Microsoft Releases Second 'Laptop Hunters' Commercial

[AcerbicGuy]

You're a PC because you're really anti-intuitive, cumbersome and filled with malware! But most of all, it is the interface, stupid!

You were being sarcastic, right?..

 

[slapppy]

I think MS hit a homerun on these ads. Cheap is the buzz word of the year. The potential buyers are not going to bother why the Mac is a superior product. Hardware & OS differences will not be researched by the consumer. They see a super low price coupled with specs numbers that suggest bigger is better vs the Mac. We can nitpick all we want but the message from MS will work. PC are cheap. PC are good enough.

MS doesn't care if Windows is never mentioned.

Every PC sale is automatic $$ for MS pockets.

 

[chr1s60]

Well, you see, specs are important.

In reality, there isn't anything OS X can do that Windows can't. Thats not true when you flip things around, there are a lot of things Windows can do that OS X can't. Like play games and watch blu-ray movies.

These ads are pointing out the fact that you're getting a lot more for less money.

I find your final statement to be false. As someone who has used multiple brands of PC I find the ad telling me that I can spend less and get some better hardware specs in a bulky, poorly made computer. In fact, I made this exact mistake about 5 years ago.

The blu-ray point is stupid. If you are going to spend $30 for a HD movie, watch it on a real tv that will show off the HD instead of on a 17" monitor. If my MBP played blu-ray I would still never watch one on it.

 

[WeegieMac]

Wrong (and that's not a question of opinion). I can see why you would interpret it that way, though, since you're one of those people who desperately want to protect the happy little Apple bubble.

That's as far as I read, you pass-remarkable prat.

If you'd read my previous posts (seriously, HOW hard is it?) you'd notice me time and again stressing that the slating of Apple does not bother me in the slightest. You could stand outside Apple's headquarters, wait for Steve Jobs to return from medical leave, and when he does shout, "Macs suck" in his face for all I care. What you think about Macs does not affect me in the slightest.

I know Macs aren't perfect, but they work better than Windows for me and that's my stance. As I said, I'll happily debate sensible posts but you're too busy coming up with cringeworthy slurs against people ("happy little Apple bubble" ... what age are you, seriously?)

It took you long enough to respond to the previous post, and should you chose to go back and actually read what I post, you may take even longer.

 

[politickle]

I think most people are missing the bigger war that has been won by Apple here. Microsoft are so concerned with the level of laptops that Apple are selling they have to make videos mentioning Apple. It has been a long time since Apple has even been on Microsoft's radar.

They seem to have sunk to the level of promotion other brands like HP, in a pointless attempt to slow the increases that Apple are making in the laptop market.

I think Apple is a fascinating company and I'm drawn to their hardware designs (not so much the OS or the software

Whilst their design is interesting, it is their overall hardware package (at least up 'till recently) that has been the weakest park of their product for me. It is their operating system that has always kept me coming back.

 

[iBungie]

Software or Hardware?

I use Microsoft products (and have done since mid 1980's - I even have DOS 1 & Windows 2 that I keep as mementoes).

I regularly use Office 2008 and have Windows installed on my Apple desktop. In both cases these are licensed products bought at great expense from Microsoft. I even have a Microsoft mouse! They all work great on Apple hardware.

Now, this advert seems to be about another company's hardware and not even Microsoft's own products - which as I've indicated run quite nicely on Apple hardware. What is the advert trying to persuade me to do? Save money by shopping around? I can do that quite effectively by replacing my current office software on the next upgrade cycle by cheaper alternatives and, apart from solitaire, I could try to live without Windows.

Thanks Microsoft! I've found a way to save money thanks to the inspiration of this advert, Sorry, it would mean your company loses out.

You adverts are not even funny.

Based on UK abbreviation usage being a PC (police constable) would suggest the advert might be aimed at law enforcement officers.......

 

[WeegieMac]

Right folks, while my esteemed friend "Anuba" rattles away at his keyboard in another attempt to discredit me somehow, I must log off for now.

My son has demanded that he watch Toy Story (again), and my dog has wandered in, lead in mouth, which means he wants walked .... and 20 minutes before the Grand Prix is due to start on BBC.

It's been fun boys and girls, remember to keep it clean.

 

[Anuba]

I think most people are missing the bigger war that has been won by Apple here. Microsoft are so concerned with the level of laptops that Apple are selling they have to make videos mentioning Apple.

Apple's sales don't concern them nearly as much as the FUD Apple is spreading about them. M$ is happily selling Windows licenses, Office 2008, games, mice, keyboards and XBoxes to Mac users so there's still bucks to be made after they've gone Mac.

But when you have a competitor who gets up on a soapbox on national television every day and declares that your product sucks, which Apple has been doing for years now, you can only sit idly by for so long.

 

[djellison]

Why in the world would I want a Blue Ray DVD player in my Mac? The display is so much better than what I had before. Apples display is way better than that HP, or any other laptop. Thats another point why I did buy my mac over a PC laptop.

My Unibody MB display is WORSE than my £300 netbook.

And as for the BR issue. Firstly, there's more than just movies to BR - backup and distribution of HD material to others for one. Secondly - why should I end up with two copies of each movie? One BR disk for my HDTV, my Laptop, everything.

Sorry - downloaded, DRM infested movies from iTunes do not interest me, from a rights point of view AND a download time/bandwidth point of view. It's faster to drive to borders and buy a disk.

 

[MarkSTi04]

If anyone has watched 24 before? There is product placement in there like crazy! But if anyone was paying attention at the start of Season 7, you would notice that the FBI was on Dell's. Cloe was using Mac's to hack in to the FBI to watch what they were doing.

I know that 24 is a TV show, but it does advertise products like PC's and Macs. Like I said above they did use the Macs to Hack in to the FBI data base to monitor there information. Later on in the show Cloe was brought in to run things. What was she using? Not a Dell but a Mac set up! I think the TV show Producers were saying that Mac's are better than PC's. Maybe? but Im not totally sure about it. But it is cool to see something like that.

24 is an awsome TV show!

 

[djellison]

Whilst their design is interesting, it is their overall hardware package (at least up 'till recently) that has been the weakest park of their product for me. It is their operating system that has always kept me coming back.

It is ONLY the software that keeps me using Apple. The laptops are under specified, over priced, and have very poor design choices regarding ports, hinges etc.

 

[SolRayz]

I think MS hit a homerun on these ads. Cheap is the buzz word of the year. The potential buyers are not going to bother why the Mac is a superior product. Hardware & OS differences will not be researched by the consumer. They see a super low price coupled with specs numbers that suggest bigger is better vs the Mac. We can nitpick all we want but the message from MS will work. PC are cheap. PC are good enough.

MS doesn't care if Windows is never mentioned.

Every PC sale is automatic $$ for MS pockets.

Yes your right, in the end, Americans seem to always satisfy themselves with the cheap and mediocre.

 

[MarkSTi04]

My Unibody MB display is WORSE than my £300 netbook.

And as for the BR issue. Firstly, there's more than just movies to BR - backup and distribution of HD material to others for one. Secondly - why should I end up with two copies of each movie? One BR disk for my HDTV, my Laptop, everything.

Sorry - downloaded, DRM infested movies from iTunes do not interest me, from a rights point of view AND a download time/bandwidth point of view. It's faster to drive to borders and buy a disk.

Wether im using one of my iTunes purchases or using a disc, my Mac Book Display rocks! In my case I dont care to have BR. If I did care I would get a PS3 and watch BR DVD's on my 38" LCD HDTV, not my MBP.

And if anything, if I needed to, I have Handbrake....

 

[Anuba]

Now, this advert seems to be about another company's hardware and not even Microsoft's own products - which as I've indicated run quite nicely on Apple hardware. What is the advert trying to persuade me to do?

It's trying to do a bunch of different things, except selling any particular product. The main message is choice. They make sure to have shots of oceans of different PC models, and the buyer running around like a kid in a candy store. This is the real anti-Mac, pro-PC point they're trying to make (the namedropping part is just tongue-in-cheek, in both of the ads they've aired so far).

 

[politickle]

Apple's sales don't concern them nearly as much as the FUD Apple is spreading about them. M$ is happily selling Windows licenses, Office 2008, games, mice, keyboards and XBoxes to Mac users so there's still bucks to be made after they've gone Mac.

But when you have a competitor who gets up on a soapbox on national television every day and declares that your product sucks, which Apple has been doing for years now, you can only sit idly by for so long.

I think that is slightly hyperbolic, Anuba. They don't 'spread FUD' or declaring that anybody sucks. They compare their product, in a typical Apple way, to the downfalls of Microsoft's operating system. There are a lot of positives that Mac OS has over Windows. There are some that Windows has over Mac, too. I've no problem with Windows comparing itself to Mac, but promoting HP's and other brands that have nothing to do with them... that is just plain weird.

It is ONLY the software that keeps me using Apple. The laptops are under specified, over priced, and have very poor design choices regarding ports, hinges etc.

I quite like the designs of their products but I agree that the main downfall with any Apple product is normally the hardware. Although, there are notable exceptions.

Price is a major concern for a lot of people and they wouldn't be looking to buy a Mac anyway, so this advert does little to target people that are looking to buy Mac.

It's trying to do a bunch of different things, except selling any particular product. The main message is choice.

But they are the status quo. Their message of choice doesn't make any sense. I'm not hitting out at Microsoft for advertising against Mac, I'm hitting out at the advert because they are advertising other brands. I'm guessing that we won't be seeing a 'run Linux because it is better than Windows' or 'buy Creative Zen instead of the Zune' commercials being run by Apple.

 

[DMann]

So here is what I see.

The actor looks at HP's. Cool. Nothing wrong. Then it happens...

He goes to the macs, doesn't do so much as look at specs or touch the keyboard trackpad. He just spouts off a line about aesthetics, then walks away. Why even go to macs if he already has a preconceived notion in his head about them?

He wanted portability, battery life and power.

Portability - 16" is not portable. Yes, someone earlier claimed it is portable, just bigger and heavier. Technically the 21"-23" laptops I have seen every now and then fit your definition of "portability", but you know they aren't portable. Portable means light and small, easy to carry. Bigger, heavier, etc goes against that.

Battery Life - Macs have the best battery life I have seen in a laptop these days. They have amazing battery life, and that is WHILE using wifi, with brightness on, etc. How the heck did he go with an HP over a mac when looking at battery life?

Power - Macbook unibodies come with a dedicated graphics card. That still fits in his limit. They come with powerful intel cards, 2 gigs of ram, upgradable, DDR3 ram. I don't see the HP having DDR3. The macbook wins here too.

So for his lifestyle, a 13" Macbook Unibody would have been the ideal purchase. Not to mention that thanks to the setup microsoft made, it doesn't matter if he got a $900 or a $1500 computer because M$ would comp him for it. And for the guy trying to defend the HP earlier, yes, an external monitor would help with the screen. That's more $$$ and would put him past his limit. I don't remember the rest that was said in that post, but it all cost more $$$ over the original price of the computer.

MS is quite adept at shooting themselves in the foot - perpetually confounded by their own efforts, most of which essentially boil down to schemes of aimless contradiction, and feeble attempts at distraction from their overall inferiority. This ad speaks volumes.

 

[mosx]

I got sick of Windows, after a decade of using the platform, not because of viruses or spyware, but because of the way the OS works. I always felt like the OS was working against me, not with me. Windows simply crashed too often for it's own good to make it productive for me, and then there was the systematic slowing of the system as it aged, meaning further action was required to ensure it ran quickly.

The only way Windows can slow down with age is if you install and uninstall a lot of software that doesn't properly remove itself. OS X is no different and I've experienced that first hand, especially when running trial versions of software in the OS.

With Windows you just run ccleaner and disk defrag the same way Onyx and at least one application remover and you'll be fine and this slow down will never happen.

With a Mac I feel like the entire computer works for me and allows me to work in confidence. Some people will say Windows never crashed on them once, and I applaud them for having such a reliable computer. I just wish me, my family, my friends, their friends, etc could have found out the store these people bought from because I've not witnessed a single Windows user not complain about a crash or fault.

Well, like I said, I've never had Vista crash. XP hadn't crashed on me since that one time way back in 2001. Before that Windows 98 would only crash when I was trying beta drivers for my various GPUs. In my experience, Windows only crashes due to unstable cheap hardware or the user causing it.

The part of your post which stayed with me was the part about being a big A/V person. Personally, I wouldn't consider either FrontRow or Windows Media Center to be perfect additions to a high end A/V set up. The components I have in my home cinema room at home mean I never even use FrontRow. I guess I'm just old fashioned, but when you buy high end speakers and invest in a proper setup I don't see why you'd want to put your MP3 collection through it ... I'll stick to CD's and, of course, some classic vinyl

Who said anything about an MP3 collection? Front Row and Windows Media Center both support lossless audio formats. Plus soundcards with higher quality DACs than most CD or DVD players can easily be had. All of which only support Windows and not OS X.

Like I said, Windows is far more capable in this area. I can have the one box controlling just about everything with a top notch UI. It can record multiple HD streams, play my blu-ray movies, play my games at better quality than the Xbox360 or especially the PS3..

When it comes to "work", well, neither OS does that better than the other.

Again, buy a standalone player for the best Blu-Ray results.

The idea that a PC can be used as the complete hub of your home entertainment comes across as incredibly "cheap".

I like a proper set-up, with a proper Blu-Ray player, dedicated CD player, dedicated A/V amplifier, etc. The thought of hooking a PC up to an amp and into a Home Cinema style set-up takes me back to when I tried it in my last teens and early twenties and thought I was "cool".

Dedicated set-up is the only way for a true A/V buff, sorry.

Well, like I said, you can easily get soundcards that support Windows that have better DACs than CD players.

Theres no reason to believe blu-ray playback is inferior through a PC compared to a dedicated player. I have both and have experienced both. There is no visual difference between the two. Even better, as GPUs advance, so do their video capabilities. A new generation GPU that costs less than half as much to upgrade as a dedicated blu-ray player will give you upgraded video quality. Even upgrades to the software player can improve video performance. You don't get that with a dedicated player.

By the way, theres more than half a million people over at AVS who will happily disagree with you about the whole "dedicated components are the only way to go" argument. PCs provide an all-in-one solution with cheap upgrades (compared to dedicated components) that can both increase quality and functionality. Plus they can do multiple things at once. With Vista and a modern PC you can easily be recording multiple HD shows while watching a blu-ray movie.

 

[mosx]

I find your final statement to be false. As someone who has used multiple brands of PC I find the ad telling me that I can spend less and get some better hardware specs in a bulky, poorly made computer. In fact, I made this exact mistake about 5 years ago.

The blu-ray point is stupid. If you are going to spend $30 for a HD movie, watch it on a real tv that will show off the HD instead of on a 17" monitor. If my MBP played blu-ray I would still never watch one on it.

Poorly made computer? You obviously never owned one of the plastic MacBooks. If you want to talk about poorly made then look no further than the plastic MacBooks or previous generation MacBook Pros. Those are the definition or poorly built computers. My HP (earlier generation than the two in the ads so far) has stood up to being used and abused every day, taken with me every day in a bag, as well as gaming and high def movie playback. It still performs as good as the day it arrived and looks practically new. My plastic MacBooks, on the other hand, cracked and had all kinds of nasty case failures due to poor build quality despite the fact that they were rarely used and never left the house or the desk.

Oh and blu-ray movies don't cost $30 any more They're around $20 these days. Blu-ray discs, during their entire life time, have cost NO more than DVDs did at the same point in their life. 10 years ago, when DVD 2 years old coming up on 3, they cost exactly the same as blu-ray discs do now. When DVD was new, the discs were every bit as expensive as blu-ray discs were back in 2006.

Blu-ray's quality is evident on any HD display. From the 13.3" MacBook screen (yes I've used my external drive in Windows on it) to the largest HDTV displays. Theres no reason for Apple to not support it other than to push their own lower quality "HD" movies from iTunes.

 

[MarkSTi04]

Yes your right, in the end, Americans seem to always satisfy themselves with the cheap and mediocre.

I dont think Macs are cheap and mediocre.

HP, Dell, Acer, etc can be cheap and mediocre. The feel of the product alone is a turn off. Seeing how long Apple's products last and stand the test of time is a good selling point for them.

I will say that in defense, a lot of people will buy products like laptops and treat them with disrespect. They throw them around in there bags, spill drinks on them, use them in dusty environments, or let children or other people use them and not watch them properly and let them tear there stuff up. I think that this right here can be part of this issue at hand.

I know that when I see people that buy things that cost over a certain price and I see how they treat that product I ask my self "Why are they treating there stuff like that? They just spent that much money on said product" Its a waste.

 

[Anuba]

If anyone has watched 24 before? There is product placement in there like crazy! But if anyone was paying attention at the start of Season 7, you would notice that the FBI was on Dell's. Cloe was using Mac's to hack in to the FBI to watch what they were doing.

I know that 24 is a TV show, but it does advertise products like PC's and Macs. Like I said above they did use the Macs to Hack in to the FBI data base to monitor there information. Later on in the show Cloe was brought in to run things. What was she using? Not a Dell but a Mac set up! I think the TV show Producers were saying that Mac's are better than PC's. Maybe? but Im not totally sure about it. But it is cool to see something like that.

24 is an awsome TV show!

It's simply a matter of which manufacturer wants to sponsor the show. I haven't bothered watching 24 since season 2, but back in the beginning the whole building was swamped with Dell computers and monitors, not a Mac in sight.

Then you've got shows like 30 Rock (Macs and iPhones all the way), The Office (HP all the way, with the occasional Mac placement thrown in), CSI (Dell and possibly some Logitech)... the only company that gets most of their product placement for free is Coca-Cola. They pay for some of it, but Coke is such a natural part of daily life that a Coke can or two will always end up in shots without the C-C Company paying a single dime.

 

[MarkSTi04]

It's simply a matter of which manufacturer wants to sponsor the show. I haven't bothered watching 24 since season 2, but back in the beginning the whole building was swamped with Dell computers and monitors, not a Mac in sight.

Then you've got shows like 30 Rock (Macs and iPhones all the way), The Office (HP all the way, with the occasional Mac placement thrown in), CSI (Dell and possibly some Logitech)... the only company that gets most of their product placement for free is Coca-Cola. They pay for some of it, but Coke is such a natural part of daily life that a Coke can or two will always end up in shots without the C-C Company paying a single dime.

Actually if you watch 24 Season 1 and 2 again you can spot Apple placements in it. I didnt catch it untill I watched those seasons again a few months back.

 

[mosx]

He goes to the macs, doesn't do so much as look at specs or touch the keyboard trackpad. He just spouts off a line about aesthetics, then walks away. Why even go to macs if he already has a preconceived notion in his head about them?

Probably because the keyboards on Macs are awful. I hate the keyboard on my UniBody MacBook and I hated the keyboard on my plastic MacBooks. The keyboards on HPs are MUCH better.

The glass trackpad is nice, but who uses a trackpad when you're sitting at a desk? I'll take my MX Revolution mouse. Even when I'm on the go, my bag has plenty of room for me to drop my mouse in.

He wanted portability, battery life and power.

Portability - 16" is not portable. Yes, someone earlier claimed it is portable, just bigger and heavier. Technically the 21"-23" laptops I have seen every now and then fit your definition of "portability", but you know they aren't portable. Portable means light and small, easy to carry. Bigger, heavier, etc goes against that.

How is 16" not portable? Keep in mind that the plastic MacBooks were only slightly less heavy than your average 15.4" - 16" PC, and were heavier than other 13.3" systems. The UniBody systems are equal to other 13.3" systems in weight.

Who honestly carries around a system out of a bag? The minimal difference between a 13.3" UniBody MacBook and this 16" system will mean nothing considering it will spend it's carried life in a bag.

Battery Life - Macs have the best battery life I have seen in a laptop these days. They have amazing battery life, and that is WHILE using wifi, with brightness on, etc. How the heck did he go with an HP over a mac when looking at battery life?

My real world experience shows that HP's like the one he bought get around 3.5 hours of battery life in a real world situation.

Power - Macbook unibodies come with a dedicated graphics card. That still fits in his limit. They come with powerful intel cards, 2 gigs of ram, upgradable, DDR3 ram. I don't see the HP having DDR3. The macbook wins here too.

The UniBody MacBook has an integrated GPU with shared memory. I know this because I have one. It's about half as fast as the 9600M GT in the HP he got. Plus the 9600M GPU in that HP has 512MB of dedicated GDDR3 RAM. MUCH faster than the shared DDR3 in the MacBook.

So for his lifestyle, a 13" Macbook Unibody would have been the ideal purchase. Not to mention that thanks to the setup microsoft made, it doesn't matter if he got a $900 or a $1500 computer because M$ would comp him for it. And for the guy trying to defend the HP earlier, yes, an external monitor would help with the screen. That's more $$$ and would put him past his limit. I don't remember the rest that was said in that post, but it all cost more $$$ over the original price of the computer.

The MacBook would fail because it has a smaller screen, inferior construction (I have a plastic HP and UniBody Mac and yes, the HP is built better), and the GPU is only half as fast at best.

 

[Haruhi]

...

Grrrr are you a microsoft employee out to 'impress' people on apple forums with your chunky old computers ?

 

[mosx]

I dont think Macs are cheap and mediocre.

HP, Dell, Acer, etc can be cheap and mediocre. The feel of the product alone is a turn off. Seeing how long Apple's products last and stand the test of time is a good selling point for them.

Apple's products last and stand the test of time? Tell that to my two plastic MacBooks that couldn't even last two full years doing nothing but living on a desk with very little use.

 

[fuziwuzi]

Him too, kinda, but I mostly meant Lauren. I don't think she signed up to be a recurring character like Justin Long, she probably just wanted to do the one commercial and get her paycheck. But now all of us cybergeeks are basically cyberstalking her because of the one commercial she did, and that's what's a little unnerving.

oh that sucks. i started a thread on 4chan when they had teh scientology protests last year. and i used gasmask chans pic for the title post. she became a meme. i felt ****. but other people would have the found the images, and teh same thing would have happened regardless. (the original image came from a new site)

it does suck. privacy isn't the same as when i was a kid