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Apple and PC: the discussion continues. (1 Viewer)

Patrick Cate

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Sep 18, 1998
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Anyone else find Apple's new commercials, the ones trying to get Windows users to switch to Mac's, stupid and annoying? From a company that has made some of the best commercials around, these new ones are just plain bad.
 

Christopher P

Supporting Actor
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Dec 28, 1998
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564
And even more I really care about who these idiots are, I'm glad they identify thameslves at the end of the spot. Check out apple's website for 10 reasons you should switch. If that convinces you, call me about some bridges I've got for sale.

Chris
 

Travis Hedger

Supporting Actor
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Mar 24, 1998
Messages
695
I really hate that one on the web

"I could't open anything, and everytime I turned my computer on, things were changed"

Sounds to me like you don't know how to use a computer lady!
 

Feng

Stunt Coordinator
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Dec 19, 2001
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91
Isn't it false advertising? Everytime I turn on my PC things are the same, unless I install some new hardware or software.
 

Guy Martin

Second Unit
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Nov 29, 1998
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347
I'm an Apple die-hard (as in you can have my Mac when you pry the mouse from my cold, dead, hands) and even I have to admit these ads are pretty bad. They offer little in the way of factual reasons in favor of the Mac over Windoze and instead seem to rely on bland generalities and user stupidity to explain the differences. Man, we're a long way from the glory days of Ridley Scott's 1984 ad.
- Guy
 

Steve Tannehill

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Well, guys, we are talking about the commercials, so they made us notice. I'd say they are effective, even if the half the guys featured look like dorks.

Now as for bias, I'll take an operating system built on top of UNIX instead of DOS any old day. Mac rulez!

- Steve
 

Adam Lenhardt

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Steve: As of Windows 2000, now Windows XP, the Windows Operating System is no longer based on DOS. The shell's the same, but the infrastructure is different.

Besides, if the commercials are only effective in getting the viewer to say, "Man those commercials suck ass!" then they're not really selling computers.

The ads are plain misleading. To the average user, it is completely a matter of personal preference over operating system and software options. Sure, there are some powerhouse tools for the Mac that I wish were possible for my PC, but the people the commercials are appealing to won't ever probably even hear about those things. They'll just be pissed that their favorite games aren't out for Macs but are for PCs. But damned if your Quicktime trailers won't look great on your Mac. (That said, I've been using the QT6PP for a week or so and I'm impressed. None of the framerate dropouts or audio sync problems a PC user expects with Quicktime.)
 

Wayne Bundrick

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As of Windows 2000, now Windows XP, the Windows Operating System is no longer based on DOS. The shell's the same, but the infrastructure is different.
What do you mean "As of Windows 2000"? Before Windows 2000 it was called Windows NT, and NT's been around since 1993.

What's really misleading is the commercial about the blue screen of death. I guess Macintosh crashes are forgivable because when they crash they show cute icons like a bomb or a little Mac with a sad face on its screen. I've seen plenty of those.
 

Jack Briggs

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I've only seen one of the ads, featuring a woman who is a writer discussing how the Mac O/S makes logical sense to her. At least that one is okay, IMO.

I wonder why Apple never does an ad about one of the most obviously saliant points of all: that Windoze itself was the PC response to the Mac's graphic user interface.

I'm a Mac user and owner and fan, btw.
 

Jack Briggs

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Ture, Jeff, true--but the two Steves were at least open about it! :) Mac rules. Forever and forever, amen. See how impartial and objective I am?
 

Paul Jenkins

Supporting Actor
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Jan 4, 2000
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965
mac faithful, name some compelling reasons to chose the Macintosh over the PC.
How about over Linux?
I don't see any, myself, perhaps you can educate me :)
 

Jason Seaver

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Jun 30, 1997
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I wonder why Apple never does an ad about one of the most obviously saliant points of all: that Windoze itself was the PC response to the Mac's graphic user interface.
Because, who cares? So Apple got there first - that's ancient history. In the meantime, Microsoft has improved their system immensely since Windows 1.0, and it's arguable that Windows is actually the better UI now. To be fair, I haven't used a Mac in five years or so, but I found it incredibly difficult to use - too modal, having to hold the button down on the menus was annoying and I have no idea how you people survive without the right mouse button.

It'd be pointless for Apple to talk about why the Mac was better than the MS/Intel systems 20 years ago; they have to come up with a compelling reason to use a Mac rather than a Wintel system now.
 

gregstaten

Supporting Actor
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Aug 1, 1997
Messages
615
To each his personal preferences. I used to be one of the diehard Mac faithful. (Cut me and I bled in seven colors.) Heck, I was even on the board of directors of the Houston Area Apple Users Group for about six years. I bought my first Mac back in 1984, faithfully attended both MacWorld Expos for nearly ten years, and so on.

Then, about eighteen months ago I switched to a PC at home.

About nine months earlier I was given a PC at work to go with my Mac. I hated the PC (running Windows NT) for months. Made fun of it and all the stupid things the OS did. But then, I woke up one day and realized that computers are not religion. I started examining why it was that I loved the Mac and hated the PC so much.

I began looking objectively at both platforms. I had gotten used to the fact that my Mac crashed several times a week - if not daily. I figured that was just the way it was - I had dealt with the crashes for years. That's what happens when you push a power machine to its limits. But, my PC didn't crash. Ever. I started editing on the PC (an Avid Symphony - the Macs had been running Avid Media Composer). Then I loaded Photoshop, Illustrator, and After Effects. They felt _exactly_ the same. No difference.

When the time came to upgrade my system at home (at that time a 200mHz PowerPC) I looked at both systems. I was surprised at how much more I could get for the same money with a PC. I knew the Mac premium and always justified it. But I couldn't justify it any more. I ordered a Micron PC and set it up. For a while I ran both systems, switching back and forth.

When I moved to my new house a year ago I packed up both systems. I still haven't unpacked the Mac.

I still like the Mac, but...I don't like OS X. Sure. It is a hell of a lot more stable - and it is about time the Mac had a modern OS. But the dock drives me crazy. The open/save dialogs have to be the most poorly designed things ever coded. And, the interface seems to be more interested in looking cool than being useful.

I've switched. I still have friends that can't believe it, but I suspect there are a lot more of me than there are PC users who will be tempted by Apple's ad campaign to go the other way.

---

BTW - one thing you still can't do on a Mac that directly relates to what we do: built an HTPC. Until Apple makes the APIs available to pull the digital bitstream off the DVD, you can't send a Dolby Digital or DTS stream out of a Mac. And, you can't easily build custom resolutions and timings - critical to get the best image out of an HTPC.

-greg
 

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