixing Vista to the advertising pile was hilarious. These new ads I found rather boring. Maybe Apple needs to change it up with something different.

I second with tubbymac... although the biohazard ad was good... the rest seemed to a bit hurried up, as if they were racing up to a deadline...

may be some more change is needed, to the way they make these "I am a Mac, I am a PC" ads....
 
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