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New Microsoft Ad Campaign Targets Mac Prices

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MacsAREbetter said:
Its not really a coensedense that after everyone switches from PC to mac they NEVER go back..

i have a macbook my girlfriend has an HP it was over 1200 and her's is a piece of crap.. EVERYTHING about my macbook is better and she admits it and wishes she would have bought a mac..

The OS is soo much better and easier to use.. and customer service is 1000000000000 times better she had a problem with hers.. she bought and extended warrenty also

and took it in.. it took OVER 2 weeks to get back.. now if you took it to an apple store or called apple they Overnight you a box with next day shipping and have it back to you within a few days you CANNOT say that for pcs

seriously my grandparents have been using a PC for YEARS they finally got a mac and will NEVER go back..my 55 year old grandparents can tell the differences of using a mac to a pc.
Click to expand...


"coensedense," huh? i see. 2K worth of hardware and the spellcheck still sucks. take the thing back.

anywho...if you take a look at the reports for applecare warranty repairs and notice that even apple takes time to do repairs and they sometimes don't even fix the problems they were originally in for basically sinks your point..so i call BS on this one solely on the presence of hardcore proof (in the form of reports) from other folks. there are tons of reports...check em out and enjoy.

your granny can tell the difference between a mac and PC? sure. anybody who isn't wracked with alzheimer's can which just shows her cognition is in fact because my granny can too and she is 85. my granny is a beast on C++ and the OSX terminal:rolleyes:
 
funkdis said:
$599/$799
for something in between, you get a 17inch laptop, that automatically becomes portable.
It is also more than capable of running 720p even 1080p seeing it has HDMI built in.
jsut no blueray but hey, macmini doesnt have that either.

so....that is a smart buy.
Click to expand...

:D A Mini probably wasn't a wise example to be brought up by the OP. :D
 
I am going to explain in one sentence why Macs are better than PCs.

First, let me provide some background on the person making this statement.

I used to be "that guy". I used to be the guy that buried Apple to anyone that would listen. I hated all over Apple for being overpriced junk. I have over a decade in PC system sales/tech/building. I thought I was special because I knew how to flash a certain Radeon 9500 card to make it a 9700. I used to love digging into my PC and working on it and reloading Windows. I cut through the registry and services to wring out that 5 extra FPS in Quake 3. I never actually USED a Mac, day to day, but I trashed it as though I knew it all.

Then I got ahold of a year old Black Macbook running Leopard. So I said screw it and started to actually sift through it. Now, a year and a half later, I would ****ing murder you if you tried to take my Macbook.

So, this brings me to the answer that it took me over a decade to figure out.

Macs provide a more pleasant user experience.

Go ahead and read that again. Encapsulated within that statement are all the individual things that people like about Macs, all summed up nice and pretty. The packaging, build quality, integration, retardedly easy setup of everything, OSX, iLife, iWork, lack of viruses, lack of spyware, lack of maintenance, etc, etc, etc.

All of those and a whole lot more add up to a far more positive user experience, the vast majority of the time. The fact is, I know how to create a fairly positive user experience on Windows, but I DON'T NEED TO KNOW how to on the Mac. It just is. I don't spend a single second doing a thing to my Macs. My time with the computer is faster, better, more productive, and more fun than it ever was on Windows.

Now, my computer works for me, not the other way around.

Peace out.
 
Quite frankly, this MS ad is neither significant enough or effective enough to warrant 50+ pages of discussion.
 
Anuba said:
No, they don't. The Mac switch is an epiphany for computer illiterates, but a fart in the wind for the rest of us. I used PCs exclusively for 15 years, used both platforms in parallel for 5 years, and when Windows 7 is released this fall I'm starting to phase out Macs and OS X.

Why?

Well, let's see. The company disgusts me. The user community creeps me out with its Scientology-vibe. The service is worthless -- I need my business machines running 24-7, and I simply can't afford to rely on machines that, if they break down, will not be repaired on site but transported by me to another city 60 miles away, and picked up several days later, and meanwhile I'd have to tell my clients that I can't work because my computer is at the "workshop", like it was 1959 or something. If they don't do on-site repairs they can kiss my @$$. And the operating system, while quite good, is not nearly good enough to make up for the other cons that come with owning Macs.
Click to expand...


It's called "Apple is not ready for enterprise use yet"... They neither have the time nor the money to have a team of personnel to do "on-site-support". (Rather unlike Microsoft... famous for "throwing money at the problem"; Apple's a small company when compared to the giant. Also if your userbase is large enough, which is usually not the case, they might provide that degree; if not, then no)
 
Wow, 50+ pages of personal anecdotes in both directions, with the other side responding with "you're wrong!" LOL

Well the ad worked. It got people talking. I bet some of you will even be heading to Best Buy today, to see what all the fuss is about. :)
 
Microsoft v Apple computer hardware campaigns make no sense to me, unless it is Zune v iPod.

Microsoft are in a strange market position, in competition with Apple hardware and MacOSX, even though they don't make any computers themselves. If Microsoft made the laptop and OS then fair enough, these sort of price campaigns are perfectly legit...free to argue about your direct competitors pricing. But when you don't actually make any hardware yourself and you are using the cost of hardware as the main campaign point...ehh duh! Until Dell or HP start making an OS or Microsoft start building PC's these ads should be disregarded as rubbish! Apple probably needs to explain to ordinary folk that Microsoft doesn't make computers:

An easy counter to this ad would be an exact copy but have "Lauren" look for a Microsoft OS running on a Microsoft built laptop at any price. End by explaining to ordinary people that the reason Apple computers cost more is because Apple makes the computer, the OS and most of the software on it.
 
A cheap PC is just that, cheap. It will work for a while then die. Then you buy another and another. In three years, you will have spent more than the price of the Mac. Oh, and that does not even cover the cost of the shrink to get you through Vista (or whatever they have renamed it to).

My company uses PC's, in the first year, the mother board was replaced 4 times. It still has issues running power applications, like VMware products.

Macs exist, PCs die.
 
Damballah said:
I am going to explain in one sentence why Macs are better than PCs.

Macs provide a more pleasant user experience.

Go ahead and read that again. Encapsulated within that statement are all the individual things that people like about Macs, all summed up nice and pretty. The packaging, build quality, integration, retardedly easy setup of everything, OSX, iLife, iWork, lack of viruses, lack of spyware, lack of maintenance, etc, etc, etc.

All of those and a whole lot more add up to a far more positive user experience, the vast majority of the time. The fact is, I know how to create a fairly positive user experience on Windows, but I DON'T NEED TO KNOW how to on the Mac. It just is. I don't spend a single second doing a thing to my Macs. My time with the computer is faster, better, more productive, and more fun than it ever was on Windows.

Now, my computer works for me, not the other way around.

Peace out.
Click to expand...

Dude, spot on.
That's EXACTLY why I like my mac and why I don't feel bad about having payed more money for it.
I mean, I learned on my own how to work with the Terminal (never opened the command prompt before in my life), and I believe the Mac user experience was the thing that made it possible. I was actually curious. I read articles about the cool stuff you could do with Terminal.



To all other people who are speaking in favour of the "PC-girl":
It's like wine bottles. If you have 50 $ to spend, you'll buy a nice-but-not-the-best bottle, and OF COURSE you'll be happy with it - you never tried the really expensive bottles. (I'm assuming you appreciate wine and know how to tell which are the best bottles).
Now, if you go ahead and spend 250 $ on a bottle, and actually FEEL it's (allegedly) better taste, you'll be happy to pay 250 $ for it. But other people will say that wine is overpriced..

I prefer not buying some stuff to save money to buy a Mac. Really. I really do.
 
Damballah said:
So, this brings me to the answer that it took me over a decade to figure out.

Macs provide a more pleasant user experience.
Click to expand...


The question is though . . .


Macs provide a more pleasant user experience. = $xxx premium. Steve Balmer at MS argues that this premium is at least $500
http://blogs.eweek.com/applewatch/content/imac/steve_ballmer_mac_buyers_pay_500_for_apple_logo.html

This is what the "I'm a Mac" ads play on. And this ad ... stealing the "I'm a PC" line, does the same.

Now the way the ad is framed, she had qualification of (1) 17-inch monitor and (2) something about a cute keyboard...

She wasn't concerned about what everyone else has listed as reasons to want a Mac over a PC.

This ad will at least get the average person in the store to consider a PC over a Mac. Now she began listing a bunch of other qualities of the other computers such as RAM and HD size, but those weren't part of her qualifications. Note that both qualities were less than what you would get on a Mac and they weren't listed on the same computer.

If the ad gets someone into a Best Buy so they don't turn into circuit city, I'm fine with that. All's Fair in Love and Capitalism.
 
Some people asked to hear from pc users...well, to start things on the right foot, I was a diehard Apple //e fan until about 1991...yup...used it for about 10 years...I've been using a pc ever since (for a number of reasons) but I purhcased a Mac Mini 2 years ago and use it mainly for iDVD.

I think the new PC ads are dead on...they are covering a topic that Apple has long ignored--Price. As numerous people have stated here, comparing (for example) a 17" Macbook to a 17" PC (note I did not say a pacticular brand like HP or Dell or Gateway) are going to be VERY similar EXCEPT for price. CPUs will be similar, RAM, hard drive, dvd, USB ports, etc. And, for roughly 1/2 the price you can buy a laptop PC. Roughly.

Now...I know everyone loves to tool on Vista (and I still run and love XP) but the fact is that the average pc buyer out there is not buying the computer for 1 or 2 specific software applications...if you unfroze a caveman he would still need to learn how to use an Operating System. So, for the average Joe out there who wants to surf the web, read their Yahoo (or ISP online) mail, go to Youtube, write a resume, work on a spreadsheet, play some games, play iTunes, use AOL IM, put pictures on the computer...a PC or a Mac is going to do it. Whether it's OpenOffice or MS Office. Whether it's Firefox or IE or Safari. Whether it's Google Picasso or iPhoto or Kodak Easyshare. Whether it's iTunes or iTunes. :)

Yes, there are people who will need a machine to do some family dvd editing or music creation...these days either a pc or Mac will be fine...it's the SOFTWARE one purchases to run on the computer that is the tool the user will be working on. I prefer to use iDVD because I am an idiot with video...but I use Sony Acid on the PC because I am a musical whiz. Either way, I'm not spending $1200+ on a crazy dvd authoring tool for any platform.

So in essence, again, I feel the ads are right on...I am dying to buy a desktop Mac but frankly the prices are too high for the parts that are there in comparison to a PC *AND* for the day-in-day-out type of normal stuff I do. One major reason for me not buying a new iMac is that I already have a beautiful 24" monitor. And although I love the iMac style, I certainly cannot easily pop it open to add another 2gig of RAM or swap out the drive. That's me. But that's also a LOT of people out there who 2 years down the road want to do it themselves rather than drag the thing in to Apple and pay through the nose for both parts and labor...and rather than plop down another $1400 for an iMac. Give me a true Apple desktop...no monitor...something around $700-$1000.

-Eric
 
Damballah said:
Macs provide a more pleasant user experience.
Click to expand...

A BMW provides a more pleasant experience than a Kia, but it doesn't really matter if all you can afford is a Kia, does it?

To each his own people. Mac fanboys need to realize the world does not revolve around Mac's.

Clever ad on Microsoft's part.
 
hideous.ape said:
Microsoft v Apple computer hardware campaigns make no sense to me, unless it is Zune v iPod.

Microsoft are in a strange market position, in competition with Apple hardware and MacOSX, even though they don't make any computers themselves. If Microsoft made the laptop and OS then fair enough, these sort of price campaigns are perfectly legit...free to argue about your direct competitors pricing. But when you don't actually make any hardware yourself and you are using the cost of hardware as the main campaign point...ehh duh! Until Dell or HP start making an OS or Microsoft start building PC's these ads should be disregarded as rubbish! Apple probably needs to explain to ordinary folk that Microsoft doesn't make computers:

An easy counter to this ad would be an exact copy but have "Lauren" look for a Microsoft OS running on a Microsoft built laptop at any price. End by explaining to ordinary people that the reason Apple computers cost more is because Apple makes the computer, the OS and most of the software on it.
Click to expand...

ms made laptop AND OS? wait. wait. wait. we've already got enough to deal with apple fanboys. we don't need any more PC fanboys.:eek:

get what works and is cost effective for your budget. if PCs happen to go that way for laptops, cool. more power to "lauren". the ad campaign is true though, apple has yet to produce a laptop in the sub 1K range post-tax. even the cheaper mb still top 1K in many places. until apple brings down their prices significantly, the price point difference is going to be a legit punching bag for MS.
 
ptsube said:
A BMW provides a more pleasant experience than a Kia, but it doesn't really matter if all you can afford is a Kia, does it?

To each his own people. Mac fanboys need to realize the world does not revolve around Mac's.

Clever ad on Microsoft's part.
Click to expand...

Why can you point that out and then insult others in the same breath?


Also, people tend to save for things they want..... >_>
 
in-laws have HP laptops

They are garbage. My "day 1" core2 Macbook looks and operates the same as it did the day I bought almost 3 years ago. My in-laws each have had HP laptops for less than a year and they are falling apart. Every time they visit, I end up spending a couple hours "tweaking" them to get them running halfway decent again. All they do is complain about them. I've already told them and my mother that my Windows support days are over and that their next computers will be Macs.

Let's see how "lauren" feels about her laptop a year from now. Someone needs to make THAT video.
 
NT1440 said:
Why can you point that out and then insult others in the same breath?


Also, people tend to save for things they want..... >_>
Click to expand...

interesting. there was a thread on a person asking on how to finance an mbp and other posts declaring,"i just broke out the plastic for my mbp order" or something to that effect.

moracity said:
They are garbage. My "day 1" core2 Macbook looks and operates the same as it did the day I bought almost 3 years ago. My in-laws each have had HP laptops for less than a year and they are falling apart.
Click to expand...

two points: are your in-laws computer literate? what are they doing to make the computer fall apart?

all too often comparisons like these fail to mention what people are exactly doing on their machines to screw it up. any competent PC user worth his salt would know what to do to properly manage the computer and maintain it; using a PC isn't a particle physics thesis, it is common sense...so much so that my 85 year old granny is doing quite well with her Dell. so if she can cut it on a PC...anybody with good cognition and intact motor skills can do so as well.
 
Damballah said:
Go ahead and read that again. Encapsulated within that statement are all the individual things that people like about Macs, all summed up nice and pretty. The packaging, build quality, integration, retardedly easy setup of everything, OSX, iLife, iWork, lack of viruses, lack of spyware, lack of maintenance, etc, etc, etc.
Click to expand...
I'm going to go ahead and disagree on most of the points.

(The packaging is nice though.)

The integration sucks, and isn't so much retardedly easy as it is retarded. Just look at the way a Leopard machine talks to a home network. It doesn't even automatically detect your NAS drives, you have to either disable the firewall entirely to make them show up, or mount them with a home-written script, whereas a Windows machine is just plug-and-play, you map the network drives permanently in 5 seconds and they stay there. And once you manage to hook up a Mac to your NAS drive, you wish you hadn't because it leaves a trail of garbage files that are invisible on Macs but not on anything else. .DS_Store being one culprit, "_MACOSX" folders in zip archives being another, but the worst are the "__..." thumbnails it saves for every goddamn image file it stumbles across. Entering a few cryptic lines in Terminal will ease the pain somewhat, but if going into Terminal and typing code is user friendly for n00bs then I guess we could all go back to DOS.

Lack of maintenance, ummm yeah... leaving aside repairing the stupid disk permissions on a weekly basis, I'm not sure how Leopard treated you but as far as I'm concerned it was a bug factory. Flakey wireless, blue screens of death, strange voodoo-ish video bugs, Adobe CS3 files destroyed when saved over the network, it was on par with the initial release of Vista in terms of being flakey, but with none of the excuses since Apple is in complete control of both hardware and software.

The lack of viruses and spyware, tell it to someone who had either of these on a PC because I never did. It's a strong argument against Windows 98, but we left that behind 10 years ago.

Build quality, well I don't have half a dozen Macs to base my assessment on but the only "work Mac" I've owned is an iMac 24" that died after a year, which automatically rendered it the least solid machine I've ever owned. I'll chalk that one up to bad luck though. But there was one batch of iMacs (the white ones) that had a failure rate of 30%, which has to be some sort of record.

iWork was supposed to be 100% compatible with Excel, but after about 30 minutes I found that it translates about as accurately as Yahoo's Babelfish, so I couldn't use it.

Then there's the extreme sensitivity to third-party drivers and system enhancements like the DivX codec or the Logitech Control Center, these can bring a Mac down. Not to mention the driver for my firewire audio device (Yamaha 01X), I tried it on my iMac and then had to spend a whole day tracking down whatever it was that gave me the perpetual blue screen on startup (turned out to be a 1 kB MIDI driver file buried somewhere in the Library).

What *do* I like about it, well... QuickLook is a nice preview feature. The PDF integration is good. The industrial design aspects are wicked. And I like FrontRow better than Windows Media Center because it's more streamlined and uncluttered. As for everything else... unremarkable.
 
Hmmm, let's see, I'm a college student, and I want a 17" notebook. $2800 for a Mac, or $700 for a HP PC. Hmmm, let me add that I'm not a rich college student. Mac's are not for everyone.

Steve certainly has quite a few of you brainwashed quite well.
 
badmac78 said:
My partner and I have this discussion all the time. He has a $499 HP that he bought and for what he could spend, he got something that fit into his budget. I know that for the past 4 years he's had it, he's had more re-installs of windows software and other problems than I've ever had with any Apple computer.
Click to expand...


great thing formatting cost nothing... just 2/3hours of time every year or so.
 
ptsube said:
Hmmm, let's see, I'm a college student, and I want a 17" notebook. $2800 for a Mac, or $700 for a HP PC. Hmmm, let me add that I'm not a rich college student. Mac's are not for everyone.

Steve certainly has quite a few of you brainwashed quite well.
Click to expand...

indeed. i don't see how the price difference irks so many people when it makes sense. kinda hard when you have to defend that 3K mbp "investment".
 
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