Microsoft to Respond to Apple's 'Get a Mac' Ads

[elppa]

Did no one notice this quote? So, Microsoft understands making software compatible with your whole life, and Apple doesn't? Isn't that part of Apple's whole marketing scheme?

iLife '04. Microsoft Office for the rest of your life.
Mobile Me. Exchange for the rest of us.

Wasn't lost on me either.

 

[Tallest Skil]

Hahah.

I'm sooo excited about buying 'indowsVista!'

indows ✓ista, rather.

 

[DMann]

Wow, that's money down the drain.
The more people who use vista = more people switch to OSX.

As were their 8 year expenditures for developing Longhorn. (Vista) This ad campaign will effectively fuel more Mac OSX sales.

Umm, too little too late?
Doesn't Microsoft realize that these ads have been airing for years now? WinBlows forever!

Neither did they seem to realize that the iPod had been selling for 6 years prior to the introduction of their zune.

"Vista is finally stable and ready".. Microsoft is on something really good because its still not very stable or ready. I installed it last week because the Service Pack was out for it so i thought maybe it will be better but it felt the same

Vista is ready alright.... for a complete make over. Randall Stross's NYTimes article articulates this very clearly: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/t...15316800&en=3ee2a82dbd97932d&ei=5070&emc=eta1

 

[MikeyTree]

and let customers know that Vista is "finally stable and ready."

Any advertising premised on the argument that "Vista dosn't such as much as it used to" is doomed to failure.

 

[jabbawok]

Anyone remember that M$ ad' they ran a while back with a girl talking about breaking up with her boyfriend and writing a song about it on her home studio.. I'm like is this an add for GarageBand or something. Since when can you do that on a P.C. without having to go buy some expensive software and spending a week learning how it works, only to find it crashes halfway through for some inexplicable reason. Microsoft should concentrate on what they do well, which is Active Directory and Exchange server.

 

[Eraserhead]

Vista sucks for EVERYONE out there

Vista is still an improvement over XP, even if not a big one.

NO ENTERPRISES are adopting it

Enterprises always adopt slowly,

PCs continue to lag way behind Apple in terms of design, reliability and integration.

high end PC's are generally more reliable than Macs and Windows integrates better than OS X from a business perspective, and for advanced users.

revolution caused by iPhone.

The iPhone hasn't won yet.

 

[NiroNavro]

Haha, so funny. Vista doesn't stand a chance they're wasting their time and money.

 

[BlakTornado]

Windows users who've wanted Vista have upgraded. Those who don't have either stayed with Windows XP, or moved to Mac.

It's not like Macs where no-one knows what they're like. Windows Vista is still Windows. People know Windows XP is crap (well, it is for normal people) and therefore they don't want Vista, because chances are it's not going to be better.

Microsoft may as well just start throwing money into the shredder.

 

[theheadguy]

Vista is still an improvement over XP, even if not a big one. Enterprises always adopt slowly, high end PC's are generally more reliable than Macs. Windows integrates better than OS X from a business perspective and the iPhone hasn't won yet.

Silly boy; logic is no use against polished fanboy weapons.

 

[Beric]

I vote this article a positive. I personally can't wait to see Microsoft's "response", for entertainment purposes alone. And such a "response" can only help Apple, by giving OS X credibility, ect.

 

[deannnnn]

I bet they are going to go with something that doesn't criticize Apple's products but something that criticizes Apple's commercials.

Something like, "We're not gunna bash the other guy, we're just gunna tell you why Vista is great."

That way, it makes Apple look like a mean company.

I hope it doesn't work... but it will be interesting to see what happens.

 

[dernhelm]

My favorite quote:

Brooks signified that Microsoft was ready to admit mistakes and reposition itself to tell a better story about Windows Vista, to counter attacks by rival Apple and let customers know that Vista is finally stable and ready

A year and a half after release, and now they say it's finally ready?

My second favorite quote:

"When you make the investment into Windows Vista, it's going to pay it forward into the operating system we call Windows 7." All the more reason, Brooks said, to upgrade to Windows Vista sooner than later.

So the message will be, forget the fact that you hate Vista, you should upgrade now so you'll be ready for it's successor. Which we promise you won't hate anywhere near as much...

 

[gifford]

No time for remorse Apple, finished him, slay the beast.

 

[ClassicMac247]

"Hello I'm a PC, and I'm a Mac, So Mac hows Leopard? Well it's doing good PC, no where near as good as Vista though, Yea well, ha, you know, Windows always was ahead of Mac, really PC? I could have sworn we had the first built in cameras, first UI, first mouse, you know, first editing software, first drawing software, so whats Vista going to be the first of? I'm glad you asked Mac, We here and Windows are launching a new OS called C.R.A.P, it means Computer Reasoning And Programming, it plays chess. Thats really cool PC, really cool I guess we won't be needing Mac's anymore"

 

[Eraserhead]

Silly boy; logic is no use against polished fanboy weapons.

Its pretty embarrassing to be honest that people are so obsessed.

No time for remorse Apple, finished him, slay the beast.

Which is why Microsoft's stock price is still 60% higher, and their profits are still 4-5x higher.

 

[ZiggyPastorius]

Time to polish my fanboy weapons again...

Microsoft is DEAD in the water and acts like a desperate zombie now...too late, Microsoft. The wheel keeps on turning and nothing can stop it now. I alone switched AT LEAST 4 people I know to Macs; and there is no turning back for them.

Vista sucks for EVERYONE out there, NO ENTERPRISES are adopting it, and PCs continue to lag way behind Apple in terms of design, reliability and integration. PCs suck, MS sucks, Windows sucks. Not to mention the absolute domination of iPods and the revolution caused by iPhone.

GO APPLE! TORA! TORA! TORA!

All right, I think you need just a little bit of calming down...I love Apple's products a lot as well, but, Microsoft is not a completely useless company. Windows is terrible, I will admit that, but Microsoft is not only not dead, it's kicking and splashing in the water as well. I know people who like Vista, I know some who like it more than XP. Hell, I like it more than XP, but I don't like using Windows at all, so it doesn't really matter. iPods are dominate for now, and probably for a while, and the iPhone is making its way, but is not there yet. I'd say remove the fanboy cap again and look at it as objectively as you can, not just "Everything Microsoft does sucks. Even itself! Microsoft sucks at everything it does so much, including itself, that it does itself by sucking itself!"

 

[nep61]

So, now I question, is is just good advertising and Bad computers/OS with Apple also? It really makes me afraid to lay out all of that cash if that's the case.

I think you'll find that most people on these forums have had their Apple computers for many years. That's what I like, Apple supports their OS pretty well... The OS is stable, the hardware is pretty damn good looking, and both will serve you well for a long time.

I have 3 Macs at home. The oldest, I bought in 1994... 14 years and it works like a charm.... I'll use it to check e-mails while my 4 year old Powerbook is Rendering a Final Cut Sequence.

 

[DMann]

Have you ever seen a good Microsoft comercial?

WOW ............... not

It's just like Microsoft to delay their "response." I laugh at the very thought of a counter attack. "Sure our O/S is crap and Apple helped you to see how bad it really is. But we're fixed now, and um well... there ya go."

This sounds like genuine Bill speak.

Microsoft has nothing to counter. The damage has been done for years, the world is much smarter than you think Uncle Bill.

He certainly did bail out just in time.

 

[jklps]

"Software out there is made to be compatible with your whole life."

Okay how about "Macbook Pro + Internet + Google + iPhone 3G" pretty much covers internet/productivity...plus an Xbox360 covers gaming w/o truly having Windows...video game consoles are much easier, never have to upgrade a graphics card or get a worse experience b/c somebody else's same exact console has better specs...

 

[Shot22]

This news really should have been expected. In fact, it should have come earlier in my opinion. After--and possibly before--the release of Vista, the amount of customers converting from Windows to Mac began to grow exponentially. This change was undoubtedly fueled partially by Apple's relentless advertising campaign, which presented OS X as the far superior OS. In addition, the overwhelming customer satisfaction among Mac users has created a buzz for Apple. If Microsoft just stood by and did not respond, then more and more people would convert to Macs.

So, the real question is: will Microsoft's counter-campaign be able to stop or slow the huge (albeit gradual) shift towards Apple products? Well, that obviously depends mostly on the content of their new ads. If Microsoft simply presents Vista as "new and improved," their efforts will probably be too little, too late--many people have already tried Vista and switched to something else.

In my opinion, if Microsoft wants the campaign to be successful, they should attack the price discrepency between Macs and PCs. This would be virtually impossible, however, because Vista is sold in a many different computer brands.

My prediction is that Microsoft uses the traditional advertising format of showing the "real-world" opinions of Vista users (like Apple did with the iPhone SDK). It's still tough to guess which specific issues Microsoft will present though.

 

[jabbawok]

Vista is still an improvement over XP, even if not a big one.

Enterprises always adopt slowly,

high end PC's are generally more reliable than Macs and Windows integrates better than OS X from a business perspective, and for advanced users.



The iPhone hasn't won yet.

PCs are more reliable than Macs... You are kidding!! I run a network of about 400 PCs and they require constant work to keep them running properly. My macs just work..

 

[nick9191]

Do Microsoft really need to promote Vista? Since it comes on 90ish percent of all computers, what's the use? Even if it was the worst OS in the world, as long as Apple won't make a computer for $399, and as long as Linux is difficult to use, people will carry on buying Vista computers.

 

[Eraserhead]

Windows is terrible, I will admit that,

No it isn't. The only part that's really terrible is the Win32 (and .NET) API's.

PCs are more reliable than Macs... You are kidding!! I run a network of about 400 PCs and they require constant work to keep them running properly. My macs just work..

That's because its not on the same scale, I assume you aren't managing 400 Macs.

 

[sargent bannana]

a little too late.
what is the pc going to listen to that peice of **** they call a zune? lol
seriously "they made a mistake" well duh took you what a year to finally stabelize something? wow M$ whats going on leopard scareing you? this is why i am a convert when M$ gets there stuff together then. Maybe just Maybe but i dont think so.

VIVA LA

 

[nep61]

All right, I think you need just a little bit of calming down...I love Apple's products a lot as well, but, Microsoft is not a completely useless company. Windows is terrible, I will admit that, but Microsoft is not only not dead, it's kicking and splashing in the water as well. I know people who like Vista, I know some who like it more than XP. Hell, I like it more than XP, but I don't like using Windows at all, so it doesn't really matter. iPods are dominate for now, and probably for a while, and the iPhone is making its way, but is not there yet. I'd say remove the fanboy cap again and look at it as objectively as you can, not just "Everything Microsoft does sucks. Even itself! Microsoft sucks at everything it does so much, including itself, that it does itself by sucking itself!"

I love it, you seem to have convinced yourself !!!