A Response to Microsoft, It's Fans, and Apple's Resident Nutcases
As I'm sure most of you have seen, Microsoft has begun airing a series of ads based on "real people" hunting for laptops within a certain price range. Creatively enough, they've been named the "Laptop Hunters" series. Each ad follows the same formula: Narrator introduces the buyer, explains what they need and tells them that if they can find a laptop with the required specs under a certain price, they can keep it. Sounds straightforward enough. However, here's where Microsoft gets their little dig at Apple: their "real person" either walks into an Apple store (allegedly) or meanders into the Apple section of a Best Buy and proceeds to tell the camera why Apple's aren't worth the money. "They're pretty, but not powerful and way too expensive," seems to sum up the general attitude of each buyer.
Microsoft has always taken jabs at Apple by claiming there's an "Apple Tax" included with every Mac purchase; i.e. "$500 more for a logo," as Microsoft's resident windbag Steve Ballmer has so eloquently stated. Steve seems like an OK guy, but he sounds a little out of touch with reality and quick to dismiss the competition - like when he stated during an interview back in April 2007, "There's no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance," (arstechnica.com). Interesting, since according to eWeek, the iPhone now holds 1.3% of worldwide smartphone market share. That may not sound like a lot, but that's "17.4 million units from 13.3 million units," shipped for this year. Apple holds the third place spot for worldwide smartphone market share, trailing RIM in number two and Nokia first. So, Mr. Ballmer, you've got the top three cell phone companies in the world that don't use your OS. How long before you acknowledge Apple as a true competitor in the smartphone industry? I understand that they may not have the presence you do in the United States, but they are a competitor whether you'd like to admit it or not. Anyway, moving right along...
I see what Microsoft is trying to say in their new ads: buy PCs - they're cheaper and in this economy, that's most important. True, the economy has really hurt a lot of people and they're being more frugal in their purchases than they may have once been before the recession hit. Unfortunately, a price-war seems to be Microsoft's only viable attack plan at the moment and it may end up hurting them in the long run. The average computer buyer might have considered a Mac due to friends' recommendations, Apple ads, or any number of other reasons before their 401K went belly-up. Now, they see the Microsoft ads on TV or the inter-webs and their minds have been changed. Why should they pay "$500 more for a logo" (thanks Steve, that one always makes me laugh) when they can get a "full-featured" laptop for less? Here's why: long-term value.
I know from experience that I will get significantly more money for my older Mac laptop than I ever would from a PC laptop. Why? Because the PC landscape is always changing and the unit you have now won't be worth what you paid for it in a month. It's unfair and it makes me angry, but it's also a blessing. Technology moves at an alarming pace and the term "science-fiction" is soon becoming obsolete. For example, everyone I know who saw "Minority Report" wanted a computer that you could manipulate using hand motions, throwing windows from one screen to another, pinching and zooming images until your arms got tired. This article from Fast Company discusses a group of engineers and programmers who brought that system into reality. And Microsoft's "Vision of the Future" they demonstrated at the Wharton Business Technology Conference may have seemed 30 to 40 years away, but with inventions like Microsoft's Surface table/computer and Apple's iPhone, the 2019 timestamp placed on the video doesn't sound so far-fetched.
This is not to say PCs aren't worth purchasing. Windows is still what the majority of computer users use and if you run into a problem with your system, I guarantee that you have a friend or know a friend of a friend who can help you fix it. PC users are part of an enormous community with an endless supply of knowledge and I think that's fantastic, because if I'm on a Windows box and I have an issue, I'm 99% sure someone else has had it too and they've found the solution. Windows also has an infinite supply of software available to do anything you could ever imagine, and a lot of it is either very inexpensive or open-source (free). That's worth the price of admission alone.
Every OS has its own mishigas (that's Yiddish for "hangups, craziness"), but it's how you use it that really matters.
I'm of the philosophy, "if it works for you, use it." Macs work for me, so I use them. I know plenty of people who are used to PCs, like the Windows OS and that's perfectly fine. I'm not going to scoff and look down upon them for using anything other than Leopard - I don't care, but there are so many people who do and, to put it mildly, it's frustrating.
Too many articles on various tech blogs contain "fanboy flamewars" within the comments section of each article that don't help either side. One person says that he's never had an issue with his MacBook, then two posts down, someone says he's wrong, the Genius Bar sucks, his Windows machine is so much better and the guy who posted the original comment is gay. This formula continues through 18 pages of comments in response to an article stating Steve Jobs is working on a tablet device to unveil at a speech three months from now. Then, in only a few posts scattered among the hundreds, someone decides that neither OS is worth using and Linux is the best system ever invented in the history of anything that was ever invented. People are very protective of their choice in operating systems - like their choice in pets, or fine wines. They feel that if someone says something derogatory against the OS they use, it's a personal sleight against their tastes and beliefs. It's not. Mac OS X and Windows Vista have never been, nor will ever be Jesus.
To get riled up because someone thinks your computer is inferior is silly and I blame the majority of these "wars" on the Internet. The Internet has made every person with a modem a pixelated-pundit. People, whose opinions have never mattered before now feel that their opinions mean something because they can see them lit up on a screen. It's unfortunate, because even if these individuals had valid points to make, their unwillingness to hear the other side and then label every adversary as a homosexual has completely nulled and voided those points.
Here's what this all comes down to: use what makes you happy and don't let skewed advertising get in the way. I don't agree with Microsoft's recent ads because they send the message that as long as a laptop sells under a certain price and has certain specifications, it's a better choice. It's not. The HP Pavillion that "Lauren" bought wasn't as great as she thought. It's actually kind of slow and the screen isn't hi-res.
My advice: read the spec cards on laptop displays carefully and if you don't know anything about buying a computer, go online and do some research. Read user reviews on different e-commerce sites and see what people like about a particular laptop or desktop. Don't get sucked into the hype on either side; not all Mac users are hipster a-holes and not all Windows users are pencil-pushing nerds. And if you've never even heard of Linux, don't let some overeager freshman computer-science major tell you that it's the best operating system ever created and is much easier to use than Mac OS X or Windows Vista. You'll regret it. Think for yourselves. Think different...ly.
Microsoft has always taken jabs at Apple by claiming there's an "Apple Tax" included with every Mac purchase; i.e. "$500 more for a logo," as Microsoft's resident windbag Steve Ballmer has so eloquently stated. Steve seems like an OK guy, but he sounds a little out of touch with reality and quick to dismiss the competition - like when he stated during an interview back in April 2007, "There's no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance," (arstechnica.com). Interesting, since according to eWeek, the iPhone now holds 1.3% of worldwide smartphone market share. That may not sound like a lot, but that's "17.4 million units from 13.3 million units," shipped for this year. Apple holds the third place spot for worldwide smartphone market share, trailing RIM in number two and Nokia first. So, Mr. Ballmer, you've got the top three cell phone companies in the world that don't use your OS. How long before you acknowledge Apple as a true competitor in the smartphone industry? I understand that they may not have the presence you do in the United States, but they are a competitor whether you'd like to admit it or not. Anyway, moving right along...
I see what Microsoft is trying to say in their new ads: buy PCs - they're cheaper and in this economy, that's most important. True, the economy has really hurt a lot of people and they're being more frugal in their purchases than they may have once been before the recession hit. Unfortunately, a price-war seems to be Microsoft's only viable attack plan at the moment and it may end up hurting them in the long run. The average computer buyer might have considered a Mac due to friends' recommendations, Apple ads, or any number of other reasons before their 401K went belly-up. Now, they see the Microsoft ads on TV or the inter-webs and their minds have been changed. Why should they pay "$500 more for a logo" (thanks Steve, that one always makes me laugh) when they can get a "full-featured" laptop for less? Here's why: long-term value.
I know from experience that I will get significantly more money for my older Mac laptop than I ever would from a PC laptop. Why? Because the PC landscape is always changing and the unit you have now won't be worth what you paid for it in a month. It's unfair and it makes me angry, but it's also a blessing. Technology moves at an alarming pace and the term "science-fiction" is soon becoming obsolete. For example, everyone I know who saw "Minority Report" wanted a computer that you could manipulate using hand motions, throwing windows from one screen to another, pinching and zooming images until your arms got tired. This article from Fast Company discusses a group of engineers and programmers who brought that system into reality. And Microsoft's "Vision of the Future" they demonstrated at the Wharton Business Technology Conference may have seemed 30 to 40 years away, but with inventions like Microsoft's Surface table/computer and Apple's iPhone, the 2019 timestamp placed on the video doesn't sound so far-fetched.
This is not to say PCs aren't worth purchasing. Windows is still what the majority of computer users use and if you run into a problem with your system, I guarantee that you have a friend or know a friend of a friend who can help you fix it. PC users are part of an enormous community with an endless supply of knowledge and I think that's fantastic, because if I'm on a Windows box and I have an issue, I'm 99% sure someone else has had it too and they've found the solution. Windows also has an infinite supply of software available to do anything you could ever imagine, and a lot of it is either very inexpensive or open-source (free). That's worth the price of admission alone.
Every OS has its own mishigas (that's Yiddish for "hangups, craziness"), but it's how you use it that really matters.
I'm of the philosophy, "if it works for you, use it." Macs work for me, so I use them. I know plenty of people who are used to PCs, like the Windows OS and that's perfectly fine. I'm not going to scoff and look down upon them for using anything other than Leopard - I don't care, but there are so many people who do and, to put it mildly, it's frustrating.
Too many articles on various tech blogs contain "fanboy flamewars" within the comments section of each article that don't help either side. One person says that he's never had an issue with his MacBook, then two posts down, someone says he's wrong, the Genius Bar sucks, his Windows machine is so much better and the guy who posted the original comment is gay. This formula continues through 18 pages of comments in response to an article stating Steve Jobs is working on a tablet device to unveil at a speech three months from now. Then, in only a few posts scattered among the hundreds, someone decides that neither OS is worth using and Linux is the best system ever invented in the history of anything that was ever invented. People are very protective of their choice in operating systems - like their choice in pets, or fine wines. They feel that if someone says something derogatory against the OS they use, it's a personal sleight against their tastes and beliefs. It's not. Mac OS X and Windows Vista have never been, nor will ever be Jesus.
To get riled up because someone thinks your computer is inferior is silly and I blame the majority of these "wars" on the Internet. The Internet has made every person with a modem a pixelated-pundit. People, whose opinions have never mattered before now feel that their opinions mean something because they can see them lit up on a screen. It's unfortunate, because even if these individuals had valid points to make, their unwillingness to hear the other side and then label every adversary as a homosexual has completely nulled and voided those points.
Here's what this all comes down to: use what makes you happy and don't let skewed advertising get in the way. I don't agree with Microsoft's recent ads because they send the message that as long as a laptop sells under a certain price and has certain specifications, it's a better choice. It's not. The HP Pavillion that "Lauren" bought wasn't as great as she thought. It's actually kind of slow and the screen isn't hi-res.
My advice: read the spec cards on laptop displays carefully and if you don't know anything about buying a computer, go online and do some research. Read user reviews on different e-commerce sites and see what people like about a particular laptop or desktop. Don't get sucked into the hype on either side; not all Mac users are hipster a-holes and not all Windows users are pencil-pushing nerds. And if you've never even heard of Linux, don't let some overeager freshman computer-science major tell you that it's the best operating system ever created and is much easier to use than Mac OS X or Windows Vista. You'll regret it. Think for yourselves. Think different...ly.
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