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Get Me Rewrite: Microsoft Alters Laptop Hunter Ads
PCWorld Magazine ^ | 07/24/2009 | Philip Michaels

Posted on 07/24/2009 5:53:04 PM PDT by Swordmaker

Microsoft Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner may have done "cartwheels down the hallway" when Apple called him to complain about the Redmond, Wash.-based company's "Laptop Hunters" campaign. But he must have cartwheeled past Microsoft's legal department because, as Advertising Age reports, the company has quietly altered its ad campaign in an apparent response to Apple's complaints.

. . .

Does it seem disingenuous to boast about Apple's apparently-quite-legitimate complaints one week and then quietly accede to that same request the next? Maybe. But from Microsoft's vantage point, maybe it's better to eat a little crow than stare down an FTC complaint.

(Excerpt) Read more at pcworld.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Computers/Internet
KEYWORDS: admistakemstrouble; eatingcrow
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To: RightOnTheLeftCoast
When was that? 1989?

Last month.

$600 is still 50% more than I paid. As for your other arguments, all the hype along those lines is why I looked at the Macs first.

I guess I just don't experience the headaches with the PC that you do. For 50% more, I need to get 50% more.

Apparently what I do on a computer doesn't justify the cost difference.

21 posted on 07/25/2009 5:52:27 AM PDT by SampleMan (Socialism enslaves you & kills your soul.)
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To: normanpubbie

What were the comparative specs?


22 posted on 07/25/2009 9:03:45 AM PDT by Mr. Blonde (You ever thought about being weird for a living?)
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To: antiRepublicrat
On the PC side: Little larger hard drive, more memory, faster DVD drive, card reader and a modem. Tempering that is that few use modems these days and the DVD drive is only single-layer. Also 2 GB is the realistic minimum for Vista. The bad: The processor is an Intel Atom (read: Netbooks) competitor and the graphics are ancient.

For what it is worth, I bought one of those $298 E-Machines recently and put PCLinuxOS 2009 on it. It was a very pleasant, very simple install --- everything went flawlessly.

The only fault that I found in playing with it was that using full screen mode with hulu was jerky. Otherwise, everything works quite well.

23 posted on 07/25/2009 9:40:42 AM PDT by snowsislander (NRA -- join today! 1-877-NRA-2000)
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To: snowsislander

Good idea putting Linux on it, because it is woefully underpowered for Vista.

Did you try to get the money back for the Vista license you paid for?


24 posted on 07/25/2009 11:02:45 AM PDT by antiRepublicrat
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To: antiRepublicrat
Did you try to get the money back for the Vista license you paid for?

No, it hadn't occurred to me that securing a refund on an unused Vista license was an option. How would one do so?

25 posted on 07/25/2009 11:07:59 AM PDT by snowsislander (NRA -- join today! 1-877-NRA-2000)
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To: normanpubbie
I'll start this without even having looked on the specs. We'll see where it goes. The Best Buy $1099 Dell is an XPS with: Let's look at the MacBook. Since you show the system as costing $1,200, you aren't talking about the lowest-price MacBook, but the lowest-priced MacBook Pro. On the surface it looks like Dell is the better deal, having specs a above the Mac or equal to it across the board except in a few areas (Firewire, Bluetooth), and Leopard doesn't waste as much RAM as Vista so the effects are pretty much equal there. The Dell is much bigger and heavier though, although it does have a bigger screen, but despite the smaller screen the Dell is much bigger than even the 17" MacBook Pro. The Mac has that unibody machined aluminum case (just touch it and you won't mind blowing more money just to get that case). The Dell wastes space, and smaller notebooks command a premium price, not just with Apple. The Mac also has that 7-hour battery. Plus the support for the Mac is going to be MUCH better, either at an Apple Store or on the phone with helpful native English speakers. Since the Dell comes with Premium I won't even go into the relative value of the OSes.

Basically it comes down to what you value. With less than a 10% price difference do you want a tough, very portable system with great battery life and excellent support or are you just looking at basic hardware speed and capacity specs?

I don't know about you, but I don't buy a car based solely on horsepower or hauling capacity.

26 posted on 07/25/2009 11:32:00 AM PDT by antiRepublicrat
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To: snowsislander
How would one do so?

Here's a good article.

27 posted on 07/25/2009 11:33:52 AM PDT by antiRepublicrat
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To: antiRepublicrat
Here's a good article.

Thanks!

28 posted on 07/25/2009 11:41:09 AM PDT by snowsislander (NRA -- join today! 1-877-NRA-2000)
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To: SampleMan
Apparently what I do on a computer doesn't justify the cost difference.

Yeah, and that's the point. I knew a doctor. He was a millionaire, one of the founders of MD Anderson in Houston. He drove a Plymouth Horizon. It did what he wanted and got the job done. Most of the doctors at MD Anderson drove slightly more prestigious vehicles. To this guy, it wasn't worth the price difference.

29 posted on 07/25/2009 12:40:07 PM PDT by Richard Kimball (We're all criminals. They just haven't figured out what some of us have done yet.)
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To: SampleMan
" Apparently what I do on a computer doesn't justify the cost difference."

So you bought a PC for $300. Yes, apparently you're correct in what you say above-- I have played with a few cheap PCs in the past year or so and can't imagine living with them, as they usually have lousy graphics, limited speed, a pinched-off processor and a gelded operating system. By comparison, my IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad is a workstation-class machine and cost $3200 a bit less than three years ago, more than my top-end MacBook Pro of about the same vintage, and it's barely adequate for my usage, which includes software development, constant use of virtual machines, hard-core networking and instrumentation connectivity, Firefox with 40-50 tabs open (including FR!), etc.

So yes, certainly, one's intent for a machine may or may not justify the cost difference between a really low-end machine and a premium machine like a Mac Mini.

There's one more thing, though. The first time you have a problem, I hope you enjoy the maddening script-reading of the Bangalore troll you'll be connected to after only forty minutes of listening to Ferrante & Teicher on hold. One of the things you get with your Mac is access to the aptly-named "Genius Bar" at the Apple Store. Those folks are terrific.
30 posted on 07/25/2009 3:56:44 PM PDT by RightOnTheLeftCoast (I love my country, but I fear it, for it does not love me.)
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To: Swordmaker

You crack me up. Those commercials have you and and your employer in a conniption.


31 posted on 07/25/2009 3:59:51 PM PDT by Doohickey (I try to take my days one at a time, but occasionally several days attack me at once.)
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To: Swordmaker

Actually, the pricing was still there in the commercial I saw this morning. Nice try though.


32 posted on 07/25/2009 4:00:33 PM PDT by Doohickey (I try to take my days one at a time, but occasionally several days attack me at once.)
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To: Doohickey
Actually, the pricing was still there in the commercial I saw this morning. Nice try though.

Nice try, yourself. Not according to Advertising Age and a host of other articles.

Microsoft Changes 'Laptop Hunter' ads after Apple complains.

Are you sure you're not watching a record show?

You crack me up. Those commercials have you and and your employer in a conniption.

Please leave out the ad hominem via implied lies: I am not employed by Apple. Thanks.

33 posted on 07/25/2009 4:20:32 PM PDT by Swordmaker (remember, the proper pronunciation of IE is "AAAAIIIIIEEEEEEE!)
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To: RightOnTheLeftCoast
There's one more thing, though. The first time you have a problem, I hope you enjoy the maddening script-reading of the Bangalore troll you'll be connected to after only forty minutes of listening to Ferrante & Teicher on hold. One of the things you get with your Mac is access to the aptly-named "Genius Bar" at the Apple Store. Those folks are terrific.

I've had many PCs since '91 and have never had the occasion to call for technical support. I hope that continues. I used to consider myself quite knowledgeable eighteen years ago, but I don't even bother anymore. If it does the job, I'm good to go. My work is limited to Microsoft Office aps and a little video and audio editing.

When I had graphic artists working for me, I was far more concerned with getting them what they needed, but I have to admit that I have progressed to a state of happy ignorance on what qualifies as "good" in the computer world.

This new "ACER" that I bought seems great to me, so perhaps I'm better off spending my money on things that I really do find a quality spread in.

34 posted on 07/25/2009 7:53:51 PM PDT by SampleMan (Socialism enslaves you & kills your soul.)
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To: SampleMan

50% more does not equal *4* times...

and while 400 v 600 might be a decider for you the 600 dollars is in fact a superior system. Nothing wrong with going with a cheap piece of crap system just realize thats what it is.

A yugo gets you from point a to point b just as well as a superior car but its still a yugo.


35 posted on 07/26/2009 3:24:01 AM PDT by N3WBI3 (Ah, arrogance and stupidity all in the same package. How efficient of you. -- Londo Mollari)
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To: N3WBI3
50% more does not equal *4* times...

I didn't look at the Mac Mini, so the ones I looked at were 4x expensive, in part because I had to buy the screen.

I wonder what you drive and if its not a top line Mercedes if you think its a piece of crap?

The responses I've gotten from Mac owners concerning the crux of the article ,i.e. Macs are more expensive, has pretty much reinforced the paradigm that Mac owners are first and foremost elitist want-a-be's.

Its the crystal glass vs. the 64 oz. plastic cup analogy. Which one is of higher quality? That depends, if you are going to the beach, its the 64 oz. plastic cup to most people.

You can walk around the beach with your crystal glass and tell the folks with plastic cups that they are stupid and are drinking from inferior pieces of crap, but all it is going to do is reinforce their opinion of you.

36 posted on 07/26/2009 6:32:03 AM PDT by SampleMan (Socialism enslaves you & kills your soul.)
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To: SampleMan

What you said “Macs are horribly expensive. When I last looked to purchase, the cheapest Mac was about four times the price of the cheapest PC.”

So you looked only at high end Macs compared to lowest end PC’s and you found discrepancy. Off of that you say Macs are horrible expensive.

My last car a dodge neon was a piece of crap but it got me where I was going. There is nothing wrong with owning a crap car (or a crap computer) but as a neon owner (12K) I would not go to a mustang owner of even a prius owner and tell them my car is just as good as theirs and they over paid.

The responses from windows usres on threads like this are basically trying to justify their piece of crap by saying all MAC’s are over prices. our post ‘macs are 4* more’ is a prime example.

Personally I prefer Linux to Mac’s and Wintel boxes but every system has their place and Mac’s for what they deliver are price competitive with PC’s as has been shown time and time again. The more aspects of owning a computer you consider the more things even out.

My Mother in her mid sixties owns a MAC, not to be elitist but because when and if something happens she cant figure out she can hit the mac store within a day. The typical answer from someone in denile of their piece of crap is ‘you’re an elitist’


37 posted on 07/26/2009 8:46:01 PM PDT by N3WBI3 (Ah, arrogance and stupidity all in the same package. How efficient of you. -- Londo Mollari)
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To: N3WBI3
So you looked only at high end Macs compared to lowest end PC’s and you found discrepancy. Off of that you say Macs are horrible expensive.

I looked at the Macs available at BestBuy at the time. They apparently didn't have the Mac Mini, or I missed it. So yes, my initial statement was that they were about 4x as expensive. Granted they had a monitor in the price, so it was apples and oranges to a degree, but I was only looking for apples.

There is nothing wrong with owning a crap car (or a crap computer) but as a neon owner (12K) I would not go to a mustang owner of even a prius owner and tell them my car is just as good as theirs and they over paid.

However, you would, as you just did, point out that in doing what you need it for it is 100% adequate. But in your comment you imply that I accused Mac owners of over paying. I didn't. I stated that Macs are "horribly expensive". Obviously that is a matter of opinion. If you are getting more value for it, then the expense becomes less and less. To carry on with the car analogies, I would hate owning a Prius, not because its poorly made, but because it costs far more than a comparable non-hybrid Toyota compact its size, and the savings in gasoline will likely never make up for the difference. And as I may point that out to someone considering a Prius, I don't make a habit of telling Prius owners that they own a piece of crap.

The typical answer from someone in denile of their piece of crap is ‘you’re an elitist’

I find that to be a very atypical answer from people in denial. If you are hearing it a lot, perhaps you should reconsider who is in denial.

38 posted on 07/27/2009 5:01:41 AM PDT by SampleMan (Socialism enslaves you & kills your soul.)
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