Microsoft Laptop Hunter Ads Stirring the Pot
First there was Lauren appearing as the first “Laptop Hunter” in the ad by Microsoft, tasked with hitting the Best Buy in search of the cheap (sub-$1,000) laptop. Lauren chose an HP and was quite happy. The second ad in the series has been running for a while now and is continuing to stir the “Windows vs. Mac” debate, no doubt Microsoft’s intention.
The second ad features Giampaolo, a self-described picky user looking for a power machine. Giampaolo also ended up choosing an HP laptop, coming in under the $1,500 Microsoft allowed him for the task. This ad is getting the Mac camp up in arms as he states that while sexy, the Mac lacks the power he needs to get the job done. Hey, what else did you expect Microsoft to throw out there? :)
What I found funny while browsing through the online reaction to the ads was on the Microsoft Watch blog. Noted eWeek tech guru Joe Wilcox weighed in on the ad brouhaha with his own story of shopping for a laptop. Joe waxes on and on about how much he likes Macs and OS X but that he really wanted a Sony VGN-Z590. The problem was the Sony was much more expensive than the 13-inch MacBook and 15-inch MacBook Pro Joe was considering.
In the end Joe went with the Sony which he found on sale for $1,899. While $300 more than the MacBook he considered (and discarded due to low screen resolution), he admits that what ultimately turned him in favor of the Sony (besides the screen resolution) was that he loves Windows 7. He readily admits that he could run Windows 7 on the MacBook using dual-boot but he ultimately went with the Sony.
I understand Joe’s decision; ultimately he felt he was getting a really good deal on the Sony. What he gave up however, was that ability to dual-boot he readily admits he could do on the MacBook. Now he can run Windows 7, still in beta, rather than both OS X and Win7. And he only paid $300 for that feature. BTW Joe, I am writing this on Windows 7 running on my MacBook under Parallels, switching back and forth between the two OSes as need be.
I think HP kind of got shafted in the new ad. The HDX16 is not a bad platform at all, but grabbing the low-ball “canned” model at Fry’s doesn’t show its real potential. The thrust of my article revolved around that premise (and that if the shopper had been tech savvy he’d have realized this).
“I am writing this on Windows 7 running on my MacBook under Parallels”
I run Win 7 (and XP) on my MacBook in Fusion. Do you use Windows Live Writer? That may be the only Microsoft software I wish was ported to the Mac.
Nope. We’ve had trouble with Live Writer screwing up the blog. I used to use it though.
I don’t get why Mac users are so hot and bothered by the ads when considered in the context of the Apple advertising. The Microsoft ads may be exaggerating the benefits of the PCs relative to the Mac but it doesn’t even come close to the level of misinformation present in the Apple advertising. It would be fun to see the reaction of the Apple fans if Microsoft ever did come at Apple at anywhere near the same level Apple has come at Microsoft.
I agree 100 %. When Apple misleads people Mac uses are just fine with it. When MSFT creats an ad which is 99% truth they get all defencive
I find them all funny.
Agreed. I hate those lying mac ads. And its not as if ms is even lying, macs do cost more than a similarly powered pc. Theirs complaint against ms would only be valid if sony was the company making pcs, which obviously is not the case, unlike the situation with macs
James,
What software do you use in windows?
I use OneNote quite a bit, mainly to access years of old notes. I sometimes have to refer to them and it’s the best way. I run Google Chrome and lots of programs while I’m in Win7, OneNote is one I can’t live without though.
Bah, what I hate more is not the actual ads, but all the people getting riled up about them. They’re ads! Of course they’re gonna send false messages to consumers (the “Mac and PC” series by Apple does the same exact thing).
Not false messages, perhaps just optimised, enhanced messages.
Windows 7 will probably be the best version MS has ever released but it may be too late. The real battle is in the browser space and MS is losing big time. IE8 is just too slow. Once IE drops below 60 percent share (could be this year) they will be in trouble. Most browsers are readily adopting HTML 5 features that make them even more relevant compared to the OS.
Two things:
1) The Sony he picked doesn’t have the same configuration as the Mac. It has more ram, and a higher resolution screen, which he pointed out was what dominated his thinking.
2) IE used to be the underdog, and it rose up and killed the competition. Microsoft without competition is an embarrassingly bad company. With it, its history has been a lot better.
Yeah, I understand that the “And he only paid $300 for that feature.” is supposed to be a clever attempt at proving a point. But the point is invalid for anyone who clicks through and sees the Sony also was a better spec’ed machine. I guess you were just counting on no one reading the article and the conclusion stating “The $1,899 Z590 changed everything. Within my criteria: Display resolution, system memory and hard drive size—all better than the MacBook.”
And this was because he had his heart set on a Sony. Without a doubt the most marked up brand running Windows on the market.
I do the other way around, I dual-boot on a netbook. So I get the benefit of dual booting as well as the lower price of the netbook.
I had used a Mac for 5+ years but I find is very hard to support Apple lately when its trying so hard to decide for us what’s the “right” hardware.
What exactly does the ability to dual boot actually give you? Assuming that Joe doesn’t need OS X, why would he want to pay for two operating systems when one does everything and more than the other one. You also ignore the fact that the Macbook costs almost as much as the Vaio once you add the cost of the Windows license.
The new MacBooks DO NOT have FireWire – which makes them USELESS for work with a movie camera – full stop. If I want to do amateur video editing and want a Mac laptop I have to fork out $3000 plus. There you have the facts!