Microsoft Remains on Offensive with 'Apple Tax' Report and Latest Laptop Ad

[HONDAxACURA]

Apple should make a parody of these commercials. Blue screen popping up, errors, freezing, VIRUS when customers are browsing through the store.

Actually, I am glad Microsoft is doing this. I prefer Apple to stay to a selected few. It makes me sad that there's a lot of Apple users in classrooms, starting to turn into PC's. Years ago, it was the fashion and a privilege, now its just meh....

 

[Journojulz]

OS X isn't as good as Vista.

I take it you make a good living fixing vista machines?

 

[BongoBanger]

So, it's free but corporations have to pay?

Well, then, guess what? It ain't free.

True but then every corporation runs AV regardless of platform because whilst you might be less likely to have issues with malware you can sure as hell pass it on to your customers.

What I said was that it looks bad for the leader in a given market to bash the smaller competitors, and MS is, by far, the leader in the desktop OS market. Don't you think it looks weird for the company with >85% of that market to take shots at a company with less than 10%?

Which is why they're damning the Macs with faint praise rather than saying they're rubbish. It's quite a well thought out strategy.

 

[AidenShaw]

Please, it's "BD", not "BR"

I'd rather have a BR disk ( and lets face it - a disk is not going to bulk out a laptop bag) that I can use in a laptop, then take home and put in a PS3, and then take to a friends place to put in their BR player for their home theatre, enjoy the extras.

Mac's - ESPECIALLY Mac Pros - can no longer pretend to be content creativity platforms without BR drives.

The abbreviation is "BD", not "BR".

The logo is a stylized "BD"

The blanks are BD-x

.

It's simple - CD, DVD, BD .

 

[Journojulz]

Just as I doubt Snow Leopard will be cheaper, I doubt Win7 will be cheaper.

So judging on the current example - whatever mac charges, you expect w7 upgrade to be about double?

 

[milo]

Value added software that doesn't add any value for me.

I haven't opened iPhoto since 2008. iMovie, well 2007...

But it's only fair if comparisons are going to complain about the mac missing things like a card reader. Just because it doesn't interest you doesn't mean it's not a differentiation between the two products.

Apple Store, corporate sales, left hand side I believe. Give them a call. Pain in the ass to set up an account, but obviously worth it.

Thanks. Is there a specific number or email, or info on their website? I can't see the people at my work driving to the apple store.

Sorry, but food comparisons always fail. Why? McDonalds became the largest food chain in the world because of quick and cheap food. The majority of food they sell is off their $1 or equivalent menu.

Microsoft's Windows became the dominant OS on products that used to cost $1,000+ and now have an average price of around $650. Comparisons to quality can't be drawn.

Windows became dominant because it was cheaper. In this particular case, the comparison seems apt - cheaper gains market share over quality.

But it doesn't offer full bitstream decoding like Windows does. Full bitstream decoding is REQUIRED for blu-ray playback. Even the Core 2 Duo in your MacBook Pro would choke on the highest quality video blu-ray has to offer.

Source? I keep hearing the claim that no mac can play back video at bluray bitrate, please back it up.

And specifically what media are you trying to play back and failing? As long as the media isn't available, it seems like a moot point to me - you're complaining you theoretically couldn't play back some video that you don't even have?

 

[Anuba]

You forgot to BOLD iLife.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with iLife, it's a handy application bundle. But when you're comparing two professional workstations in a price range that consumers would refer to as morbid, bundled 'household apps' are irrelevant. What really matters are the professional 3rd party apps you want to use. Someone who buys a machine like this is probably an Adobe CS user, and the CS apps are exactly the same on both platforms. A Dreamweaver user doesn't need no stinkin' "iWeb".

The difference from a professional POV is that a PC won't run Final Cut or Logic. Logic used to be cross-platform but the PC users were shafted when Apple bought the German company (Emagic) that made Logic. If you're a user of either app you obviously need a Mac.

 

[CuriousMacster]

Downloaded movies are not Full HD, they are infested with DRM, they take an AGE to download, and damnit, they're expensive given that they have no extras, and these shortcomings - outragously priced for TV series. For many, a couple of HD movies will bust through a monthly download limit from their ISP.

I'd rather have a BR disk ( and lets face it - a disk is not going to bulk out a laptop bag) that I can use in a laptop, then take home and put in a PS3, and then take to a friends place to put in their BR player for their home theatre, enjoy the extras.

Mac's - ESPECIALLY Mac Pros - can no longer pretend to be content creativity platforms without BR drives.

Well my laptop is an old Powerbook G4 so I guess I don't care to much about full HD on it. And what I meant by carrying around is actually going on long trips. I tend travel overseas for vacation so one movie wouldn't cut it for me. Plus I don't like to plan out what movies to watch on the plane so I would end up with a large bulk in my carryon from the multiple disc choices.

But I do agree that the Mac Pros need some sort of BR drive. Or they at least need to make OSX support it and you can get a 3rd party upgrade.

 

[linuxophile]

They should make one more ad.... shopping for netbooks.

"Linuxophile is shopping around for a netbook: he enters the apple store and leaves immediately because there is none. So he buys a EEE1000HE, 540 $(CDN) 160gb HD, 1GB Ram, wifi n, bluetooth, webcam (1.3Mpixel), card reader, 3 USB, VGA out, Ethernet port, audio in/out ("so long, MBA!") multitouch trackpad (yes, you hear me well) and 5.5 hrs (real work) of battery.

It comes with Windows, and Linuxophile is allergic to it: so he downloads eeebuntu, which looks as cute as osx. He can compile Latex as fast as on his office desktop (an aging Dell P4 2.8Ghz) and possibly faster than his Powerbook G4. Browsing the network is pleasurable, and eeebuntu integrates seamlessly in his home Mac-based network thanks to zeroconf (aka bonjour). In the meanwhile he cannot stop wondering:

``What is Apple waiting for?'' "

 

[AidenShaw]

Quality costs more

So judging on the current example - whatever mac charges, you expect w7 upgrade to be about double?

It's amusing that there are so many posts that say:

• Macs are better because the hardware costs more - quality costs more
• Windows sucks because the software costs more *

Maybe people just don't see the Cognitive dissonance

* These people never seem to quote the actual street price of Windows, just the list price.

"Linuxophile is shopping around for a netbook: he enters the apple store and leaves immediately because there is none. So he buys a EEE1000HE, 540 $(CDN) 160gb HD, 1GB Ram, wifi n, bluetooth, webcam (1.3Mpixel), card reader, 3 USB, VGA out, Ethernet port, audio in/out ("so long, MBA!") multitouch trackpad (yes, you hear me well) and 5.5 hrs (real work) of battery.

It comes with Windows,

That will be one of the Windows 7 ads - the tiny cheap netbook running full Windows 7 easily - with full Office 2007 and just about any other application that you want. (My eeePC 901 runs Win7 x86 just fine.)

 

[milo]

"Linuxophile is shopping around for a netbook: he enters the apple store and leaves immediately because there is none. So he buys a EEE1000HE, 540 $(CDN) 160gb HD, 1GB Ram, wifi n, bluetooth, webcam (1.3Mpixel), card reader, 3 USB, VGA out, Ethernet port, audio in/out ("so long, MBA!") multitouch trackpad (yes, you hear me well) and 5.5 hrs (real work) of battery.

It comes with Windows, and Linuxophile is allergic to it: so he downloads eeebuntu, which looks as cute as osx. He can compile Latex as fast as on his office desktop (an aging Dell P4 2.8Ghz) and possibly faster than his Powerbook G4. Browsing the network is pleasurable, and eeebuntu integrates seamlessly in his home Mac-based network thanks to zeroconf (aka bonjour). In the meanwhile he cannot stop wondering:

``What is Apple waiting for?'' "

Can that netbook become a hackintosh? And can you buy it without windows?

 

[Inconsequential]

same argument as the post above

rich people dont always buy macs if they know anything about computers

and oh yeah in the eyes of an apple fan, there is only dell to compare LOL
seriously do you people even have a CLUE about what other manufactures are out there? do you realise your macbookpro is made by Hon Hai?

lmfao, I love you people too.

Im not an idiot with money, i've been doing the research and weighing up the pros and cons compared to other spec machines/self built for 6 MONTHS before buying either the MBP or the MP. I used to be a serial overclocker, I know the hardware market. I've been using both systems day to day since I was 6, i've currently got W7 7068 installed on both machines.

In my opinion OS X IS the better system and in my opinion the apple tax IS worth it.

Opinion with actual years of experience, not many people on this forum can say that, oh and im 19 now

Kit list:
Mac: SE30, Performa 630, PM6100, PM7600, PMG3 Beige + B&W, 2002 PM G4 MDD, MBP 2007, MP 2009
PC: Dell P2, P3, P4. self built: P4, AMD XP, XP-M 2500 (overclockers dream at that time), AMD64, AMD64 X2, C2D, C2Q

 

[flopticalcube]

Can that netbook become a hackintosh?

Yes. http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/09/08/asus-eee-pc-1000h-a.html

 

[linuxophile]

Can that netbook become a hackintosh?

Allegedly it can, but not fully functional. Not worth the effort. Eeebuntu is really as osx as you can expect from something that is
a) free
b) non osx.

And everything works (almost) out of the box (wireless, webcam, ethernet, etc).

 

[pr5owner]

Hi, my name is Prof. and I'm a Mac because I like my computers to last longer than 2 years.

well i have PC's and almost 70% of them are over 2 years old???????

WTF are you talking about? Macs are PC's and software will last as long as the medium its carried on.

 

[hugodrax]

Apple should start its offensive with ads showing people having to continually spend money unclogging machines with spyware,etc..

And have an ad where someone ends up with a big bill on their credit card thanks to worms stealing personal information etc..

 

[rcarone]

"3 Year Next Business Day Onsite Service"

This is huge and why Dell is king in small business.

 

[pr5owner]

Forget this, I am never buying a PC again anyways. Microsoft is just wasting their time.... and they need to remember that nothing beats a Mac.

right so you represent all of mankind and every large company out there. nothing beats a mac hey? oil companies are not shy of spending trillions of dollars on computers. why are most of them using PCs? (specifically HPs and dells)

maybe a mac will be best for a person who is new to computing in general and has money to burn. maybe....

 

[Joelg88]

Desktops ?

One thing I've noticed so far with the 3 ad's is that all of the costumers purchase notebook computers.

Will any of them every buy a Desktop computer instead?

 

[ppnkg]

Apple shouldn't really be bothered. These ads are the best ads for mac: they everybody wants a mac - whether they are able to afford one is a whole different story

 

[pr5owner]

Apple should start its offensive with ads showing people having to continually spend money unclogging machines with spyware,etc..

And have an ad where someone ends up with a big bill on their credit card thanks to worms stealing personal information etc..

what about macs that have windows installed? you say windows is soooo prone to getting this kind of malware would it not affect macs too? if the user got that macbook in the commercial and needed windows for her programs, she would be taking the Mac straight back to the store because of the malware.

 

[Anuba]

Apple should start its offensive with ads showing people having to continually spend money unclogging machines with spyware,etc..

Err... who does that? Are those the same people who think the DVD tray is a beverage holder?

 

[linuxophile]

One thing I've noticed so far with the 3 ad's is that all of the costumers purchase notebook computers.

Will any of them every buy a Desktop computer instead?

That's because they know that the market is shifting towars laptops/netbooks.

I believe that in terms of number of units sold that beats the desktop market (I don't know about revenue).

 

[flopticalcube]

One thing I've noticed so far with the 3 ad's is that all of the costumers purchase notebook computers.

Will any of them every buy a Desktop computer instead?

MS probably has a "Desktop Hunters" series waiting in the wings. Should stir the pot even more.

 

[iPhoneNYC]

Why aren't more games released at start for the Mac or soon after? With increased sales of Mac and iPhones/iPod demographics why are gamers staying so last century???