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Time for an audit of Microsoft's 'Apple Tax'

Microsoft is back touting the "Apple Tax" that it says Mac buyers are paying, this time filling out a fake tax return listing all of what it claims are the extra costs of opting for Windows' leading rival. But I'd argue that this time Microsoft is in danger of being audited.

The document, posted on Microsoft's Windows Blog on Thursday, compares the cost of a PC and Mac purchase, making the case that buyers can save more than $3,000 in buying two Windows PCs as opposed to two Macs. The "tax return" is … Read more

Big TVs good! Big speakers bad?

Yeah, I get it, big displays garner oohs and aahs; but why are big speakers always portrayed as hideous things only an audiophile could love?

Thing is, tiny speakers cheat you out of more than half the experience. On a return-on-investment basis, home audio is more accurate than video. A 50-inch display may be sharp and clear, but it can't approach the majestic scale of a movie theater screen. A decent home theater sound system will blow away most movie theater systems.

How large is a large speaker? For the purpose of this blog, 20-inch high bookshelf speakers with … Read more

Belkin makes PC-to-Mac switch even easier

Back in 2006, Microsoft was only too happy to tout a cable from Belkin that made it easier to move from XP to Vista. It even gave away the devices as part of its CES press kits.

However, a new twist on that cable is likely to get a far chillier reception in Redmond.

While Belkin's original USB cable--the Easy Transfer Cable--was aimed at moving from XP to Vista, its latest product is aimed at those moving to a Mac.

The $50 Switch-to-Mac cable "automatically moves your music, movies, photos, files, and Internet preferences" from a Windows … Read more

New Apple ads tweak Microsoft marketers

Apple has fired back in the latest round of the Mac versus PC ad wars with two commercials tweaking Microsoft's marketing strategies.

One nice thing about having a sick girlfriend is a guilt-free weekend in front of a dozen or so college and pro football games. Apple released two new Mac vs. PC ads for that sedentary audience to ponder in between kickoffs this weekend, though both ads seemed to be tailored more for the tech industry than NFL fans.

Both commercials poke fun at Microsoft's recent massive ad campaign to "redefine" itself in the face … Read more

Ad exec: Microsoft as 'victim' doesn't work

While acknowledging Microsoft is in a tough spot in trying to recast Windows after years of attacks from Apple, one ad executive said she is highly skeptical of Microsoft's new approach.

Microsoft's latest ad, which starts running tonight, features a Microsoft employee who looks very much like the PC guy from the Apple ads, saying "I'm a PC and I've been made into a stereotype."

"Casting Microsoft as a victim still doesn't work for me," said Kathy Sharpe, CEO of New York-based interactive ad firm Sharpe Partners. "They aren't … Read more

New Microsoft ads directly target Apple

Updated 8:40 a.m., PDT with additional details throughout.

After two weeks of running a series of ads with Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates that left many people scratching their heads, Microsoft's latest spots take direct aim at the Apple ads that have turned Windows into a punch line.

"I'm a PC and I've been made into a stereotype," says Microsoft employee Sean Siller, who looks a whole lot like John Hodgman, the actor who plays the PC in Apple's ads.

The spot then goes on to have other people say that, they … Read more

Connect your monitors via USB and save the planet?

According to DisplayLink, a Microsoft Research study says that using two or more displays can increase productivity by as much as 50 percent. The company also notes that University of Utah researchers have shown that users of multiple displays make up to 33 percent fewer mistakes than those working on a single monitor.

Now, in its own study released Wednesday, DisplayLink says that using multiple monitors simultaneously via USB consumes less power than using them via DVI. To plug multiple monitors into one system traditionally requires that you use a discrete graphics card solution with dual DVI ports. Right away that's theoretically more power, since discrete solutions take more energy to run than integrated solutions. With DisplayLink, you'd simply be using the USB port to connect, so there would be no need for a dual DVI card and the integrated graphics would suffice.

At Interop, an IT conference and Exposition in New York this week, DisplayLink is leaning on its study results to push the energy efficiency of using DisplayLink to connect multiple monitors via USB.

In its study, DisplayLink measured the power needed for a desktop PC to run one to four LCD monitors. Two identically configured systems were used--one equipped with DisplayLink-enabled USB-to-DVI adapters and software, and another with dual-DVI discrete graphics cards (the most common type of dedicated multidisplay board). Power consumption was measured at the entry of the computer power supply to gauge total system power usage under different system loads. … Read more

Live from CES 1981: The format wars heat up

Forget Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD, thanks to YouTube you can check out what the experts at the Consumer Electronics Show were saying about the original video format war, Beta vs VHS tape, way back in 1981. Oh, and there's a tantalizing glimpse of the "future," RCA's new video format, the SelectaVision VideoDisc. (Full video after the jump.)

… Read more