do the math. She gets what she deserves.

For anti-virus, anti-spyware and lost productivity from viruses, malware or just a slow computer from all of that "protection" running in the background. Also add some money for the downtime when the hard drive crashes and your only backup was on the same drive instead of an automated backup like Time Machine. What if you accidentally delete a document? Would a regular person be able to use Shadow copy assuming it was turned on?

Microsoft says the screen on the Adamo is too small. $2000 for a 13" screen? Outrageous!

to criticize... but it will remain to be seen what the public says. I've been in a Best Buy store where MANY of the staff own a Mac or are getting one. They sell what you WANT but if you ask for their opinion they WILL steer you to a Mac. They didn't always used to do this. "Kids" (college students) are much more aware of what a Mac offers than they used to be... and many of them know c*** when they've used it.
This girl seems like a fun sort but she has some big surprises coming... but hey, "I did a commercial!"

A gift that keeps on giving.

Oh, I just realized that Windows is like herpes.

I can p*** in a box and only charge 700.00 too. People get what they pay for. A great follow up add would be if Apple found these people after 60 days and asked for their feedback on their purchase and user experience. Then let them use a Mac for 60 days. You might see come changed minds.

"I'm just not cool enough to be a Mac person," she says. There they said it. Mac cool, Microsoft and Windows are uncool.

Ballmer really doesn't have a clue, does he?

Is this new direction from Microsoft a strategic winner? h*** yeah, we all want to be uncool, right?

She's not worthy, and she knows it....

let me go pick up a Microsoft Tower or a Microsoft Laptop at the Microsoft Store then... oh? none of those things exist? Microsoft doesn't even make actual computers? shocked

based on the price, manufacturer and store she got a
2.1 Ghz turion (1M cache-DDR2 memory)
Low res screen
ati 3200 graphics
10/100 ethernet
56k Modem
B/g Wireless
Amazing 2.5 hour battery life
No DVI so no large digital external display

Not bad if it was 2006

She would have a 1200x800 screen instead or a 1400x900

But would have gained
gigabit ethernet
802.11n
BlueTooth
Faster processor
Faster Graphics
Double the battery life

Aren't you guys all missing the point a little bit?

Sure the MacBook Pro is great But what if you really had a budget of $1000 and wanted a big screen on your laptop - you really would be out of luck with a mac.

I know plenty of students who have been lured by the prospect of a 17" monitor on a crappy laptop. Ater all, they just want to take them to school to do facebook and watch DVD's (well really dl'd films but same thing). And for that you just can't buy a mac, whether you want to or not.

It's the age old problem that Apple just doesn't fill some (pretty big) niches...

and anyway I think the ad was good.

Microsoft basically is where it is through ignorance, and the ignorant will see, cool 17" laptop (just like a Macbook Pro) for $699 - deal...

what a stupid slogan..."you find it, You keep it" that is Ballmer Loserness right there...

Macs cost more than PCs. Whoas me, when this gets out Apple is finished, finished I tell you.

Macs have always been perceived as more expensive. Regardless of the that time and time again people have gone to Dell and HP websites to build a comparable featured PC. This ad (and therefore ad agency) fails because all it's doing is cheapening PCs. People have always known the Mac (perceived) is more expensive, yet it did not deter switchers. Look, it's really less about the hardware and more about the OS. The 'switchers' never bought a Mac b/c of price, they bought it b/c of the OS and maybe looks.

Why are PC manufacturers doing worst during this economy than Apple? Apple appeals to a different group of people, those that recognize value over mere price, and tend to have higher incomes.

We sell these at our store, You cannot read the keyboard, they used light gray lettering on those bronze shiny keys. You cannot read them from almost any angle, which is fine if you are a touch typist I guess, unfortunately, they moved some keys on this keyboard from the standard locations. The case feels like Fisher Price made the plastic.

These models have terrible hinges the plastics separate from the hinges (not covered under warranty) one week I personally shipped 6 of them to HP to have the wireless module replaced.

A 2.1 GHz Turion isn't exactly fast either.

I wonder how long it would be before she finds out that she was duped and is back in the store spending hundreds more money to buy MS Word, PowerPoint, more RAM, or heaven knows what else like with most POC PCs.

OK, so she bought an HP.

SUCKER!

Now you need some software beyond the crapware that's installed at the factory. Also note that when Vista (a t*** for sure) finally boots, you might have a gig of useful memory (HP is known for enormous amounts of crapware).

And, it's an HP...a company best known for making printers. Nice choice, honey...you got screwed and didn't even get kissed.

There's actually a point, Apple really is bad for pushing people who want features that are totally reasonable for consumers to want into Pro level hardware. This isn't a good idea when you're trying to be a consumer hardware company.

There's a few glaring issues. The fact that you can't get a Prosumer level tower that's expandable like the Mac Pro with a processor more on the level of your average upper level PC tower (IE not Xeon but not a laptop chip). There's no 15 or 17 inch MacBooks. They might stop ignoring the Netbook some day. But fact is that there should be the option of getting a 15 inch screen on a 2Ghz Core2. Granted if she wanted a 17 inch screen she probably was going to use it as a desktop replacement, so an iMac would have been better for her, but still.

The fact is, Apple really does ignore big sections of the market and their customers pay the price. Personally I love my 13 inch MacBook and would really even be happy with a 12 inch screen like I had for years on my PowerBook. But I'm not everyone.

I don't get it? According to Balmer the Mac market is in decline and everyone will be buying the cheapest PC's they can find for now on. PC's are better too because they come with all those free stickers stuck everywhere which is really impressive and must mean something, right?

I'm really amazed at how in the box many of you think.

There are free (and decent at that) antivirus apps out there. F-PROT, AVG, ClamAV (open source) come to mind right off the top of my head.

Second, what about OpenOffice? Not everyone NEEDS office (I have many clients who STILL use MS Works and Novell WordPerfect). Some can live with OpenOffice and it has a wider useage than you might think.

Lastly, if I had $1000, I'd be buying up three Asus 10" EeePCs and loading Mac OS on them. They come with XP, can run Vista, and if your lucky you can get a Linux version.

Everyone also discounts the facts that for 99% of your needs, a Puppy Linux LiveCD will take care of your needs. Fast mozilla based browsing, abiword, printer setup is surprisingly easy, as is mounting a network share. and that's all free.

For $1000 I can't recommend any Mac. Apple needs a $600 Netbook that can compete against Asus, and they need a $900 desktop/tower unit, along with a $900 15" notebook.

Apple can keep making SUVs when people want Priuses but eventually it'll be 1995 all over again (at least for the computers).

...And quickly reformat it and put a hacked version of MacOS X on it.

Hardware has reached commodity levels in the marketplace. If you are tech-literate with lots of time but little money, you can shop around for the best price on hardware and put whatever OS (or multiple OSes) you want on your system.

Advertising is all about perception. Let's face it: The great unwashed perceive Macs as expensive-and they are. Especially when you compare any Mac to the Smiley-Face Price Drop eMachines Special at WalMart for $399.

That eMachines box will get granny on her eMail and let her do all the other things she wants to do. She'll be happy as a clam, totally oblivious to the wonders of the Mac world. So will millions of other people who don't know an AMD Opteron from an Intel Nehalem, and frankly don't care.

Apple obviously doesn't want to compete in the marketplace on price alone, and that's OK as long as there are buyers willing to pay the perceived Apple Tax.

No doubt that those are some decent specs on the XPS, but at a minimum I consider the Mac OS to be worth $300 compared to buying any Windows-based system. Anyway, on to my main point... The Intel Core i7 IS NOT THE SAME AS THE NEHALEM PROCESSORS IN THE MAC PRO!!!

There are free (and decent at that) antivirus apps out there. F-PROT, AVG, ClamAV (open source) come to mind right off the top of my head.

All of them require a lot of system resources slowing your computer dramatically and none of them protect against the most common latest spyware out there (AKA the fake antivirus worms out there) I know becuase I have customers bringing in at least 75 computers a week for this issue and most of them have the free "antivirus installed"

Second, what about OpenOffice? Not everyone NEEDS office (I have many clients who STILL use MS Works and Novell WordPerfect). Some can live with OpenOffice and it has a wider useage than you might think.

And OpenOffice will not open password locked Word and Excel files. (A common practice for many companies) Granted, Pages and Numbers won't either, but that isn't the point.


For $1000 I can't recommend any Mac.

All you need to do is look, I just bought 2 display model Intel Dual Core iMacs at a store, all with full warranty, in fact, one had 3 years on it, the one with 3 year was $345 and the other was $150. No they aren't brand new, but they have all the benefits of being brand new. Most people I know with Macs bought them used, my other Macs are all used, and most of them are 5 years old.

I love it when Windows fanbois lurk on Mac oriented web sites, then accuse Mac users of being fanbois.

Clearly you do not value your own time.

Go do another virus scan on your $299 WonderBox™.

This is an effective advertisement. Is it dishonest? Yessir, but effective too.

Up to this point MS has been shooting itself in the foot with it's advertising. Now they're reverting to what thas worked in the past. The idea MS and PCs are the platform for the populace at a price they can afford. If you'll remember, this is was knocked Apple off the top years ago. Sure, those PCs were garbage compared to a Mac, but they had monitors, keyboards, mice and off-white boxes. Same stuff--smaller price by the unwashed's thinking, the rest--as they say--is history.

I've long felt, Apple should address the low end gap in it's product line. Yet, I'm pretty certain, prices will come down on the Apple line as the economy worsens.

I'm no lover of MS. They produce crappy software that rips off Mac OSX poorly. Yet you have to acknowledge a effective ad when you see one even if it is dishonest.

Ok, I'm an Apple fan. I have 4 macs in my house and 1 PC that came with my wife.

That being said, this isn't a terrible ad like most Microsquash stuff. As others have pointed out, given the pre-conditions (buy a 17" laptop for $1000), there was NO option from a hardware standpoint. I would have probably done the same, but looked for something without windows and installed linux.

Apple simply doesn't market super cheap machines. And I think they should keep it this way. I remember when you would buy something from Sony and it was always excellent quality. Then, they decided they wanted to sell at Wal-Mart, K-Mart and all those places so they came out with low cost (and cheap feeling) items. Sony still makes some good stuff, but you have to be careful not to buy the c***. I don't want Apple to fall into this trap.

Yeah, a $700 cheapo laptop wan probably get the job done for many. Most people need a web browser, email, word processor for 90% of what they do. And some don't care if it has a cheap, plastic feel, or lame hinges.

It's not about being "cool" to buy Apple stuff. It's about appreciating the time that went into the engineering and software. I like the fact that I can open a Mac Pro and see no wires and a beautiful clean design. I like when I'm using applications I can guess at what make sense and it works that way 90% of the time.

If a $700 tool will do the job for you and you're satisfied, buy it. But don't berate me for spending a little more because I appreciate the extra care that went into the design of my computer. And don't tell me your machine is just as good because you can list some specs. Your idea of "as good" may not be the same as mine.

"... and I'm cheap." Just rolls off the tongue, don't it?

There is a new mentality out there with customers when they bring in these cheap machines for repair. The HP hinge issue I have brought up, this is NOT covered under warranty, but so many people that bring it in can't believe it isn't. All I hear is "I paid $600 for that computer, what do you mean the warranty won't cover it!" I bite my tounge but want to say, "exactly, you ONLY paid $600 for this machine." I get chewed out a couple times a month for this very issue, and problem is, we end up covering it ourselves, the store picks up the cost. As soon as we've done that, we actually lost 110% on that customer and machine. Because the cost of the repair was more than the cost of the machine, a plastics repair for these HP models easliy run over $700.

This is true for nearly any repair on these cheap laptops, other than hard disk and RAM, repair costs on these machines are often as much as the computer cost, and if you buy the extended service plan (note it is NOT a warranty) you can get the machine repaired ONCE, because the service plan covers repairs up to the cost of the machine or for 2 additional years, whichever comes first, and it will buy out the contract if a second repair is needed (you get the money left in the contract, often less than $100 and you don't get to keep the computer.) Note APPLECARE does NOT have that restriction, and will often replace a machine if numerous repairs occur.

Cheap computers are great for people that know how to troublshoot and fix issues, because there will be a lot of that. I won't have an issue buying one as I am a service tech for numberous companies, but since getting the new Intel Macs in the house, I no longer have a need for a cheap PC to run Windows on. And I get to come home from the shop and use my computer rather than fix another one.

We had to pay that poor girl to buy a PC.
Whatever happens, make sure she doesn't mention the word "Windows".
We don't care that our hardware vendors are beating each other up over price-- we win, they lose. We'll condition our users to shop based on price.

So it seems people would prefer to spend way more on a Mac with the delusion that spending more on virtually the same hardware will somehow keep you safe from defective materials. As for the old "Mac OS is better" argument.. I agree. Do you know how easy it is to run it on a PC? Someone posted about the Xeon that Apple uses as being better than the i7.. check the benchmarks to see the differences before you get self righteous. I find some of you people have blinders on as much as PC fanboys. Its time for Apple to show its appreciation to its users by at least offering them the same options available as PC users..god knows we pay enough.

Just because it is running an Intel processor now does not make it the same hardware. Apple designs their own logic boards and has Intel manufacture them, HP buys stock (whatever is cheapest boards) hard disk, ram and ODD is similar, screen is not, iSight camera is not, keyboard, mouse or trackpad is not. The hinges are not, the case is not, even the Intel Processor on some models were exclusive to Apple, before they were made available for the PC market.

In this commercial the girl ends up buying an AMD system so that argument certainly does not apply here.

I also find it ironic that Apple is writing better compatible Windows Drivers to run their components on Windows in Boot Camp than what you get with many other PC Manufacturers, or periperal makers.

Point of fact, I know of at least 3 businesses and 2 universities in this area that buy MacBook Pros specifically because they run Windows "Better" than just about anything else out there, also knowing that Apple isn't going to make wholesale changes to that hardware in the immediate future, making them easier to support.

Roehlstation I agree with you on all your points. But don't you think it would be nice if Apple kept with the current hardware standards of most PCs priced for less? The motivation behind my post was because I dropped $2700 cdn (tax incl.) on an IMac which I am told I will not receive for 4-6 weeks because I chose to upgrade the graphics to the highest available option which happens to be a low grade option from the PC side. Just check and see how much those cards alone are selling for.. yet I'm paying more and getting the mobile version. How can that be a good thing?

I think the point MS is trying to point out is the number of choices Apple offers, yes, It would be nice to have more options, but Apple cannot undercut themselves, it could become a slippery slope. As far as your particular situation, the only way you are going to see a difference between the the card you are getting, and PCs with better cards is if you are running Windows, and there only if you are playing games on it.

Mac OS X does not require the GPU to be as large becuase of the way it handles video. Apple can do more with a lower end video chip.

Remember also Apple designs the "video cards" the only thing you are getting the same as a PC is the video chipset, this is not the entire card. The video card is not JUST a chipset, you also have to look at the number of channels, and shaders and whatnot. Also there is a lot of dependance on GOOD video drivers to make all the difference.

I think the point MS is trying to point out is the number of choices Apple offers, yes, It would be nice to have more options, but Apple cannot undercut themselves, it could become a slippery slope. As far as your particular situation, the only way you are going to see a difference between the the card you are getting, and PCs with better cards is if you are running Windows, and there only if you are playing games on it.

Mac OS X does not require the GPU to be as large becuase of the way it handles video. Apple can do more with a lower end video chip.

Remember also Apple designs the "video cards" the only thing you are getting the same as a PC is the video chipset, this is not the entire card. The video card is not JUST a chipset, you also have to look at the number of channels, and shaders and whatnot. Also there is a lot of dependance on GOOD video drivers to make all the difference.

disregard double post

Roehlstation you have given me some food for thought. I'll look into it further. If in fact there are some design characteristics which lend to better performance shown through benchmark tests my opinion will easily be swayed.

You dorks make it sound like you can't get a PC that costs more than a mac. YOU CAN! AND I HAVE! But when I spent more, I also got more.

Go back to your clan meetings.

Why do 90% of apple laptops come with such a crappy resolution. Doesn't that bother anyone? 1280 x 800 max on a macbook! Seriously!?!?! 1440 x 900 max on a macbook pro! Jeeeeeez. Ya, you guys are all media wizards with that resolution.

The tail end of the video: "Life without walls..."

Firewalls, that is . . . lol

My father in-law just recently bought this laptop with Vista. He couldn't get his printer to work, so he called his tech people from work, they couldn't get it to work. So he bought a brand new printer....guess what? Same problem. So he has a laptop that he can't print to no matter what. Don't tell me there's not a difference between OSX and Vista - just don't.