Some thoughts on the new Microsoft ads

This is my first time here and I must say i am amazed at how many Mac lovers are claiming that Macs really aren't more expensive if you do a spec-to-spec comparison etc. What a load of BUNK!

I am a Computer Engineer, so i have a solid background in this area. Recently (December 2008) I bought myself a new laptop. I spent a couple of weeks looking around at various makes and models, and also had a very close look at the new Macbook range. I ended up buying a 15.4" Asus laptop. Here's a little comparison with the 15.4" Macbook Pro:

- my Asus has a slightly faster processor than the Macbook Pro (T9400 vs T9300)
- my Asus has FAR more powerful graphics card
- same resolution monitor for both
- Both have same amount of RAM, though Macbook has DDR3 so it wins there
- Both have all the same bells and whistles (DVD burner, Wifi etc)
- I got a 250GB external drive thrown in for free (Asus promo)
- the Macbook Pro looks more stylish, no argument there

So, what's the price diference between these two fairly equally specced machines (the Asus being slightly more powerful and the Mac being prettier)?

Asus: $1768 AUD
Mac: $3300 AUD without AppleCare

Now, how on EARTH can Mac fans seriously claim that the Mac is equal value for money? You think Mac OS X is worth paying double??

infinitmoon's post above is bang on target.

This is incredibly pathetic. Apple's computers are much better in the Operating System realm, as well as the quality of the hardware and how well it is built. Funny story, I ran into my garage one day while it was raining with my iMac, slipped on a puddle tripped and the iMac fell flat on it's screen, yet it still runs perfectly fine.

Okay, first.

Macs need an antivirus too. Sooooo, please. Don't try. Second, I can get the exact same spec system in a Windows only laptop for much cheaper ( and don't even start with Desktops). At least $100-300 dollars cheaper. Not nearly as good build quality and OSX is worth at least 200-300 dollars alone in my opinion. Plus, why in the world would anyone buy a PC when you can get both OSes for $100-300 more. But, I just wanted it to be said that you can get one. Third, Microsoft doesn't need to say "Vista" in their ads. If you don't know what the main product Microsoft pushed... please proceed to the nearest bridge and jump. I really liked the Seinfeld ads and think Microsofts one eighty was a mistake. They should have continued. They were getting press and lots of it. I don't understand why they dumped them. Okay, lets sum up.

Macs = Get virues
PC = Cheaper, but why?
Microsoft = Vista, no need to say it.

I guess I shouldn't expect such bias in an article on TAUW. But, Since I am a huge Apple "fan" and can see the negatives and positives of Apple vs Microsoft.. I assumed other well read people could too. My mistake.

Plus... once again. You are comparing a Hardware company (Apple) to a Software company (Microsoft). Apple just happens to make a single amazing piece of software (OSX). I understand this is a blog. But, can we please roll this horse in it's grave and move on. Why, why, why must you people keep this up?

I know... because there isn't enough software to keep you occupied.

Just kidding.

Ok here is my rant:

For those of you who think and side with microsoft and decide to go and install osx on their custom computer a) your stupid, b) your only looking after yourself c) you have no business accument.

ok ill start with a, i don't mean your stupid personally i just think you need to think about it first, yes we all pretty much would have started using windows when we started using a computer as thats what schools drove us into using because there was very little in terms of opening microsoft word documents on a apple. But now you have options you have vmware and pararells so you can install windows on a mac, whereas you will need some 3rd party apps to install osx on a windows computer, i have a mac pro (8 core, 8gb ram, 3 hard drives, it was the top of the line when they got released) yes it was expensive, yes i could have got a cheaper machine however i saved for it and i eventually got it, i did compare it to dells machines then and found the apple to be cheaper and since i had previously had the G4 (the one with the round base), i knew what macs where like and oh they where so much better than windows, there was no additional unwanted 3rd party computer apps installed unlike you get with other computers (remembers his old compaq presario 1255), really you should be given the chance to install what you want on the machine not that choice to be made for you so be my guest go and save a few hundred but have fun uninstalling the stuff you don't want, then when you recover the computer at a later stage using the recovery disk you need to uninstall it again ha ha it gets annoying once you do a recovery many many times which is why the stupid part came in, you don't need to be wasting valuable time uninstalling stuff.

The next part b, apple try really hard to get these machines to us, they know what they are doing i can simply buy a few chassis and buy some hardware and knock it all up then install windows or linux no brainer, so your paying someone to do what for you since you can allready do that?
Don't say your paying $700 for support and the warranty/guarantee ha ha you got to call yourself insane, these ads are meant for people who don't know how to build computers or don't have the time to like some parents may not be tech savy so these computers come in usefull but you have a choice by going out and buying a pc which will die in a 1yrs time or one which will last longer, the apple lasts longer for me, i have had 2 laptops, 1 media center, both laptops eventually died, the 1st one had hardware issues, the 2nd the battery failed, i wanted quality and the room to expand so i bought the mac pro, if you want a good pc then save for a mac instead of moaning you want the quality but can't be bothered to pay for it.

Apples USP (unique selling point) is their os take that away the company has to reshuffle or die, that simple (there are no ifs, buts in business) its a hard world accept it or get used to it don't moan about it, its not going to help anything if you want cheap but still want the quality then your going to have to sacrifice stuff like upgrading thats why we have a mac mini or imac, they are perfectly fine to start off with and have usb slots so you can add other hard disks, think it through you could get a usb extender and even more too.

You can't moan if you have only enough money for a standard ford or vw but you want a ferrari or porsche well you can but they won't care since the higher standard car manufacturers business plan works fine because they are selling at for example 1k a model but are only targetting the higher paid consumer but ford and vw are trying to target everyone so they sell cheap in the hope to do more sales its business at the end of the day ferarri etc will be doing fine because they have allowed for a margin in their price structuring so if things like oh i don't know a recession breaks out then they have a backup, companies who sell to all the consumer maybe ok but will have to cut jobs and won't have as much as a margin for a backup so apple will do the same they charge more to keep that margin if they lower the price to what your complaining about that margin disappears, the company becomes at risk and gaps appear.

So just deal with it if you want cheap you can't have a mac simple as unless you do some cut backs on your specs, otherwise by all means go and contact dell or one of the others. I haven't had as much spyware or virus warnings on my mac as i did with the windows computer, because of the windows computer market share and i didn't have the time to wake up everyday do a virus scanner, update it and do that everyday and a defrag every week, i can simply just boot the mac and get straight to work so not time wasting :)

Why doesn't anyone understood TCO > Total Cost of Ownership. I'm on my 3rd year with my first MacBook ... it will be good for 3 more years. In PC years that is 3 laptops at $3000 for 6 years vs $1400 for my Mac. Plus no virus ware, or extra camera, etc.
MAC is way cheaper in the long run.

I'd like to see her in 2010. She'll be tired of problems, virus, the increasing time of response, she'll be asking herself why she bought that cheap laptop instead of a mac.
I imagine her calling a friend: "please, my laptop is getting slower, could you help me to format the hard disk?"

Say what you will, but at least Microsoft doesn't try to sell their products by calling potential customers fat, geeky losers...which is the whole point of the "I'm a PC, I'm a Mac" ads...you're only "cool and hip" [and an insufferable d-bag] if you're a Mac.

That said, I think Microsoft's marketing approach leaves a lot to be desired, it's very hit or miss...I thought the "I'm a PC" ads, showing a variety of people using PC's, was a good response to Apple's attack ads, but the Seinfeld/Gates ads were just stupid, and this new one just kinda falls flat. Microsoft needs to stick with a clear message.

Apple's prices ARE too high, and the choices they offer are too limited, but they can get away with it, not because their computers are so well built [and they are pretty well built] but because they have NO COMPETITION. If you want an Apple, you can only have it Apple's way. And before you say "Oh you're wrong! You can [illegally] install OS X on any old computer these days..." that's not really true, at least, not if you want all your hardware working properly.

I use both a Mac and a PC on a daily basis.

I totally agree that the real point Microsoft should be making is choices, not price. That said, when it comes to the "specs argument", one should have one thing in mind; when you buy a computer, what you really are buying is computing power. Therefore, specs alone does not tell the whole truth about which computer is the more powerful. OS X is considerably less resource consuming than both XP and Vista, thus leaving more system resources untouched and available for applications. Benchmark tests proves this time after time, so a head-to-head comparison is effectively biased in Windows' favor. Yes, you may pay a little more for comparable components, but in terms of "juice to get the job done" you may in fact even be paying less plus you get the Mac OS X user experience which at least in my book is far superior to any ride I've been offered from Microsoft.

so let's get this sorted...

are apple comps over priced?

no. when compared to similarly specced out machines and from other premium branded manufacturers (dell etc and not your build it in the back room of the shop outfits) then they are either slightly more expensive or not at all.

can you buy upgrades from third party vendors cheaper than at the mac store?

sure. likewise if you buy upgrades from any major manufacturer, you're going to get ripped off. They're playing a confidence trick which entices non savvy users to stick with trusted manufacturers out of fear of compatibility. A lot of people out there wouldn't even realise that they can get hard drives and ram from other vendors.

are there gaping holes in apple's line up?

you bet there are - unlike other manufacturers who churn out a laptop or a desktop for any eventuality, apple have long held on to their policy of a streamlined product offering. This is a double edged sword. It allows them to allocate more resources on perfecting their current range but it also means that a lot of people are left out in the cold.

I admit i'm a mac fan and long before i was a mac fan, i was an ms hater. I have had 3 macs at home and in spight of their superior build quality i've had my share of hiccoughs - my imac blueberry died on me but i chose not to repair it (psu went poof) i replaced it with a g5 powermac. This beast served me well - the adc monitor busted a backlight which i tried to repair but it busted a day after. However it is still highly usable!

i was waiting on the new updates to see what i could upgrade the g5 to. The imacs are nice but i don't want an all in one. I want the flexibiity of choosing my display and have had too many problems with all in ones (besides the blue berry, a white intel imac is having screen probs too)

after the g5 i had got myself a macbook - which is quite good and bit faster than the g5 - with only the gfx card being quite weak. So instead of upgrading i bought a large monitor for the laptop - handed my g5 to my sis and now use my macbook as my main home machine for design too.

at work i'm spoilt with a mac pro and i lust after the new ones but alas they're pretty much unaffordable for me.

perhaps it's time we petition apple to fill that gaping hole between the imac and the macpro. Even a watered down mac pro with a diff motherboard and cheaper intel cpus would be nice. Though i'm sure that case is a huge expense in itself...

I bet they edited that video in FCP.