Oh dear, poor Microsoft. It seems that their ploy of launching a website touting how great Windows 7 computers are is not only a show of weakness, but is in fact a paean to just how powerful Mr. Jobs has become. Can they do nothing right?
I have to disagree with that sentiment rather completely. I applauded the company for its move yesterday, and as it turns out have been one of the very few people to do so. Why is that? Well, it seems that literally nothing that Microsoft does will ever be a good idea in the eyes of a large bit of the internet.
This is why I like Microsoft’s move, to come at the whole discussion from a different, not PC v. Mac angle: the website, which does compare OS X and Windows 7 based machines, is mass market. That is a very good thing. Windows 7 is a mass market operating system, and the mass market is where Windows controls the scene.
High end machines? A toss up between gaming rigs running XP and OS X, fine. For Joe and Jane, Windows is the operating system that computers run on, and Microsoft wants to let them know that their comfortable computing environment is the best for their needs, that there is no need to switch. Weakness, or just keeping their users content and happy
Windows is what they know, and moving to Mac would require change, so Microsoft is right on that count. Blu-ray is a big damn deal for a lot of people, regardless of what Jobs (or you and I) think. The list goes on. MSFT and the whole Redmond crew are speaking to their market, the mass market, and are doing so at the expense of Apple’s potential market share growth.
Do you really think that your average, not computer savvy PC user, after reading that site would buy a Mac? No. And Microsoft knows that. They are using their market advantage, to their advantage. Using their dominant mass market weight to keep their users content, safe, and paying.
Hitting Apple a show of weakness? Only maybe if you are a technologically powerful person, us that is. To everyone else, Macs are just those other machines that cost more. Microsoft knows its demographic, and is playing them like a fiddle. That ability is why they are big and why they are going to stay that way.
Using your current advantage to maintain your market position is not weakness, but strength.
Hey Microsoft, why don’t you donate a new computer to Suze who’s been on the phone with Apple for two years getting “tech support?” for major issues. She’s trying to start up a kids organic food business and can’t rely on her iMac to deliver the goods. http://www.figville.wordpress.com
Hey, I gave you a nice plug in one of my posts.
Check it out.
Drop me a line.
Thanks for the tip on ‘ol Suze. I read up on the problem and offered a solution.
Because us Mac users just stick together, that’s why.
Sure did, William. Read my latest comment? The original Safari folder in Library disappeared. Apple Tech asked Suze to experiment and make a “Safari old” folder. O where O where has her Sa-fa-ri gone…humming a little miTune.
Best to you!
Moving from Windows XP to Windows 7 directly is just as hard or harder for the “average” computer user as moving from Windows XP to OS X. After seeing a few different friends/family do both, I can say that seems to be the case.
It is daunting at first, but with the money you save on the Windows 7 machine can help you afford a book and the WIndows 7 machine will be more stable and secure in the long run.
To me its a non-discussion. If people change they have to do so, because they are ready for a different handling approach. The one thing I do love about my MAC is that I don’t have the urge of becoming some kind of a IT-guy debugging (read keeping clean) my PC daily!! For that matter I prefer MAC. It is just simple and discourages users to know more than just how to use it. I advice people to just keep their PC’s if there is no real reason for changing their structure. Plus all the programs around are build for PC’s. Finding similar programs for MAC is often difficult and time consuming.
“Finding similar programs for MAC is often difficult and time consuming.”
Only if you need a niche app, like Gcode simulation, printing directly to a laser engraver, etc.
All of which DO have solutions.
All of which do have solutions…
AutoCAD Architectural and Maya. Not on Mac. Find me a solution with all their capabilities without virtualizing Windows. As if I need Windows, why would I buy a Mac in the first place? And no, Vectorworks is not the same as AutoCAD.
Just thought I’d throw that out there… Anyone else do drafting in 3D?
Can we hear it from a non-apple guy? Apple has this ridiculous website too: http://www.apple.com/why-mac/
Waiting for the Microsoft donation. @Bill Gates
Thanks ahead of time.
We’re optimistic out here in FigVille USA.
Sorry for my rant, but there are things that Windows just does better. Granted most of the real benefits of Windows aren’t fully apparent unless you’re in a business environment.
File sharing – Active Directory and mapped drives. I’m sorry, but why should I have to hit command+K every time I start my computer to reconnect to my network share? Active Directory has been simplifying business shared resources for more than a decade. Only recently has Apple’s OS started to play nicely, but it still has a long way to go.
Periphrial support – Apple’s getting better, but it doesn’t support all these devices. Take my brand spanking new video camera I got as a gift. It records video in Mpeg2, which Mac won’t even play. In Windows, I can play it, edit it, make a DVD disc, one click upload to YouTube, etc. In Mac, I have to use a workaround: either buy QuickTime pro, then buy the mpeg2 playback component add-on, or get VLC for playback, which messes up other settings, or use Handbrake to convert the file to mp4 for Mac compatibility. Sorry, Windows is better.
Gaming – MUCH larger set of hardware availability. You have to get a Mac Pro to come close to the gaming potential of even an inexpensive gaming rig. I say this only because my 6 year old Pentium 4 desktop with an AGP slot has an ATI Radeon HD 4650 with 1GB of VRAM, and it was an $80 upgrade. I get better framerates on Call of Duty on my P4 than a recent iMac with discrete graphics in boot camp.
Exchange compatibility – Yes Apple syncs with exchange. But what they don’t say is that Snow Leopard only syncs with Exchange 2007. Outlook is the exchange using program in Windows, and my Outlook 2003 (7 years old, mind you) syncs with Exchange 2000, 2003, 2007, and 2010.
Business Intranets – We all hate Internet explorer, but in the business world, it’s still king. There are hundreds of database applications which use IE with ActiveX controls for the user interface. The option here is to virtualize Windows, meaning still licensing costs, which means there’s an additional charge on the Mac for all those corporations.
Hardware – (Disclaimer: my own speculation here) – Apple doesn’t use the best hardware in their machines. We know that Foxconn motherboards are used, and Hitachi hard drives. Let’s face it, neither of these two companies are the best at what they do. I have yet to personally own or manage a Mac whose hard drive lasted more than two years. Now the first thing I do when I buy a Mac is replace the hard drive with a Western Digital. PC’s aren’t always better, but I’ve seen drives from Toshiba, Seagate, and WD here, all of whom have a better track record than Hitachi.
I’ve been using Macs since OS 8. I’ve been using PC’s since Win 3.11. I’m not saying that the Mac isn’t a good computer, but overall, still think PCs are better, for the reasons stated above. Macs are great sometimes, and I thoroughly enjoy using my mini on projects that need it. However for the reasons stated above, I have to have a specific need for a Mac before I’ll buy one.
My few cents. Cue the Apple loyal!
@Alvinio,
You use a Media Access Controller? Ok…
@Jen,
Yes, I’m sure Microsoft cares about your WordPress blog. You’re so savvy and Web 2.0.
@ThatGuy, I’m not sure about anything. Except, you may want to get yourself a sense of humor.