Comments on: In new Microsoft ad, it takes a long time to buy a PC

The latest "laptop hunters" ad keeps hammering Apple on every conceivable aspect. But why does it seem to take 11-year-old Jackson and his mom, Lisa, a long time to buy their PC?

[lakorai2]

I wouldn't have bought an HP, I would have bought an ASUS G50 series from newegg.com. MMMM, Geforce 9800 GT (G92 core), kicking the crap out of a Macbook pro for $800 less...... (which has a 9400M for the base model and a 9600GT for the $2500 model).

And no, running Parallels or Bootcamp will not make the mac work magically for games. People, the 9400M is a SHARED VIDEO CARD. It's an IGP with some dedicated capability. It sucks hard for games. The ASUS G50 has a 512MB DEDICATEd 9800M in it for $1200. That kills the Macbook and the Macbook Pro.

and yes, mistake #1, buying from Bestbuy. No real IT professional or anyone who knows that they are doing buys from Best Buy.

Macs are overpriced. Get over it. Their OS is pretty stable, but Apple charges way too much for their products then puts stupid limitations in them:

*soldered batteries (Macbook pro 17") or hard to replace (iPhone 3G, Macbook Air)
*Proprietary power supplies, no ATX form factors (all Mac desktops)
*Have to remove 25 screws to replace a hard drive in a notebook (Macbook Pro, all new unibody Mac laptops) or you have to full the screen off with suctions cups (iMac) or use a stupid puddy knife to open it and then remove 10 screws (Mac Mini)
*Locked down OS (iPhone without Jailbreaking)

If you really want a Mac buy an EFI-X module and build yourself a Core2QUAD or (soming soon) a Core i7 system with a giga-byte board for less than $1000 from parts from newegg.com or zipzoomfly. Kill the Mac Pro and pay $1500 less.....

[EricJM001]

The limitations that you refer to are more like design tradeoffs to get thinner laptops, smaller desktops and handhelds. You, like so many others, keep forgetting that Apple is one of the best design companies on the planet. They have done all of the proper Anthropology to design and create products that people really like. The Mac, the iPod, the iPhone, these products have lead the design of consumer electronics for the last 10 years, and longer in the case of the Mac.

[monkeyfun14]

@Eric

I would rather have a computer that is going to work better..

Is the body of the laptop going to make my photoshop work any better?

[SteveW928]

@ monkeyfun14 - "I would rather have a computer that is going to work better.."
The Mac does work better.

"Is the body of the laptop going to make my photoshop work any better?"
Well, maybe not until your PC laptop breaks from being carted around. The 'milled from solid' isn't just a marketing feature... it is to make the laptop more durable, and less likely to have issues from flexing (a big problem for the components and boards).

[SteveW928]

@ lakorai2 -

First of all, ALL the Macbook Pros have 9600 GTs, not 9400M (well, actually, they have both so you get the low-power benefits of the 9400M when you don't need the 9600 GT). The difference between that and a 9800 is not that much, certainly not 'blow away'. The base MBP is $1999, which is only $300 more than the slightly faster G50 model you must be referring to ($1699, even on newegg.com, which would be cheaper than a retail store). The Macbook isn't trying to compete with that machine... it is a different audience.

Second, if I were focused on gaming, I'd probably not be using a laptop anyway... just get a PS3. Most people aren't buying their computer for optimized gaming.... certainly not those on a budget. These people (the ads are talking about) are going to buy a Wii most likely anyway.

I do agree with you that Apple is kind of missing something in the mid-high range for computer enthusiasts. The Mac Pro is top of the line, but pricy. The rest of Apple's machines are pretty solidly mid-range... but there is a gap after that. The typical user simply doesn't need a box with slots anymore. Apple recognizes this. But, they should put something in this range for PC switchers who still think they do. Maybe a Mac Pro with the basics for a lower price to make that crowd happy.

[magichr3]

In this house, we have 3 PC's and 4 Macs. The Mac cube we hardly use but it works. The other 3 Macs are what we use --2 Laptops and a tower. Two of the PC's are dead from viruses and the 3rd we only boot up when we absolutely have to (for fear of getting and dying from virus too.) When we use the PC the anti-virus software pops up SO MUCH it is a MAJOR pain to deal with, so we just don't use that PC. The Macs are just Macs and don't have system "popups" continually annoying you. I'm sure that someone will say, "Well you should do this or that" to prevent that... but honestly, I would just like the money back on those three PC computers --be nice if Microsoft bought back their "cheaper" computers.

[darkebinary]

Maybe... just maybe... that's how long it took them to shoot the commercial??? I own a MAC for my photo editing task and a PC for most of my work/office related task. My MP3 player is a Creative Zen. I'm hardly a fanboy of any type of hardware or brand. They all have their strengths and weeknesses. This whole debate is pointless, as is this article. I like a lot of your articles Chris, but you really are Technicially Incorrect with this one.

[jture]

When Microsoft releases an OS that isn't bloated and buggy, maybe we'll talk.

[scweezil]

Microsoft sells PCs? ummmm nope, but every generic PC sold has a MS tax on it.

[kai6novice]

I wish Microsoft can put Linux into their ad. I know, I know, Linux is not that big, but it's just fun to see actor talk about Linux on a nettop. Can you actually find a Linux nettop from Best Buy?

[riverforce]

fire this jerk Chris... there's life and then there's commercials... he should know the difference...
I can't believe you actually printed this...

[obvio-capitao]

Microsoft is positioning itself as "cheap" -- leaving the "cool" segment to Apple.

But it doesn't matter if Microsoft gives Windows away for free -- we're about to see a surge of Linux/ARM netbooks that will cost around $200 and boost 15 hours of battery life.

So, imagine yourself in front of two options:

A) Windows/Intel : 3 hours of battery life; $400

B) Linux/ARM : 15 hours of battery life; $200

What would you choose?

[monkeyfun14]

The Windows machine..

[ppgreat]

The better question to ask is: What is Microsoft so scared of that they feel the need to spend all of this money to specifically zero in on Apple?

[monkeyfun14]

Its called advertising the same thing can be applied to Apples marketing or the fact that they went from saying no new features in Snow Leopard to trying to remake the gui is someone scared of Win 7?

[rnaoncfixd]

I think we're all missing the point that that kid doesn't need to be lugging around a $1500 laptop. Get that child a netbook.

[rich12313]

Ive spent 10 hours in a best buy before ( and no i do not work there). I was just hanging out looking at everything they had just to see how much they really had to offer. I would rather spend countless hours and find the best laptop for me then to spend 30 minutes and find one that i will regret buying months down the road.

[ralphmcmac]

rich12313, I'm not sure Lauren agree's with your approach. Seriously, she did not take as long as Giampaolo or Lisa and her kid. Go to this link and you'll soon see why. Talk about an about turn. Note the guy yet to pass the store, then note the same guy as she comes out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIS6G...eature=channel

[blinkdt]

Chris, it was an overcast sky when they walked in and same/same when they walked out. Granted, they did have a wide variety of computer configurations to choose from on the PC side of the store (wait, PCs took up virtually ALL of the floorspace) and that took a little time, but it sure looked to me like they wre enjoying themselves.

I can hardly wait for 7, when Mac share will actually slip. 10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 percent and . . . . I can hear the shrill whining of the Mac fans already and delight in their anguish.

[SkateNY]

Read it and weep. Or reap.

I don?t care about how much you love your ugly, unmanageable and clunky Zune.

I don?t care about the unendundung lies you write about how the Windows OS is bug- and virus- free. I?ve been in this business for some time now, so I'm used to your corporate deceit in the service of keeping your job, and I?ve tired of you and people like you.

I don?t care that you?ve been brainwashed to believe that the total cost of ownership between an Apple machine and a Microsoft robot saves you so much money. Like it or not, it doesn?t work that way. Facts are facts. If you don?t like the taste of the medicine, that?s your problem, not mine.

I don?t care that you ignore the fact that Microsoft?s management is, at best, in disarray and, at worst, inconceivably incompetent.

I don?t care about your ludicrous belief that Macs don?t suffer from bugs, germs, worms, trojan horses or trojan condems to the ways that Windows clearly does just because there are fewer Macs around than there are Windows robots.

You can be as stupid as you want to be, and you can be in as much denial as you want to be. That?s none of my business.

I also don?t care that you believe that having a moron as your CEO is the best way to go. Great job on the Seinfeld ad campaign, and on the ?I?m a PC? campaign. More money well lost. ?We?ve got millions to spend, why not just throw it away? Who cares about stock-holders?? Oh-by-the-way?The ?I?m a PC? campaign did wonders for both the company and the investors. (Great trading price for the past five years or so, by the way. Sorry you lost your house because of your investment in Microsoft. Maybe that's why so many of you people are so pissed-off all the time?)

Even sorrier is that you could have retired early in Costa Rica had you had any faith in a company that delivers what it promises. Your stupidity and stubbornness is not my problem.

If I?m attempting to make any point at all, then it?s this: The stupidity and abject stubbornness of Microsoft investors and consumers has only served to place Microsoft in the untenable position in which they now find themselves. They, and you, are left with nothing else but to attack competitors in ways that only make them and you appear foolish and weak. They and you did it to yourselves.

As an Apple user and investor, all I can say is, ?Thank you very much Microsoft apologists and investors. Your timing was nothing if not exquisite. I no longer need to work for a living at a relatively young age, my children will be well taken care of long after I'm gone, and I can live the rest of my years knowing that I chose the right side of the ledger.?

Here we go:

This 33-year-old company dominates the consumer market spaces it competes in? has no debt? and is sitting on a cash pile of over $25 billion. In the face of the current recession it continues to do well - unlike many of its competitors.

Back in 1982, you could have purchased 100 shares of this company?s stock for $160. Those same 100 shares would be worth roughly $92,000 dollars at today?s split-adjusted share prices.

That?s a 57,400% return, something most people won?t ever see in a lifetime of investing.

Fortunately for us, this company?s prospects are only looking brighter. In fact, it has plenty of space to grow and do it all over again. And it won?t matter whether you?ve been there from the beginning or jumping into the bandwagon today - the ride looks to be profitable nonetheless.

Let me show you a few reasons why this stock belongs in everyone?s portfolio?

Ignoring Competitors and Analysts

Today, its bewildered competitors plod along, introducing ho-hum, cheap, ?me-too? products in a vain attempt to undercut its expensive prices and its ever-increasing market share.

Most of these attempts are pitifully ineffective. Regardless, this company just ignores them. Always executing from a tower of strength, it defines and controls the markets it operates in, rewriting the rules for the other players.

In addition, it creates new markets where none existed before? paradigm-shifting consumers? lives and thought processes.

The company?s uniquely distinctive advertising and its incredibly thoughtful, aesthetic product designs give it a unique position in the consumer electronics industry. One that it?s not likely to give up anytime soon, if ever.

[monkeyfun14]

I can't take anyone seriously who uses ? instead of '

[SkateNY]

Numerous analysts have predicted the company?s demise over the years, saying its products are too expensive and won?t sell well in recessionary environments, that it?s a ?one man show.?

The company?s response? It ignores the analysts, too. Because they just don?t get it.

You see, it has something that most analysts don?t possess and never seem to be able to put a proper value on:
· Long-term creative vision
· The will and confidence to ignore all the pundits and nay-sayers
· A first-class management team to drive the execution of its secretive plans

Apple: The Foremost Consumer Electronics Leader

If you haven?t already guessed, I?m talking about Apple, Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL), the foremost consumer electronics company in the world. And its stock belongs in everyone?s portfolio.

Granted, I?m a little biased. I?ve owned its products since the 1980s and just can?t imagine living without them.

Its customer base is made up of students, educators, businesses, government agencies and consumers of every sort. The company?s business strategy centers on its ability to design and develop not only its products, but the software operating systems they run on.

Its Mac computers are first class, easy to use and run all the popular software found on Windows machines. And they run those programs better and without all the viruses, spyware, malware and hacker attacks that constantly plague Windows users.

I?ve converted several long-time Windows users to Macs, and once they saw how easy they were to use - and how few problems they had. Afterwards, they wondered why they hadn?t switched over long before.

The company single-handedly redefined the entire music business with its iPod and its iTunes music store. And it did it in a relatively short span of four to five years, generating billions in annual revenues in the process. Its share of the mp3-player market remains well above 75%.

Now it?s doing it again with the iPhone, the slickest smartphone on the market. Sales of the device grew 245% in 2008, according to a Gartner research report. That compares to 96% for Research in Motion and a paltry 0.8% for Nokia.

While the iPhone is number three in terms of overall marketshare (8.2%), it?s clearly growing the fastest, and could easily overtake Nokia and RIM in a couple of years.

In the simplest of terms, Apple has figured out how to create products that most people would design if they could give their two cents to the Apple product development teams. They?re simple and easy to use, just like everyone wants them to be.

Apple?s Cash Cow Just Keeps Getting Bigger?

Apple?s second-quarter financials will be released April 22, in what is always a highly anticipated conference call. The company constantly downplays future expectations when talking to analysts, and then routinely beats them by a wide margin.

This quarter?s results will be particularly interesting, as it will give investors a better idea as to the effect the recession is having on the company. So far, Apple has appeared to be somewhat resistant to its effects, helped in no small way by a constant stream of new product innovations and introductions.

However, one of the major sources of future revenue is constantly overlooked by analysts. Whenever the company sells an iPhone, it only books about 10% of the money it receives as revenue, and defers the rest.

It then books this annually over a period of 10 years. This is a constantly increasing future revenue stream that?s like cash in the bank. Great for when times get a little tough.

And then there?s the ?Apple effect.? This is logic that goes along the lines of: ?If Apple?s (iPhone or iPod) is this good, its computers must be great, too.?

That phenomenon has analysts betting the company will sell 2 to 2.2 million Mac computers for the January-March time period. The company has plenty of room to grow here, too, as it currently has under 10% of the overall PC market.

Given how well the company has been performing so far during this recession, it appears that shares are still cheap. Investors interested in owning a few shares might want to wait until after this quarter?s results are announced on April 22, as there is generally a pullback in the stock after earnings results.

Apple is certainly on top of its game, and I believe it will continue to stay there as long as it continues to make the rules that all its competitors have to follow.

Good investing,

David Fessler
www.investmentu.com

[Clues]

In the thirty plus years I have followed Microsoft one theme has been consistent through that time.

Microsoft's first choice is ALWAYS to LIE (second choice through infinity - same rule applies) even when the truth could serve them better. It's in Microsoft's DNA and a direct genesis of Bill & Steve's veracity?

[cdtphilpot]

@ Monkeyfun

I think your an MS employee or just a plan buffoon who has absolutely no clue what you're talking about.

As an IT manager with a company that has both Macs and PC's I can truthfully say Macs just work. I spend very little time working on our Macs, and the only thing I have don't to our Macs in the past 3 years is add more memory.

My PC's are the complete opposite, they cost my company millions of lost dollars in both productivity and repair costs.

Macs aren't loaded with bloatware like PC's are. I take a new Mac out of the box and have it set up within 5 mins and I don't have to spend time removing crap ware.

The new Macs are uni-body my company owns 1,000 of them, they are lightweight and a gorgeous piece of work.

Also the cost of ownership with Macs is far less. My personal Mac I've own for 5 years has only had 1 issue which was caused by me dropping it. I took it into a local Apple store and my Macbook was fixed free of charge. You can't even get that with PC's very few malls have a Dell store, or HP store that you can just walk into and have someone help you with your computer for free.

I think you actually need to go look at a Mac and go to an apple store and experience the usability of a mac. I was a die hard PC user for years and never even looked at a Mac until I got into college and our school was using them. Macs truly provide an excellent turn on your investment and have high resale value, just look at Craiglist!

[Angmarr]

it does take time to buy a PC because unlike F-ing apple Pcs have Options, but the Maczombie Author obviously doesn't know of such things!

I live how all these mac fanboys are really feeling the burn, cant take it can ya?

[Constable Odo]

Let them buy whatever they want. The world is full of choices. If they're still satisfied with their purchase in a few months, then good for them. I'm sure they don't need a Mac and the Sony/Windows machine will be satisfactory enough as long as they put some anti-virus software on it. Let's face it, most people in the world have Windows PCs and that's not going to change anytime soon. Apple is at 10% market share and barely moving 1% a year. Hardly a major threat to the Windows world. I'll continue to buy Macs because that's what I like. I was buying Mac when they had almost no market share so I don't really care about that or if Macs are a few hundred dollars more expensive than competitive PCs. My Macs have lasted on the average of five years each and they rarely ever gave me problems. Those MS ads have no influence over me at all and I actually enjoy watching them for a few hearty chuckles.

[sparkmatter]

This is utterly ridiculous on BOTH sides arguing. Apple INVENTED the PC, and Macs are and were and have always BEEN PC's, PC stands for Personal Computer. Or at least it used to, then idiots made it mean "Wintel" as opposed to Mac, but now Macs use Intel hardware, there is very little that separates an Apple brand computer from the many myriad OEM manufacturers who use the same general kind of hardware but push Windows aside from quality and cutting edge design.

I'm writing this on a Mac, and guess what, it can run windows too! None of this crap argument is about the computers, just the Brand and the OS getting lumped into one magical fairyland platform that doesn't really exist separate from the other. Honestly, you people remind me of the "16-bit wars" kids when I was growing up, except at least Sega and Nintendo actually had fundamentally differing hardware.

The ad doesn't show that 11 year-olds are unsophisticated enough to use a "PC", it shows that grown men are unsophisticated enough to argue over the stupidest things that have no bearing on real life like an 11 year old on the school playground. I haven't ever been so embarrassed at being a self professed geek than I am these days, you people take the cake.

[sparkmatter]

This is utterly ridiculous on BOTH sides arguing. Apple INVENTED the PC, and Macs are and were and have always BEEN PC's, PC stands for Personal Computer. Or at least it used to, then idiots made it mean "Wintel" as opposed to Mac, but now Macs use Intel hardware, there is very little that separates an Apple brand computer from the many myriad OEM manufacturers who use the same general kind of hardware but push Windows aside from quality and cutting edge design.

I'm writing this on a Mac, and guess what, it can run windows too! None of this crap argument is about the computers, just the Brand and the OS getting lumped into one magical fairyland platform that doesn't really exist separate from the other. Honestly, you people remind me of the "16-bit wars" kids when I was growing up, except at least Sega and Nintendo actually had fundamentally differing hardware.

The ad doesn't show that 11 year-olds are unsophisticated enough to use a "PC", it shows that grown men are unsophisticated enough to argue over the stupidest things that have no bearing on real life like an 11 year old on the school playground. I haven't ever been so embarrassed at being a self professed geek than I am these days, you people take the cake.