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Apple Demands Microsoft Pull Laptop Hunter Ads
- Thread starter WickedRabbit
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I thought Microsoft didn't regard Apple as a threat? That's what they are always saying. Yes he did "cart wheels"?
This story sounds bogus. Maybe it was someone who *claimed* to be Apple Legal, and was really just a fan boi getting carried away?
This story sounds bogus. Maybe it was someone who *claimed* to be Apple Legal, and was really just a fan boi getting carried away?
No, just no. Both ads skew favour to the company advertising. The Microsoft ad plainly lies about pricing. That's the difference. It is not payback, it's false advertising.
If this is true, Apple needs to get a grip. Its called competition. I love you Apple, but you bust MS's balls all the time. Can't take what you dish out?
Good luck with this Apple, hope it doesn't hurt you too bad.
Good luck with this Apple, hope it doesn't hurt you too bad.
They are not touting the number of their operating system are being sold, just hardware. Why doesn't microsoft say how many of these laptops are being sold to people who install another OS on them, like OSX86 or linux?
Oh man. It's funny that these ads STILL get the Apple fans all riled up. For years, Apple had been telling bold faced lies in the "Get a Mac" campaign and Apple fans ate it up. Now that Microsoft is running true ads showing the real picture, its blasphemy! Apple and the fans can sure dish it out but they certainly can not take it at all.
Its even funnier still to see people still trying to use the car analogy to compare Macs and PCs. People say Macs are like BMWs and PCs are like Fords. Thats not in anyway true. Why? Because BMW actually uses higher quality components than Ford. Your Mac is built from all of the same parts as an HP, Dell, Gateway, etc. and its even built by the same Chinese worker who just put together an HP. And you can't even argue build quality in your favor, despite the use of aluminum. I've seen a modern HP (the HDX 16 line) get hit, by accident, into a wall at full force. Once wiped off, the HP showed no signs of impact. The wall, however, had a nice mark in it from the computer hitting it. At the same time, I've seen the unibody MacBook (and Pro) get malformed from being set down on a table slightly too hard. Neither system mentioned were systems I owned. I don't treat either badly. But yeah.
The car analogy fails entirely because a Mac is built from the exact same parts by the exact same workers as an HP, Acer, Dell, Lenovo, etc., while a BMW is built from higher quality parts by more highly skilled individuals compared to Ford.
And yet, even funnier than that, is the people who say nonsense like "but studies have shown that Macs and PCs are actually equal in price!". That is just a bunch of nonsense. Those so-called "studies" are just articles typed up by Apple fanboys at a publication who over-spec a PC to prove their own points. I've seen many of those where those idiots try to compare a PC tower to a Mac Pro and add in things like RAID cards, even though the motherboard they chose supports RAID itself! It's ridiculous. The reality is that Macs either cost more or give you significantly less for the same amount.
Let's look at a couple of systems for a minute. Let's compare the $1199 MacBook "Pro" to the Dell Studio XPS 13. For $20 more than the MacBook "Pro" you get a faster processor (2.4GHz versus 2.26), double the RAM (DDR3 too!), 90GB more HDD space on a 7200 RPM drive (versus 5400), DUAL GPUs running in Hybrid SLI mode. That would be the same 9400M plus a 256MB GeForce 9500M. It's 0.88" thick at the front and 1.35" thick at the back, which allows for a proper cooling system, and it weighs 4.86 pounds.
Now let's compare certain features. You don't get the "multi-touch trackpad". Honestly, so what? I've had a unibody MacBook since November and it's been since November since I used the "multi-touch" features. They're largely useless and a gimmick anyway. You can't use use gimmicky features like reverse pinching to zoom in on a picture to replace proper functionality. The four finger swipe to activate Expose isn't anywhere near as good as Aero Peak in alt-tab in Windows 7.
You don't get the backlit keyboard. But, again, who cares? I know how to type. The screen has always illuminated the keyboard.
Now what do you get that the MacBook "Pro" doesn't have?
You get VGA, DisplayPort, and HDMI with audio support. No silly expensive adapters needed.
You get two USB 2.0 ports, one shared with eSATA.
You get Firewire.
You get full size ExpressCard 54.
You get proper audio in and out.
You get an 8-in-1 card reader, not just a silly half-assed SD card slot.
You also get a 1 year warranty that includes on-site in-home support, and the optional extended warranty warranty with in-home support costs about the same as AppleCare.
So let's see. For $20 more you get a faster processor, dual GPUs running in Hybrid SLI, double the RAM, more storage on a faster HDD, a screen that is NOT a mirror, VGA, DisplayPort, HDMI with audio, eSATA, USB 2.0, Firewire, fullsize ExpressCard, proper audio in and out, 8-in-1 card reader, and a better standard warranty.
Oh I forgot you get a USER REPLACEABLE battery. Sorry, but an integrated battery is the worst idea since using mirrors for screens.
What else?
Oh yeah. In that same $1100-$1300 price range, you can get a 15.4" or 16" system with a 2.4GHz or better Core 2 Duo, 4GB or more of RAM, 320GB 7200 RPM HDDs, blu-ray, 1GB GeForce 9800M GS or better, HDMI, Dolby Digital Live!, etc. So yes, Macs DO cost more and come with significantly less.
And to finish it off, this entire post has been typed up on a unibody MacBook.
Its even funnier still to see people still trying to use the car analogy to compare Macs and PCs. People say Macs are like BMWs and PCs are like Fords. Thats not in anyway true. Why? Because BMW actually uses higher quality components than Ford. Your Mac is built from all of the same parts as an HP, Dell, Gateway, etc. and its even built by the same Chinese worker who just put together an HP. And you can't even argue build quality in your favor, despite the use of aluminum. I've seen a modern HP (the HDX 16 line) get hit, by accident, into a wall at full force. Once wiped off, the HP showed no signs of impact. The wall, however, had a nice mark in it from the computer hitting it. At the same time, I've seen the unibody MacBook (and Pro) get malformed from being set down on a table slightly too hard. Neither system mentioned were systems I owned. I don't treat either badly. But yeah.
The car analogy fails entirely because a Mac is built from the exact same parts by the exact same workers as an HP, Acer, Dell, Lenovo, etc., while a BMW is built from higher quality parts by more highly skilled individuals compared to Ford.
And yet, even funnier than that, is the people who say nonsense like "but studies have shown that Macs and PCs are actually equal in price!". That is just a bunch of nonsense. Those so-called "studies" are just articles typed up by Apple fanboys at a publication who over-spec a PC to prove their own points. I've seen many of those where those idiots try to compare a PC tower to a Mac Pro and add in things like RAID cards, even though the motherboard they chose supports RAID itself! It's ridiculous. The reality is that Macs either cost more or give you significantly less for the same amount.
Let's look at a couple of systems for a minute. Let's compare the $1199 MacBook "Pro" to the Dell Studio XPS 13. For $20 more than the MacBook "Pro" you get a faster processor (2.4GHz versus 2.26), double the RAM (DDR3 too!), 90GB more HDD space on a 7200 RPM drive (versus 5400), DUAL GPUs running in Hybrid SLI mode. That would be the same 9400M plus a 256MB GeForce 9500M. It's 0.88" thick at the front and 1.35" thick at the back, which allows for a proper cooling system, and it weighs 4.86 pounds.
Now let's compare certain features. You don't get the "multi-touch trackpad". Honestly, so what? I've had a unibody MacBook since November and it's been since November since I used the "multi-touch" features. They're largely useless and a gimmick anyway. You can't use use gimmicky features like reverse pinching to zoom in on a picture to replace proper functionality. The four finger swipe to activate Expose isn't anywhere near as good as Aero Peak in alt-tab in Windows 7.
You don't get the backlit keyboard. But, again, who cares? I know how to type. The screen has always illuminated the keyboard.
Now what do you get that the MacBook "Pro" doesn't have?
You get VGA, DisplayPort, and HDMI with audio support. No silly expensive adapters needed.
You get two USB 2.0 ports, one shared with eSATA.
You get Firewire.
You get full size ExpressCard 54.
You get proper audio in and out.
You get an 8-in-1 card reader, not just a silly half-assed SD card slot.
You also get a 1 year warranty that includes on-site in-home support, and the optional extended warranty warranty with in-home support costs about the same as AppleCare.
So let's see. For $20 more you get a faster processor, dual GPUs running in Hybrid SLI, double the RAM, more storage on a faster HDD, a screen that is NOT a mirror, VGA, DisplayPort, HDMI with audio, eSATA, USB 2.0, Firewire, fullsize ExpressCard, proper audio in and out, 8-in-1 card reader, and a better standard warranty.
Oh I forgot you get a USER REPLACEABLE battery. Sorry, but an integrated battery is the worst idea since using mirrors for screens.
What else?
Oh yeah. In that same $1100-$1300 price range, you can get a 15.4" or 16" system with a 2.4GHz or better Core 2 Duo, 4GB or more of RAM, 320GB 7200 RPM HDDs, blu-ray, 1GB GeForce 9800M GS or better, HDMI, Dolby Digital Live!, etc. So yes, Macs DO cost more and come with significantly less.
And to finish it off, this entire post has been typed up on a unibody MacBook.
Kinda like how Apple lied about the G5 tower being the fastest PC on Earth or how they lied about the iPhone being able to access all parts of the internet (as long as 'all part's didn't include Java or Flash) or how they lied by showing applications and functions on the iPhone operating significantly faster than they actually performed in real life?
There are no saints here.
Lethal
The g5 was the fastest computer you could buy back in 2003, benchmarks had shown it, tests between the fastest P4 at the time also showed it, nothing could match it
I believe in a few days someone will look like a big tool. 
The same kind of tool that ran for vice president and lost. That is if this is even true.
The same kind of tool that ran for vice president and lost. That is if this is even true.I'm not going to argue whether Apple or Microsoft has falsified claims. I will argue that I believe the story that Apple called Microsoft about pulling their ads either b.s. or exaggerated.
I believe in a few days someone will look like a big tool.
Um, the tallied votes showed that Gore did win the 2000 election, however Gore did not challenge the vote and Bush took the Presidency. So in essence, Gore was the "bigger man". Just stating.
The Advertising Standards Agency demanded they take it down. Infact - they've done that twice
'Really fast'
http://www.asa.org.uk/asa/adjudications/Public/TF_ADJ_45381.htm
The ad breached CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 5.1 (Misleading Advertising), 5.2.1 (Evidence), 5.2.2 (Implications) and 5.4.1 (Visual techniques and special effects).
'Whole internet'
http://www.asa.org.uk/asa/adjudications/Public/TF_ADJ_44891.htm
The ad breached CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 5.1 (Misleading advertising), 5.2.1 (Evidence) and 5.2.2 (Implications).
Documented misleading advertising from Apple. (yes - there are Msoft complaints at the ASA as well. No one's claiming Msoft advertising is perfect either. None of them point the trigger at Apple in the way Apple have been lying about Msoft for years)
Microsoft used actors for these ads, that's obvious. But the prices were what they were at the time. They did an honest comparison. The Mac's might be different prices NOW....guess what? So will the PC be as well. Are Apple suddenly ashamed of the prices at the time of filming. They should be . All Msoft need to do is put "Prices as of dd/mm/yy" on the ads.
And for years, Apple has been perpetuating myths about PC's in their 'I'm a Mac' adverts. Adverts that have NEVER EVER honestly represented PC's.
It was either pulled or disclaimer text was added, I don't remember which. My point is though about the hypocrisy exhibited by some members in this thread.
In some tests the G5 won and in some tests it lost and some tests just weren't accurate because of the difficulties of testing two different platforms. After people started questioning Apple it didn't take too long for them to stop calling the G5 the fastest PC on Earth.
Lethal
Exactly. Just so we're clear, it's not hypocrisy to say that if a Mac ad is amended due to false advertising, then a PC/Windows ad should also be amended to rectify false advertising.
Asinine Logic.
@mosx
Hilarious. I love how you go on to mention positive hardware differences in the Mac that DO change the cost, justifiably, but becuase YOU can "ignore" them or explain them away, it somehow makes your point valid now? That's a little asinine. Also, the whole car analogy that still applies. It is the high end uni-body (no other laptops have this), the glass track pad (no other laptops have this), the mag safe adapter (no other laptops have this), the OS (no other laptops have this), the real world 8 hour battery (no other laptops have this). It's the WHOLE package that differs from the plastic shell packages of the others.....These extra things you like to explain away make the BMW vs Ford analogy work.
I guess my conclusion is that logic is missing in the world today.
@mosx
Hilarious. I love how you go on to mention positive hardware differences in the Mac that DO change the cost, justifiably, but becuase YOU can "ignore" them or explain them away, it somehow makes your point valid now? That's a little asinine. Also, the whole car analogy that still applies. It is the high end uni-body (no other laptops have this), the glass track pad (no other laptops have this), the mag safe adapter (no other laptops have this), the OS (no other laptops have this), the real world 8 hour battery (no other laptops have this). It's the WHOLE package that differs from the plastic shell packages of the others.....These extra things you like to explain away make the BMW vs Ford analogy work.
I guess my conclusion is that logic is missing in the world today.
Source: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/elop/07-15-09WPC2009.mspx
Now I know he is full of s***.
I think that Apple should raise its prices by 100$ and show to Microsoft that it's still selling its great products !
This could be a great ad!
This could be a great ad!
All Apple has to do is re-cast these "PC hunter" ads like this:
Mac: Hi, I'm a Mac.
PC: And I'm a PC and... oh... darn it...
Mac: What's wrong, PC?
PC: Oh, my hard drive keeps making this annoying sound. It won't stop.
Mac: Sorry to hear that.
PC: Yeah, we have to keep prices down so we're always getting stuffed with low-end, bargain basement parts that constantly fall apart and have to be replaced. You know how it goes.
Mac: Not really. Macs are made from the best components out there. Consumer Reports says we have fewer hardware failures than PCs. And we're--
PC: What?! I can't hear you over this hard drive noise--Oh! There goes my display.
Mac: Hi, I'm a Mac.
PC: And I'm a PC and... oh... darn it...
Mac: What's wrong, PC?
PC: Oh, my hard drive keeps making this annoying sound. It won't stop.
Mac: Sorry to hear that.
PC: Yeah, we have to keep prices down so we're always getting stuffed with low-end, bargain basement parts that constantly fall apart and have to be replaced. You know how it goes.
Mac: Not really. Macs are made from the best components out there. Consumer Reports says we have fewer hardware failures than PCs. And we're--
PC: What?! I can't hear you over this hard drive noise--Oh! There goes my display.
okay,
to the macbook pro aluminum unibody owner up there, really?? it's a unibody. the auto analogy works exactly. people buy mercedes because they're solid. remember that "it's what you'd expect from a mercedes" commercial? fully grown men could hang on the doors or something, not that they'd need to, but they could. there is not a unibody pc.
i'll throw another one at you: the pc is a wal-mart grocery store, the mac is whole foods. i'll agree that i pay a premium for my preference in OS.
i'll admit it: i'm a designer... or, an architecture student. i think everything should be moving by way apple: better quality, even if that means you'll have to raise your prices and lose a share of the market. if houses were built with a unibody, phiew. i could only dream.
i'll allow windows to advertise as the wal-mart of computers. there.
to the macbook pro aluminum unibody owner up there, really?? it's a unibody. the auto analogy works exactly. people buy mercedes because they're solid. remember that "it's what you'd expect from a mercedes" commercial? fully grown men could hang on the doors or something, not that they'd need to, but they could. there is not a unibody pc.
i'll throw another one at you: the pc is a wal-mart grocery store, the mac is whole foods. i'll agree that i pay a premium for my preference in OS.
i'll admit it: i'm a designer... or, an architecture student. i think everything should be moving by way apple: better quality, even if that means you'll have to raise your prices and lose a share of the market. if houses were built with a unibody, phiew. i could only dream.
i'll allow windows to advertise as the wal-mart of computers. there.
I second that - in fact let's make it $200. My Mac is worth 3 times as much as any PC to me. I'd hate to have to do my job on something inferior.
I just don't find MS trustworthy at all.
Here they are claiming that the people are "real" people, who also didn't know they were participating in an ad.
http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/wi...windows-pcs-a-better-fit-for-their-lives.aspx
Even though we know Lauren was indeed an actress, and we have evidence that she never really went into the Mac store.
Hardly "real" and "unscripted" IMO.
Here they are claiming that the people are "real" people, who also didn't know they were participating in an ad.
http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/wi...windows-pcs-a-better-fit-for-their-lives.aspx
Even though we know Lauren was indeed an actress, and we have evidence that she never really went into the Mac store.
Hardly "real" and "unscripted" IMO.
I find it hard to believe that a company with the PR track record of Apple would make such a blunder as phoning up Microsoft and asking for these adverts to be stopped. It does sound like someone in Microsoft embellishing the truth and creating their own positive spin on the situation!
As for the adverts themselves, I've always believed that they were an incredibly risky maneuver for Microsoft. Basically, by advertising themselves as the cheap alternative they risk losing a lot or desirability in the eyes of consumers. Many consumers still believe that higher price=higher quality.
What I find ironic about the whole situation though is a primarily software company, advertising the hardware of another company, against a company that creates the hardware AND the software. This would be like Bridgestone tires advertising Audi cars.
As many have said here, the adverts can be misleading. The adverts have focused solely on price rather than user experience and ease of use. Many people who have switched to Mac frequently talk about how simple functions are to use compared to Windows. Additionally, and most importantly, the adverts are concentrating on the old lineup of Apple computers as opposed to the refresh, which have brought down the price of all products. Additionally, go to the Dell/Sony website and create a computer equal in spec to any Mac and they themselves are equal in price, if not more expensive, than a Mac. The cheaper laptops in these adverts are just that, cheaper laptops. They may have better specs but they may not be as aesthetically pleasing or as built to the same quality as a Mac.
You could spend the money and buy a BMW but go on, buy a Kia, it does the same job and is cheaper. Thats the basic message of these adverts, and they may work with the less techno savvy of the world but many people would still rather buy the 'expensive' quality built alternative.
As for the adverts themselves, I've always believed that they were an incredibly risky maneuver for Microsoft. Basically, by advertising themselves as the cheap alternative they risk losing a lot or desirability in the eyes of consumers. Many consumers still believe that higher price=higher quality.
What I find ironic about the whole situation though is a primarily software company, advertising the hardware of another company, against a company that creates the hardware AND the software. This would be like Bridgestone tires advertising Audi cars.
As many have said here, the adverts can be misleading. The adverts have focused solely on price rather than user experience and ease of use. Many people who have switched to Mac frequently talk about how simple functions are to use compared to Windows. Additionally, and most importantly, the adverts are concentrating on the old lineup of Apple computers as opposed to the refresh, which have brought down the price of all products. Additionally, go to the Dell/Sony website and create a computer equal in spec to any Mac and they themselves are equal in price, if not more expensive, than a Mac. The cheaper laptops in these adverts are just that, cheaper laptops. They may have better specs but they may not be as aesthetically pleasing or as built to the same quality as a Mac.
You could spend the money and buy a BMW but go on, buy a Kia, it does the same job and is cheaper. Thats the basic message of these adverts, and they may work with the less techno savvy of the world but many people would still rather buy the 'expensive' quality built alternative.