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My biggest qualm with these ads is...

MICROSOFT DOESN'T MAKE HARDWARE.

If the PC manufacturers wanted to compare prices, they would. The software retards in Redmond need to be concerned about what they actually do for a living.

Or perhaps they've simply given up on Vista, are acknowledging that they can't even come up with a campaign to have it even compare to OS X, and are forced to resort to sell OEMs computers FOR them... even though they INCLUDE Vista.
Agreed entirely. This isn't just Microsoft making comment on their software, it feels like they're viciously going against a single manufacturer. Now maybe some of that is justified by the fact that Apple hold a monopoly on the OS X operating system but I'm surprised that Microsoft are allowed to publish these adverts given they seem to be focused on slagging off Apple rather than selling their own products...
 
That's like saying Snow Leopard doesn't exist. I run them both. They're both better than their predecessors.

Of course SL doesn't exist. Can I buy it at my local Apple Store? Can I base my diatribes on it? Unless you're an ADC member, you shouldn't even be running it right now...whatever alpha/beta you're running on your machine.
 
Well, seeing as creating a second account is against the rules, I can see you being banned again.

I wasn't permanently banned, I was banned for three days, hence I have a single account, but hey man, can you please stop being on my case? Just take it easy...you are being very annoying to a lot of people here besides myself...go out for a walk or something...:)
 
You didn't answer the question though. Yes, I suppose I'm a fanboy since I'm typing this on my macbook. :rolleyes: Since you had to resort to petty name calling, I'd say you don't have an answer outside of talking to the DoJ.

Really? :D

Of course I do; I am still waiting for your answer to my question: HOW DO I easily uninstall a totally redundant and standalone browser such as IE from my crappy Winblows PC?
 
Does anybody else find it funny that Apple can get real people to appear in their adverts and promote their products whereas Microsoft has to pay actors?
 
I had a lot of issues with Windows, and very much prefer Mac, but I never had a real big issue with viruses. ( Spyware was a different matter). I think this is an exageration that we need to get past.

Actually it isn't, my dad fixes PC's, most of the time its dealing with viruses and spyware.
 
Of course SL doesn't exist. Can I buy it at my local Apple Store? Can I base my diatribes on it? Unless you're an ADC member, you shouldn't even be running it right now...whatever alpha/beta you're running on your machine.

So every paper I've ever written for school doesn't exist. So everything I've done in CS4 doesn't exist.

It's absolutely disgusting of you to say that because something isn't publicly available, it doesn't exist. This shows no intelligence on your part whatsoever.

So the iMac with the 4850 doesn't exist, then, eh?

Does anybody else find it funny that Apple can get real people to appear in their adverts and promote their products whereas Microsoft has to pay actors?

Long, Hodgeman, and Goldblum are actors...
 
and what about the fact that no one else has managed to get a unix based OS into the mainstream. there are alot of linux clones, and ubuntu is getting popular, but the constant use of scripts and text files for setting up preferences is *****. no one has made unix as usable as apple.

I've been using Ubuntu for years, but never have to edit text files to do basic computing stuff. Only when I install my Java development environment do I start editing text files. I have to do that too on OS X. Just different files.
 
Well I just wanted to see how you came up with such a claim as registry cleaners being the most downloaded software. I was just curious to see where you got your data. Nothing more.

Ok fair enough, you seem a decent and civil person, and you are making a legit claim, so here you go, at
www.download.com (arguably the mecca of downloads-
under
Home Windows Downloads Utilities & Operating Systems System Utilities
No 1. in total downloads a staggering 8,000,000
Registry Mechanic
and here's the link:
http://download.cnet.com/windows/system-utilities/?tag=bc

All in all in the overall top 15, 7 are antiviruses and anti malware...this should speak volumes...compare that with the top 15 for macs...
 
So maybe the reason that Microsoft finally is targeting Apple is because more people are switching to Mac.

just a thought...

Yeah but Ballmer himself said Apple is irrelevant and has only gained 1 percent share, so why are they focusing on them, I guess Apple has lit a fire under them.
 
I've been using Ubuntu for years, but never have to edit text files to do basic computing stuff. Only when I install my Java development environment do I start editing text files. I have to do that too on OS X. Just different files.

I have used ubuntu too, let's be honest, it's no where near in easy as os x. I like ubuntu, I would like to see it grow, these guys got a great community too for them, but don't tell me you are not sudo this and sudo that and trying to dig problems in depositories cause I was, and most of the people I know where too. And how about drivers?....Like I said, great os, fantastic community but let's not put it next to os x in terms of usability despite its leaps the past few years.
 
Does anybody else find it funny that Apple can get real people to appear in their adverts and promote their products whereas Microsoft has to pay actors?


I know Lauren was an actor but I dont think was hired becuase of that...I dont even think it was on her application for the "laptop survey"

Is this dude an actor too? Can anyone prove that? Everything I have seen is that Microsoft had a laptop survey question put on cragislist and took people that applied for a latop survery question. And only after they bought the laptop did they tel them it is a commercial.

But it does seem very scripted.

I mean "I'm just not cool enough to be a mac person" and "Macs prices are all about asteics not power: those seem to be very very scripted lines.
 
Easy as pie in Windows 7. You can uninstall IE8, Media Player, Windows Search, Media Center, DVD Maker and a few dozen other Windows components. Yes, even the media players. How easy is it to uninstall QuickTime from OSX? Thank you.

You can uninstall the IE8 GUI front end. But the IE rendering engine is embedded within the OS and completely unremovable. The same goes for their media players, and most of the other stuff you listed. The GUI front-end may be removable, but the IE8 rendering engine is still used behind the scenes for any number of tasks whether you like it or not.

In OS/X the QT engine is embedded within it and unremovable, but the same is not true for Safari (based on the open source WebKit). You cannot remove the GUI front-end of quick time, but it also is not "in your face" either. You can install VLC on either platform (in fact I highly recommend it), and it is just as easy to install VLC and place it front and center on OS/X as it is to uninstall front-ends to any of the Microsoft technologies you listed on Windows 7. As far as Safari goes, you can replace the entire rendering engine with whatever you like. Try that with IE8.

The only reason MS made their GUI front ends "uninstallable" is because of the monopoly power litigation that went against them years ago. There's something to be proud of. Apple did not run afoul of monopoly laws, and is therefore not required to remove the front end to their media components.
 
LOL, yeah but they sure aren't fixing viruses.

Exactly, now we have to defend apple because their machines dare to even have hardware faults and the genius bar has work to do...:rolleyes: Still it is a testament to the state of apple that ms have resorted to ads that target apple solely and make NO mention of their own os, and that people come here and argue that apple shouldn't be allowed to even repair their computers and if they do repair them then they are failures.
 
You can uninstall the IE8 GUI front end. But the IE rendering engine is embedded within the OS and completely unremovable. The same goes for their media players, and most of the other stuff you listed. The GUI front-end may be removable, but the IE8 rendering engine is still used behind the scenes for any number of tasks whether you like it or not.

In OS/X the QT engine is embedded within it and unremovable, but the same is not true for Safari (based on the open source WebKit). You cannot remove the GUI front-end of quick time, but it also is not "in your face" either. You can install VLC on either platform (in fact I highly recommend it), and it is just as easy to install VLC and place it front and center on OS/X as it is to uninstall front-ends to any of the Microsoft technologies you listed on Windows 7. As far as Safari goes, you can replace the entire rendering engine with whatever you like. Try that with IE8.

The only reason MS made their GUI front ends "uninstallable" is because of the monopoly power litigation that went against them years ago. There's something to be proud of. Apple did not run afoul of monopoly laws, and is therefore not required to remove the front end to their media components.

Great post! LEt me vouch too for the fantastic vlc open source player, there really is nothing you ll throw at it that it wont play with no problems. Even wmv files that ms's own media player won't play vlc handles just fine, to my experience that is.
 
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.

Not just this year. My brother, a well paid patent attorney, asked me for advice on a laptop as I work in the IT field and like electronics. I said I would buy a Mac and I mentioned to him what a nicely spec'ed 15" MacBook Pro costs in Yurp. He was quiet for a few seconds and asked me why anybody would spend that much money on a laptop.

The bottom line is that most people are not into computers and just to be able to do some stuff their friends do with it. It's hard to explain to them they should go for the much more expensive Mac. Especially since they can do everything they want on a Mac also on a PC. Hey, it wouldn't be my choice, but a half decent laptop with Vista ain't all bad and it does pretty much what the general user wants.
 
^^^1366 x 768 resolution on a 16". That's really pathetic.

My 3 year old Toshiba 12" screen is 1400x1050 :)

After getting it, I kind of saw why they seemed to drop the higher resolution version. The adjustment from a larger computer was made more extreme by the big jump in resolution from 1024x768. Everything was TINY.
 
Windows 7 doesn't even exist, so please don't come with this kind of ********. As QT, it's a necessary framework for playing not only all kinds of media on the Mac, but allowing for other types of graphics handling by the OS...without any exclusion of other players and browsers. If you REALLY wanna continue posting here on MR, at least study the origins of QT and its importance for both Mac OS Classic and OS X. Otherwise, just **** and stick to Rob Enderle's MS-loving sites.

Right, that's nothing like IE...


:rolleyes:
 
Great ads for Microsoft

I'm torn. I want to give this ad the thumbs down because I love Apple and there is something to paying more for something I prefer. I am someone who will pay more for aesthetics and because I really do think it's a much better operating system. On the other hand, this ad is perfect for Microsoft. It's exactly the kind of thing I hear from the people who will never convert to Macs. To them, the computer is a tool and they can get the job done for a lot less money. I don't think there's anything wrong with the reasoning. I don't agree with it, but my priorities are a little different theirs. In my reasoning, I'll be spending an incredible portion of my life in front of my computer and it'll amount to fractions of a penny per hour to have a much better experience; when you factor that in, the difference in price doesn't really matter at all. I equate it to paying for a nicer television, car, or house.

I'm not sure what Apple can do in response to these ads but ignore them. Apple can't and shouldn't compete on price. They can only play up their strengths... and start with the OS. Don't lose these people right away by starting off talking about anodized aluminum and gorgeous design.
 
beige boxes: Arent' pc's like that? Of course they are, not the beige boxes of 1995 like you said, but they are equally tasteless in their vast majority
Then don't get one of this supposed "vast majority", get one with kickass design, like a Vaio. Since you're willing to pay Mac money, you don't have to resort to clunky bargain-basement PCs. The smallest Vaios make the MacBook Air look oversized.

malware, viruses: So you think this is not a problem them. Ok then why has ms themselves equipped windoze with a malware protection scanner and if yo dont activate your antivirus you get a red flag: your computer is not secure?
To cover their own asses, to the point where there's no gratification in spreading malware. The morons who manage to get a Vista PC virus-infested are either complete n00bs, or they're asking for it by downloading warez with embedded viruses AND ignoring the warning issued by UAC, or they're clicking YES > OH YES > I'M 100% SURE > I'M REALLY REALLY 10000% SURE when a Russian porn site asks if it can install a program on the system. I never had any viruses back in the Win98 days when it was much easier to get them, and I sure as sh*t don't have any now.

winbloze: Doesn't it? In their two last versions they incorporated a search funtion available ages ago in macs
Do your research. Microsoft was the first company to demonstrate an instant search function (in an early build of Longhorn), long before Spotlight was known to anyone outside Apple. Apple and Google, who both have a much much shorter time to market, beat Microsoft to the punch, which wasn't hard to do given that Longhorn/Vista was delayed several times. This timeline is well documented, sorry.

Tell me of ONE, JUST ONE, feature that ms has in their os (other than cut paste merge) that is superior to macs. JUST ONE?[/B]
Windows Update makes Apple's crude (and obtrusive) Software Update look like something out of 2002. Explorer has a lot of functionality you won't find in Finder, such as cut/copy/paste files, undo file operations, and full Explorer functionality in Save and Load dialogs. It has way, way easier setup of a home network, like if you want to map a network drive permanently to your machine and have it act like a local disk. Mounting network shares permanently in Leopard is quirky. And when you do heavy duty file operations like move several gigs over the network or to an external drive, Vista shines because if it stumbles upon a file that's open, locked or for some reason can't be moved or copied, it will pause the operation, ask how you want to proceed, allowing you to close the file (if that's the problem) and then continue the operation when you're ready. Wanna know what Finder does? It flat out gives up and leaves you to sort out the file mess, like older Windows versions did. iTunes, while technically not part of the OS, can't even monitor folders for updates, you have to add files manually. WMP will keep constant track of your media folders and update the library accordingly. Those are a few I can think of right now. I could give you a similar list where OS X outshines Windows, but you didn't ask for one.

Windows registry:Again of course this not a problem that's why registry fixers and cleaners are the no. 1 download for pcs and the forums abound with issues for the registry...
It's something a normal user may do once or twice a year if he wants to maximize performance. Only crazy-assed gamers and warez junkies who install and uninstall a dozen applications a day and are totally anal about optimal performance 24-7 need to mess with the registry so much that it becomes a weekly or monthly chore.

Honestly, both Windows and OS X are perfectly functional environments to work in, they both have their pros and cons, it's a matter of taste more than anything else. Just as long as you don't become a fanboy of either platform, you're in the clear.
 
Hey, it wouldn't be my choice, but a half decent laptop with Vista ain't all bad and it does pretty much what the general user wants.

Podiki, first off, I like the mountain locale you are from. ;)

Secondly and more importantly your argument I m afraid doesn't hold ground and here's why: I have just changed a couple of word from what you said to: "a half decent laptop with xp and older cpu ain't all bad and it does pretty much what the general user wants." Does that mean we shouldn't be buying computers in general because last years tec and machines are good enough? Almost everyone is covered and "does pretty much" what they want by and large by all the lappies and computers that have so far been released, so what? People still want to do more buy better machines, more durable, better screens,better os no matter how a lost cause like ms would like yo to think otherwise. If anyone can do "pretty much" what they want with the ee pc, and most users can, then everyone should be getting that, but they aren't. Because ms's argument doesn't make sense.

MS have clearly lost a war in the os game and have come to the pathetic standpoint of having to advertise hardware that they don't manufacture to keep selling an os that they can't really say anything good about to sell, while giving free ad time to their adversary apple. Do you realise how laughably twisted this is? If someone had said a few years ago when they had ads about the wow in vista that they would stoop this low, to not actually make even passing reference to their os in THEIR ads you d think then that this couldn't ever happen. Still it has. And you get an ad by ms that has not a single passing reference, "and hey with the pc you get a great os too", nothing, nada, they are more ashamed about their os than ever.
 
Why does he seem to think macs are more about the looks than power? Last i checked my Mac was pretty powerful....

Probably the memory. The base Mac laptops tend to come with less memory. And would they have Macs configured with 4GB a retail store (not an Apple store)? Probably only if Apple has a SKU with 4GB.

For around $1100? No.

Of course, we know that Apple likes to charge a lot for memory upgrades. It is cheaper to buy 3rd party.
 
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