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Apple to Microsoft: Stop with the ads (Apple look like losers while MSFT laughs)
Seattle Slimes ^ | July 15, 2009 | Sharon Chan

Posted on 07/17/2009 2:43:34 PM PDT by max americana

Apple to Microsoft: Stop with the ads

Posted by Sharon Pian Chan Seattle Times

Microsoft said it received a call from Apple saying Microsoft needs to stop running the laptop-hunter TV ads that harp on Apple for expensive computers. Why? Because Apple has lowered its prices.

That's according to Microsoft Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner, who said he took a call from an Apple attorney. two weeks ago. He initially thought it was a practical joke, then said he found out Apple had cut prices on its computers.

"It was the greatest single phone call that I’ve ever taken in the history of business," Turner said in a presentation at the Microsoft Worldwide Partners Conference in New Orleans. "I did cartwheels down the hallway."

I have a call in to Apple.

The television ads feature people shopping for a laptop and comparing prices on PCs and Macs. According to Microsoft, PCs have gained market share since the ads began running.

The ads were a response to Apple's relentless "I'm a Mac" ads teasing Microsoft mostly aboutproblems with Windows Vista. Click here to read about the Microsoft laptop hunter ads and check out the ad below:

(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.nwsource.com ...


TOPICS: Computers/Internet
KEYWORDS: apple; mac; microsoft
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To: Wooly
Sorry...

"There are lots of things you can do to a non-Apple notebook that you can't do with a MAC-Book. This can be a good or a bad thing, but to the MAC Heads it is usually ignored and they will tell you that their MAC’s run windows too."

61 posted on 07/18/2009 5:35:19 AM PDT by Woodman ("The law is a funny thing")
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To: Wooly

You can get the battery in a MacBook Pro replaced as well. I don’t know anyone who actually carries around a spare battery anyway. I think often the loudest complaints against Apple are for things that matter to a relatively small part of the population. The iPod not having a radio receiver being another.


62 posted on 07/18/2009 7:31:44 AM PDT by Mr. Blonde (You ever thought about being weird for a living?)
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To: RobRoy

Basically Apple exposed the main problem with the ads, in that Microsoft can’t run them for long. Apple can make Microsoft yank an ad by simply changing prices. Otherwise you have a convicted monopolist misrepresenting the competition’s prices. Not a good legal place to be.


63 posted on 07/18/2009 12:51:44 PM PDT by antiRepublicrat
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To: BattleHymn
Plus, all of the old editorials I read have always described it as a bailout, without going into any details.

The "bail=out" spin started in the pro-MS punditry about a year and a half after the settlement... when Apple's designs, such as the iMac, started getting good press in the mainstream media.

64 posted on 07/18/2009 5:53:31 PM PDT by Swordmaker (remember, the proper pronunciation of IE is "AAAAIIIIIEEEEEEE!)
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To: Woodman
True I could run it in emulation, but I kind of consider that cheating for a side by side comparison.

It's not emulation... it runs in a virtual machine on the same processors as on a PC.

65 posted on 07/18/2009 5:58:24 PM PDT by Swordmaker (remember, the proper pronunciation of IE is "AAAAIIIIIEEEEEEE!)
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To: Woodman
There are lots of things you can do to a non-Apple notebook that you can't do with a MAC-Book.

It is always amazing to me that people who do not use Macs tell us who do what Mac can or cannot do. I'd sure be interested in what those things are. So what do you think can't be done on a Mac notebook that can be done on a PC notebook?

66 posted on 07/18/2009 6:02:41 PM PDT by Swordmaker (remember, the proper pronunciation of IE is "AAAAIIIIIEEEEEEE!)
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To: Mr. Blonde

I can buy a battery for my Acer for 68 bucks when it gets old and replace it myself, How much does apple screw you for a replacement battery and the service charge to replace it?


67 posted on 07/18/2009 8:13:42 PM PDT by Wooly
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To: Wooly

$130. Nothing that seems all that ridiculous. I guess with the caveat that the batteries last as long as advertised. If the battery lasts 5 years when I have one of those computers I will probably be replacing the whole computer instead of the battery. If I do replace the battery it would likely be only once in which case $130 isn’t bad. At least to me.


68 posted on 07/18/2009 8:33:34 PM PDT by Mr. Blonde (You ever thought about being weird for a living?)
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To: Swordmaker
So what do you think can't be done on a Mac notebook that can be done on a PC notebook?

Watch a Blu-Ray movie?

69 posted on 07/18/2009 8:33:36 PM PDT by cabojoe
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To: cabojoe
Watch a Blu-Ray movie?

The purpose is to view High Definition movies, it can be done by downloading the movies from iTunes either by purchase or by rental. However, external Blu-ray drives and burners are available for the MacBook line. The drives come with Mac Blu-Ray software to play and burn.

How many PC notebooks models come with Blu-Ray?

70 posted on 07/19/2009 12:36:56 AM PDT by Swordmaker (remember, the proper pronunciation of IE is "AAAAIIIIIEEEEEEE!)
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To: cabojoe
Watch a Blu-Ray movie?

Woodman said "lots of things...", what are they?

71 posted on 07/19/2009 12:38:04 AM PDT by Swordmaker (remember, the proper pronunciation of IE is "AAAAIIIIIEEEEEEE!)
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To: Swordmaker
How many PC notebooks models come with Blu-Ray?

Plenty. Look around. I just bought a 16 incher for $850 with internal BD-Rom/Lightscribe drive, 4GB mem, 500 GB drive and all the trimmings. Free Win 7 64 upgrade too.

72 posted on 07/19/2009 1:49:28 AM PDT by cabojoe
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To: cabojoe
Plenty.

And plenty don't. More plenty than the plenty that do.

;^)>

73 posted on 07/19/2009 3:03:01 AM PDT by Swordmaker (remember, the proper pronunciation of IE is "AAAAIIIIIEEEEEEE!)
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To: antiRepublicrat

The concept may have been expensive, but the ads are cheap. Microsoft can just make new ads with the new prices.

And if Apple is forced to lower their prices to the point that price is not an issue, well, that brings us into an entirely different world, as you and I well know.


74 posted on 07/19/2009 7:28:33 AM PDT by RobRoy (This too will pass. But it will hurt like a you know what.)
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To: Swordmaker
You should check out this interactive Text Adventure Game III: SuperAwesomeLand! going on at the Seymour Duncan forum. Here is an excerpt:

You take a seat at the table. The lights dim, soft background music begins playing, and the BALL on the ceiling begins to glow. A silvery cloud appears in the center of the room. The cloud gradually coalesces into a human form. It is STEVE JOBS.

"Hello," he says, "I am a holographic simulation of STEVE JOBS, co-founder and former CEO of Apple. I am here today to introduce you to the most amazing innovation my company has ever created. First we brought you the Mac, then the iPod, the iPhone, the iSandwich, and of course the revolutionary iPants. Now, for the first time ever, Apple has ventured into space with ... the iShip."

A large rotating black and chrome slab appears next to JOBS. As he speaks, different areas of the slab glow.

"We here at Apple have long known that the time would come for humanity to leave Earth behind. With the Redmond Virus raging on unchecked, the time is certainly now. iShip represents our species' best chance for survival, as well as the most hip and cutting edge way to travel to SuperAwesomeLand.

"The iShip comes fully equipped with all the key elements of an interstellar spacecraft: propulsion, navigation systems, communications systems, crew accomodations, life support systems, and all the comforts of home. All of it is tied together by our specially designed Intel GigaCore-powered computer system, featuring OSX Weasel ... we ran out of cool predator names decades ago, but the intuitive touch and voice interface is our best yet.

"If you need something, simply speak your request out loud. Additional options can be accessed by touching any of the SCREENS on iShip. The iElevator will take you to any part of the ship, provided you have the security clearance to access that area.

"On the subject of security, iShip has our most powerful security and safety systems available. All new arrivals are thoroughly scanned and quarantined if necessary. Ship functions are all palm print, voice print, and DNA secured. The KARA system will assign you a role and security level shortly after this briefing. Your role will be based on an assessment of your abilities as they relate to all other people on the ship.

"Welcome, new user, to iShip, and may your journey to SuperAwesomeLand be safe and pleasant."

STEVE JOBS and the MODEL iSHIP disappear. The lights come up. You hear KARA's voice again.

"Please wait, Captain Crunch. I am checking the user database against your records, and will assign you a role momentarily."

Interesting portrayal of the future and the influence of Apple/Steve Jobs and the iNOMENCLATURE of everything.

75 posted on 07/19/2009 11:29:16 AM PDT by Blue Highway
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To: RobRoy
The concept may have been expensive, but the ads are cheap. Microsoft can just make new ads with the new prices.

Of course they can... because Microsoft can always find someone selling low end, commodity PC laptops cheaper than Apple's mid-range to high-end notebooks. Apple does not even make a low end, commodity laptop.

However, And if Apple is forced to lower their prices to the point that price is not an issue, well, that brings us into an entirely different world, as you and I well know.

"forced to lower their prices"?

The ~2% year-over-year monthly reduction in estimated Mac sales—reported by IDC in May 2009—is far from enough of a loss in sales volume to cause the reduction in prices that Apple announced for the MacBook Pro refresh in June. The attribution of the 2% Mac sales "slump," when the overall PC market had slumped over 10%, to the "laptop hunter" ads from Microsoft is also mistaken. The sales slump is more attributable to the overall market conditions combined with the highly anticipated refresh of the MacBook notebook line which was expected to be announced in June at the World Wide Developers Conference. Apple's sales rebounded in June to previous level with the release of the new MacBook Pro line which debuted with an average $300 lower price point and upgraded design.

The actual reason for the price reduction is that due to the overall slump in computers component prices—large capacity HDs have dropped by 50% in the last year and the Intel processors Apple uses have seen similar price reductions while the wholesale price of RAM has tumbled even more—the cost to Apple of the components and manufacturing of their computers is lower. Apple is passing along those savings in costs to the consumer by reducing prices on it's notebook line. Apple had already lowered the entry points of its desktop line by $100 to $300 in January for similar reasons.

The PC market segment demographic that are targeted by Apple are NOT the target demographic that would be swayed by the "laptop hunter" ads from Microsoft. That demographic is not in the market for the low end, bargain basement notebooks. Those that are shopping for a new MacBook already KNOW that the Apple's will be more expensive. Apple does not even compete for the market segment that shops merely on saving money.

76 posted on 07/19/2009 1:24:14 PM PDT by Swordmaker (remember, the proper pronunciation of IE is "AAAAIIIIIEEEEEEE!)
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To: Swordmaker

The sole reason for loss of MAC sales is a cessation of grants to artists who wouldn’t but a computer otherwise.


77 posted on 07/19/2009 2:13:41 PM PDT by bert (K.E. N.P. +12 . The boy's war in Detriot has already cost more then the war in Iraq.)
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To: Woodman
Oh and I might add that I have a few thousand dollars worth of software I currently own that I would need to buy for the MAC.

That's always a problem when switching platforms. Those people who left the Mac back when the performance sucked had to buy all new PC software. But some companies like Adobe let you change platforms when you upgrade the software.

78 posted on 07/19/2009 6:04:39 PM PDT by antiRepublicrat
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To: Richard Kimball
but I have to admit the commercials beat the one Apple did where the stoned chick talked about her Apple.

Actually, that ad was a testament to how Benadryl can mess you up.

79 posted on 07/19/2009 6:08:32 PM PDT by antiRepublicrat
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To: Woodman
There are lots of things you can do to a non-Apple notebook that you can't do with a MAC-Book.

Throw it out the window because it keeps locking up and/or demanding you prove yet again that you got your copy of Windows legally? My wife says the urge to throw it out the Window is why it's called "Windows."

80 posted on 07/19/2009 6:11:38 PM PDT by antiRepublicrat
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