Microsoft Posts 'PC vs. Mac' Section to Windows 7 Website

[ericinboston]

Ah, there's the classic (unoriginal) line! I knew it was just a matter of time. When in doubt, throw the "Apple-logo-on-a-dog-turd" card. Works every time!

I suppose turnabout is fair play: Steve Ballmer could put a Windows logo on a dog turd, charge $XXX for it, and people would be falling over themselves to buy it.

MS really only sells software (other than a mouse and keyboard if you really like the MS brand). MS basically sells Windows, Office, and some business software. That's it...unlike Apple who own you from power cord to Trash Bin. Apple really sells, at the end of the day, tangible items (computers, ipods, accessories, and phones)...MS at the end of the day sells you (really sells to your hardware vendor) a piece of software.

Moreover, I personally do not know anyone who runs out to buy a MS product. Seriously. Yes, there are companies that may run out to buy a new version of Windows or Office because of some specific business/IT reason, but people in general don't run out to Best Buy because Office 13 was released. There just isn't anything cool or hip about MS (unlike Apple).

I think it's very fair to say that Apple has a great loyal fan base who will show up at an Apple store even if Apple changed the lightbulbs. Hence you hear these kinds of $49 turd comments often. The $49 turd comment has never and will never apply to MS.

-Eric

 

[Piggie]

I can't understand how you think that's what people are arguing for?

Apple decide you as a user should not be using a BluRay player, and rather than most Mac users being annoyed that their choice has been removed, they agree that BluRay should not be fitted.

 

[HLdan]

Wow, this did exactly what MS wanted to do. Give something for PC users to say to their mac friends and really, really tick off mac users.

MS just pwned everyone.

R U serious? Microsoft just pwned themselves without even knowing it. Telling people not to buy a Mac when they not only sell Office for Mac and of course there are Mac users who buy and install Windows 7 on the Macs, is just plain dumb of Microsoft. Their dumbass advertising does nothing but lose business for them all around, too bad you couldn't see that.

 

[AidenShaw]

If Win7 can just plain do that, not just when the computer is new, but three years from now, then great for MS and it's customers, but I'm not going back.

Funny, since almost every day I use a Windows system that I installed in January of 1998. Never "reformatted" or reimaged. "It just works"™

Originally, it was a Pentium II system (233 MHz I think, on a chipset that maxed out at 384 MiB of RAM). Originally, NT4 SP2 or SP3, with various upgrades (including betas) of Win2k and WinXP. Upgraded the 233 MHZ to a 333MHz. Upgraded the mobo to a PIII when the 384 MiB limit became a big issue, and then to P4.

When I replaced the mobo on the system with one with a Q6600, I went to a clean install of Vista x64. First, though, I did a P2V and moved the base 1998-vintage XP system into a VM. (You never know when you need to run some random app that you installed ten years ago.)

The Vista x64 Q6600 system is now a Win7 x64 system on a real (i.e. triple channel memory) Core i7 with 24 GiB of RAM. The original 1998 Windows system is still there as a VM for those odd historical app visits.

In other words, I don't put much stock in those "Windows slows to a crawl" stories....

 

[obiwan]

The worst damage this site will do is filling the minds of gullible PC users with a load of half-truths, mis-information and inaccurate reports about Macs (nothing new there then!). This is exactly what Microsoft intended. - They probably got a nerdy 12 year old to write it for them on his light-up custom PC tower in his bedroom that he built himself. (I'm so gutted I can't buy a Mac that looks like this - NOT!)

I'd have more respect for them if they used actual facts.

 

[Burger Thing]

This, however, really belongs in the European Commission Joins Investigation of Apple's Flash Exclusion Policies thread - since it's about how companies handle EU monopoly and competition issues.

I wish the EU Commission would also look into the fact, that a company is still allowed to sell an OS in the year 2010 which needs an Anti Virus Software by default. Instead of a warning, that I run my OS naked, I would rather see that software company had taken all efforts, that an Anti Virus Software in not necessary in the first place

After all, so many aspects in our life our regulated and safe guarded by laws and guidelines.

 

[nutritious]

The worst damage this site will do is filling the minds of gullible PC users with a load of half-truths, mis-information and inaccurate reports about Macs (nothing new there then!). This is exactly what Microsoft intended. - They probably got a nerdy 12 year old to write it for them on his light-up custom PC tower in his bedroom that he built himself. (I'm so gutted I can't buy a Mac that looks like this - NOT!)

I'd have more respect for them if they used actual facts.

this is the case i use for my custom built PC

Not all of them are LED light monstrosities.

 

[Eddyisgreat]

Not all of them are LED light monstrosities.

This is the case I use for my hackintosh.

Sorry I felt kinda out of the loop

 

[AidenShaw]

I'd have more respect for them if they used actual facts.

Apple's PC/Mac ads clearly established that "actual facts" are not necessary in an ad campaign.

 

[AidenShaw]

Instead of a warning, that I run my OS naked, I would rather see that software company had taken all efforts, that an Anti Virus Software in not necessary in the first place

But then the EU would attack that company for being non-competitive and driving anti-malware ("viruses" are nearly irrelevant today) providers out of business.

MS can't win.

 

[obiwan]

Apple's PC/Mac ads clearly established that "actual facts" are not necessary in an ad campaign.

You've got a point. - At least the Apple adverts were funny though!

 

[Danxqz]

First post here. My first half dozen computers were Macs, starting with a 512k. Yes k. No hard drive. Switched floppys to run programs after loading the OS.

5-10 (really guessing here) years ago I switched to PC, in part because I wanted to try my hand at building one. ME, I think, was the first OS I used.

Now I have a Win7 HP 17" laptop and an HP desktop running win 7.

I just ordered an imac i3, 21.5". It was just too gorgeous not to have [it arrives in 3 days].

I thought I'd use it mainly for playing on the internet. No intense games, just chess and general browsing.

For business, I only need word processing and text files I download, and email.

So. . . I'd been thinking I'd just go ahead and use the HP's for work, but I got to thinking, it would be nice to do most everything from the mac. Why not?

Any disadvantages to using Bootcamp and installing Win7 on the imac?

Or, I could just convert my Word files to Open Office or Work or even buy a new copy of Office for Mac.

Your thoughts?

 

[MagnusVonMagnum]

Microsoft, for all their faults is working very hard on Windows.... Windows 8. If windows Mobile 7 is any indicator, I predict a slick and sexy new UI to go with the stability and flexibility Windows 7 already has.

What's Apple doing on the OSX platform?
Why not even a mention of OSX at WWDC?
Why all this hate from Steve Jobs for computers or as he calls them, "Trucks"?
Why did apple get rid of their 'Get a mac' campaign and replace it with...NOTHING?
Surely not everyone at Apple is working on the ipad and iphone?

You're way ahead for now Apple... but I wouldn't rest on your laurels.

That's because Microsoft is for better or worse in the Operating System business and so THAT is their #1 concern. Apple, it seems, just "dabbles" in the operating system business or uses it as a means to an end (i.e. to sell overpriced, under featured hardware at 2x the price of everyone else because they know the OS is better...or at least WAS better until Windows7 came out. Now it's starting to be a crap shoot, especially since Apple shows zero interest in fixing the glaring issues of old OpenGL revisions, outdated drivers and inadequately powered hardware to compete properly against Windows7). The way I see it is that Vista was a gift to Apple. Steve could have took that period to gain a HUGE gain in market share, but he chose instead of continue the "old" Apple ways of charging more for less from a devoted group of fans instead of REALLY pushing hard to gain ground from Microsoft.

Then one day Apple decided it was no longer "in" the computer business and dropped "Computer" form its name and started dabbling in TOYS instead. This has proven to be extremely profitable for Apple in the short term at least.

The problem is everyone else is once again playing catch up and while certain articles on this site want to blame the departure of Steve from Apple as THE reason Apple lost ground to Microsoft in the late '80s and the 1990s, I just don't think that is necessarily the case because I see the EXACT SAME situation starting all over again in the mobile toy/phone market. Apple comes up with something reasonably innovative and gains a strong early lead and then everyone else works hard to bring out something that is nearly as good or perhaps eventually even better (at least from an "open" perspective, which means more software choices which means that iOS devices simply won't run certain software). Combine that with GREED (let's just rake 30% off the top of every single developer's profits) and you have the recipe for a long term disaster just like with the Mac in the mid 1980s.

Everyone else will have more features, cheaper prices (I've already seen a Google based pad for 1/3 the price of an iPad) and more software selection and that means that the "cool" one won't stay "cool" for long. It'll become overpriced, underpowered and lacking both hardware and software choices. At that point, it gets surpassed in sales and Apple loses business. It cannot then make up for the lost time and eventually starts to do desperate things like finally licensing out the OS to other device makers. The problem is by that point, it has a vastly decreased market share and to compete with lower prices, it ends up losing most of its profit margins to that lower share and then suddenly find that it's losing money big time. The only way then to save the company is to come up with something innovative and new all over again (say an iPod or a brand new Operating System that is better than the competition by leaps and bounds?). If no such product emerges, the company dies and it's a footnote in the history books.

The problem here is that it's EXACTLY showing early signs of going the same way. Apple makes it's money on high profit margins for hardware, so it cannot afford to compete in the long run if the competition catches up or surpasses them in the innovation/usability areas because the competition will always be more widely available, have more choices and cheaper prices. Because Apple does not take advantage of market share in times like Vista, it has a much smaller buffer zone to make it through a bad product cycle to give them time to jump ahead again. Microsoft, by comparison, can AFFORD to have a disaster or two because Windows' dominance isn't going anywhere. This gives them breathing room. Apple must constantly innovate to stay ahead and sooner or later they release some bum products that don't cut the mustard (Lisa, Newton, etc.)

The problem NOW is that Apple is really starting to put all their eggs into the iOS basket and is ignoring their core computer business (despite high sales in that area). They are giving Microsoft time to catch up and/or surpass OSX and that is a BIG BIG MISTAKE. By focusing so strongly on a niche/fad market that is quickly gaining ground against Apple, they are ignoring their core market and allowing it to be overtaken, thus stripping them of their primary advantage which is that OSX is/was a superior operating system to Windows (in most areas, gaming excepted and that is also their fault).

In short, I see disaster in Apple's future unless they can keep on innovating their way into the record books. They are not taking the appropriate steps to safeguard their core markets and there is at least some signs that Steve is so certain that iOS is the future that he may even be preparing to abandon traditional computing altogether. That's a big mistake, IMO. There may be a day when mobile platforms dominate all of computing, but it's not going to be in the next ten years. Home computers will continue to do FAR more advanced things than phones and pads and quite frankly, it's UNCOMFORTABLE typing on a glass surface and/or tiny keys and what not. People are getting all kinds of ergonomic injuries that way ("texting thumb" and what not). Until a computer can read and/or interface with your mind, a thumb sized computer isn't going to cut it for every imaginable activity. In short, Steve seems to be dead set on GIVING the home computer market back to Microsoft to rule alone as a virtual near monopoly once again. And it IS a shame because OSX could be so much better if they'd stop PAUSING to work on phones. HIRE MORE PEOPLE!

 

[ValkonX11]

Part 1: "Having Fun: Macs might spoil your fun."

(1)There are some things you simply can't do out of the box with a Mac like watch, pause, rewind, and record TV like a DVR.
It's showtime.
(2)You can't get a Mac that ships with a Blu-ray player, TV tuner, Memory Stick reader, or built-in 3G wireless. You can with PCs running Windows 7.

Game on!
(3)Most of the world's most popular computer games aren't available for Macs. And Macs can't connect to an Xbox 360. PCs are ready to play.

Direct TV connection.
(4)Most Macs can't hook up to your TV unless you buy a converter dongle. Many PCs running Windows 7 are designed to connect directly to TVs, so you can watch movies and see photos on the big screen.

1: OH CRAP! I can't watch TV on my Computer! It's the end of the world!
2: Blu-Ray? You got me there, but I'd rather be watching it on a TV.
3: Macs can't connect to Xbox 360? I wonder if that's because Windows and Xbox 360 were both made by Microsoft? Hmm....
4: Big screen? Oh, you mean my TV? What does a computer have to do with that?

Part 2: "Macs can take time to learn."

(1)The computer that's easiest to use is typically the one you already know how to use. While some may say Macs are easy, the reality is that they can come with a learning curve. PCs running Windows 7 look and work more like the computers you're familiar with, so you can get up and running quickly.
Working smoothly.
(2)Things just don't work the same way on Macs if you're used to a PC. For example, the mouse works differently. And many of the shortcuts you're familiar with don't work the same way on a Mac.

Use Windows 7 to simplify your life.
(3)Windows 7 was designed to make it simpler to do the tasks you do every day, with features that the Mac doesn't have. For example, the new Snap feature makes it easy to view two documents side by side.

Touch and go.
(4)Unlike Macs, many PCs running Windows 7 support Touch, so you can browse online newspapers, flick through photo albums, and shuffle files and folders—using nothing but your fingers. PCs with a fingerprint reader even let you log in with just a swipe of your finger.

1: The key word here is "Typically." Not always.
2: Yeah, the mouse is far more advanced, with touch-screen style features. I'd rather have that!
3: Microsoft is just insulting their own customers now. They're calling them lazy.
4: Hm, maybe it's because it was made by Microsoft?

Part 3: "Macs don't work as well at work or school."

If most of the computers in your office or school run Windows you may find it harder to get things done with a Mac.
Sharing documents and spreadsheets.
If you use Apple's productivity suite, sharing files with PC users can be tricky. Your documents might not look right and your spreadsheets might not calculate correctly.

Giving presentations.
(1)You'll have to buy a separate hardware dongle to plug your Mac into a standard VGA projector. Most PCs with Windows 7 hook up easily.

Protecting your drives.
(2)On a Mac, out of the box, you can only encrypt your home folder. With Windows 7 Ultimate, you can encrypt your entire hard drive and even USB drives. So your stuff can be safer wherever you go.

1: OH CRAP! I have to spend a few extra dollars for a very specific purpose!
2: Well, with Mac, you don't even really need to encrypt anything.

Part 4: "Macs don't like to share."

(1)At least half the fun of having a computer is sharing the stuff that matters to you with other people. This is harder to do on a Mac.
Securely share your movies, music, and photos.
With a Mac, it's harder to set up secure sharing for your photos, music & movies, documents, and even printers with other computers on your home network. With HomeGroup, it's easy to connect all the computers in your house running Windows 7.

It's easy with a PC.
(2)On a Mac, you have to manually set up photo sharing, manually set up music and movie sharing, manually set up file sharing, and manually set up printer sharing. It's easy to automatically and securely network with all the computers in your house when they're running Windows 7.

1: NO
2: NO
3: I need no further explanation. This is just a lie.

Part 5: "Macs might not like your PC stuff."

Plain and simple, if you're a PC user, lots of your favorite stuff just might not work on a Mac. With PCs outselling Macs 10 to 1, the reality is that most computer software is developed to run on PCs.
Hassle-free files at work.
(1)Apple's productivity suite file formats won't open in Microsoft Office on PCs. This can be a real hassle for Mac users sharing work documents with PC users.

Programs you already know.
(2)If there's a Mac version of a program you need, you'll have to buy it again and relearn how to use it on a Mac.

1: Maybe, if you save it as a specific document type. As far as I know you can save it as a .doc, or a .xcf (I think that was the Microsoft Office Excel format, I can't quite remember), etc.
2: Or, just buy the Mac to start with so you don't have to relearn anything. Plus, every single Mac+PC piece of software I know of, using it is the same (except with less crashes on the Mac)

Part 6: "Macs don't let you choose."

(1) PCs give you a lot more choice and capabilities for your money. You can get the PC you want, in the size and color you want, with the features you want. You just don't have as many options with a Mac.
Loaded with features.
(2)You can't get a Mac with a Blu-ray player, TV tuner, Memory Stick reader, or built-in 3G wireless. PCs running Windows 7 often come with features that aren't available on even the highest end Macs, including Blu-ray, eSATA, multi-format card readers, Touch, and mobile broadband.

Available in your favorite color.
(3)Macs only come in white or silver. PCs are available in a full spectrum of colors across a range of price points.

More digital media.
(4)With PCs running Windows 7, you can play the videos and music stored on your home PC while you're on the go, for free. Apple charges $99/year for its online service.

1: You don't have as many options with a Mac for two reasons. A: Apple is a single hardware supplier, whereas PCs are manufactures by many companies. Of course there's gonna be varying features. B: They limit the features to the things that are important, cutting out the crap (Color, Whether or not your cooling systems glow, etc) and letting you choose the important things (How much processing power, how much RAM, etc).
2: You ran out of things to argue with, didn't you, Microsoft? You just repeated your "arguments" you used in Part 1.
3: Macs only come in white or silver? WHAT KIND OF ARGUMENT IS THAT?!?!
4: I don't even know what they're talking about. I can't find this... And you can setup a VINE server (free software!) and use RealVNC [free edition] to connect to your Mac remotely.

Part 7: "Find your perfect PC."

CRAP! None of them can run Mac OS X.

 

[Eddyisgreat]

<<snip>>

LoL Apple can't afford to make a mistake?

You do realize Microsoft makes software. Apple makes hardware AND software. They make cash money on both. Apple doesn't have to pay licensing fees to itself (obviously). OEMs have to pay MS licensing fees *and* compete with every other OEM for shelf space, and in order to make some cash on the top, couple in all that crapware that best buy will optionally uninstall for the customer (for a nominal fee).

That's why MS, Adobe et al make casual piracy so difficult, whilst OS X client doesn't even need a serial for install even with the proliferation of the hackintosh.

 

[AidenShaw]

Any disadvantages to using Bootcamp and installing Win7 on the imac?

The biggest disadvantage to dual-booting is that you have to close all of your Apple OSX apps and reboot to Windows to run one Windows app. And then close all your Windows apps to reboot to Apple OSX to run an Apple OSX app.

Look at running Windows in a VMware virtual machine, so that you can switch to the Windows app without shutting down Apple OSX. Almost all apps will run fine in a VM (although realize that you are running two operating systems, so you should consider buying twice as much memory as you think you need).

 

[Žalgiris]

"Things just don't work the same way on Macs if you're used to a PC. For example, the mouse works differently. And many of the shortcuts you're familiar with don't work the same way on a Mac."

WTF lol they're clearly grasping at straws here.

When i swithched to a MacBook back in 2006 it came with Tiger 10.4.8. about a day and i knew all basic stuff and much more. Mac OS X is very easy to use and i love shortcuts better.

 

[Brannyh]

School?

They lie! I know for a fact my local school district is 100% mac so don't try to give me this crap! Also there saying everyone knows how to use a PC and no one knows how to use a mac! I haven't used a PC in so long I would sit in front of it and be like "What is this?!?! Can i get mac OS X please?"

 

[NebulaClash]

Always amazes me how Mac users use Office when anything Msoft seems to be spawn of the devil.

They should not be using anything Microsoft on their machines.

I can never understand how anyone seriously can argue for lack of choice.

How can more customer choice be a negative?

I don't use Office, and I have no Microsoft software on my Macs. Nothing from that company is allowed on my machines.

I do have to laugh at your comment about customer choice given Microsoft's long history of forcing customer choice out of the PC market.

 

[Danxqz]

The biggest disadvantage to dual-booting is that you have to close all of your Apple OSX apps and reboot to Windows to run one Windows app. And then close all your Windows apps to reboot to Apple OSX to run an Apple OSX app.

Look at running Windows in a VMware virtual machine, so that you can switch to the Windows app without shutting down Apple OSX. Almost all apps will run fine in a VM (although realize that you are running two operating systems, so you should consider buying twice as much memory as you think you need).

Interesting. Thanks. Hadn't thought about running a virtual machine. Don't know anything about it. I figgered I only needed the i3 imac, but planned on buying more RAM, at least from 4gb to 8gb.

You are right, I would just use one of the PC's when necessary to do a text file and print if the alternative was to shut down and reboot in the other OS.

I'll have to wait and see how the printers work when I add the iMac to the Win7 network.

 

[PeterQVenkman]

R U serious?

Are you? I love the LOLcat text message speak. Yeah, I'm serious. I said MS was getting people riled up. You certainly seem to be.

Microsoft just pwned themselves without even knowing it. Telling people not to buy a Mac when they not only sell Office for Mac and of course there are Mac users who buy and install Windows 7 on the Macs, is just plain dumb of Microsoft.

I agree the advertisement was dumb. It was pure nerd rage bait. But MS got some otherwise cool mac fans to sounds like rabid geeks.

 

[linux2mac]

The worst damage this site will do is filling the minds of gullible PC users with a load of half-truths, mis-information and inaccurate reports about Macs (nothing new there then!). This is exactly what Microsoft intended. - They probably got a nerdy 12 year old to write it for them on his light-up custom PC tower in his bedroom that he built himself. (I'm so gutted I can't buy a Mac that looks like this - NOT!)

I'd have more respect for them if they used actual facts.

Wait, I want to mod my 27" iMac like that - NOT! That box looks like it fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down.

 

[D'Illusion]

Wait, I want to mod my 27" iMac like that - NOT! That box looks like it fell out of the ugly christmas tree and hit every branch on the way down.

Fixed.

 

[mrrory]

Such astonishing nonsense

My favourite quotes thus far have been:

"Things just don't work the same way on Macs if you're used to a PC. For example, the mouse works differently. And many of the shortcuts you're familiar with don't work the same way on a Mac."​

The mouse works differently? When was this written? Is this the best you can come up with?

"Intuitive, familiar, and easy to use, PCs do what you want: they just work."​

No comment, none at all.

"Pick a color you love. Midnight blue, espresso, or pink? PCs offer the most variety and options to match your style or price point."​

And who started offering computers in different colours?

"with features that the Mac doesn't have. For example, the new Snap feature makes it easy to view two documents side by side."​

Is that like Expose? Sounds suspiciously like it is.

"You'll have to buy a separate hardware dongle to plug your Mac into a standard VGA projector. Most PCs with Windows 7 hook up easily."​

VGA projector - cutting edge technology.

Laughable, absolutely laughable.

 

[Jkirk3279]

Print Screen

OMG!!!!??!??!?! Where's the Prt Scr key!?!!!

Shift-Command 3, capture the screen, then print the image.