Apple Demands Microsoft Pull Laptop Hunter Ads

[LagunaSol]

It's TRULY 64 bit, unlike OS X until Snow Leopard arrives.

Um, doesn't Snow Leopard arrive when Windows 7 does (or close enough to it)? Why yes it does!

And your "The Mac platform is dying!" proclamation would have been true 10 years ago, but it's not true today. If it were, Microsoft wouldn't be running Laptop Hunters ads and building Microsoft Stores (LOL!) next door to Apple Stores.

Vista proved there is a sucker born every minute. And a lot of those suckers are going to think twice about sucking on Windows 7.

 

[polaris20]

I NEVER SAID MICROSOFT WROTE THE VIRUS.

However, using Microsoft software is what exposed him to it. The virus made a mess of his machine, which led to the incompetent repair techs, which led to the data loss. Had he been on a Mac, this particular scenario would not have happened. Period. What is so hard to understand about this? I'm not talking hypotheticals, I'm talking about an actual event that just happened.

Good grief.

Keep fiddling while Rome burns, Windows Defenders. In the meantime, plenty of people, like my neighbor, will be throwing their hands up in disgust and heading for their nearest Apple Store.


Make of that what you will.

so what happens when guy gets a Mac, downloads iWork 09 for free, and takes it back to the same retarded techs?

I see what your saying, but the problem is not Windows. A talented moron can break any OS.

Why did he need to get a Mac? He could had a tech (hopefully a different one) replace the drive and put Mint Linux on there. No viruses, and much cheaper too. If the reason for a Mac is less viruses and malware, that's an expensive reason.

 

[Eidorian]

Vista proved there is a sucker born every minute. And a lot of those suckers are going to think twice about sucking on Windows 7.

Did you try the Vista Beta and RC? Even then it was bad. It felt like moving to 10.0 for the first time. Apple didn't catch up until 10.2/Quartz Extreme and widespread hardware support of it in the responsiveness category.

You went into the 7 Beta/RC with the same expectations of Vista and had your mind blown. Pre-ordering is disturbingly high even with the draconian activation they're doing this time around.

Apple is doing some strange dance of downplaying Snow Leopard as an optimization only to promote Grand Central, OpenCL, and 64-bit (again). It feels a bit unsure for once.

 

[PenguinPower]

I will not rmdir /s C:\windows\system32\



100 times on the smart board.

 

[Eidorian]

I will not rmdir /s C:\windows\system32\



100 times on the smart board.

Single user mode iMac in Fry's Electronics with "rm -rf *" on screen...

My friends and I raged when we saw it.

 

[gunraidan]

Tere are enough free antivirus and malware suites out there.
Cable companies, ISPs, yahoo, gmail, aol and so on scan for viruses.
Virus scanners and yes the free ones scan downloads, emails, external drives, download content.
Cmon, getting a virus in todays computing age is irresponsibility of the user.
i can't recall how many viruses I have downloaded from legit sites.

Explain to me how I followed these rules and still had to use Dban because I got a wicked malware?

 

[LagunaSol]

Why did he need to get a Mac? He could had a tech (hopefully a different one) replace the drive and put Mint Linux on there. No viruses, and much cheaper too. If the reason for a Mac is less viruses and malware, that's an expensive reason.

Linux??? Not even close to being consumer-ready. Sorry, it's just not. You claim he's techno-idiot but want him to use Linux? Does not compute.

As for the "expensive reason" - I think my neighbor now realizes it's money well spent.

Sometimes you can't put a price on peace of mind...

 

[PenguinPower]

I think we have twiddled this down to the end where we all decide your neighbor will be limited to a rock and a Rolodex. Any adventuress in his tech usages would be put through an extensive arbitration panel for decision.

 

[LagunaSol]

Well, it's been fun guys. I'm off to find some URLs to send my neighbor (on his phone, as his computer is toast) re: my iMac recommendations. While I'm helping him set up his new computer I'll give him your regards. I'm sure he'll be touched by your concern for his checkbook balance.

Feel free to carry on discussing amongst yourselves (as apparently there's no suitable Windows fan forum to do so) the awesomeness of Windows, the stupidity of its user base, and how you managed to overclock that sweet mobo you scored on eBay to 6 ghz while cooling it with a radiator from a '68 Pontiac.

So peace out, homies. Pour a 40 on Vista for me. May your days (and nights) be virus and malware free, and may Windows 7 make all of your wildest OS X-derivative dreams come true.

 

[Eidorian]

Well, it's been fun guys. I'm off to find some URLs to send my neighbor (on his phone, as his computer is toast) re: my iMac recommendations. While I'm helping him set up his new computer I'll give him your regards. I'm sure he'll be touched by your concern for his checkbook balance.

Feel free to carry on discussing amongst yourselves (as apparently there's no suitable Windows fan forum to do so) the awesomeness of Windows, the stupidity of its user base, and how you managed to overclock that sweet mobo you scored on eBay to 6 ghz while cooling it with a radiator from a '68 Pontiac.

So peace out, homies. Pour a 40 on Vista for me. May your days (and nights) be virus and malware free, and may Windows 7 make all of your wildest OS X-derivative dreams come true.

I really hope you suggest a refurbished Mac.

 

[PenguinPower]

One time, I clicked on Synaptic and typed in firefox, and it installed!

 

[Mr. MacPhisto]

Um, doesn't Snow Leopard arrive when Windows 7 does (or close enough to it)? Why yes it does!

And it is going to cause more of a whimper than any OS X release. But Vista 64 was truly 64 bit well before now, so Apple is well behind the eight ball. Then consider their misadventures with Carbon64 and the fact that THEY THEMSELVES are behind in the 64 bit race with their own products and you begin to see the issues.

And your "The Mac platform is dying!" proclamation would have been true 10 years ago, but it's not true today. If it were, Microsoft wouldn't be running Laptop Hunters ads and building Microsoft Stores (LOL!) next door to Apple Stores.

I didn't say the platform is dying, I said it will diminish and that Apple will remain profitable.

And remember that this is a two sided coin for Apple. They've never had to fight off an aggressive Microsoft. If their solution to the Laptop Hunters adds is to call up MS and beg them to stop competing aggressively then Apple is in trouble. They have a stale ad campaign that was great when it came out but is old now. And MS has done a bang up job of pimping Windows 7. All the discussion I've read has been overwhelmingly positive. The press is certainly behind them, something that was not true with the Vista launch.

Apple has grown playing off of MS's mistakes in the OS market. They've made fun of Windows as being less hip, less easy to use, etc. What if that changes and goes out the door?

Apple is entering into new territory. They're not used to having another computer store nearby theirs. What if their sales are negatively impacted by MS stores? How will they respond? Maybe they can call up Microsoft and ask them to close the stores because competing with Apple is unfair.

Vista proved there is a sucker born every minute. And a lot of those suckers are going to think twice about sucking on Windows 7.

Not really. And Vista is a lot better than you think it is. I was amazed when I installed it of how unfair the rap was against it. It did have its problems.

But also remember that MS has opened up Windows 7 for free downloads through August with the RC. Millions are already using it. Millions have already taken advantage of the cheap upgrades. They know what it is. They won't think twice because they've already been using it. I shelled out my $49 upgrade price as soon as I could and had been using Windows 7 for two months at that point.

And the actual release version will be a bit faster as MS has already tweaked the build and the reports on it are quite good.

I think Microsoft is on firm ground.

http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/07/15/in-8-hours-windows-7-pre-orders-overtake-vista-pre-orders/

Windows 7 will sell at a blistering pace and Apple is already backing off hyping Snow Leopard because they know doing so might come back to bite them.

And unlike Apple, MS offered the cheap upgrade price to those using the past two generations of their OS. Apple offered their uber cheap upgrade only to Leopard users, well under 50% of their installed user base. And Apple made the mistake of describing it as an "update" to Leopard which MS responded, "That sounds like a service pack and we don't charge for service packs." Anyone who is not on Leopard will be paying $179 if I recall. That's most Mac users and those with the PowerPC are hosed.

And you can hammer Vista all you like, but Apple did no better when they changed their kernel and basically rebuilt their OS from the ground up (or NeXTStep). OSX 10.0 sucked. OSX 10.1 at least functioned. Jaguar was decent, but XP was still a better OS at that point. Jaguar was released over a year after Cheetah and Apple charged for it. It took Apple 2.5 years until they really got OSX right with Panther. It took MS a bit over a year before Vista SP1 was released and that's when Vista was massively improved.

Apple has two MS releases to worry about. Windows 7 and the Zune HD. Both will put pressure on Apple. And I imagine that MS will carry upscale laptops and desktops at their retail locations that will be as good or superior to Macs at better prices. Don't be surprised if they get HP or someone to make snazzy aluminum laptops with similar features to the MacBooks for $500 less.

 

[djellison]

I use both as well. Mac since 1991. Windows since 1993. I could write an epic novel regarding the Windows issues I've had to deal with. My Mac issues would be more of a short story - illustrated, of course, to get the page count up.

That's just fact, not hyperbole.

I could write an epic novel regardng the OSX Issues I've had to deal with. Safari still refuses to get through the day without crashing several times. Give it some Animated Gif's and it's like it forgets what it's supposed to be doing and decides to just spin a little ball around for a few minute . Forever people have said 'Oh - you don't need to restart OSX". You do when, for no reason, without any warning, the network section of finder JUST VANISHES. And WiFi? Frickin Wifi? Oh my GOD the pain I've had with Mac's and bloody Wifi. Weeks and weeks. I was THIS DAMN CLOSE to throwing the damn thing out the window. Trying to use my Mac on a train? Forget it - you can never get a seat in such an angle whereby the damn mirror of a screen will let you achieve anything. And let's see - the £70 DL-DVI adaptor for my UBMB. It doesn't work. That's right. £70 for a video adaptor and, at random, every few minutes, maybe after an hour - it'll corrupt the screen and I'll have to unplug it, plug it back in. Of course, it's a real fiddle to do it because it takes a damn USB port and Apple only think I need two. One for the DL-DVI, one for a mouse and Ooops - where do I put my Printer. Hmm - well, one for the Keyboard with the USB ports on it. Put the mouse into that, and oops- some nonsense about USB power. I'm on my second power adaptor. They die on me after a few months. My old MBP has got through two. My even older White Plastic MB got through two as well. And two keyboard.


My word of Mac experiences is more pain filled than my PC experiences - and I look after not just my DIY workstation at home, but 9 PC's at work as well. I'm not an IT specialist by any means - but I don't have colleagues saying "Err - the internet dies every time I look at Animated Gifs, and I've run out of USB ports"

That's just fact, not hyperbole.

Mac's are not the second coming of Christ. PC's are not the digital personification of Satan.

I have had more frustration with 3.5 years of Macs than 20 years of PC's.

 

[Norco]

It sounds like problems just follow some of these users, machine after machine. Almost every computer I've used, Dell's, self built, and Mac's have been rock solid with little hardware problems. Maybe some of you just have an electrostatic charge that zap's all your equipment?

 

[polaris20]

Linux??? Not even close to being consumer-ready. Sorry, it's just not. You claim he's techno-idiot but want him to use Linux? Does not compute.

As for the "expensive reason" - I think my neighbor now realizes it's money well spent.

Sometimes you can't put a price on peace of mind...

and with that you show that you know zip about Linux. Ubuntu (and Mint, which is a derivative of Ubuntu) is so easy to use, it's actually less of a shock than the transition from Windows to Mac.

For the average person doing Internet, music, e-mail, etc it works quite well. And your neighbor could surf all the pr0n he wants with zero worries of infection.

Linux performs better on identical hardware than any version of Windows.

Linux isn't just for the techno geek anymore. Had you been paying attention to the industry, you'd have noticed it comes on many netbooks, and Dell has been selling consumer laptops and desktops with it for awhile now.

 

[iEdd]

and with that you show that you know zip about Linux. Ubuntu (and Mint, which is a derivative of Ubuntu) is so easy to use, it's actually less of a shock than the transition from Windows to Mac.

Doesn't that prove the point further of ignorance/fear of the average person with Linux? ie. Proves his point that it isn't consumer ready - if nothing else than lack of marketing/education about open source.

 

[polaris20]

It sounds like problems just follow some of these users, machine after machine. Almost every computer I've used, Dell's, self built, and Mac's have been rock solid with little hardware problems. Maybe some of you just have an electrostatic charge that zap's all your equipment?

I don't have the drama either, on either side. My MBP has been perfect. Several Macs at work, MBP's, MB's, MP's, Minis.....all fine. Thinkpads running XP? All good, solid laptops. HP workstations? Not a problem. HP laptops? Crap boxes, which is why the last of them will be rotated out by Sept.

 

[polaris20]

Doesn't that prove the point further of ignorance/fear of the average person with Linux? ie. Proves his point that it isn't consumer ready - if nothing else than lack of marketing/education about open source.

What does ignorance have to do with how easy to use it is?

It doesn't. My sister had never heard of Ubuntu. She wanted to transfer her Windows license to another machine, and still use the old machine for her computer illiterate husband. I put Ubuntu on there. 6 months later, they love it.

So how does not knowing about it equal ease of use and whether or not it's consumer ready? That makes no sense whatsoever.

 

[Mattie Num Nums]

Bottom line is this. Inside every Mac is a PC. The only difference being the Operating System. Different strokes for different folks.

 

[Mr. MacPhisto]

I could write an epic novel regardng the OSX Issues I've had to deal with. Safari still refuses to get through the day without crashing several times. Give it some Animated Gif's and it's like it forgets what it's supposed to be doing and decides to just spin a little ball around for a few minute . Forever people have said 'Oh - you don't need to restart OSX". You do when, for no reason, without any warning, the network section of finder JUST VANISHES. And WiFi? Frickin Wifi? Oh my GOD the pain I've had with Mac's and bloody Wifi. Weeks and weeks. I was THIS DAMN CLOSE to throwing the damn thing out the window. Trying to use my Mac on a train? Forget it - you can never get a seat in such an angle whereby the damn mirror of a screen will let you achieve anything. And let's see - the £70 DL-DVI adaptor for my UBMB. It doesn't work. That's right. £70 for a video adaptor and, at random, every few minutes, maybe after an hour - it'll corrupt the screen and I'll have to unplug it, plug it back in. Of course, it's a real fiddle to do it because it takes a damn USB port and Apple only think I need two. One for the DL-DVI, one for a mouse and Ooops - where do I put my Printer. Hmm - well, one for the Keyboard with the USB ports on it. Put the mouse into that, and oops- some nonsense about USB power. I'm on my second power adaptor. They die on me after a few months. My old MBP has got through two. My even older White Plastic MB got through two as well. And two keyboard.


My word of Mac experiences is more pain filled than my PC experiences - and I look after not just my DIY workstation at home, but 9 PC's at work as well. I'm not an IT specialist by any means - but I don't have colleagues saying "Err - the internet dies every time I look at Animated Gifs, and I've run out of USB ports"

That's just fact, not hyperbole.

Mac's are not the second coming of Christ. PC's are not the digital personification of Satan.

I have had more frustration with 3.5 years of Macs than 20 years of PC's.

I've found on every network, with every router that I've used that the Macs love to drip the wireless connections for no reason. They just cut out and I usually have to reset the router for them to find it again. Happened with the iBooks, the MacBook, and the iMac.

I didn't realize how bad it was until I built a PC again and have not had it drop the wireless connection once.

Actually the biggest problem I have with my PC is with iTunes. It loves to cause system interrupts with the latest version and causes all my cores to suddenly go full bore. Not happy at all with that. iTunes is the only program that does that - and then it forces itself onto the desktop and created a broken link when I dared to delete the shortcut off the desktop.

Apple just seems to have become a lot more like Microsoft was 10 years ago. Arrogant. They force their crap on you and it's a pain to get rid of Apple update or stop it from trying to update.

And Safari? How many security holes have been found in it? FireFox eats it alive on the PC as does IE8, though IE8 has other problems (it's quirky with several message board editors).

 

[polaris20]

I've found on every network, with every router that I've used that the Macs love to drip the wireless connections for no reason. They just cut out and I usually have to reset the router for them to find it again. Happened with the iBooks, the MacBook, and the iMac.

I didn't realize how bad it was until I built a PC again and have not had it drop the wireless connection once.

Actually the biggest problem I have with my PC is with iTunes. It loves to cause system interrupts with the latest version and causes all my cores to suddenly go full bore. Not happy at all with that. iTunes is the only program that does that - and then it forces itself onto the desktop and created a broken link when I dared to delete the shortcut off the desktop.

Apple just seems to have become a lot more like Microsoft was 10 years ago. Arrogant. They force their crap on you and it's a pain to get rid of Apple update or stop it from trying to update.

And Safari? How many security holes have been found in it? FireFox eats it alive on the PC as does IE8, though IE8 has other problems (it's quirky with several message board editors).

I've not had issues with any of the Macs with wireless at work, nor with mine. Just goes to show Apple isn't perfect, but they're not always horrible either.

 

[bobertoq]

Tere are enough free antivirus and malware suites out there.
Cable companies, ISPs, yahoo, gmail, aol and so on scan for viruses.
Virus scanners and yes the free ones scan downloads, emails, external drives, download content.
Cmon, getting a virus in todays computing age is irresponsibility of the user.
i can't recall how many viruses I have downloaded from legit sites.

I concur. I only recall downloading one virus in the last 4 or 5 years. Which was caught by my expensive antivirus. Not only that browsers scan for viruses, too (Firefox anyway) so if you get a virus you are a silly person.

 

[MagnusVonMagnum]

You had a semi level-headed, rational argument until your last sentence, which jumped you solidly into troll territory. And that's too bad.

How was stating his opinion/view on the matter jumping into troll territory? Stating how you feel or giving your opinion doesn't by itself make you a troll. Lying about your views to get some kind of glee by ticking people off would make a person a troll. I certainly would not conclude this person is a troll because they think Apple suckers people into thinking their products are somehow special simply because they cost more, despite using the same basic clone hardware these days. It is most certainly why I plan to build a Hackintosh for my next "Mac".

Section 1 of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act states, "Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is declared to be illegal". This clause alone (let alone the tying arrangements defined in the Clayton Anti-Trust Act) nullifies Apple's licensing agreement in part in the section where they require Apple brand hardware to install the OS. So I feel quite justified in giving Apple the thumb in that regard. I'll buy their OS. I won't buy their overpriced hardware anymore unless they become competitive in regards to features and prices that appeal to me versus the computer I could build myself. Microsoft has a valid point to make in their ads, in my opinion about the overpriced nature of Mac computers. Apple is able to charge those prices ONLY because you have no other options for hardware if you prefer OS X to Windows.

 

[LagunaSol]

I didn't say the platform is dying, I said it will diminish and that Apple will remain profitable.

Quarterly reports today seem to disagree with your "shrinking Mac" prediction.

They've never had to fight off an aggressive Microsoft. If their solution to the Laptop Hunters adds is to call up MS and beg them to stop competing aggressively then Apple is in trouble.

This is horsecrap and you know it. First, we're getting a hearsay report from the Microsoft COO, who almost certainly made this call more colorful than it really was.

And the obvious truth of the matter is Apple legal threatened Microsoft because they inaccurately quoted Apple's prices in their ads, which is illegal. FYI.

And MS has done a bang up job of pimping Windows 7.

"Hey everyone, remember how we screwed you all with Vista? Well now we have something really special for you!"

They've made fun of Windows as being less hip, less easy to use, etc. What if that changes and goes out the door?

Yeah, I'm sure the masters of the blue oxford and the khaki pant will be the purveyors of the Next Cool Thing.

If anything, your delusions are entertaining!

Maybe they can call up Microsoft and ask them to close the stores because competing with Apple is unfair.

More horsecrap. You're on a roll!

Not really. And Vista is a lot better than you think it is.

"Windows Vista: 100 Satisfied Customers Can't Be Wrong!"

Apple has two MS releases to worry about. Windows 7 and the Zune HD.

Zune HD - LOL! Yeah, all the "cool kids" are clamoring for high-def radio these days.

Meanwhile, the iPod touch is offering a complete computing platform.

Another Me Too product from Microsoft that will eventually be folded up and shoved in the closet. Like Soapbox.

Don't be surprised if they get HP or someone to make snazzy aluminum laptops with similar features to the MacBooks for $500 less.

Oh, I'm sure they will. They gotta look just like the Apple Store, you see.

I can't wait to see this Microsoftian Utopia you dream about.

 

[LagunaSol]

How was stating his opinion/view on the matter jumping into troll territory?

Yeah, I guess getting on a Microsoft forum and telling people that Windows is for idiots wouldn't be trolling either. Just my opinion on the matter, you see.