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169 Comments
- jus1haz2, on 10/12/2007, -12/+130I love the line!
"I have to go listen to some emo" - Chesh, on 10/12/2007, -1/+79What's wrong with C++ GUI programing guides. :(
- kerplunk, on 10/12/2007, -10/+47"listen to some emo"
hahahaha
:) - reddevil3, on 10/12/2007, -8/+36I don't know about you guys but I have seen a lot more Apple laptops show up in my university ever since they started showing these ads. Even quite a few of my professors (in the computer science department) have gotten them, including the chair of the department.
I'm no PC or Apple fanboy, but all this talk of ineffective ads is *****. Just accept it that Macs are getting more and more popular, and if I'm not mistaken the stock price right now is the best it has ever been. - eplawless, on 10/12/2007, -13/+38The part when he's holding up the signs actually kind of made me want to go out and buy another PC...
- zodieman, on 10/12/2007, -1/+24It's an inside joke with Mac programmers. Programming the UI in a Mac application is extremely simple with Xcode compared to doing the same on Windows.
- diggmaddy, on 10/12/2007, -3/+22Digg is a HUGE community. There are people with all varieties of taste. Something you think as spam is joke of the year for somebody else. And guess what, that person's taste is equally valuable in this community as yours. So, try learning to ignore stories that you don't like, rather than ranting about it in its thread.
- ionbattle, on 10/12/2007, -2/+21nothing at all sir.
- lolwtfhaha, on 10/12/2007, -2/+18Advertisers don't care about your demographic; the "I am going to go out and buy X just to spite Y". They are targeting the rational idiots, not the crazy idiots.
- aqwabawks, on 10/12/2007, -5/+21Hahaha... I thought all 3 of them were humourous. It have been just me but the Mac guy seemed to be a little less of a ***** this time around.
I found the C++ GUI thing funny since I recently got a book on Programming GUIs with QT and C++ and have done a bit of work on it on my Mac... - iamexcite, on 10/12/2007, -0/+16I think the mac was just a little depressed it wasn't a Cocoa book.
- allenu, on 10/12/2007, -4/+19This is a fair comment but the damned fanboys modded you down. The commercials are negative like political campaign ads except they're presented as humorous pieces so don't have that heavy negativity about them.
- node3, on 10/12/2007, -0/+14Not all rumors turn out to be true.
- unknownunknowns, on 10/12/2007, -4/+18I think you're missing the point. There are no PC fanboys. We just use it.
- jonathantneal, on 10/12/2007, -14/+27jus1haz2, do you think Apple realizes how much that line makes us love PC even more? I dunno, maybe EMO is still the shiz-nit with society (if it ever was). I think people relate to mixed, imperfect experiences when dealing with computers, so, while I love Apple and enjoy the guy who plays the Apple in the commercials, the advertising always leaves me feeling really good about owning a PC.
- Spo8, on 10/12/2007, -8/+19Although the "I have to go listen to some emo" line is my favorite of the entire series of ads, I still find it a bit sad that Apple feels it necessary to spend the entire time spouting negatives about PCs instead of just promoting their product like every other software/hardware company. Apple tries to come off really cool and hip in these commercials, when they've actually sunk the lowest. It's the truth.
- Tychotesla, on 10/12/2007, -4/+14It isn't purely about switching people from using PCs to Macs, it's also about brand recognition. Even if "I have to go listen to some emo" seems stupid, it still sends a message to your mind that Macs exist and that they are part of a (sexxxy? subversive? stupid?) culture that you can belong to. Branding is commercially important, hence Apple's sexy/elegant products and happy stockholders.
- ImperatorTerrae, on 10/12/2007, -5/+15And what happened, did you ascend to a higher plane of existance?
- theiggy, on 10/12/2007, -5/+14the mac business is up, so something must be working.
maybe they realized a long time ago that mac ads, good or bad, never made a damn bit of difference anyway? its all a question of does it enter the mainstream conciousness, does it reinforce the image of apple alive and kicking, does it help people realize that *there are options*. in those ways, the ads are succeeding. - exsst, on 10/12/2007, -4/+13They are pretty petty though.
- ApplCmptrDood, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9I showed my dad one of these and got him to use iMovie HD instead of Windows Movie Maker and this is what he said: "The Mac kicks major ass where it comes to the media stuff." He almost sounded exactly like the ad, and thought it was a good campaign. So it lured at least one person.
- oepapel, on 10/12/2007, -11/+20I thought the Mac Guy was gone. What gives?
- lolwtfhaha, on 10/12/2007, -4/+12@Rchapman8 (edit, I swear I hit reply sorry)
Apple is trying to change the way computers are "thought of" (paradigm shift to drop a cool word). It used to be that you'd work on your car every weekend. Now cars are becoming maintenance free or disposable. Same thing with your Oven-- you'd go out and chop wood and it was a pain to cook food; now you flip a switch and it gets hot. Someday you might think back to the idea of building a computer from pieces and laugh. You'll recall downloading drivers for your sound card and think "what kind of fool would do that?!". Then again, you might not. Only time and popular opinion will decide if the computer is an appliance or a ongoing DIY project. And there will always be the niche DIY market no matter what so don't worry. - node3, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Yeah, I've been eyeing that myself.
- mikm, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6CupBeEmpty: you're assuming that every PC runs Windows.
- superkendall, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5A number of the ads are fairly factual.
Consider the C++ one. If you are doing some serious Windows GUI programming you are more than likely hitting the MFC via C++. (Well, perhaps VB is the most likely but more complex apps are generally C++). And the photobook they showed really is easy to assemble in iPhoto. ANy of the ads mentioning how easy it is to use iMovie and burn a DVD - well, they are spot-on.
Or what about the Magsafe ad, that sucker was pure fact - Magsafe really does protect a laptop from being sucked to the floor via cable/leg interaction.
Sure some of them are more general and have more nebulous claims, but not all of them are that way... - ImperatorTerrae, on 10/12/2007, -10/+15Here's a hint: There's a reason that there are fanboys. (Its not the shiny hardware, I guarantee it.
- ez12a, on 10/12/2007, -4/+9@ carapi
...how does Imperator's statement make him a fanboy? - exsst, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8I've used macs and pc's, it doesn't matter what you use to be honest.
I also see no difference in macs and pc's... apple has a better gui than windows definitely, but if you're not too bothered about that then no problem.
However, I favour apple over microsoft as a business. - ImperatorTerrae, on 10/12/2007, -4/+9@ raabco
I'm having the weirdest feeling of deja vu... - DelMonte, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I guess you're 12 years old.
Too young to remember that Apple and Mac users were the first to point out that PC meant Personal Computer so that included Macs, especially since Apple released the first mass-produced Personal Computer in 1976. You're too young to remember that the great majority of people used PC to describe only x86 DOS machines all through the 80's and 90's. I never heard anybody call a Comodore-64 a PC even if by the "dictionary" definition it is.
Despite Apple and Mac users bitching about the fact that Macs were PCs for years, the majority of the non-geek population still call x86 machines shipping with Windows "PCs", and call Apple computers "Macs" or "Apples".
So Apple gave up and started to use the popular terms in their ads, and it just happen to be more effective a differentiating the Macintosh brand vs. Windows PCs.
These days only smart-ass kids like you try to point out that the official definition of PC would include Macs, thinking they are so smart to point this out, when actually this is what Apple users tried to teach DOS/Windows users for years, and failed since the majority sticked to the terms PCs vs Macs. This all goes back to the original IBM PC and "PC clones" that were used to describe DOS machines, starting well before you were born. - collywolly, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7@ez12a
"They should make a commercial of a Mac running windows games through bootcamp."
Has it ever occured to you, Intel processor and architecture, Windows OS....... That will make it a Windows box running the games. After all Mac is about the whole experience including OS X, not just the pretty cases, right? - Seidoger, on 10/12/2007, -6/+10http://youtube.com/results?search_query=gap+holidays&search=Search
Yes sir! and every year at that!
I don't remember the same thing for Apple - montage, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4does your mommy know you're using the computer?
- flipmeat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Like OS X, don't like the hardware? The outsides are shiny, yes, but all Macs have Intel guts. Northbridge chips. SATA drives. Intel, ATI, and Nvidia graphics. Is this not the usual stuff? I'm not trying to bait you, I'm just trying to grok what's not to like.
I'm going to guess that the dislike, for many, boils down to 'I have spent $$$$ on my computer, bragged about it to my friends, and associated it with my identity, and if I 'switch' now, my friends are going to rag on me/I can never admit I made a mistake'
OK, that's a little bait-ish, but it's a common problem. But, I don't come here and just get in your face, I have answers!
1) eventually you will want to upgrade 2) Keeping the PC, a spiffy laptop would be a nice addition, with the line 'I am a cross platform mofo' for dessert. 3) One o' them Mac Minis can be stuffed in a drawer with an Iogear KVM switch, and your friends won't have a clue. :-) - superkendall, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4There was a post on his blog saying he didn't know where the rumors came from, but he was shooting the Holiday ads the next day - so the ads were shot after the rumor.
When perusing the internet, take it with a grain of salt. - Shenanigans, on 10/12/2007, -7/+11Because Apple has to lower themselves to poke fun of Windows in all their ads makes me feel a whole lot better about using Microsoft as well. Who wants to buy a computer that advertises their snobbiness over other companies.
And enough with the, 'Apple is trendy and Windows is all buisness' thing they have going. - MikeUnwired, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I think the ads are effective in getting people to think about the fact that there is another platform out there that they might want to look into when they are shopping for a computer. People that remember the confusion of the computing market place of the 1980s are the targets of these ads. Those folks remember when you had to be careful about what hardware you bought because it might not play well with the programs you wanted to use. And, Apple has always been on the fringes as one of those that didn't play well with the mainstream "IBM Compatible" DOS and now Windows PC.
Sure, there are still more than the two options, but your typical consumer isn't interested in taking the time it takes to set-up an alternative OS (Linux for one) box that does what an off-the-shelf Windows or Mac box does out-of-the-box. I might be wrong, but I don't think you can walk into a local store -- Apple-like, mainstream specialty or big-box -- and buy a Linux box that is as ready to use as the typical Windows PC or Apple Mac. Heck, buying a Mac takes more work than a Windows PC, although it takes much less work than it did a few years back. To the vast number of consumers, there is one computer -- a Windows computer -- and this Mac thing that artsy intellectual types use.
The message that Apple is trying to get out there is that it's OK to try something non-Windows -- "we've" got your back and you'll be happy you made the effort. The Mac isn't just for artsy types and those that are rebels. You can do lots of neat things that you really want to do with a Mac -- and you can do those things pretty darn well.
Apple is trying to carve-out a competitive advantage in areas in which it is thought to excel by the average consumer while also leveraging the core strengths it brings to the table.
I'm going to get dugg-down for this, but I do take exception about the quality of what you can create with the fairly standard out-of-the-box tools you get with PCs. I think it has to do more with talent than the tools. It's like the hammers at The Home Depot -- a $6 hammer and a $50 hammer both do the same thing. I pose this question -- Is a Mac user generally more talented than the typical Windows PC user? The economist in me says yes, the Mac users are generally more talented and motivated by default. They took the time and work to seek-out what might be a better tool (the $50 hammer) to generate their output than the Windows PC ($6 hammer), but the results are really different based on the talent of the users first and foremost. - superkendall, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4@unknownunknowns:
Proof by counterexample: Paul Thurrott (WinSupersite)
If you don't think there are Microsoft/Windows fanboys every bit as devoted as the most rabid Apple zealot - well then, you just haven't been paying attention (or looking carefully enough in the mirror).
Or reading comments in Zune stories. - Koray, on 10/12/2007, -5/+9First, Apples market share is now around 6.1% in the US.
Second, no. OS X is built on UNIX. Windows is.. windows. As long as Microsoft insists on ***** like RPC, it will always be more vulnerable to much larger more severe attacks. NT, although built for security, is fatally flawed in that so much of it is built into the kernal. Everything effects everything else, almost nothing is modular, and as such viral attacks can spread across your entire system with ease. It's also why one program crashing can lock up your entire system. OS X uses a microkernal that, although isn't perfect, does much more to modularize everything.
Unix malware is certainly technically feasible, but it isn't nearly as easy. Especially since nix malware has been an almost dead arena for so long. There is nothing for script kiddies to build on, allowing malware prevention to outpace the malware itself. - MacParrot, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Any chance you guys could just admit that the ads are pretty clever and have been very successful in getting Apple's name and the Mac out there? Which is the intended purpose. Picking apart an ad based on how truthful it is cannot be any more ridiculous. ALL ads use a bit of trickery to get you to watch them. ALL ads include half-truths to make product A look better than product B. To be this upset over advertising is sad. Please find a hobby other than posting rants about products you don't like or use.
- ez12a, on 10/12/2007, -20/+24n00bst3r your name is fitting. My macbook pro runs BF 2142, Half Life 2, and CS:S excellent, thank you.
you're right. They should make a commercial of a Mac running windows games through bootcamp. - trooz1, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6This virus issue always seems to come up and one of the explanations that people give is that the market share is not big enough to warrant as many viruses. While perhaps partially true, I would imagine that a smaller market share is not the main reason why there are no viruses on the mac. Why? What better way to show off your l337 h4xx0r sk1llz than to unleash the first virus for a system whose major selling point is that it is "immune" to viruses. Imagine the headlines! You just broke one of the most secure operating systems! You are king of the internets!
Anyone? I guess all the virus writers are on vacation, and don't want that bothersome publicity. Naww, must be the low marketshare. Always the low marketshare. Really, I hope that sarcasm was aimed towards the 114,000 viruses as well. - Hutch34, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I'm a Mac user, and have been a Mac user for the last 3 years. I have a desktop at home which dual boots Windows and Linux, but I only use that when I absolutely have to! The thing is, Macs are just easier, more hassle-free. That's not to say it doesn't happen every once in a while though. I have a Powerbook G4 which I've used for almost everything since I bought it. If there's a Windows application I need to use, the first thing I try to do is find a Mac alternative, because I know it will just be easier. For me, I can be much more productive, and efficient in everything I do on a Mac. There's just so many things that make OS 10 so much easier to use. For example: Expose(which I use almost every 10 seconds), the Dock, Dashboard and some many other things. Combine those things and keyboard shortcuts and you're going 100 MPH without having to be hassled but small things. One of the best things IMO about a Mac, is when an application locks up, it only locks up that application, and not the entire system. If you take all the small things like that, and add in iLife, an extremely easy to use Aqua interface, never having to download drivers, and just over-all integration of everything- a lot of applications are linked together.
I guess what I'm trying to say, is that Macs are just easier to use for me. That's the simple truth. - scutter, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p134/Scutter_photos/Apple-Fanboy-Alert-small.jpg
Alert level: HIGH - irateVpirate, on 10/12/2007, -5/+9These commercials are taken far too seriously. Just enjoy the humour, and let them leave your mind.
- iamjaredc, on 10/12/2007, -3/+76.1% of Americans.
- KyleMistry, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3So being creative isn't a part of work?
Tell that to the designers who make everything look the way it does.
'Course, we could all just live in bland, rectangular grey buildings. Drive squarish blocks instead of shaped cars. Sounds like a wonderful life to me, to hell with creativity. - DelMonte, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4What's the cost of Avid and Permiere? Is it included with a computer? What percentage of the computer using population is able to use these programs?
The ads are about iLife, bundled with Macs, that includes iMovie HD. So it's really about Windows Movie Maker vs. iMovie HD. And nobody in their right mind will say that Windows Movie Maker is anything close iMovie. Most anyone agrees that WMM is close to being crap, MS doesn't even try anymore when it comes to movie editing.
Maybe you can find some nice shareware or freeware alternative to iMovie on Windows (but really... good luck!) but most people will get discouraged by the simple thought of having to search and download this program, and then pray that it will work well on their Windows machine and their video camera.
Get a Mac, plug your camera, and you're set to edit your footage and add nice effects and titles in minutes. That's the message here. - Frankie4Fingers, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5The third one is the funniest ad I think I have ever seen. "Now I have to go listen to some emo"
That is funny only because there is more children's software and games and learning programming for a PC then a mac... who are they trying to kid? The fact that someone would go buy a computer based on such a stupid advertisement is amazing. -
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