# Microsoft finally gets it right...



## LarryFlowers (Sep 22, 2006)

Microsoft's new ad campaign "Laptop Hunters" has finally hit it right. It's about price, choice and value, which Microsoft should have been harping on for years.

If Mac fanboy reaction is any indication, the ads are working big time!


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## Hansen (Jan 1, 2006)

Indeed, at last they are hitting on real facts and things that really matter...price, choice, and value. I love it. :joy: :dance:


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

I've heard about the ad but haven't seen it. Let's just say that Microsoft finally seems to have a campaign that works.


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## barryb (Aug 27, 2007)




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## solmakou (Mar 6, 2009)

An April fools joke was the best marketing campaign for Microsoft this year, I was told there would only be one release version. I was so excited I was actually going to buy the OS!


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## dave29 (Feb 18, 2007)

Yeah, those are pretty good commercials. And true too:grin:


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## deltafowler (Aug 28, 2007)

Congrats, Lauren. You just bought a HP laptop.
Could I now interest you in something from Chrysler? :lol:


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

LarryFlowers said:


> [...]If Mac fanboy reaction is any indication, the ads are working big time!


Ya, apparently some fellow named Mitch is trying to change her mind.

http://i.gizmodo.com/5187031/lauren-we-have-someone-whod-like-to-talk-to-you

I'm pretty sure even if they find her and she likes it, her contract will prevent her from making an Apple ad. She is apparently a professional actress, BTW. http://i.gizmodo.com/5190861/we-found-microsofts-lauren-and-shes-an-actress

/steve


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## Greg Alsobrook (Apr 2, 2007)

The commercials are decent... I just don't get what Microsoft has to do with the prices of an HP computer...


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Greg Alsobrook said:


> The commercials are decent... I just don't get what Microsoft has to do with the prices of an HP computer...


Well......perhaps maybe sorta kinda that Windows is running on it? 

Cobranding is common these days...to promote multiple products together.


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## Greg Alsobrook (Apr 2, 2007)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> Well......perhaps maybe sorta kinda that Windows is running on it?


Right... But what about all of the hardware?


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

Greg Alsobrook said:


> Right... But what about all of the hardware?


Exactly. I'm sure Acer, Dell and Lenovo, among others, are thrilled.  /steve


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## Greg Alsobrook (Apr 2, 2007)

I wonder if these commercials were made on a Mac like the "I'm a PC" ones were... !rolling


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

Hold on here a minute. I just watched the ad. She said she was looking for a 17" laptop for under $1000 and Microsoft told her "You find it, you keep it!". So of course she picked the Windows laptop.

That doesn't mean it's the best choice, just the cheapest. Not that I'd agree with them, but it should be fairly easy for Apple to have fun with "You get what you pay for" ads. You heard it here first. 

Just my .02. /steve


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Greg Alsobrook said:


> I wonder if these commercials were made on a Mac like the "I'm a PC" ones were... !rolling


I doubt it...it would have cost too much to produce....


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## Greg Alsobrook (Apr 2, 2007)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> I doubt it...it would have cost too much to produce....


Didn't stop them before...


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## Greg Alsobrook (Apr 2, 2007)

Steve said:


> but it should be fairly easy for Apple to have fun with "You get what you pay for" ads.


I'm sure they're already on it... :grin:


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

I think it will open up a good line of discussion. PCs are in many ways just as capable, as powerful, as useful as Macs and are cheaper. However, Macs are cooler and, for a certain segment of the population, easier to use.


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## ImBack234 (Aug 26, 2008)

Microsoft will never get it!!!!:eek2:


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Stuart Sweet said:


> I think it will open up a good line of discussion. PCs are in many ways just as capable, as powerful, as useful as Macs and are cheaper. However, Macs are cooler and, for a certain segment of the population, easier to use.


All very true.

*(Mac crayons sold separately)*


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## BattleZone (Nov 13, 2007)

Steve said:


> Hold on here a minute. I just watched the ad. She said she was looking for a 17" laptop for under $1000 and Microsoft told her "You find it, you keep it!". So of course she picked the Windows laptop.
> 
> That doesn't mean it's the best choice, just the cheapest.


No, you missed the point entirely. It was the ONLY choice. Apple doesn't offer a 17" laptop for anywhere close to her budget. And this is a very real, very common issue that laptop buyers face everyday.

It certainly isn't news that Apple products are priced significantly higher then PC products. It's always been that way. Apple has (successfully) billed itself as a premium, fashion-conscience product marketed to people who could afford to buy Apple. That has worked very well for Apple and kept them profitable, but it also means that there will always be a lot of people who simply can't, or won't, afford to buy Apple.

For myself, I have a Mac in the house as well as PCs, and I'm perfectly comfortable using either, but the Mac is used almost exclusively for one application: Final Cut Pro. FCP is great software, and very popular, which means that I need it to be compatible with other people's work. But there's very little that I can't do with Avid or Vegas on a PC. If it wasn't for file formats, I'd have no reason to use FCP.

In the end, computers are about getting things done, whether that is developing a website, keeping your company's books, editing video, updating your Netflix queue, or playing a game. All of those tasks can be accomplished on either platform, with the exception of many games, which won't run on Macs. I can't think of anything I might need or want to do that I couldn't accomplish on a PC, or on a Mac for that matter (games aside). But there's no doubt that if I choose a Mac, I'm going to pay more, both for the original PC and for all the software. There's also no doubt that I'm going to have fewer choices in software.

Those are very real, sensible reasons to choose a PC, and that's why PCs remain the overwhelming majority of computers. That doesn't mean that Apple doesn't have a place; clearly they do. I'm all for choices and options. I believe that Apple is good for the entire industry by pushing boundries, and I would not want to see them go away. But I also am very realistic in knowing that Apples are never going to be the majority in the market.


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## Hansen (Jan 1, 2006)

IIP said:


> No, you missed the point entirely. It was the ONLY choice. Apple doesn't offer a 17" laptop for anywhere close to her budget. And this is a very real, very common issue that laptop buyers face everyday.
> 
> It certainly isn't news that Apple products are priced significantly higher then PC products. It's always been that way. Apple has (successfully) billed itself as a premium, fashion-conscience product marketed to people who could afford to buy Apple. That has worked very well for Apple and kept them profitable, but it also means that there will always be a lot of people who simply can't, or won't, afford to buy Apple.
> 
> ...


Well said and summarized.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

IIP said:


> No, you missed the point entirely. It was the ONLY choice.


I don't think so. If you look at the ad again, it was the one under $1000 she liked best that store.

I totally understand Apple is expensive. They cater to a certain audience. Because I can afford a Toyota and can't afford a Beemer doesn't make the Toyota a better car, just a better value. Cost conscious, value-seeking buyers already know this. Apple isn't fooling anyone in that regard, in spite of their commercials, IMHO.

FWIW, a quick look at the Best Buy website shows at least half a dozen 17" (or above) laptops available for under $1000. A couple of them had 18.8" screens, which I didn't even know existed! /steve


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## Greg Alsobrook (Apr 2, 2007)

IIP said:


> But I also am very realistic in knowing that Apples are never going to be the majority in the market.


I agree with most of what you said... but I'm not sure I would bet on this. With more and more college classrooms looking like this, it's bound to spill over into the business world. After all, these kids are our future. :grin:


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## sum_random_dork (Aug 21, 2008)

I am enjoying the new commercials, Microsoft is teaming up with various stores (BB & Fry's) and suppliers to make it work. If you walk in some Best Buys you'll see a Microsfot specialist some days. Microsfot is paying for those specialists to be there and explain their products. Price wise with so many manufactures making computers that run Windows it's much easier to bring the cost down, versus one manufacture making Mac products. I won't say one is better than the other, but value wise....I think these commercials are right on target. Don't forget, Microsoft is looking at rolling out it's own stores just like Apple has so they need to work to build a real brand.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

Greg Alsobrook said:


> I agree with most of what you said... but I'm not sure I would bet on this. With more and more college classrooms looking like this, it's bound to spill over into the business world. After all, these kids are our future. :grin:


I was a Mac evangelist up to 1995, when I had to switch to a PC because I was running a major website and needed to be on the same platform that most of the viewers would be on. Mac has always steeply discounted their hardware to schools, dating back to the 80's, and they still never commanded more than 10% of the total market, even when they easily had the majority of the installed school desktops. /steve


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## dmspen (Dec 1, 2006)

Stuart Sweet said:


> However, Macs are cooler...


So what does that mean exactly?

Better looking? Often, but check out the new Dell Adamo.
Faster? No...
More apps? No...
Easier to use? For some...maybe...
Does it wear sunglasses and smirK? 

How does one define cool?


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

The commercials are fun, especially the first (Lauren) one... but not entirely appropriate.

She could have bought an even cheaper laptop if she opted to get something without Windows and use Linux (free) on it instead  But since it was a Microsoft commercial, they wouldn't endorse that of course.

PCs can generally be had cheaper, this is true in almost all cases. Linux for free is a whole lot cheaper than $200+ Windows, though... so for a true budget that should be factored in.

That said... Value for price is REALLY what is important. I could buy a cheap but crappy laptop too... I don't know the specs on the HP in the commercial, but I do know HP makes good laptops and crappy ones... like most every computer manufacturer.

If you're just web browsing and using email, then you don't need much processing power and can buy the cheapest thing. Most of the cost in laptops seems to be in the size of the screen.

On the Apple front.. I do have to agree their notebooks are overpriced for what you get. Yes, they look and feel cool... but I bought an iMac in large part because I could get a much larger screen and faster computer for less money than the comparable notebook. My 24" iMac was about the same price as the 15" notebook, and has more/faster other features to boot!

So on the laptop front, it is a much easier choice to get a PC laptop to get the most bang for the buck, in my opinion... The water gets a bit murkier, however, if you compare desktops to iMacs. Again, PCs can be had cheaper... just not as much cheaper proportionally as in the laptop world.


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## Greg Alsobrook (Apr 2, 2007)

Stewart Vernon said:


> If you're just web browsing and using email, then you don't need much processing power and can buy the cheapest thing. Most of the cost in laptops seems to be in the size of the screen.


That's another thing that bothers me about the commercial. They're implying that a computer purchase should be decided upon with price and screen size. There are way too many other factors that come into play when deciding what computer to buy... What you're using it for (as you stated) should be number 1.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

dmspen said:


> So what does that mean exactly?
> 
> Better looking? Often, but check out the new Dell Adamo.
> Faster? No...
> ...


Yep, that bottom one. "Cool" is an often overrated commodity.


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## solmakou (Mar 6, 2009)

Stuart Sweet said:


> Yep, that bottom one. "Cool" is an often overrated commodity.


I personally find cool to be able to play the latest games  I have never owned a Mac and I don't believe I ever will. I hold a grudge for their proprietary hardware stance for so many years!


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> I doubt it...it would have cost too much to produce....


Time is money.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Who goes shopping for a computer based primarily on the size of the display. A budget is fine, but since she saved $300, she didn't budget very well.

What was she going to do with the computer? Why didn't she start doing research online before hopping in her car?

Would you go car shopping with just a budget and some specification of driver visibility?


If Microsoft is trying to portray PCs as ill-equipped to make an informed decision, they've succeeded. I guess that was the focus of the Mojave experiment.


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## HDJulie (Aug 10, 2008)

Most of my family members couldn't care less about memory or cpu or drive size. They would definitely be looking for a laptop that had a 17" monitor. They would assume that for the most part, the other things would either be considered equal among the possible 17" displays or they would look at the ones that had 17" displays & go from there. In general, the people that I know aren't going to be doing heavy duty work on a laptop & so for them, the size of the display really is the main thing. That's not to say this is a good thing -- I try to help them as much as possible -- but for the most part its a matter of keeping them from buying something stupid than trying to get them the most memory/fastest cpu/largest drive.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

harsh said:


> Who goes shopping for a computer based primarily on the size of the display. A budget is fine, but since she saved $300, she didn't budget very well.
> 
> What was she going to do with the computer? Why didn't she start doing research online before hopping in her car?
> 
> ...


I think you're reading a little too much into this, but personally I shop for laptops based on screen size (within a range, not down to the decimal point... 16.9" would be ok) and I couldn't be the only one.

It's a commercial, it's not a congressional investigation. To apply the same acid test to the Apple commercials, I should say that I've been working on Macs for the last 20 years and I never untuck my shirt or wear my hair like Susan Dey from the Partridge Family, so those "I'm a Mac" commercials must be false as well.


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## houskamp (Sep 14, 2006)

Stuart Sweet said:


> I think you're reading a little too much into this, but personally I shop for laptops based on screen size (within a range, not down to the decimal point... 16.9" would be ok) and I couldn't be the only one.
> 
> It's a commercial, it's not a congressional investigation. To apply the same acid test to the Apple commercials, I should say that I've been working on Macs for the last 20 years and I never untuck my shirt or wear my hair like Susan Dey from the Partridge Family, so those "I'm a Mac" commercials must be false as well.


 Same here.. I look for screen size as #1 then add in the rest.. Since I don't carry mine much I look for the largest screen then add the horsepower after (dedicated video an must)..
For my wife that carries her's around a lot more I buy a smaller screen..


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## Lee L (Aug 15, 2002)

I like the commercials. I have nothing against Apple, but they are more expensive. Some are willing to pay more for a better industrial design and potential slightly easier usablilty (though I have never found Macs to be esier to use personally). Of course a Linux laptop would be even cheaper, but Mac is not running ads against Linux, they are running them against Microsoft and MS has decided to answer them directly.

Sure, they did abbreviate the buying experience for the commercials, but they would never have the time to show someone reading 300 forum posts and tons of benchmarks that someone at a place like this would do. Keep in mind that many many people go primarly on surface looks on their PC. Maybe they look at 2 or 3 at Bestbuy in their price rangeand if one has a significantly higher spec on one of the lines on the card, they may favor that a little, but in reality, the average laptop buyer does not frequent tech sites like this. This is also another reason that Linux does not come into play here as 95% of people think Linux is a kid that carries his security blanket around on Peanuts or if they know about it, they think it is just for ubergeeks or 733t h4xors.


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## BattleZone (Nov 13, 2007)

Greg Alsobrook said:


> I agree with most of what you said... but I'm not sure I would bet on this. With more and more college classrooms looking like this, it's bound to spill over into the business world. After all, these kids are our future. :grin:


In the business world, what is important is Enterprise-level management of the desktop environment. Apple has NOTHING that compares to Microsoft at this level, and it would take them a LONG time to catch up.

Also, consider that when Macs were first released, they were radically different from the PCs that were available. In that time, computers have become much, much more similar. While you have kids in college using Macs, virtually everything they learn about operating the actual computer will apply to Windows, so it's very easy for anyone to move from one platform to the other. Thus, very little reason to switch just because that's what the employee personally owns.

In most companies, Macs will be found in the Graphics or Marketing departments, or perhaps the Web Development department, as those "creative" occupations tend to attract the fashion-conscience Mac users, and those lines of businesses use Macs by default because in the late 80s and early 90s, Macs were far ahead of PCs for those capabilities, and the tradition has stuck.

But the rest of the company's employees will do their work on PCs that cost a fraction of a Mac, can be supported remotely with Enterprise management, and will support any software needs that might arise in any department.

As has been pointed out, Apple has always dominated in the classroom due to their deep discounts for schools, but it really has never paid off for them in the business world.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

Apropos of this topic are three "amateur" Linux foundation ads, found here. I especially liked the third-place ad, which needs no translation. /steve


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## bidger (Nov 19, 2005)

The grand prize winner sounds like it's narrated by a Microsoft Phone Tech Support guy on his day off.


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## TSR (Feb 7, 2009)

LarryFlowers said:


> Microsoft's new ad campaign "Laptop Hunters" has finally hit it right. It's about price, choice and value, which Microsoft should have been harping on for years.
> 
> If Mac fanboy reaction is any indication, the ads are working big time!


It's also a good mention now that they did indeed start striking back at Mac 2 years after they have been hammered on, so we finally have some competition on both sides of the fence. Only time will tell which one will win, if there is ever a "winner."


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## lparsons21 (Mar 4, 2006)

I think the MS ads are the most effective they've ever been. But it makes me chuckle to think that they are now in a position where they think they need to run ads agains Apple.

It isn't that long ago that Michael Dell was saying that the best thing Apple could do was sell off their assets and refund the money to the stockholders. My how things have changed... 

Apple picks markets that they want to target. Enterprise computing isn't one of them and is reflected pretty much in anything you read from Apple. And they aren't in the market where price is king either. They build good solid computers at the midrange and up.

And if you think about it, HP is hoping you aren't going to be buying that cheapest 17" laptop. They are hoping that will get you in the store and you buy something more up the scale, you know, where the profits are.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

Not sure how long this "I'm a Mac" ad has been out, but I saw it for the first time this morning. Typical Apple "smugness", but the kind of response you'd expect from them, IMHO. /steve


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## ImBack234 (Aug 26, 2008)

Steve said:


> Not sure how long this "I'm a Mac" ad has been out, but I saw it for the first time this morning. Typical Apple "smugness", but the kind of response you'd expect from them, IMHO. /steve


Truth in advertising you don't see that any more.:eek2:


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## BattleZone (Nov 13, 2007)

ImBack234 said:


> Truth in advertising you don't see that any more.:eek2:


Ooookay. I've got PCs running XP, Vista, and Win7RC. The last time I had a computer crash was due to a power glitch. In November. Before that? Wow... it's been a LONG time. As in years.

I reboot my computers about once a month on average, and almost always because of a driver update that requires a restart. Otherwise, they're always on. My Windows Home Server currently has 271 days of uptime, and I'm guessing that was about when Service Pack 1 was released for it.

The folks who have problems with their PCs are usually the ones who intentionally go in and turn off all of the security features. Disabling Windows Update, UAC, the firewall, running no antivirus program (or one with 6 month old virus defintions), etc. And they are also the ones who click "OK" on every pop up window they see.

Some people blame their cars for expensive repairs, but don't change their oil or drive on brake shoes worn down to the metal. If you listen to them, the manufacturer is to blame that they don't have a car that can go 40,000 miles on the same oil, or 100,000 miles on brake pads, so the car sucks.

The truth is that, since WinXP, most of the complaints (the legit ones) that people had about Windows in the past just aren't very true if you take even minimal care of the computer and keep it's protections in place. Win7 is even better. Microsoft has done a darn good job IMO.


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## LarryFlowers (Sep 22, 2006)

So true... problems with PC's, like cars and many other things in life, are caused by the idiot behind the wheel!

Larry



BattleZone said:


> Ooookay. I've got PCs running XP, Vista, and Win7RC. The last time I had a computer crash was due to a power glitch. In November. Before that? Wow... it's been a LONG time. As in years.
> 
> I reboot my computers about once a month on average, and almost always because of a driver update that requires a restart. Otherwise, they're always on. My Windows Home Server currently has 271 days of uptime, and I'm guessing that was about when Service Pack 1 was released for it.
> 
> ...


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## pfp (Apr 28, 2009)

LarryFlowers said:


> So true... problems with PC's, like cars and many other things in life, are caused by the idiot behind the wheel!
> 
> Larry


Or as one of my former colleagues used to say "it's a short between the chair and the keyboard" -We were working tech support at the time.


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## Packersrule (Sep 10, 2007)

I have always been a PC user but I bought an iPhone. ITunes is the worst application I have ever used. If change it anything it deletes everything off my phone and then deletes my play list. I then spend 2 hours rebuilding my play list. I made the mistake of think I could download a movie to the phone but did buy it from Apple and it again deleted all of my songs. I don’t have any music on my phone because I didn’t have the two hours to create my playlist from 4,125 MP3. 

I am sure it must be great if I owned a Mac, willing to let Apple pick my play list and bought all of my music from them. 

I will buy a Mac when I lose 100 points in my IQ and am will turn my life over to Jesus (I mean Apple).


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## Lee L (Aug 15, 2002)

I will agree iTunes can be a PITA, but it can be made to automatically fill your phone with random songs from your library since the 8.1 update. I do not know exactly where it is, but it is there. The only issue is that you have to set it to leave you some space for new apps.


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## ncxcstud (Apr 22, 2007)

Steve said:


> Not sure how long this "I'm a Mac" ad has been out, but I saw it for the first time this morning. Typical Apple "smugness", but the kind of response you'd expect from them, IMHO. /steve


But, what if you don't like the 'look' of the mac? Oh wait..well...that's all you get from Apple...

Wait, PC...come back!


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## Marlin Guy (Apr 8, 2009)

ImBack234 said:


> Truth in advertising you don't see that any more.:eek2:


:lol::lol::lol::lol:


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

All I can say is that when you Look at a Big Screen Laptop and you will be traveling with it then you must consider the weight, how long the batteries will last, how much to buy an extra battery or extended battery and if you are on an airplane can you comfortably fit it onto the tray table when the person in front of you is leaning back.


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