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See the original image at gizmodo.com

Bad Vista "Reviews" from Apple Ad Not Actually Reviews

gizmodo.com — CNET's blurb about Vista being one of tech's "biggest blunders" is actually from an op-ed that Microsoft should dump the OS entirely, while the PC Mag snippet is the title of a column from January that proffers ways for Microsoft to start-over.

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  • ziptnf, on 03/23/2008, -80/+372Who takes anything that Apple Ads say seriously anymore?
    • slinky317, on 03/23/2008, -34/+196Apple fanboys.
      • MusicalGenius, on 03/23/2008, -6/+35I was going to say the "Cult of Apple fanboys".

        I looked up the exact definition of "cult" and took out the religious parts and it ended up being very amusing.
        • jeriqo, on 03/23/2008, -6/+4I don't find it amusing that you have to look up the definition of "cult".
      • fuzzlog, on 03/23/2008, -37/+10I'd have to say MS fanboys as well for feeling under attack and actually caring to respond to such articles.
        • scrumdiddly, on 03/23/2008, -6/+28I'm honestly not sure there *are* any Microsoft fanboys. Just people who knows that Apple is full of crap.
        • itsthebrod, on 03/23/2008, -0/+23I use and enjoy Microsoft products, but I'm not a fanboy. If they ***** up and I know it, I'm going to bitch along with everyone else. No company is infallible, and that's something I think Apple fanboys don't acknowledge.
        • celkin, on 03/23/2008, -0/+3YouFail.org
        • Dobby156, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1cool
        • nmnnotmyname, on 03/23/2008, -0/+2Ah hah, but I'm a Linux user...
          (Waits for pissed off people to come to my house and shoot me)
          Oh, wait, I didn't say anything about the article yet. Its not worth the trouble.
      • AppleMacMan, on 03/24/2008, -2/+0AND I'M PROUDLY ONE OF THEM! WOOHOO...APPLE IS AWESOME! 
    • Sithlrd, on 03/23/2008, -91/+12And anyone who's switched to Vista. "Man, those ads are right. Shoulda got an Apple."
      • slinky317, on 03/23/2008, -11/+43Or "Shoulda stuck with XP."
        • aargh01, on 03/23/2008, -1/+20I have a friend who recently installed Leapord on his MacBook, and it was so glitchy that it messed everything up, he ended up losing a lot of his important data, and finally he gave up, cleared the whole thing and reinstalled an older version. Every OS that comes out has problems right off the bat, not just Windows. And over the years, I've had a lot more problems with Apple's proprietary software (like iTunes, Quicktime, goddawful Safari) than I have with Microsoft's proprietary software (like Windows Media Player, MS Works, almost as goddawful Internet Explorer).
        • CCmachined, on 03/23/2008, -11/+1except Vista is ***** up intentionally by Microsoft. There's no excuse, they've billions of dollars and >3 years to get it right.
          • MarkusGarvey, on 03/23/2008, -0/+6ok dude..you have 3 years to write a flawless OS...what the hell, take as long as you want.........
      • Sithlrd, on 03/23/2008, -33/+5truth
      • MioTheGreat, on 03/23/2008, -15/+51Completely untrue. It'll be a cold day in hell before you ever get me to willingly use an OSX machine again.
        • Syphon8, on 03/23/2008, -5/+19What he said. Vista is hundreds of times better, and it still falls behind Ubuntu and Fedora in some aspects.
        • threemagic, on 03/23/2008, -5/+10some people are just incapable of learning anything new. the reality is an os is an os and can accomplish anything in the computer realm you need, if you know how... if you know enough about the differences, I know which choice would be made.
          • moyness, on 03/23/2008, -6/+19Mac + Games = Does not compute
          • threemagic, on 03/23/2008, -14/+5You can't name one game you can play that I can not...

            OS X and games is getting better.. but Apple hardware and games is no different than any other hardware.
          • Syphon8, on 03/23/2008, -1/+7@threemagic Sins of a Solar Empire.
          • MioTheGreat, on 03/23/2008, -1/+12Dual booting is one of the absolute worst things you can do for your computing experience.

            It's a pain in the ass to switch back and forth, especially if you just want to go play a game for 15 or 20 minutes.

            And yes, Apple hardware is different/inferior for gaming. Go try to plug a nice GeForce 9 into your computer. Apple is almost always behind in graphics.
          • threemagic, on 03/23/2008, -11/+1@syphon: Minimum Requirements:

            * Windows XP SP2 / Windows Vista
            * 1.8 GHz Single-Core Processor
            * 512 MB RAM (1 GB for Windows Vista)
            * 128 MB DirectX 9 3D Video Card (Radeon 9600 / GeForce FX 6600 and above)
            * DirectX 9.0c Compatible Sound Card
            * DVD-ROM Drive
            * 3 GB Hard Drive Space
            * Keyboard and Mouse
            * DirectX 9.0c

            Recommended Requirements:

            * 2.2 GHz Dual- or Quad-Core Processor
            * 1 GB RAM (2 GB for Windows Vista)
            * 256 MB DirectX 9 3D Video Card (Radeon X1600 / GeForce 7600 and above)

            My Mac Pro crushes these specs.. AND has Windows Vista sp1.. guess you are wrong.

            @Mio: I can put any PCI-E card I wish into my Mac Pro, the windows only cards will be only usable within windows. OS X is what doesn't support newer cards. Any game you only play 15-20 minutes is probably easily ran through VM... but yes, dual booting isn't all that nice but I have no issues doing it, to shut down and reboot takes all of 40 seconds or so anymore.
          • GliTCH82, on 03/23/2008, -2/+9News flash: When you use a MacBook Pro to run games on Vista, your whole argument about Apple products being able to run any game falls kind of flat, because you're supposed to be running OS X and you know it. Likewise, I can run OSX86 on my custom built Quad Core.
          • threemagic, on 03/23/2008, -4/+1@glitch82: why? Apple is a hardware company.. like Dell, Hp.. yadda.. you can't run osx86 as well as I can run any OS.
          • dOOBiEx213, on 03/23/2008, -2/+5lol @ mac pro....please slash wrists noob...that was the worst investment of your life...
          • Tippis, on 03/23/2008, -1/+4@threemagic:
            If you remove OSX, all you're left with is a bog-standard PC, which only furthers the argument that PCs are better for gaming.
          • threemagic, on 03/24/2008, -5/+1Well.. your problem is PC is hardware, Windows is an OS. Sure, lots of games are made for Windows. IT's funny, you gamer heads spend thousands of dollars on your pc rigs then complain when sony releases a game console for 700.

            Doobie, you're polluting the gene pool. You are obviously as stupid as you sound. A Mac Pro a bad investment? I don't understand how. 2 dual core Xeons do one helluva job at manipulating video.. and at less cost than a comparible dell or hp was. So go smoke yourself, you aren't doing anyone any favors by breathing.
          • sarixe, on 03/24/2008, -1/+2@threemagic: Dell XPS m1530, back in january when they had this massive deal, was as much as a standard macbook. not pro. (~$1500) also, these kinds of prices are normal if you buy refurbished. so, SHOVE IT!
          • migitalwarfare, on 03/24/2008, -0/+1don't you people get sick of coming here and fighting the same ***** battles every day? you buy a computer that suits your needs/wants. i don't play video games, and i prefer the OS X interface. it's a computer that does what i want it to do. i'm not wrong for buying it any more than you're wrong for buying a PC. seriously, digg is one big ***** of fanboys fighting about the same *****, day in, and day out. why?
          • DanMiller, on 03/31/2008, -0/+0Amen migital. This reminds me back in the day when people would fight on boards over which was better N64 or PS1. Just a bunch of tards yelling back and forth trying to win an argument based on strict opinion. To this day I have never heard anyone point out one flaw in OS X that has made me even think twice about my investment and I sure as hell haven't said anything to convince someone that Windows is subpar. Everyone is so convinced that the other party is mindless rather than respecting that we are all happy with our choice in OS. It's like you people can only enjoy your ***** if everyone else has the same thing.
        • threemagic, on 03/23/2008, -8/+1The only people digging you up and me down are simply the uninformed. It's ok to live life with your blinders on.

          You are the same kinda person that doesn't understand how a Lexus differs from a Ford or how 1080p is better than 1080i tvs.
      • SSUK, on 03/23/2008, -10/+10Should have gone DOS.
        • LMaxey, on 03/23/2008, -0/+7Or windows 3.1. Mmmm aged to...perfection?
    • EntropyFan, on 03/23/2008, -21/+15You need to thinking in such narrow terms.
      Apple hires the very same advertising agencies as every other large company out there. They pay these people to bend, fold, and spindle the truth, or to lie outright. It is hardly an 'Apple' thing.
      Just remember, if your seeing it in an Ad, someone paid a lot of cash to make it look better then it is.
      • unknownsoldierX, on 03/23/2008, -2/+24Except, Microsoft doesn't have ads that bash Apple products with outright lies. You could say they put positive spin on their products (or even lie) but they don't do that AND completely make ***** up about OSX.
        • Philluminati, on 03/23/2008, -7/+5But Microsoft does have a series of blatent lies in it's "get the facts" campaign against Linux. End of the day, all companies are the same.
          • MioTheGreat, on 03/23/2008, -0/+8Hopefully the people deciding what kind of server to get are knowledgeable enough to ignore that stuff, and pick what works best for them in their situation. Consumers are by large not informed enough to do this.
          • magus_melchior, on 03/23/2008, -0/+3@MioTheGreat: Many executives who make the final buying decisions are not informed enough to do it, either.
    • MusicalGenius, on 03/23/2008, -21/+11EntropyFan: Your statement has no logic.

      Just because Apple and MS(as an example) use the same screwdriver means nothing. How they use it is what matters. If Microsoft uses it to build a house and Apple uses it to stab MS in the back all day then obviously the use of the screwdriver is what is in question.

      You are claiming that they both use screwdrivers so they are both just as pathetic. So me defending my family with a Gun and a serial killer killing 30 people with a gun are the same thing.

      I'm not saying Guns are bad and I'm not even attacking your Apple fanboy-ness(Though I hate Apple fanboys) But your ARGUMENT IS STUPID!!

      Now to the Apple MS issue. Everyone pays to advertise. Microsoft just doesn't Apple-Bash all day and that's why they have my respect over Apple. Among many other philanthropistic and non philanthropistic actions that are far ahead of Apple.
      • magicmarc, on 03/23/2008, -3/+3wha?
      • Philluminati, on 03/23/2008, -4/+1Microsoft uses the same screwdriver in it's get the facts campaign which is a series of ***** idiot articles promoting Windows Server over Linux. Micorosoft use the same screwdriver the same way as Apple just at a different target.
      • peestandingup, on 03/23/2008, -2/+2That "Reply to" button is there for a reason.
      • JulyZerg, on 03/23/2008, -2/+1"I don't think guns are a bad thing"
        Dugg down for that...
        • GliTCH82, on 03/23/2008, -3/+2Buried for implying guns are bad. Blame the user, not the product.
          • JulyZerg, on 03/25/2008, -0/+1What use do guns serve? Killing people. Letting anyone go out and buy something to kill people with makes no sense.
      • xtraa, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1Stick with musicals.
      • 89vision, on 03/26/2008, -0/+1Everytime I see you respond to someone It always starts out with "Your argument has no logic", then you always use some really bad analogy that makes no ***** sense whatsoever. Do me a favor and learn to debate before you log back in.
      • DanMiller, on 03/31/2008, -0/+0I don't exactly get what people care about these ads. Are you concerned that Apple is tricking people into walking into their stores and buying their products. The majority of people are going to research their purchase and are ultimately going to buy what best serves them. This is more about a bunch of basement dwellers having their feelings hurt and not getting the last word in this retarded OS battle.
    • skoober, on 03/23/2008, -25/+6Vista/XP for games... OS X for doing work.
      Easy.
      • bjornski, on 03/23/2008, -5/+29Yeah, because all the offices I go into are running Macs.

        /s
        • catachip, on 03/23/2008, -17/+6Not unless you go into an office doing artwork, video production, graphic design, post-production, audio recording, biological or life sciences, pharmaceutical research...
          • moyness, on 03/23/2008, -1/+12I didn't know only 5% of the people using computers are the only ones doing all those things.

            amazing.
          • itsthebrod, on 03/23/2008, -1/+16Sorry, but any office doing anything scientific will be running Windows most likely. That's the platform all statistical and computational analysis software is written for. Mac may have the upper hand in digital media, but that's literally it.
          • UltraMegaFilms, on 03/23/2008, -0/+5I am a video editor and compositor. My boss has an office full of very well equipped G5's. He just bought my PC from me so that I can use it in the office because it runs circles around any other workstation. It was about 33% of the cost of any other workstation as well.
        • KayIslandDrunk, on 03/23/2008, -3/+7@ catachip
          And what percent of the professional world is that exactly?
        • skoober, on 03/23/2008, -8/+4sux 2work in bjornski's office
          • bjornski, on 03/23/2008, -2/+14You'd hate having me as a boss. I don't deny that. I'd actually expect you to work.

            And keep your "leet speak" to your phones text messages. When you have a full keyboard in front of you, it makes you look like a retard.
      • Syphon8, on 03/23/2008, -1/+7No, Visa/Linux for gaming, work, and programming.
        • jakem1, on 03/23/2008, -1/+12I prefer Mastercard.
        • sarixe, on 03/24/2008, -1/+1i didn't know visa made their own distro... good for them!
      • skeletorcares, on 03/23/2008, -4/+7OSX is for work if you like going slow at work. When its time to get real work done, on a deadline, PC.
      • DanMiller, on 03/31/2008, -0/+0Skoober, it is costly to overhaul an entire companies computer infrastructue. Since most companies tend to look at profit and loss in the short term it is unlikely that large companies would swap out working windows machines for macs, train a new IT department, purchase new software licences, etc..
        Many new forming companies have begun to embrace OS X, several local stores in my area have chosen to use apple equipment. It's unfair to discount OS X value based on it's market share. Windows has great permeability and great recognition, it takes time, however Apple has begun to break through, slowly.
    • skeletorcares, on 03/23/2008, -5/+13The people flocking out to buy their chinese made (cali designed, and marketed) computers. The only good thing i can say about apple is they have a good return policy (while it lasts), but thats only because the damn things fail so much and they don't want to lose their newly created public image of them being the freaking tops, even though the masses just like a shiny interface, which i find much slower to navigate then a linux or windows box
      • UltraMegaFilms, on 03/23/2008, -2/+6Hallelujah, I find my PC to wreck any Mac machine in terms of speed and OS reliability... and I'm running Vista x64!!!! Maybe my experience is different than others though.
        • bjornski, on 03/24/2008, -0/+3Vista x64 is sweet. I beta tested that one. Haven't switched over from XP though. Not yet.
      • DanMiller, on 03/31/2008, -0/+0I have found that my productivity and general enjoyment has greatly improved with my switch. I think it is unfair to label all switchers as petty trendy consumers. I thought long and hard about my decision and did alot of research into what I wanted.
    • Urkel, on 03/23/2008, -3/+25Apple ads hurt themselves more than they hurt MS. Microsoft has always had a reputation that tainted their products regardless of whether they are good or bad. But Apple's reputation was always perceived as a luxury vehicle dealer rather than a used car salesman. These ads expose the side of Apple that the general public never knew existed. So while it makes Mac fans grin, most everyone else see them as petty whining.

      In the end then many people who were neutral towards Apple now distrust them for focusing so much on slamming the competition instead of their own product.
      • d4ni, on 03/23/2008, -2/+2Can you really blame Apple for NOT smashing their own product?
        • bjornski, on 03/23/2008, -0/+11Since they're incapable of saying why their product is better, no, I guess I can't blame them.
          • crowbar77, on 03/23/2008, -0/+7As a macbook pro owner I have to agree, they should be advertising whats so good about macs and not just bashing the competition. Kind of like what they did with the time machine ad.
      • AppleMacMan, on 03/24/2008, -5/+0"Apple ads hurt themselves more than they hurt MS." LOL! This just shows how uninformed you are on this subject Mr. M$ fanboy troll. Apple's market share has more than doubled with a projected market share of 15% by 2011!!!!!!!!!

        I know this has you M$ tools and fanboys scared to death but as the old saying goes, "If you can't beat them, join them." It's not too late to dump that rootkit, trojan horse and spam pumping bot infected PC and switch to a Mac. Hate all you want but LIFE IS GOOD ON A MAC. 
        • Urkel, on 03/24/2008, -0/+2Wow. That little tantrum you had was timed perfectly. I was trying to make a point of how acting like an ass can make a company look bad and there you go completely reinforcing the idea and adding to the stereotype that WE have to deal with every day. And I say "we" because, as much as it sucks to be in the same group as you, I am a Mac user also.

          Buying a Mac doesn't mean you have to buy into all their marketing.

        • DanMiller, on 03/31/2008, -0/+0@applemacman stfu. It's great that you love your computer but quit acting like if you own a windows machine it just implodes. I have owned PCs for well over 15 years and had life pretty easy. I love my mac and would never switch back but acting like an ass about it does no good for anyone. It's unfortunate that a discussion can't be held between the two parties because everyone is so burnt out on idiots like you.
    • superkendall, on 03/23/2008, -9/+4Is it not in fact sort of serious that a major technical magazine calls for Vistas dissolution? Who cares if it's in a "review" or not, it was published in a major tech magazine.
      • jakem1, on 03/23/2008, -0/+9Major technical magazine? More like technical tabloid. CNet have absolutely no credibility and no journalistic integrity.
      • madroneDorf, on 03/23/2008, -0/+5because it was an op-ed, not a cnet review.

        It's like if someone penned an opinion peice, submitted it to the new york times, and then someone said that the New york times said something.

        There isa distinct difference between an organization releasing its own editorial (which speaks for the organization) and publishing one from outside sources
    • celkin, on 03/23/2008, -1/+7So much for the stereotype that all Digg users are anti-MS and pro-Apple.

      It appears that we're a bit more complicated than that.
      • jeriqo, on 03/23/2008, -1/+6Digg users are anti hype, that's all.
        Now that Apple is popular, they hate it.

        Actually digg is more like an anti-social site.
      • bobbyi, on 03/24/2008, -1/+2Complicated and confused aren't really the same thing.
    • iviasterlambo, on 03/23/2008, -4/+3scientologists!
    • jim1977, on 03/23/2008, -1/+7Dragging your competitors through the mud is a pathetic way of saying "I've got nothing." Microsoft would look pretty bad if they said "OS X is a load of proprietary bollocks bought by people who don't know an Apple is a PC, and don't care about their ignorance," but they wouldn't find a shortage of people to agree with their 'review.'

      I was in the Apple store the other day and they had an internet security package for £80. Jesus wept. I thought they said Macs were indestructible and didn't need security add-ons.
      • AppleMacMan, on 03/24/2008, -3/+0Pathetic you say? Yet Mac sales are BOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGG! From 2003 to 2008 Mac's market share has doubled with a projected market share of 15% by 2011. Yeah read it and weep M$ fanboys. An era of Apple dominance is clearly upon us. The fact of the matter is, people are fed up with rootkit, trojan horse and spam pumping bot infected computers and want a breath of fresh air. They are finding that in the Mac. :) No need to hate. Just join the crowd. :) Unfortunately Vista is a horrid lemon that is bloated buggy and slow as hell. Even SP1 is proving to be difficult to download for many Vista users!

        Simply put, LIFE IS GOOD ON A MAC. 
    • isiz, on 03/23/2008, -3/+3Am I the only one who thinks both the mac guy and the microsoft guy are both equally douchebags?
    • MacSuxWindozSux, on 03/24/2008, -0/+3...after the rootkit - i mean Safari install.

      (sorry the parent comment reminded me of Sony a while back)
      • skeletorcares, on 03/24/2008, -0/+1The difference being that apple tries to do bad. Sony just does on accident.
    • jabberwolf, on 03/24/2008, -2/+2APPLE REVIEWS OF VISTA-
      Are no reviews at all. Its kinda like clamoring for a rumor because they are such failures in their market. They want to be techinical in the IT CROWD but are simply not. The only way they can manage to fake it = Apple!
  • senatorpjt, on 03/23/2008, -109/+304So, they're not reviews, they're just... opinions on a product, which is.. a review, basically.
    • Haohmaru, on 03/23/2008, -33/+11More like fantastic blanket statements.
    • whiskeymb, on 03/23/2008, -38/+126Reviews typically have structure, tests preformed and some sort of critical analysis. So no, they aren't reviews.
      • darkecho, on 03/23/2008, -17/+33Most of the time when buying new computer components I read the reviews on Newegg. A lot of them say "awesome!!!!! great price" or "dont buy.. it sucks!!!!" and those are reviews. So even though Newegg, Amazaon, etc.. calls them reviews, you are saying they are not. I have to agree with everyone else on this one.
        • Teej, on 03/23/2008, -8/+16Just because a website calls something a review, it doesn't make it a review and it doesn't make it valid. I could call you a giraffe but it doesn't make you one (although that would be...neat.)

          Don't mistake me for someone who likes Vista. I'm happily running XP and helping friends with Vista problems on a monthly basis. Hopefully SP1 fixes some of the issues.
          • neonfunk, on 03/23/2008, -0/+7holy semantics *****. my brain hurts. I am a giraffe
          • clickmyface, on 03/23/2008, -3/+1wow douchebag!
        • jrobh, on 03/23/2008, -1/+11In the context of this discussion, you are pretty much saying that it would be acceptable for an Apple ad to use those "reviews" on their commercials as well.
        • Cl1mh4224rd, on 03/23/2008, -0/+9> "So even though Newegg, Amazaon, etc.. calls them reviews, you are saying they are not."

          Whoa, what? I don't know if that's what he meant, but that's what *I'm* saying right now.

          It doesn't matter if Newegg or Amazon call user-submitted comments "reviews", it doesn't make them reviews (unless the customer makes an honest attempt). They didn't write those "reviews", and therefore have no control over the actual content. Just think if Digg renamed this section to "Reader Reviews". Does that suddenly make everything posted here an objective and critical review of the submission? Not a chance...
      • sarixe, on 03/24/2008, -0/+2or they are, but just not good ones.
    • cr4wl3r, on 03/23/2008, -6/+8the only problem i have with that ad is it was no where near as witty as some of the other ads from apple have been recently.. that one was far too simple and direct.
    • yoshman, on 03/23/2008, -2/+14Op-ed's aren't usually endorsed by the publication that prints them. Reviews are, so that carries more weight, depending on the publication anyways.
      • superkendall, on 03/23/2008, -4/+1There is some implicit endorsement in that they saw it fit to publish.
        • yoshman, on 03/24/2008, -0/+2It's not really an endorsement so much as the publication wanting to start discussion in the topic. They even print replies people send in on some topics.
    • UnWeave, on 03/23/2008, -1/+16A review would be more, um, a REVIEW of a product. So no a one-line blanket statement but something rather longer, considering more point of views and actually having some examples to back up statements. These one-liners are not reviews.
    • noahhoward, on 03/23/2008, -3/+11Absolutely, this has to be the lamest thing I have seen in a while.
    • homercles337, on 03/23/2008, -2/+7Wrong. Reviews are more systematic than opinion.
    • picpak, on 03/23/2008, -3/+4Vista sucks!

      This has been a review.
      • estvir, on 03/24/2008, -1/+2Congratulations, you'll be quoted in Apple's next ad.
    • fugazied, on 03/23/2008, -4/+4Apple got desperate because most of the reviews were glowing and it was difficult to find a review that put Vista in a disparaging light. Oh wait there are plenty of bad vista reviews..... they could have grabbed a snippet from anywhere.
    • phoomp, on 03/23/2008, -1/+2Opinions on a product intended to make their own product look better ... which isn't really a review. A review shouldn't have bias.
    • omaryak, on 03/23/2008, -1/+2I guess it's forgivable a that tech site would focus relentlessly on the technical definition of a review rather than the one understood by the general public. But, I have to admit (with thanks to Futurama), that this review of Apple's ads is "technically corrrect... the best kind of correct."
      • jblack15, on 03/24/2008, -0/+2Dugg for Futurama quote, everything else is rubbish.
  • DaviDaviDaviD, on 03/23/2008, -17/+361Like my friend was saying the other day, I really think Apple needs to focus on what makes OS X great rather than what makes Vista bad.
    • dansy, on 03/23/2008, -29/+97that is a little like saying Hillary needs to focus on what she does better than Obama ... unfortunately that is quite limited so it's either attack ads or admitting defeat ...
      • EnderMB, on 03/23/2008, -32/+8Great statement!

        Apple: Hillary Clinton
        Vista: Barack Obama
        • pvcrisp, on 03/23/2008, -3/+25I guess that means were going to go with Vista
          • MioTheGreat, on 03/23/2008, -0/+7Well, that's where the votes (Market share) lies, is it not?
          • noahhoward, on 03/23/2008, -5/+2If market share meant a damn thing, sure.
          • Syphon8, on 03/23/2008, -0/+2Yes we can!
          • Atomic1fire, on 03/23/2008, -4/+1Does that mean that vista hates white people?
        • bobbyi, on 03/24/2008, -0/+1George Bush is OS 8
      • weareglass, on 03/23/2008, -10/+4Hm. Hillary Clinton: part of a Democratic legacy spanning back to the mid-90s, the choice of the core and status quo of the democratic party
        Windows Vista: contains legacy code dating back to the mid-90s (longer if you count DOS), the choice of the core and status quo of the computing industry....

        Yeah you're spot on with that comparison there, bud.
        • ferrite, on 03/23/2008, -0/+8If you're going to count DOS in Vista's legacy (even though it stopped being a part of Windows since XP), then you might as well count OS1-9 with Macs. Heck, Vista-x64 doesn't even have any Win16 Components anymore.

          If you do want to mention legacy code and age, Mac OSX came from XNU and BSD, which can be Traced back to UNIX6, which can go back to earlier UNIX systems to the granddaddy of them all in 1969.
          • MioTheGreat, on 03/23/2008, -0/+6DOS was never a part of any NT based operating system.

            The 32-bit versions have all had a DOS virtual machine (NTVDM), but that didn't actually come "from" DOS.
          • ferrite, on 03/23/2008, -1/+5My point exactly Mio, DOS was not a part of any commercial "Windows" operating system since XP, the DOS based line died out (thankfully) with it's worst member yet, ME.
          • Macskeeball, on 03/23/2008, -1/+2No, his point was a bit different than your point. He was including Windows NT and Windows 2000, while you're not.
          • ferrite, on 03/24/2008, -0/+1Ok, so lets get this straight... as of XP and after, DOS was not involved in any version of Windows...
            How is that not what I said?
            I compared DOS (that has nothing to do with Vista) to OS1-9 which has nothing to do with OSX (unless you count Classic Mode) but in both cases it's essentially a Virtual Machine.
          • Macskeeball, on 03/24/2008, -0/+1No. Windows NT and Windows 2000 came *before* XP. As they are both versions based on NT, they were not based on DOS. So, it started two major versions of Windows before XP. You are implying that it started with XP, which is false.

            Either you were not aware that NT and 2000 came before XP, or you are not reading carefully at all.
      • dajernts, on 03/23/2008, -4/+2That could make a great apple ad. Obama can be PC and Hillary can be Mac. Then all the attacking would make sense.
      • DanMiller, on 03/31/2008, -1/+0dansy I would be intersted to know what your experience with OS X is. 5 minutes in an apple store, never? OS X is a very nice operating system and most reviewers have rated it very highly. Ultimately it's a matter of opinion and personal taste but acting like OS X is simply an all around worse option compared to Windows is a little unfair.
    • splatbang, on 03/23/2008, -18/+1That's exactly what by girlfriend said the other night!
      • l0k0, on 03/23/2008, -3/+16Digg user with a girlfriend? Buried as inaccurate.
      • glinsvad, on 03/23/2008, -7/+31. Extract girlfriends DNA
        2. ???
        3. Profit!

        I think step 2 is: Clone her
        • Phlake, on 03/23/2008, -0/+3Wow. You managed to take a somewhat decent meme and analyze the fun out of it.
        • bobbyi, on 03/24/2008, -0/+1She extracted my DNA.
    • CheeseburgerBro, on 03/23/2008, -22/+9If your friend or yourself have degrees in marketing, I suspect they're printed on the reverse side of Double Bubble wrappers.

      Pointing out the flaws (perceived, real, invented, spun) of your competitors in the marketplace is a necessary pillar of any advertising campaign where a small player is attempting to erode mindshare from a dominant player.

      Learn first, speak second.
      • dallashigh, on 03/23/2008, -5/+14Just because something is effective doesn't mean that one has to agree with it.

        Pull head out of ass first, speak second.
        • krische, on 03/23/2008, -3/+3Might as well check for colon cancer as long as you're up there too.
        • noahhoward, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1You can disagree all you want just quit bitching about it.
      • slinky317, on 03/23/2008, -2/+7It might be a necessary pillar, but it is the ONLY THING Apple is doing. They don't talk about what their OS does, just that it's better than Vista. And that how their machines would run Vista better... but you don't need Vista.
        • Dweller99, on 03/23/2008, -3/+1It might be a necessary pillar, but it is the ONLY THING Apple ever does.

          FTFY
        • noahhoward, on 03/23/2008, -4/+1That could have something to do with the fact that ads are not documentaries. You get your customers attention and leave them with a desire for more information and a place to find it, done. That is an effective ad. If you want what OSX does better go to the website.
          • slinky317, on 03/23/2008, -0/+5So, when an advertisement touts the features of whatever it is that's being advertised, it's suddenly turned into a documentary? Face it - they don't tout the features of OSX because it'll sound a lot like WIndows.
          • Atomic1fire, on 03/23/2008, -0/+11. Dockbar (explain that it makes things easier)
            2. Consistant UI (they need to dumb down those words though)
            3. designed from the core with computer safety in mind (eh if all that about unix and macs are true)
            3 reasons why mac doesn't suck
            the perfect commercial that doesn't seem like an attack ad

        • LMaxey, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1Hey companies have been telling me what's good for me for years! Now if you'll excuse me I need a Slurm and some Popplers...and Lightspeed Briefs...and Mom's Old Fashioned Robot Oil...and...
      • phunlee, on 03/23/2008, -2/+2There are no rules in advertising. You try something and if it works, people copy you. Or you copy someone else.
        The successful products of our time seem to be those that are an excellent product. Pointing out flaws without contrasting how your product performs better is setting yourself up for short term success. IMO.
      • doctordbx, on 03/23/2008, -0/+3I have a degree in marketing and it is certainly not printed on bubblegum paper. (anyway a degree is not printed on paper, only the document certifying you have the degree is). What I can tell you is that modern marketing practices are based on "competitive advantage" - not slag off the competition. And this is marketing 101 stuff.
        Seriously, deriding the opposition is like saying "well, we can't say anything that we're better at, so we'll just rubbish the competition instead." It is regarded as the bastion for companies that have run out of ideas to differentiate their product.
        So much for thinking different eh?
        • noahhoward, on 03/23/2008, -2/+1So, Doctor, explain why the Apple ads are so effective.
          • doctordbx, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1Who said the ads are effective?
            Apples sell because they're a good product, they could advertise the Macbook surrounded by steaming turds and it would still sell.
            It's a pretty easy account for an ad agency and disappointingly they could do a lot better. The strong sales Apple enjoy are mostly word of mouth.
      • dajernts, on 03/23/2008, -0/+2Somehow I don't think you know very much about marketing....(+113 > -5). Since when must people keep their thoughts to themselves to suite you.
    • dukeochutney, on 03/23/2008, -2/+3wait mudslinging doesnt work? /sarcasm
    • lead2thehead, on 03/23/2008, -14/+3There are problems with Windows that are so common place, Windows users assume they are present in ALL computers. They have been lead to believe that EVERY computer is insecure, filled with viruses, and must be rebooted every day. So by pointing out the flaws with Vista, they're letting the public know that this is not the case.
      • MioTheGreat, on 03/23/2008, -2/+9Yeah... Here's the thing: Many of those things may be true with XP, but not so much with Vista.
        • cannarymburns, on 03/23/2008, -1/+2pretty much... vista is a fortress, mainly cause it bitches for about an hour before it lets you do anything, but a fortress nevertheless... with xp, you install one ***** app, and the os falls apart at the seams. i could leave vista on for weeks, and i do so often, its much better at cleaning memory leaks than xp.
      • ExRe, on 03/23/2008, -3/+13Either you are a dumb ass at using a computer, or your just throwing BS. The ONLY computers I've ever cleaned up from viruses/crap are ones that run IE6 with Norton and have loads of really nasty porn or lots of other illegal stuff downloaded and installed.
        • bjornski, on 03/23/2008, -1/+5No kidding.

          That "porno password generator"? It's not one. And that "game crack"? Sure, you go ahead and run that .exe.
        • lead2thehead, on 03/24/2008, -4/+0IE6 with Norton you say?.... So you're telling me that these computers were full of viruses even though they had the most up to date web browser AND expensive antivirus software?
          • Matri, on 03/24/2008, -0/+2You call IE6 "most up to date"? Go back to your rock.
          • bjornski, on 03/24/2008, -0/+2And calling Norton effective anti-virus is just as much of a joke as calling IE6 "the most up to date".

            Christ, Norton itself shoudl be considered malware. GARBAGE software. So is McAfee. SERIOUS performance hits while those programs are running.

            It's obvious someone knows nothing about Windows.
          • DanMiller, on 03/31/2008, -0/+0@bjornski You are correct, however you might consider that there are many people who own windows computers that don't know anything about windows. My grandparents had a windows computer with norton. Didn't download anything suspect but managed to load up with spyware and adware. Didn't know about defragmenting or the need to restart on occasion. By the time I came to visit the computer ran like a dog and ended up needing the harddrive completely reformated. This Christmas they recieived a mac mini and they have no more problems. My point isn't that mac is actually better but that for many people it is much more accessable. There are many points of OS X that allow the casual user feel more comfortable, like the idea that an application can be easily trashed with no uninstall process. I have found that macs are more accessable for those with little knowledge but still can be very powerful for the "power user" Just a thought.
      • BlackCow, on 03/23/2008, -2/+22Vista is NOT insecure, is NOT filled with viruses, and hasn't been rebooted in months for me. You apple fan boys can't accept for one second that maybe Vista is a good OS can you? Maybe people actually like Vista, and not because its the market share. Maybe people actually like building their computers instead of being forced to whatever crap apple decides you should have.

        /rant
        • ShuttleDisaster, on 03/23/2008, -2/+3Not all Apple fans are saying Vista is a horrible OS. Most just simply prefer OS X to Windows. Have you even tried OS X for more than a few minutes?
          • bjornski, on 03/23/2008, -3/+4I have. I hated it. I felt like I was asking it permission to do what I want, and not MAKING it do what I want.
          • noahhoward, on 03/23/2008, -6/+5bjornski, thanks you just proven conclusively that you have never so much as touched OSX.
          • MioTheGreat, on 03/23/2008, -2/+6By my reckoning, I've spent a total of over 60 hours on OSX last semester.

            Terrible experience.
          • DanMiller, on 03/31/2008, -0/+0Mio what was your terrible experience. I don't like Vista but I wouldn't even begin to say it's terrible.
        • noahhoward, on 03/23/2008, -5/+2Your little fan boy attack would hold water if it weren't for the fact that MICROSOFT EXECUTIVES think Vista is a flaming sack of crap. Face facts Vista is a huge failure.
          • jakem1, on 03/23/2008, -1/+6That's right Noah. Vista is a huge failure. Nobody is buying it. Nobody is upgrading to computers running Vista. Everyone who doesn't agree with you is a fanboy. Everyone is switching to Macs. You're now in your own private heaven.
          • noahhoward, on 03/24/2008, -2/+1Hey jakem, you're really really good at putting words into my mouth.

            1.) Selling does not = huge success
            2.) No, not many people are purposely buying Vista, when it is pre-installed on every new Windows PC it's pretty hard to sell 0 copies.
            3.) I hate the word fanboy but in this case if you can support Vista, you have a problem, the people that make it don't like it, I value their opinion over yours.
            4.) No, you flaming idiot, not everyone is switching to Mac, increasign numbers are, but most people are sticking with XP for the foreseeable future, some people are even DOWNGRADING from Vista to XP.

            You want to defend the ***** be my guest but try defending it on its merits. Vista SHOULD have sold a hell of a lot more copies than it has. Microsoft should NEVER have had to offer a downgrade license and Microsoft Executives don't bitch about their flagship unless there is a real problem.
    • vertinox, on 03/23/2008, -3/+9I always thought them as ads for Windows XP, but to each his own.
    • dajernts, on 03/23/2008, -2/+6I agree. All I've gotten out of those ads is that Mac is great for movies, pictures and music. Unfortunately that's not nearly all I do with my computer. They need to really showcase something that would make Mac standout rather than being windows in a different, more expensive shell.
    • Urkel, on 03/23/2008, -0/+20If you saw a car commercial based on the premise "Your car sucks. Go buy our brand instead, knucklehead" with no visuals of the product you're supposed to be buying then you'd think they're morons. Yet that's exactly what Apple has been doing. 2 guys talking about why your OS sucks and zero visuals on what makes their product so much better.

      I've never understood why a company with such beautiful and elegant products would try so hard to hide them. There's a reason why luxury car commercials spend so much time doing closeups of the elegant lines and curves of their product, so since Apple perceives itself a notch above the rest then why doesn't Apple do the same thing?
      • MScrip, on 03/23/2008, -0/+10Exactly. I wish Mac commercials were more like their iPhone commercials. In 30 seconds you see a web browser, visual voicemail, photos, maps, then it ends with a phone call. Wow. The iPhone commercials show you what the product does... and doesn't waste time bashing other phones.

        There have been almost 40 Mac commercials with 2 guys standing in a white space, mostly talking about Windows. I'm sure there are plenty of people who would be interested in a Mac... but their commercials just don't sell the product. Now before anyone gets on here and says "well you're not an ad executive... etc." I know. I don't have an advertising degree. I'm sure the Mac vs. PC ads are the most genius thing ever created. I just don't get them. My opinion is that more people would buy Macs if they could just ***** see them in the commercial!

        I wish Mac ads would be more like the iPhone ads and show WHY the product is better. There could be different commercials for each great feature of the Mac. You could showoff iPhoto in 30 seconds. Garageband in another commercial. You know, all those things that are good about Macs... show them! And don't even mention Windows! Just prove to us why Macs are good. Sell your product.
      • tjasond, on 03/23/2008, -0/+4"If you saw a car commercial based on the premise "Your car sucks. Go buy our brand instead, knucklehead"

        Like this one (NSFW)? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3EVajeiGCs
    • sdfguy, on 03/23/2008, -5/+4because apple's user interface is uglier, clunkier, slower, and less well designed in comparison to XP's perfectly streamlined simplicity.
    • fugazied, on 03/23/2008, -3/+2Sales department is to blame for this stuff in marketing. It works though, people go 'wait vista is a disaster? I better buy Apple'. Apple HAVE already concentrated on making OS X better, thats why its years ahead of Vista (*IMHO). Its just the marketing drones now concentrating on runnning down other alternatives to it.
      • jabberwolf, on 03/24/2008, -1/+2Actually it is NOT and NOT A NETWORK friendly system and has pissed off most developers its worked with. That is why all businesses use WINDOZE. Sorry there is no "opnion" in business. If it didnt work, they wouldnt use it. If home user didnt like WINDOZE , they wouldnt use it!
    • freshgrease, on 03/24/2008, -4/+2We already know Vista sucks, Apple. That is why I bought a Macbook (or rather for other reasons).
    • zongamin, on 03/24/2008, -1/+2Who gives a ***** about your idiot friend?
    • znicket, on 03/25/2008, -0/+1Well... Leopard is great... by comparison. There are things I wish to do that are not available yet but it the best feature of Leopard is that it is basically better than the competition, so why not point that out?
  • metapop, on 03/23/2008, -47/+30so it's not "a review". does this make it any less true?
    • neoporcupine, on 03/23/2008, -4/+9Obviously it means that CNet really loves Vista. Apparently reviews are truth, op-eds are all lies.
      • jakem1, on 03/23/2008, -0/+5Come on, it's CNet for crying out loud. CNet is like Fox news for tech journalism. It's just tabloid garbage and nothing they ever say is worth the bandwidth it takes to download.
    • homercles337, on 03/23/2008, -2/+4Yes, its an opinion touted as review. BIG difference. Overall the press does not like vista, as such people follow the press and believe. I have been running Vista for a year and have had ZERO problems. The hype is just that, hype.
      • 000dom000, on 03/25/2008, -0/+1More people than normal have had MANY problems with Vista, including me. Just because it works for a lot of people doesn't mean it isn't crap.
  • NuclearBlast, on 03/23/2008, -60/+17Seriously, Vista is bad enough itself. No need to try and fudge bad reviews for it in Apple ads. You could just have an ad that says, "Vista: LOL" and it would be just as good. Just let people see how bad Vista is for themselves and then try to get them to come to Apple. No need to try and play games.
    • gozilla09, on 03/23/2008, -6/+38I'm sorry, have you ever used Vista? Because judging from the lack of evidence in your comment, I would say that you're just jumping on the Bash Vista bandwagon.
      • Phocion55, on 03/23/2008, -15/+3Yes, we can blissfully make the issues that Vista has go away simply by assuming people have never tried it.
        • BlackCow, on 03/23/2008, -2/+9I'm going to have to agree with gozilla, you really need to try Vista before you bash it. On a proper computer its a damn good OS.
          • Phocion55, on 03/23/2008, -6/+1I was just expecting more from Vista having religiously followed its development back when it was known as "Longhorn". Vista isn't horrible like people make it out to be, BUT it's not perfect either - and to simply shield your eyes from the fact by blindly assuming valid criticism is unwarranted, just sends a message to Microsoft that mediocre software is acceptable.

            Look at Internet Explorer. The popularity in Firefox finally got Microsoft to get their ass in gear and take web standards seriously, and it's 2008.
      • noahhoward, on 03/23/2008, -8/+1I guess Microsofts executives must never have used Vista then, they don't like it much either.
      • homercles337, on 03/23/2008, -1/+5Precisely. This is just hype created by the press. I have been running vista for a year and have had ZERO problems. NuclearBlast would you care to explain why "Vista is bad enough itself"?
      • sonnybobiche, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1This was over a year ago, so a lot may have changed since then, but still:
        I _have_ used vista. It was evocative of my many past experiences with linux, which let's simply say weren't pretty.
    • Hoogs, on 03/23/2008, -4/+7I got a brand new Dell laptop with Vista Home Premium on it and have had no issues with it whatsoever. From my experience, Vista is a superb operating system.
    • heresy_fnord, on 03/23/2008, -2/+2I do play games on my computer with Vista Ultimate and it works just fine. Ignorant comment, NuclearBlast.
  • HappyScrappy, on 03/23/2008, -41/+99Someone is splitting hairs here.

    Something isn't a review, but instead is an opinion piece? What is a review other than an opinion piece? And an article suggesting how MS could start over? If Vista were well received, would people be talking about how to start over?

    Vista isn't well regarded. Yes, the fact that one of them is an op-ed piece does mean that it isn't the "official opinion of CNet" that Vista is the biggest mistake in tech history, merely one writer. But CNet's name isn't so strong that this is a huge difference anyway.
    • slaystench, on 03/23/2008, -4/+6Vista is software not a movie...
      • vertinox, on 03/23/2008, -3/+3If it were, you wouldn't be able to transfer seats or go to the bathroom once the movie starts.
    • alex7575, on 03/23/2008, -3/+21a review needs to be unbiased, an opinion is usually biased
      • r3zonance, on 03/23/2008, -7/+1In an ideal world a review needs to be biased, but they never are. Every company has advertisers to please. It is impossible to leave one's own opinions/beliefs out of a review.
        • estvir, on 03/24/2008, -0/+2No, in an ideal world, a review is how jakem1 describes it, it needs to be factually correct and demonstrate that whatever conclusions (Vista sucks or Vista rocks) was reached scientifically/logically and without outside influence (Half the reviews start with "So, I heard all these bad things.." and their review was tainted before they began).
      • superkendall, on 03/23/2008, -4/+3No review is unbiased, and I wouldn't trust a reviewer who claimed they were.

      • jakem1, on 03/23/2008, -0/+8A review needs to be factually correct and needs to be able to demonstrate that its conclusions were reached scientifically. An opinion piece (especially when it comes from CNet) is just some guy talking off the top of his head.
    • dajernts, on 03/23/2008, -0/+12I think a review is supposed to be more objective than an opinionated rant. A review tries to determine if a product is good or bad regardless of personal preference. YOU might not like the product but can understand how the consumer could find it useful. For example the Macbook Air. The reviews are positive because the product does what it's designed to do and will satisfy the tiny market of people that are into it. Yet the average notebook owner hates the thing. I could rant all day about how much I hate it but in the end my review of it probably wouldn't be that bad.
      • superkendall, on 03/23/2008, -2/+1But the article referred to was hardly a rant. It was a logical look at reasons why Vista has not been more popular and what it could improve on.
        • Cl1mh4224rd, on 03/23/2008, -0/+2> "But the article referred to was hardly a rant. It was a logical look at reasons why Vista has not been more popular and what it could improve on."

          It's not a review, either, like Apple implied. Reviews analyze the product as it is, not what it could have/should have been.
          • HappyScrappy, on 03/23/2008, -1/+1That's so very untrue.

            Reviewers often compare the product to other products in their range. This is an implication that if someone else can make a product do something, why couldn't the maker of the product under review have done it too?

            Any good review will compare a product to what it could have been.
    • Cl1mh4224rd, on 03/23/2008, -0/+6> "And an article suggesting how MS could start over? If Vista were well received, would people be talking about how to start over?"

      This is a strawman. Regardless of how well-received Vista is, the headline of an article suggesting ways that Microsoft can start over is not a review of Vista. To pass it off as such is deceptive. We know now that Apple isn't above this tactic, so I'm not exactly sure what you're trying to defend or sweep under the rug...
    • madroneDorf, on 03/23/2008, -0/+2err an Op-ed is not CNET, an op-ed is something published at cnet, its like calling what Paul Krugman writes something that the New York times says; he writes op-eds, not editorials.
    • MacSuxWindozSux, on 03/24/2008, -1/+3Vista isn't the horrendous operating system that Apple wants people to believe it is.
      All the propaganda is getting a bit old and stale. I'm not a ***** moron.

      To be perfectly honest, the best PC system, -not out of box- but when the user actually installs software is still by leaps and bounds a Windows system for most people. Yeah each system has particular things they are good at. I love Linux and Mac too.

      All the leading software runs on Windows. Not Macintosh.

      I get it. You have a camera, and you ***** around with Photoshop. Or you have some other card board life that seems to neatly fit into Apple software. The minute you start using enterprise level software, or a CAD program, you're back to Windows. If you want to play a game that was released within the last 3 years 99/100 times you're back to Windows.

      Bootcamp? ok.
      But i'll need to install Bittorrent on windows so i can keep downloads going. And a better browser. And my IM client. And codecs, And my reasons for booting back into MacOS seem to disappear.

      It's not that this is the way it is, I'm just sick and tired of candyass MS haters talking *****, just because Apple has a competing product.
      • HappyScrappy, on 03/24/2008, -0/+1You're gonna bittorrent and IM while playing games?

        Tell you what, I'll just play the games on my 360 or PS3 and leave my Mac booted into Mac OS X.
        • MacSuxWindozSux, on 03/25/2008, -0/+1Is it 360? PS3? or are you just playin with yourself.
  • IphtashuFitz, on 03/23/2008, -26/+73I think Apple has a real potential of turning off a lot of potential customers with all these ads. At first they were cute, but now they're getting tired and just reek of smugness. They need to come up with a completely new advertising campaign and not just push this one until everybody but Steve Jobs is sick to death of those two...
    • CheeseburgerBro, on 03/23/2008, -21/+11Right -- because taking *this* tack hasn't been successful in the least.

      Clearly they need to re-rig the campaign to satisfy people who are so insecure that their sense of esteem is piqued negatively by a TV commercial.

      Honestly, who is threatened by the "smugness" of media spokesheads? How mind-blowingly defensive do have you have to be in order to even *affect* that level of hyper-sensitivity?

      It's back to hug-class for you, young man.
      • slinky317, on 03/23/2008, -5/+10All Dell/Microsoft/Whoever has to do is put out one ad advertising gaming on their system and Apple is beat.
        Eventually, the competition will come around and counter, and if Apple is still stuck on this "Well, Vista sucks but Apple is great even though we don't mention its features" they will lose out.
        • noahhoward, on 03/23/2008, -3/+3What's it like in that fantasy world? Have you just missed the last few years?
          • slinky317, on 03/23/2008, -1/+6No one has an ad campaign coming close to Apple. If they would wake up, then they could beat Apple - until then, Apple's constant and easily rebuffable smear campaign will continue.
          • noahhoward, on 03/24/2008, -1/+1You really believe that all it would take to beat Apple is the mention of games??? Whatever makes you happy buddy.
    • JorgeGT, on 03/23/2008, -2/+9True. I would like Apple products, by now they are unappealing to me as they have a very bad image.
      Regarding technology, I consume professional products, and while "Apple" had that meaning for me long ago, for me now it is like a the "Converse" of electronics.
    • bjornski, on 03/23/2008, -3/+14I'd be happy if they'd just change the music in their ***** commercials. They're on CONSTANTLY, and I never EVER want to hear those songs again. It's gotten to the point where if an Apple commercial comes on, I've either got the tv muted or channel changed by the time the "head under water..." is done being sung. And that stupid "I'm a new soul" *****? KILL IT WITH FIRE!

      You do realize that's where a large chunk of the costs of your computers are going, right? Not to improve the product, but to flood the airwaves with overplayed commercial drek.

      Tell us what your computer can do, I don't give a ***** that "It's hip and stylish".

      My computer is not a fashion accessory.
      • estvir, on 03/24/2008, -0/+2Exactly, so many people clamour about how Apple isn't targeting us 'informed' folk, but they aren't targeting the general public either because they don't care about their computers enough to be so shallow as to associate it with their life, at all. So, they're more or less targeting their existing customers and other shallow people.
    • ShuttleDisaster, on 03/23/2008, -4/+4Iphtashu: this campaign is clearly one of Apple's most successful campaigns in its history. From a marketing perspective, Apple would be silly to start over when its current campaign is so overwhelmingly successful. Just because you don't personally like the campaign (I don't either), you can't argue that it hasn't helped sales, because it has (just look at sales figures).
      • Qumahlin, on 03/23/2008, -2/+1I love how someone dugg you down for pointing out the campaign is working as the sales numbers clearly show
  • shadcrkd, on 03/23/2008, -24/+164I'm all for OS X, but the fact that Apple is only talking about "HEY VISTA IS SLOW LOLOL" is annoying.
    • ExRe, on 03/23/2008, -9/+28Especially since Vista actually runs smoother and loads apps faster than XP once you have a decent computer.
      • Syphon8, on 03/23/2008, -12/+6And faster and smoother than all my friends OS X computer with higher specs than mine.
        • directive0, on 03/23/2008, -12/+1Yeah, yeah, whatever. As if the two could even be compared like similar fruits. Try to start ***** somewhere else.
          • Syphon8, on 03/23/2008, -3/+5I'm not trying to start "*****" it's true. Not to mention my friends macbook was shipped with faulty RAM rendering it completely unusable for 2 months while awaited a replacement from Apple because you can't just go out and buy it. Oh and the RAM they shipped him? Also defective. He's now on his third 2gb stick, and my computer with 512mb of RAM and Vista still outperforms his in every way.
          • countingthedays, on 03/23/2008, -3/+6Well of course your computer with little ram beats his with none...
          • directive0, on 03/23/2008, -1/+1Look purely anecdotal evidence based on two computers of different raw stats does not help you determine which is better, in fact using two computers of the same EXACT stats doesn't really prove anything either. They are two different operating systems which use different procedures to load programs and run them. My Windows computer loads certain media files slower then my Mac at the office, does this mean my mac is faster or a better machine? NO! You can try and just hold them up to each other and compare size and numbers but it tells you ***** all.
      • r3zonance, on 03/23/2008, -3/+7Vista will run faster than XP once it has had ages to do its pre-caching thing. Until then it'll chug your system down doing that pre-caching.

        Vista is okay, but there are a lot of "smoke and mirrors" employed to make it seem faster than XP.

        Of course Vista will run and load stuff faster than XP (once you have a decent computer), because the computer will be faster than the one you used to use for XP, one from the "School of d'uh!"
        • grumpyrain, on 03/23/2008, -0/+5Not true. Prefetching is done using background I/O (something that did not exist under XP).
          http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/driver/priorityio.ms ...
          In layman's terms, if another process needs disk access, the prefetcher will be forced to wait until that request is dealt with.

          The cache works by analysing your usual behaviour and the applications you normally load, then using this information to try and have those binaries preloaded in memory. Now of course it may take a day or two for it to start predicting with good accuracy the applications it needs to prefetch. That is from the School of d'uh!

          Sure if you have 512MB of RAM, the additional size of the OS will mean you need to hit the pagefile during normal operation, but once you get above 1GB it is fine, and at 2GB or beyond, Vista is noticeably faster than XP on the same hardware.
        • BlackKnight6, on 03/24/2008, -0/+1Make it "seem" faster than XP? What, it uses "smoke and mirrors" to bend space-time?
    • homercles337, on 03/23/2008, -10/+18OS X is *****. I had to use it during a postdoc at Penn. The thing was buggy and disgustingly slow. Apps constantly hang and safari? Safari is *****, you *have* to be a macophile to like these products. Macophiles can now digg me down.
      • directive0, on 03/23/2008, -1/+6I won't "digg you down", I don't even really care if you don't like the Mac OS. but its obvious to me you're basing your opinion on a single experience with a public computer, so it's sort of a non issue either way. I use both Windows Vista and Mac OS X.5 on a regular basis and can tell you they're both pretty stable, and have yet to have a problem with either. Some people just like being vitriolic and opinionated.
    • blargsoup, on 03/23/2008, -0/+5Vista runs great, and is an improvement over XP. With superfetch, programs open quicker than XP and startup time is improved. The Vista bashing was actually a result of people in tech having a fit about the removal of the WinFS and some other things, and companies like nVidia ignoring the betas and release candidates and quickly hashing together some ***** drivers to work with Vista. There's some companies that only started trying to fix their drivers for Vista a year after its release, like Lexmark. Microsoft makes release candidates so that OEMs can get their software right before release. If proper blame was directed to these software developers instead of Microsoft then they wouldn't take a ***** year to fix their *****, and people might boycott their ***** until they start giving a *****.
      • jeriqo, on 03/23/2008, -4/+1XP is a peace of *****.
        Vista is better in some ways.
        Still for the trash.

        And the OS is not all... most of the win-designed apps are ***** too.
    • 4d669, on 03/23/2008, -2/+5Here's my review: http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/1673/1206263719 ...
    • celkin, on 03/23/2008, -0/+3dugg for "LOLOL"
  • DLuckyE, on 03/23/2008, -35/+15Who cares the ad is inaccurate or if it's just bashing another OS. I think they're still funny and I don't even own an Apple.
    • UnWeave, on 03/23/2008, -3/+1Sounds like you should go get one, though.
    • dajernts, on 03/23/2008, -1/+6Yeah I don't own a Microsoft either....
      • Me1000, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1Thank You!
        But at least he didnt say he owns shares of Mac!
  • l0k0, on 03/23/2008, -23/+123Wow, Apple is still bashing Vista more than a year after its release. When the hell are they going to actually promote Macs in a postivie manner rather than just smearing the competition?
    • slinky317, on 03/23/2008, -10/+41Probably never, because then people would realize that a lot of the stuff that made Macs great have been incorporated into Windows over the years, and it's hard to justify paying hundreds of dollars more on a product when you can get something equivalent for much cheaper.
      • atomicfireball, on 03/23/2008, -9/+11Over the years, a lot of the features that make Macs great HAVE been incorporated into Windows. But, for the most part, they haven't really been integrated, they've been slapped on using the kitchen sink approach, and that shows a fundamental lack of understanding of what actually DOES make the Mac (and the iPhone and the iPod) great. It's not the list of features. It's the way it all fits together and works the way you expect it to; it's the way that the engineers actually thought about the way a real person would use the product. It's the little touches that could never find their way into a product designed by committee the way Windows is.

        You can absolutely do everything you can do on a Mac on a PC. I have several machines running several OSes in my office, and I can think of very few things that I can't do on one platform that I can on the other (there are more games on Windows then on the Mac, Linux, and FreeBSD, granted, but I don't spend much time on games so it's a moot point for me), but I can think of far more things that I can do faster or more efficiently on one of my Macs than on any of my other machines, whether it's Windows XP, Vista, Linux, or FreeBSD. There are far fewer things that I do on a regular basis that those other machines can do better or more efficiently. There are thing things, sure, but the score is not even close.

        How much is your time worth, and are you even taking that into account in your calculation? Even if Macs were still "hundreds of dollars more" for an equivalent product (they're not; I shopped for "equivalent" machines before buying my last MacBook Pro a few weeks ago, and the closest offerings from the major brands were right in the same ballpark price-wise, Windows machines are only noticeably cheaper at the low-end where Apple doesn't try to compete), over the course of the years that I will own this machine, I will recoup a lot more than a few hundred dollars of time-value based on my hourly bill rate.
        • muuhgnoo, on 03/23/2008, -1/+8I'm a Mac user but have to use windows at work. There is absolutely no truth in that you can do anything more productively on a Mac than you can on Windows. This "productivity gain" is as ***** as Microsofts "Total cost of ownership" regarding Linux. It means that they really really do not have anything than their Look & Feel (the reason I have a Mac, and yes, no viruses) thats makes it different than Windows. Its kinda pathetic, buts its really all they've got, like Microsoft keeps their TCO *****.

          There is absolutely no time gain when trying to do the same thing on a Mac instead of Windows. Its my own experience as a 2-year mac user, and I also never read any paper actually listing the things that you can do faster on a Mac. What are they, actually? Moving files from one directory to another? Searching? What?
        • Macskeeball, on 03/24/2008, -2/+1@Muuhgnoo, Quicksilver is only for the Mac, and nothing else comes close.
        • majormunky, on 03/24/2008, -0/+0When I talk to my family / friends about Mac's, I tell them that a Windows machine is the best at one thing, playing games. If you do anything else, then you should get a Mac.
      • dcherryholmes, on 03/23/2008, -3/+2So you're saying we should all be using linux?
    • johnpaul191, on 03/23/2008, -4/+6Just a guess, but maybe because *most* PCs still run XP? There was so much "don't think about upgrading to Vista without all new hardware" sales hype going around that maybe Apple is targeting those users? If people were going to replace everything anyway, then it would be the most likely time to change teams.
      • jakem1, on 03/23/2008, -1/+5That's a silly argument because your PC is more than just the hardware and the OS. For instance, if I was to switch to a Mac I'd have to buy a whole new version of Office when the one I have will work on the next PC I buy. Considering how much Office costs and the lack of any real benefits switching to another OS, that would be lunacy.
    • ferrite, on 03/23/2008, -5/+10Apple, the Hillary Clinton of Computers
      -We're gaining marketshare!-
    • rbanffy, on 03/23/2008, -12/+3Apple will keep bashing Vista until Windows 7 gets launched. According to Microsoft's history, that should happen by 2011, give or take a couple years.
      Come on... Vista really sucks. If Vista didn't suck that much do you think companies like Dell would be selling computers with XP? Big corporate customers usually demand the machine without OS and image them themselves. It's small shops and end users that demand Vista-free machines.
      • dajernts, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1They don't. Walk into Best buy and see how many xp machines you find. I didn't find a single one in my store. If you pre order it they might give you the option of xp though.
      • cquinnd, on 03/23/2008, -0/+5>> If Vista didn't suck that much do you think companies like Dell would be selling computers with XP?
        You mean, like the way companies were still trying to sell Windows 2000 until the last minute after XP launched? Dell makes money selling what their customers want, when some of their customers still want the last Windows version, some of their customers want the new WIndows version, and a handful want Linux, what does Dell sell? All of them, as long as they can sell enough of any one version to make a profit from the deal.
    • skoober, on 03/23/2008, -6/+1when your at the top... everything underneath looks crap
    • dajernts, on 03/23/2008, -1/+6Yeah, they still haven't given me a legitimate reason to switch. Since they're not like linux which is free Apple really needs to push some huge feature than windows doesn't have and that completely distinguishes the two operating systems. When you ask someone why you should get a Mac they start listing off these inconsequential little details. I've got to have more than that to switch from something I've used most of my life.
      • estvir, on 03/24/2008, -0/+2And costs double and possibly triple and that's not included software and possibly peripherals that need to be bought again.
    • fugazied, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1When the marketing guys go back to school and see solid sales figures demonstrating these tactics don't work... Which is... umm never.
  • lostarchitect, on 03/23/2008, -41/+46Oh please. For all intents and purposes, those articles are reviews.
    • Sornos, on 03/23/2008, -9/+14Reviews, but not professional reviews. For example, I can say "Lostarchitect is a liar and never tells the truth". That is my review of you so far. Does it have any basis? I dunno, but I said it anyways. So should anyone believe what you said? No, because:
      "Lostarchitect is a liar and never tells the truth"-Digg review.
      • lostarchitect, on 03/23/2008, -10/+4that's ok, because "sornos likes the taste of feces" -- Digg review. ;-)
        • Sornos, on 03/23/2008, -1/+8You're only proving my point, my friend.
          • lostarchitect, on 03/23/2008, -5/+2That was my intent, poo-eater.
  • Peck3277, on 03/23/2008, -24/+8I've never used a mac? Is it much better. I've used windows and am currently using ubuntu but i've always wanted to mess around on a mac for a while
    • Ganja420, on 03/23/2008, -5/+6http://thepiratebay.org/tor/3855637/APPLE.MAC.OSX. ...
      go try it out
      • krische, on 03/23/2008, -3/+2You have to install that on Mac hardware though. If he doesn't have one, then you need to look into the 'OS X86' project.
        • Me1000, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1please dont base your opinion on OS X off the OSX86 project.
          I have several Macs in the house, and an OSX86 box, OSX86 requires a lot more maintenance and diligence than a Mac. I found that it OSX86 crashes all the time... OSX86 will give you a feel of what using a Mac is like, but if you want to really try it out go to the Apple store and play with one.
      • gozilla09, on 03/23/2008, -7/+1WIN
      • DeathGod321, on 03/23/2008, -2/+12I was seriously going to try out OSX a few weeks ago, but then i realized that I would have to devote another partition or buy a dual layer dvd burner just to get the dvd. Not to mention jumping through all the OS X86 loops. Seriously though, 6.56 GB for an installation disk (from the same people that call Microsoft products bloated)? I'd rather pirate high definition porn.
        • DarkDx, on 03/24/2008, -1/+1Maybe because it has a LOT of printer drivers and the Developers tools (1,5gb alone) duh.
    • Dweller99, on 03/23/2008, -5/+5It's just different. Some things are better, some are worse, but which is which is very subjective. At the end of the day I went back to XP.
    • UnWeave, on 03/23/2008, -1/+2Yeah thanks for the insight.
    • lou2005, on 03/23/2008, -3/+4Well, seems like the ad might just be working. I have a PC (not vista) at work and a mac at home. The mac is a lot better at some things. The more i use the mac the more I like it.
    • lostarchitect, on 03/23/2008, -1/+4well, the OS is very smooth and snappy, which is nice. and it seems like it takes less steps to do most administrative/system tasks, which is also nice. networking is super easy. some people say it's too consumer-oriented, which looks true at first, but when you dig in, it's really pretty powerful. i dunno, to each their own. i use XP a lot, too.
    • dajernts, on 03/23/2008, -7/+8Try Safari on Windows. It will give you your first Mac experience and I'm sure you'll never be curious again. Very disappointing.
      • yodaclaus, on 03/23/2008, -5/+5Yes, because Safari on Windows is the benchmark we should all live by as far as the Mac OS is concerned. Bravo. Should we also gauge windows by how well Office works in Mac?
      • grumpyrain, on 03/24/2008, -1/+1Hell, you don't even have to elect to install it. Just let iTunes update itself.
      • digitalarcanum, on 03/24/2008, -2/+2for that matter, try quicktime, itunes, bonjour, and safari on windows. the mac experience without the mac price!

        all honesty aside, I'm always been fervent in my hatred of itunes and quicktime. because they ***** LATCH on to your computer. your task bar, control panel, in the background, on your startup entries, etc.
        • Matri, on 03/24/2008, -1/+2Geez, I've had viruses that weren't so clingy.
  • themoose, on 03/23/2008, -23/+54I wonder what all these mac fanbois ^ would be saying if it was Microsoft who were doing this.
    • krische, on 03/23/2008, -6/+12Microsoft probably wouldn't, cause they need Apple to remain in business, or else they would be slammed with anti-trust.
      • doctordbx, on 03/23/2008, -0/+6It's not a breach of trust if your competitor dies a natural death.
        • krische, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1Yes but people could claim anit-trust is microsoft is the only OS manufacturer on the market.
          • doctordbx, on 03/24/2008, -0/+0Unless Microsoft had unfairly used its position to push the other competitors out (and unfairly doesn't include making, producing and marketing their product) then people can claim what they like.
        • Macskeeball, on 03/24/2008, -0/+2@Krische: MS would not be the only OS developer if Apple were to die. Linux had a marketshare similar (albeit smaller) to Apple not that long ago, although Apple has had some good very growth so I'm not sure how they compare now.
    • UnWeave, on 03/23/2008, -3/+2Probably the same things that we are saying. Possible mixed in with some of, er, this-ad-attitude.
    • Uranium118, on 03/24/2008, -0/+2Microsoft don't talk about its competition, why give them free advertisement? Apple should do the same.
  • Ninjao, on 03/23/2008, -8/+42Have you seen my stapler?
  • malvado, on 03/23/2008, -40/+25thank you Microsoft. Because of Vista, I bought my first Mac when I needed a new laptop.

    I'll never buy another Microsoft machine again.
    • slinky317, on 03/23/2008, -6/+27Microsoft makes machines now?

      Are you referring to the X-Box?
    • dallashigh, on 03/23/2008, -4/+22Microsoft makes computers now?
    • jdaniel284, on 03/23/2008, -4/+25I seriously doubt you bought a Mac because of Vista.
    • badqat, on 03/23/2008, -3/+19Which is obvious, since Microsoft doesn't produce hardware...
    • JamesMorris, on 03/23/2008, -4/+17All hail the leader of the cool brigade!
    • duckyinc, on 03/23/2008, -3/+8What have you done to him apple!!
    • faberyx, on 03/23/2008, -3/+5lol ye i agree you need some basics skills to run a "windows machine". Cant even imagine an apple user what could do on a "linux machine"
    • UnWeave, on 03/23/2008, -2/+2Well, the XBox isn't a laptop, so I'm not that surprised. In fact, I think you made a good choice there.
    • manicmailman, on 03/23/2008, -1/+2no you didnt....
      and if you did.... bye
      give mac the idiots for a while...
    • rupprupp29, on 03/24/2008, -1/+1Steve?
  • CPOliver, on 03/23/2008, -6/+51I love my MacBook as a recent switcher, but I agree with the consensus that Apple are basically making themselves look elitist and smug. This is the image that the well-known Mac zealots are recognised and loathed for. I recommend OS X and Apple hardware quite frequently, but doing so in a demeaning and argumentative fashion is no way to win over customers in my opinion.

    I don't know if anyone remembered the Sandisk Sansa ads that were belittling to both the iPod and iPod owners alike, but they made me think of Sandisk in a different way. These ads were (to me at least) negative and gave me the impression that the company were douches. However, when it's Apple with such an attitude there seems to be much less controversy, whether it's because of Apple fanboys or just that people think of them as a a smug company, I'm not sure.

    Apple should definitely be focusing on their products advantages rather than the competitions flaws.
    • ExRe, on 03/23/2008, -1/+13Apple is probably pushing users away from their products more than anything. As soon as somebody starts recommending a Mac, there is a pretty good chance you'll get something like "oh, you're one of THOSE people" (referring to the elitist, smug attitude most appear to have from the ads and stories).
      • estvir, on 03/24/2008, -1/+3I've seen it happen. I was out with a friend and she was trying to find a laptop for uni (This year's semesters only started a few weeks ago) and we were in a major store (Myers) with their new Apple section and I started suggesting a MacBook and she said something like "No way, people would think I'm an elitist whore based upon the ads.." - I was proud on 2 accounts, she has adopted my "elitist whore" phrase and that she refused to buy an Apple product because of their marketing.
    • johnpaul191, on 03/23/2008, -1/+3The fact is most people use MS windows at work (or school). By default that is the thing they are used to, so it is how they measure up other things. People like to be comfortable. They fear change. That's exactly why McDonald's, or any chain restaurant, does so well. By pointing out the downsides of MS windows, they hope to strike a nerve with the consumer and convince them to take a leap.
      OSS would be doing the same thing if they had an advertising budget. They could promote all the technical virtues of Linux/BSD/whatever, but it would be terms that only techies would know (and maybe already do?).
    • jtbell04, on 03/23/2008, -2/+7I know one of those people.I don't think a week goes by that he accuses me of being a moron for using windows, then directly quotes, or a least references, a Get A Mac ad. He's bought four Mac towers in the last five years, so I usually end up asking him why he didn't just buy one computer and upgrade it.
      • r3zonance, on 03/23/2008, -4/+2He didn't "just upgrade" cos there has been a major architectural change to the hardware. And with my experience of PCs (I'm a switcher to Macs a few years back) the "upgrade-cycle" is often and I end up making sacrifices to keep some of my older hardware, and end up spending more in the long run anyway.
    • sbeckstead, on 03/23/2008, -2/+2Hey I bought my MacBook so I could be elitist and smug. So there!
    • sgtpppr, on 03/24/2008, -1/+2Well, I was under the impression if I bought a Mac, my farts would start smelling like a sweet spring meadow. Am I mistaken?
  • Ganja420, on 03/23/2008, -25/+124Vista's so horrible that we let you install it on our macs now if you choose
    • aldableep3, on 03/23/2008, -19/+6wouldn't that make OSX the one thats horrible?
    • bjornski, on 03/23/2008, -3/+32Microsoft has a history of letting you put their OS on damn near any machine you can put together.

      Apple tried it once, and got slaughtered in the marketplace.
      • dajernts, on 03/23/2008, -0/+7I don't think it's so much a history as much as it is what the OS was originally designed for.
      • cquinnd, on 03/23/2008, -1/+7Actually Apple gained marketshare for the Mac OS at the time, where they lost was in not realizing the companies they were licensing the OS to could undercut their prices for Mac compatible machines in the same way that PC manufacturers had been doing for years.
        • bjornski, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1Yup, I almost bought one. I had all the parts picked out and everything. Custom built tower, with a Mac OS.
        • estvir, on 03/24/2008, -1/+2"Yup, I almost bought one. I had all the parts picked out and everything. Custom built tower, with a Mac OS."

          That's a geek fantasy many are wishing for.
      • scy1192, on 03/24/2008, -0/+2I think Linux currently holds the title of the anything-you-can-slap-together OS.
        • bjornski, on 03/24/2008, -0/+1True. I've never heard of Windows being installed in a toaster.

          /never heard of Linux being done that way either, but someone will try. And I bet it eventually works.
  • highwebl, on 03/23/2008, -8/+36So, advertising isn't 100% factual?

    You learn something everyday.
    • dajernts, on 03/23/2008, -1/+3People think Apple is so perfect though. "Everyone's favorite fruit company" Behavior like this is a nice wet slap in the face.
  • johnpdiddyo, on 03/23/2008, -6/+13cnet is sucking now of days to but hey no one will say that
    • eggsovereasy, on 03/23/2008, -1/+4What?
    • karmaghost, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1What?
    • manicmailman, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1What?
    • rupprupp29, on 03/24/2008, -0/+3I think that's: "CNet is sucking nowadays too, but hey, no one will say that"
      Not to be a grammar nazi or anything, but I wanted to save a few others from the 3-4 times it took to make sense.
  • aidave, on 03/23/2008, -24/+11Ubuntu.

    Just wanted to say it.
    • infectaphibian, on 03/23/2008, -7/+5Just wanted to second that.
    • oblique63, on 03/23/2008, -5/+3ditto
    • Jeffler, on 03/23/2008, -1/+5This has nothing to do with linux, gtfo and go back to the linux section.
    • karmaghost, on 03/23/2008, -0/+4Supercalafragalisticexpialadoshus.
      Just wanted to say it.
  • Septimus, on 03/23/2008, -15/+72The Apple ads have always sucked. Instead of basing themselves on the virtues of OSX, they just make the company look whiney while they bash a company who they are deeply envious.

    /Apple user
    • TheTSArt, on 03/23/2008, -16/+2Perhaps Apple was envious of Microsoft and one point, but with Steve back in the helm, Apple's good fortunes and Microsoft's many, many missteps--not anymore.

      The only people who see smugness or enviousness in this are those who follow the computer industry. The rest of the world just sees a funny ad and is impressed at how they connected the two ads on the same page.