Microsoft Releases Second 'Laptop Hunters' Commercial

[Sehnsucht]

There seems to be a pent-up desire to deliberately misunderstand these ads just for the heck of it. Is it really that hard to get?

Nobody's misunderstanding anything here, my friend.

Every Mac sold means a (potential) market share shrinkage for Microsoft (I'm saying potential since some Mac users are BootCampers). Whether MS makes the hardware or not is irrelevant, it's still their market share at stake.

Ah hah! So it seems Standard Oil is starting to see its monopoly weaken, ever so slightly, and they're pissed off.

How does one address that? Hit Apple where they're weak -- price and limited choices.

Apple isn't "weak" in that regard when you consider that Apple don't cater to the "computers-as-commodity" or the "$300-food-stamp-PC" markets. It's a totally different target market altogether. Apple don't have a very low-end offering because they're not interesting in giving low-end offerings. Simple as that. Not to dredge up the old, tired "car" analogy again, but here goes. Why isn't there a little $7,000 Aston Martin minivan for soccer moms? Because they don't make/don't want to make cheap minivans! They prefer sports cars. Because. they. are. a. sports. car. brand.

1. Communicate that PC gives you more computing power for the money.

Highly subjective.

2. Communicate that PC = choices, choices, choices. You can get one that costs 1/3 of the cheapest Mac or one that costs 4x the most expensive Mac. You can get a pink one, a round one, and probably one enclosed in a clay pot too.

Again I ask, why do they care? It's becoming pretty clear now...Standard Oil wants their cut.

Key phrases:
Lauren: "I'm a PC and I got just what I wanted".
Subtext: Apple's limited and streamlined product line, along with the narrow price point window, implies an attempt to dictate what the user wants, in a "You can have your Ferrari red, red or red" sort of way.

Giampaolo: "I'm a PC because I'm really picky".
Subtext: The choice thing again; he's very specific about what he wants, right down to the size of the keys (due to his "big hands" which would probably hit all 4 cursor keys at once on a MB/MBP). I.e. one of those people who look at the menu and say "Can I have that one but with olives and without the onions?" He wouldn't like an Apple restaurant because they're like the "Soup Nazi".

Again, what a ridiculous reason for choosing one computer over another...because of the size of the cursor keys? Again we see it, these ads are all over the hardware, the hardware, the hardware, while ignoring the vast, truly deal-breaking differences between the Windows and Mac software platforms. Standard Oil is probably very aware of what the outcome would be if they staged a true, no-holds-barred "Windows vs. Mac OS X" ad campaign. (As if they haven't already given Apple enough free advertising as it is.)

The end.

Oh, far from it!

 

[koa]

Well said not everybody buys everything they own on some performance/price ratio. There are other factors that people factor in when buying things, this is what makes every person different. Some people just can't seem to grasp that basic concept.

As long as both items are affordable to the individual that's true. If you raise the price of a Mac and/or lower the price of a PC enough even you will reach the "point" of not being able to justify the Mac. It's just that the "point" is different for others.

 

[Trajectory]

I think Microsoft missed a good opportunity to instead make the message in these commercials about how Windows can be installed on both Macs and PCs. Something OSX can't do. Attacking Apple's computers and comparing them to hardware made by other companies does nothing to promote Windows as an OS, which is why these ads fail, IMO.

 

[bruinsrme]

I think Microsoft missed a good opportunity to instead make the message in these commercials about how Windows can be installed on both Macs and PCs. Something OSX can't do. Attacking Apple's computers and comparing them to hardware made by other companies does nothing to promote Windows as an OS, which is why these ads fail, IMO.

hmmmm MS is promoting their product and HP products with something that is near and dear to a lot of peoples concerns, savings savings and savings.
Regardless if some think PCs are crap and will self destruct at the 2 year point because a freind hear that their sister-inlaws pc did after 6 months. MS is telling people that there are many choices for the money conscience consumer.
With every PC sold, MS essentially gets a cut.
The commercials are great because it tells people hey there are some affordable computers out there. so IMO they 2 commercials are very effective.

 

[JonBean]

I think Microsoft missed a good opportunity to instead make the message in these commercials about how Windows can be installed on both Macs and PCs. Something OSX can't do. Attacking Apple's computers and comparing them to hardware made by other companies does nothing to promote Windows as an OS, which is why these ads fail, IMO.

And that begs the question... If all computers could run OSX, would selecting an HP be such a bad option?

 

[fmaxwell]

Honestly, Macs are great but they're an alternative, not a superior choice. People should buy what they need and what they want. That's not going to be the same for everyone.

For each person, some system is a superior choice. Unfortunately, Microsoft has decided to take the low road and pretend that the only thing to consider is the initial purchase price. They are preying on consumer ignorance.

They don't talk about total cost of ownership, support options, frequency of malware infections, system stability, included backup software (what does Microsoft have to compete with Time Machine?), etc. They don't talk about resale value of the system. They don't mention that the Apple purchaser can upgrade the OS for up to five family-owned Macs for under $200 while the Microsoft purchaser is probably looking at a bill of over $500 each time.

What's really telling is that they only show the giddy "purchaser" (actor, actually) buying the system. They don't show him/her actually trying to use it. They don't show the person trying to deal with all of the crapware that is installed on it. They don't show him/her a year later when their system bootup now, inexplicably, takes 4.25 minutes. They don't show him/her paying the "Geek Squad" to try to get the system working again and to salvage data.

Please! We're too smart on here to believe that, outside of price and appearance, that Macs and PCs are just the same.

 

[fmaxwell]

And that begs the question... If all computers could run OSX, would selecting an HP be such a bad option?

Having owned both Macs and HPs... Yes. The quality of the HPs was pretty bad.

 

[bruinsrme]

For each person, some system is a superior choice. Unfortunately, Microsoft has decided to take the low road and pretend that the only thing to consider is the initial purchase price. They are preying on consumer ignorance.

They don't talk about total cost of ownership, support options, frequency of malware infections, system stability, included backup software (what does Microsoft have to compete with Time Machine?), etc. They don't talk about resale value of the system. They don't mention that the Apple purchaser can upgrade the OS for up to five family-owned Macs for under $200 while the Microsoft purchaser is probably looking at a bill of over $500 each time.

What's really telling is that they only show the giddy "purchaser" (actor, actually) buying the system. They don't show him/her actually trying to use it. They don't show the person trying to deal with all of the crapware that is installed on it. They don't show him/her a year later when their system bootup now, inexplicably, takes 4.25 minutes. They don't show him/her paying the "Geek Squad" to try to get the system working again and to salvage data.

Please! We're too smart on here to believe that, outside of price and appearance, that Macs and PCs are just the same.

more dribble

 

[JayMan8081]

These ads are really poorly done and I doubt they are really fooling anyone.

 

[Anuba]

Apple isn't "weak" in that regard when you consider that Apple don't cater to the "computers-as-commodity" or the "$300-food-stamp-PC" markets. It's a totally different target market altogether.

It should be, but it isn't. The language of the "Get a Mac" campaign site, not to mention the ads, is designed for seniors, soccer moms and high-school students. Apple soooooo wants those customers, they just hope that somewhere between the "sure, it does basic email, and you can surf the internets, too!" and the "for only $2799", some sort of spontaneous lobotomy will occur.

Not to dredge up the old, tired "car" analogy again, but here goes.

And once again the analogy involves a brand that's waaaaaaaaaay out of Apple's league. Jeez, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Porsche, even Bugatti Veyron. Those are mighty claims for Chinese-made, Intel-based PCs with 13-a-dozen components hidden inside an aluminium bucket. I'll give you Honda + premium = Acura, but that's really as far as the car analogy can go without setting of the false equivalency alarm.

Highly subjective.

I said computing power, as in raw, simple and objective horsepower numbers. Computer experience is subjective, though.

Standard Oil is probably very aware of what the outcome would be if they staged a true, no-holds-barred "Windows vs. Mac OS X" ad campaign.

Yes. They would win in some categories and lose in others. If there's no contest, Mac would be the one with the 90% market share. It's had 25 years to prove its excellence to every computer buyer on earth.

 

[beach-dude]

Mac Fanboys please help

I like os x (I have three macs in my house) and I have used windows 7. It's a pretty tight OS; fast and robust and quite user friendly. I think there needs to be a few UI tweaks but overall it's a good experience for the end-user.

Once Win7 comes out, I'll need to buy a computer and here's what I need. You guys tell me if you ANY MAC can fulfill these requirements.

- headless
- able to rip and convert bluray at fast speeds (i7 CPU is therefore desired)
- act as a media center
- under $1500

Please gods of Macs help me fulfill my request with a Mac. The bottom line is that you can't.

 

[Eidorian]

I like os x (I have three macs in my house) and I have used windows 7. It's a pretty tight OS; fast and robust and quite user friendly. I think there needs to be a few UI tweaks but overall it's a good experience for the end-user.

Once Win7 comes out, I'll need to buy a computer and here's what I need. You guys tell me if you ANY MAC can fulfill these requirements.

- headless
- able to rip and convert bluray at fast speeds (i7 CPU is therefore desired)
- act as a media center
- under $1500

Please gods of Macs help me fulfill my request with a Mac. The bottom line is that you can't.

I think you'll be looking at building/buying a Lynnfield system and running Windows on it.

 

[Sehnsucht]

It should be, but it isn't. The language of the "Get a Mac" campaign site, not to mention the ads, is designed for seniors, soccer moms and high-school students. Apple soooooo wants those customers, they just hope that somewhere between the "sure, it does basic email, and you can surf the internets, too!" and the "for only $2799", some sort of spontaneous lobotomy will occur.

Heehee...That made me grin. But nowhere do they actually try to downplay the cost or use terms like "for only". Apple is quite unashamed of how much they charge for their systems...just go to their site to configure and it's right there: "Starting at $1,999". Whereas if you go to, oh, say, Dell or HP, you start out at a deceptively low $799. (You've seen it..."BUY DIS SYSTEM AND GETTA FREE TOTE BAG AND YEARZ WORTHA ANTYVYRIS SOFTWARRZ A 199-DOLLA VAL-YOOOO!" and "SAVE FITTY DOLLAHZ INSTANSTLYZ WHEN YOU ADD DIZ [insert random gimmick here.]!!!") Believe me, I've tried this myself when I considered making a Hackintosh...yeah I can get a PC laptop for $799 whose specs may appear to be about equal to or slightly better than Apple laptop, but once I added a good graphics card, a fast enough processor, and enough RAM (ya know, so it'd actually be usable) it jumps way the hell up to nearly $3,000. And if you're going to spend 3K on a laptop anyway, the so-called "Apple Tax" becomes pretty negligable.

Yes. They would win in some categories and lose in others. If there's no contest, Mac [Apple] would be the one with the 90% market share. It's had 25 years to prove its excellence to every computer buyer on earth.

Microsoft's 90% market share comes from their illegal, monopolistic business practices and exclusivity contracts. Once you have enough users sucked into your influence, and after you've made every OEM, data center, and IT center your little bitch, you can easily continue to artificially produce your own market because they're dependent on you. What, you think all IT centers, all data centers in the world are going to toss out their black Dell boxes for Macs? They obviously can't (even though we all know they want to) and Microsoft knows that. Apple prefers to keep things to itself and do things on their own schedule, which is why their OS, with its teeny market share, is so solid.

 

[VoR]

I think you'll be looking at building/buying a Lynnfield system and running Windows on it.

I'd do the ripping on a desktop and stick to xbmc/vdpau and linux on any old system

 

[thies]

for what it's worth, end of last year I looked at replacing my santa rosa Macbook because it simply sucked ass. The bloody wrist rest was cracking in the well known places, getting dirt accumulating under those fancy integrated keys out was nigh impossible and the integrated graphics were a sad joke.

I ended up buying a Lenovo T500, best computer related purchase ever. Price of a Macbook, power of a Macbook Pro, better build quality than either, easily upgradeable, a warranty which makes Apple look like the money grubbing designer turds they are. And I didn't even have to pay extra to get it in black.

I don't really give a **** about which OS I use, all that matter is that it runs the applications I use.

 

[Oscartapia]

Well, I just went to Dell's web page to configure that very same Dell Precision T3500 64 bit, and the price I got is $2,299, against the $2,499.00 from a MAC Pro, it's real price, not $2,748.00; and, sorry for my ignorance with PCs, but I could't make any network configuration on it to compare with the two independent 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet (RJ-45) interfaces with support for jumbo frames and the bluetooth 2.1 + Enhanced Data Rate (EDR) available on any MacPro! In fact, I did't find how to know what kind of connectivity I have, like the four FireWire 800 ports , Five USB 2.0 ports, headphone minijack, optical digital audio input and output TOSLINK ports and analog stereo line-level input and output minijacks that come with the MacPro.

What's an "i7 Nehalem Xeon" - Intel doesn't list those.

Please tell me what's wrong with this price comparision for quad Nehalem workstations:

Dell Precision T3500 64bit                       Mac Pro Quad
======================================           ========================================
 
[B]Price  $ 1,980[/B]                                 Price     $ 2,748
 
Vista® Business Service Pack 1,                  Mac OSX, 32-bit kernel, 64-bit app
     with media, 64-bit

Quad Core Intel® Xeon® W3520                     Quad Core Intel® Xeon® W3520
     2.66GHz, 8M L3, 4.8GT/s, Turbo                   2.66GHz, 8M L3, 4.8GT/s, Turbo
     [url=http://ark.intel.com/cpu.aspx?groupId=39718](W3520 spec)[/url]

3GiB, 1066MHz,DDR3 SDRAM,                        3GiB, 1066MHz,DDR3 SDRAM,
     ECC (3x1GiB DIMMS)                               ECC (3x1GiB DIMMS)

[B]Six DDR3 memory slots [/B]                        Four DDR3 memory slots

[B]512MiB NVIDIA® Quadro® FX 580,[/B]               512 MiB NVIDIA GeForce GT 120
     [B]DUAL MON, 2 DP & 1 DVI[/B]                           DUAL MON, 1 MDP & 1 DVI

[B]750GB SATA 3Gb/s with NCQ[/B] and                 640 GB SATA 7200
     16MB DataBurst Cache™

16X DVD+/-RW w/ Cyberlink PowerDVD™              [B]18x DVD+/-RW[/B]
     and Roxio Creator™ Dell Ed

Dell QuietKey Keyboard                           Apple Keyboard with numeric pad

Dell USB 2 Button Optical Mouse                  Apple Mighty Mouse

3 Year Basic Limited Warranty and                3 Year AppleCare
     [B]3 Year Next Business Day Onsite Service[/B]

Price difference: $ 768

Bold highlights the "better" items where there are significant differences

 

[pr5owner]

And once again the analogy involves a brand that's waaaaaaaaaay out of Apple's league. Jeez, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Porsche, even Bugatti Veyron. Those are mighty claims for Chinese-made, Intel-based PCs with 13-a-dozen components hidden inside an aluminium bucket. I'll give you Honda + premium = Acura, but that's really as far as the car analogy can go without setting of the false equivalency alarm.

to be fair, acura/honda does make some kick ass cars

i would buy this if it was avalible (CHECK out the individual throttle bodies!!!!!)

Layout: 90 degree V8 Naturally Aspirated
Displacement: 4000cc
Horsepower: 590hp / 9500rpm << (not so gutless to me)
torque: 383lb/ft / 7500rpm
Restrictor: 33.4mm x2 or 46.8mm x1
Clutch: Carbon 4 plate
length: 559mm
width: 720mm
height: 577mm
weight: 131kg

 

[Eidorian]

I'd do the ripping on a desktop and stick to xbmc/vdpau and linux on any old system

I knew someone was going to get me on this. Whatever operating system you prefer.

 

[chris200x9]

maybe time for a public service anouncement "you can get these even cheaper! Just decline the eula and install linux, get a refund"

 

[pr5owner]

And that begs the question... If all computers could run OSX, would selecting an HP be such a bad option?

you mean if OSX actaully had support for 3rd party hardware?

any HW can run OSX if apple decided to allow manufactures to develop drivers

OSX notbeing on all machines like windows is APPLES FAULT

 

[pr5owner]

yeah I can get a PC laptop for $799 whose specs may appear to be about equal to or slightly better than Apple laptop, but once I added a good graphics card, a fast enough processor, and enough RAM (ya know, so it'd actually be usable) it jumps way the hell up to nearly $3,000. And if you're going to spend 3K on a laptop anyway, the so-called "Apple Tax" becomes pretty negligable.

what are you talking about? adding a video card does not add $2300 to any product, the fastest video cad right now is a nVidia GTX295 and it only costs $500-$600

Enough ram so it will be usable? are you serious? or talking about the macmini with 1GB? cuz most laptops for $700+ have 4GB of ram

also nvidia's garbage 9400 is not a good card and you have no option to change that in the macbook (the 9400 is still an integrated video card with SHARED RAM)

 

[LagunaSol]

Well, I just went to Dell's web page to configure that very same Dell Precision T3500 64 bit, and the price I got is $2,299

You forgot to use all the hidden coupon codes, rebates, and secret handshakes that the Winbots use to get their Dells at their trumpeted-from-the-mountaintops prices (without telling you about all the mystical gyrations they had to go through to actually get these prices).

Been there. Done that.

BTW, I ordered a Dell for an uncle some time ago and set it up for him. Within a month he called me to complain about major problems. I.e. porno pictures popping up on the screen while his daughters worked on their homework. I went and checked it out - the entire thing was plagued with malware his daughters had picked up downloading songs on Limewire. Ultimately I had to wipe the thing clean and start entirely from scratch.

If you choose Windows, hope you enjoy Hell. I've told my friends and family that I am no longer providing free tech support for their Windows-based machines. Unsurprisingly, they are now buying Macs. And I've yet to have to clean any spyware from any of them.

 

[dejo]

What better specs? Still a 5400 rpm drive. Still 1 GB. Still 2.0 GHz.

That 5400 rpm drive is now larger (120 GB vs 80). That 1 GB of RAM is now faster (1066MHz DDR3 vs. PC2-5300 DDR2). That 2.0 GHz CPU is now higher performance (P7350 vs. T5600). Whey2 ignore the parts of the specs that do differ.

Edit: Ah, and I see the 2.0 GHz was upgraded from the previous 1.83 GHz.

 

[KnightWRX]

What better specs? Still a 5400 rpm drive. Still 1 GB. Still 2.0 GHz. What's happened since I bought mine 2 years ago is that it now has NVidia 9400M and 2 more USB ports. The better of the two Minis used to cost 6,995 SEK, now it's 9,195 SEK, which no currency fluctiations in the world could even begin to explain. And when Mac effing Mini nearly crosses the 5 figure mark in Swedish kronor, it whooshes straight into professional workstation territory (Dell Precision Nehalem Xeon quads start around 12,000 SEK).

Still 2.0 Ghz ? BZZT. Sorry. It's now 2.0 GHZ, it wasn't before (in the base configuration). Also, it now has DDR3 RAM, the nVidia 9400m graphics and MDP port/mini-DVI (enabling Dual-link DVI + 2nd monitor option).

All for the same price, no jacking up at all. I'm sorry if your currency went to crap, but Apple is a US company, the US price is what you look at to see if the price changed. It didn't. You can pretend there's been a jacking up of the price, but that doesn't make it true.

Also, your bare-bones Dell Precision T3500 comes with 1 GB of non ECC RAM, smallish hard drive, and isn't really ever going to be ordered at its base price, which is just shy of 1200$ US.

 

[Trajectory]

hmmmm MS is promoting their product and HP products with something that is near and dear to a lot of peoples concerns, savings savings and savings.
Regardless if some think PCs are crap and will self destruct at the 2 year point because a freind hear that their sister-inlaws pc did after 6 months. MS is telling people that there are many choices for the money conscience consumer.
With every PC sold, MS essentially gets a cut.
The commercials are great because it tells people hey there are some affordable computers out there. so IMO they 2 commercials are very effective.

Yes, MS is building brand-loyalty for a product it doesn't even make (HP computers), which is the oddest thing I've seen in advertising from a big company. I realize MS gets a cut if someone buys an HP computer over a Mac, but, they are still advertising another company's product that could run other OSes like Linux. Is MS so embarrassed by their own product? I think so. And this ad subtly reinforces that perception.

And that begs the question... If all computers could run OSX, would selecting an HP be such a bad option?

IMO, No, it wouldn't be a bad option. I'm sure HP would sell even more computers if they could run OSX. As many have said here, it's not necessarily the hardware that makes them want a Mac, it's also often the OS. And this is clearly why Apple does not want OSX running on anything other than an Apple-branded computers. Apple provides the entire solution: Computer, OS, software and peripherals. And everything they make is meant to work well together without the need for drivers, and for the most part it all does work. This can be very attractive to many non-techie users who, if they have a problem with anything, they can call ONE company and get excellent support. Apple Stores (in the US and Canada at least) make this "all-in-one" solution even more attractive because they offer free workshops that show you how to use their software and hardware. Microsoft can't compete with this because they only really provide half of the solution.

MS and Apple are very different breeds. I use both platforms because of my job, but, I definitely prefer Macs and OSX after having used PCs exclusively for 12 years (DOS then Windows) before switching. And I've converted my entire family and most of my friends to Macs, and not one of them would think of going back to a PC anymore.

However, if HP could run OSX and worked pretty much like a Mac does with OSX, then I'm sure some of my family and friends may have opted for the cheaper computer. But, somehow I don't see that happening, Apple is very protective of everything they make, and for good reason.