Current Mac adverts

[Harrison]

I'm assuming you have all seen the current Apple Mac adverts that are still circulating the cinemas. The ones with the two guys who announce themselves as a "Mac" and a "PC".

I was just wondering what your thoughts were regarding them? And did anyone else wince as I did at some of the dire forms of mis-information Apple have used.

I especially loved have they represented the Mac as being fun to use as it could handle your holiday videos and pictures, and then showed the PC only being able to show data from a spreadsheet. It makes you wonder when Apple actually last saw a PC running? They do realise that DOS isn't the main OS any longer, don't they?

[Submeg]

They are hoping so, because that's what they are using to run theirs....

[AlexJ]

Personally I can't see it getting many people to switch. A regular person is gonna go "So what, my PC already shows my digicam photos. Why do I need a Mac?"

The virus one is pure scaremongering - if people use regularly updated Anti-Virus, it's unlikely you'll ever be on the wrong end of a virus. Far more of a threat IMO are phishing attacks which affect PC's, Mac and anything else with a webbrowser.

[Harrison]

When a Mac user tries to use the virus argument against me to prove why a Mac is better than a PC I always love explaining to them why no one bothers writing virus infections for platforms that are not popular The response I normally get is one of confusion.

I always find it so amusing that the one argument Mac users have against PC's is the virus one. What about actually using the system? Why is the Mac OS better than XP or Vista? I think we know the answer to that, and why they avoid the question.

Has anyone else noticed how Mac users seem to act as if they are in a cult? Believing everything their beloved leader (Steve Jobs) says, regardless of how unfounded it is. They will then walk away "armed" with the words he gave them to "fight" against the even encroaching PC world.

Who remembers when the G5 was the main Mac CPU and Apple "claimed" it was more efficient and faster than any Intel compatible CPU? But now, in a complete turn around Apple claim that they switched to Intel CPUs because the Gx range of Risc processors could not offer the same performance! Slight contradiction!

This month's PCPro is nicely picking up on these Apple adverts with a big article on "Why the PC is better than a Mac".

[AlexJ]

Linux has spoofed them as well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVOnFdMf0RU

[Harrison]

There are some other great ones there too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rjpn3L3bSJ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQECwm3erEs

[Stephen Coates]

I think the new Macintosh adverts are mosty crap.

I think it might be good if they promoted the Macintosh as being a good computer. Not as a computer that is better than PCs.

And they could get better publicity on the internet by making reliable products which don't melt and explode etc.

[Harrison]

Which of Apple's products melt and explode?

There is no denying that Apple create some of the nicest hardware on the market. I doubt you would find anyone who would argue with that. But I think they have lost their way a bit with the Mac and its position in the marketplace. It's just too expansive and you still cannot upgrade them easily or inexpensively.

[Stephen Coates]

http://www.appledefects.com/ says it all really.

[Harrison]

Those batteries swelling up is quite worrying and definitely a fire risk, as is that nano that melted. And those cracks on the laptop cases is something I've thought might happen with the type of plastic Apple have been using on their more recent laptops. It might look cleaner and designed but it is nowhere near as strong as the older style cases they used to use.