Laptop Hunters: Homeless Frank - New MS Ad

This is the first macrumors news post I have ever seen with 0 negatives (at the time of this writing).
 
Hi- freaking -larious!

"This is Frank, he told us he wanted a laptop with "MGDFMLJKSQFMSG". For under a 1000 dollars."

"COUGH COUGH COUGH, it's terrible antivirus software really."

"I'm poor, but I'm not retarded!"


Simply brilliant.
 
Lol, that was great. "I'm poor, but I'm not retarded." The look on his face when he said that was simply awesome.
:D
 
Anuba said:
Yeah, but it also hammers home the point that Apple is smug, aloof, and scoffs at the average joe, which is exactly what Microsoft wants. These guys walked straight into Microsoft's playbook trap.
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Yes, pretty much. All I'm left is with the message, "Even a homeless man scoffs at PCs... though he's still the kind of person to end up choosing one." Why is the line "I'm poor, not retarded" viewed as amusing? I'm brown-hair, not blue-eyed. It's not funny because there's no prejudice to play on which assumes that brown-haired people are blue-eyed.

While I'm here, why is the homeless person, usually depicted with mannerisms that reflect mental illness, such a stooge of US comedy? British humour tends to celebrate the qualities of the underdog; American media tends to view "the poor" either with contempt or as a target for patronising charity.
 
NewMacbookPlz said:
I imagine those HP screens look AMAZING with 1366x768px spread over 16.4" haha
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for your information they do. i have a goddamn HDX 16 (yea, the one from that ad lol, i got it when it when HP released it) and it IS AMAZING.

Games? GREAT.
Movies? PERFECT. (this is the absolute strongest point of this laptop)

you can QQ all you want about it but unless you're some creative professional i can't think of a single reason why it's so negative to have 1366x768 on a computer that costs $1000. it looks CLEAN.

in fact i would say i think that 1366x768 looks SUPERIOR to 1280x800 on my macbook. this is in part because it's a 16 inch screen vs a 13.3, so i admit it's a bit unfair. but still. shut up about the resolution unless you absolutely need your precious 1920x1080p, in which case you'd be spending more then the $1000 price point of that laptop.

don't get me wrong, i'm sure a MBP blows it away, but then again, the MBP costs twice as much so i'd really hope it does!

please don't take any of this personally; i've just seen too many folks take low blows at laptops that use 1366x768. It's really not bad looking at all, especially on an excellent screen like the one on the HP i use.

FURTHER MORE: you can get that same HP laptop with a 1920x1080 for $175!
 
I remember back before the days of youtube when not just anyone could make any film they felt like, just on a whim.
Those were the good old days.

Rich :cool:
 
LOL

But I'm confused...

he said "Just let me take the money."

And then when they were handing him the $301 left over, he ignored it.

... he really should have gone on eBay and bought a year old MacBook... I'm sure he could have gotten something really nice for $1000. (Of course, that'd defeat the purpose of the video.)

Edit: Wait... my iMac's screen is a 24" at 1920x1200

2,304,000 pixels total with (24^2) = 576... 2,304,000/576 is 4,000 ppi^2

1,049,088 pixels total (16^2) = 256... 1,049,088/256 is 4,098 ppi^2...

unless I'm mistaken, that laptop has a slightly better resolution than the iMac. (It's all too possible that I'm wrong... I may not have factored in the fact that screen size is measured by the diagonal rather than the area.)
 
Veri said:
British humour tends to celebrate the qualities of the underdog; American media tends to view "the poor" either with contempt or as a target for patronising charity.
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I don't know; American society seems to revolve around who is a winner and who is a loser. Success is extremely important, status symbols are extremely important, driving this or that car is shameful, etc. Probably something to do with the political system being built around some sort of "every man for himself" idea. They're so insecure that they still have trouble being seen driving a hatchback car, since this is apparently somehow associated with being poor, due to some 1970's social stigma or whatever.

As someone who grew up in Sweden with its rather unusual combination of tonnes of cash combined with a quasi-socialist government, these things feel rather alien, because in a society where pretty much everyone is either middle class or middle class and a half, there are no real winners or losers and you can't impress anyone with status symbols; nobody gives a crap whether you drive a Honda or a BMW or whether you own a Mac or a PC.
 
ArtOfWarfare said:
Edit: Wait... my iMac's screen is a 24" at 1920x1200

2,304,000 pixels total with (24^2) = 576... 2,304,000/576 is 4,000 ppi^2

1,049,088 pixels total (16^2) = 256... 1,049,088/256 is 4,098 ppi^2...

unless I'm mistaken, that laptop has a slightly better resolution than the iMac. (It's all too possible that I'm wrong... I may not have factored in the fact that screen size is measured by the diagonal rather than the area.)
Click to expand...

You are correct that it has a higher PPI (pixels per inch). By my calculations:

1366x768 over 16.4" = 95.6 PPI
1920x1200 over 24" = 94.3 PPI

However, laptops generally have much a lower PPI rating as you are much closer to the screen when using it. When you use an iMac, I'm pretty sure the keyboard isn't used and fixed at 2 inches away from the screen.

By comparison...

1280x800 over 13.3" for (MB/ MBA) = 113.49 PPI
 
NT1440 said:
I admit, I chuckled.

Something about him going "I'm homeless so I don't really have a lot of experience with computers" then 30 seconds later talking about second rate circuit boards and "THIS VIRUS PROTECTION SUCKS!" made me laugh.
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This was one of those eyebrow lifting moments for me. I know I am nitpicking about the plot/character flaws though....

nutritious said:
that parody is stupid, but the microsoft commercials are already stupid. they just really take advantage of the ignorance of most consumers.
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Same for the Apple commercials, everyone of them in fact. I do believe most commercials will take advantage of the gullibility of the viewer in some way.

Veri said:
While I'm here, why is the homeless person, usually depicted with mannerisms that reflect mental illness, such a stooge of US comedy? British humour tends to celebrate the qualities of the underdog; American media tends to view "the poor" either with contempt or as a target for patronising charity.
Click to expand...

I think you are taking it too far.... way too far in fact. I'd hate to say that you don't watch too much American comedy, and are making a poor attempt at pitting British humor (which I do love) above other forms of entertainment.... in the typical fashion. Reminds me of how everyone from across the pond HAS to comment on their "far superior" cell networks in the iPhone forums.
 
I'm raising Polecats for peace

That made my sides and ears hurt from laughing so much!

The bum reminds me of a Monty Python character -- Shabby, might have been his name. One of his lines was "I'm raising polecats for peace." Perhaps PC stands for PoleCat?
 
Veri said:
Yes, pretty much. All I'm left is with the message, "Even a homeless man scoffs at PCs... though he's still the kind of person to end up choosing one." Why is the line "I'm poor, not retarded" viewed as amusing? I'm brown-hair, not blue-eyed. It's not funny because there's no prejudice to play on which assumes that brown-haired people are blue-eyed.
Click to expand...

I may be poor, so you'd expect me to take what I can get since it's beyond what I can afford, but to take a PC is just stupid--not worth the burden of owning.

Celebrating the underdog is one thing, but celebrating the homeless person would be silly. When someone has real American values, he values the underdog too--it's kind of an American symbol, isn't it? The underdog who fights against the odds and makes it?
 
That was highly entertaining. I don't really care strongly either way, I use PCs at work and at home in addition to my MacBook.
 
Ha ha ha! Vagabond.

That was pretty funny, though it should have ended with him trying to resell the thing for a mountain of McDonald's hamburgers. :p
 
Anuba said:
Yeah, but it also hammers home the point that Apple is smug, aloof, and scoffs at the average joe, which is exactly what Microsoft wants. These guys walked straight into Microsoft's playbook trap.

It's hilarious, though. :D Looking forward to the next video where Apple Geniuses beat homeless people to death, Clockwork Orange style.
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I'd rather be smug and aloof than use a plastic computer. Besides, scoffing at the average joe is one of most rewarding things you can do with your time.
 
edenwaith said:
That made my sides and ears hurt from laughing so much!

The bum reminds me of a Monty Python character -- Shabby, might have been his name. One of his lines was "I'm raising polecats for peace." Perhaps PC stands for PoleCat?
Click to expand...

Very good. :) Ken Shabby, actually.

Ken: I clean out public lavatories.
Father: Is there a promotion involved?
Ken: Oh, yeah, yeah! *coughs* After five years they give me a brush.

Classic. :D http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhm4SMlGnbk
 
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