MacDailyNews - Where Mac news comes first

Jul 16, 09 - 07:56 am Comment from: silverwarloc

I read this article at several blogs...including engadget. I was skeptical on Mr. Turner's comments. Then, I saw what MDN posted. The price says it all.

Good ads can't fix a poor product. This is nothing more than Microsoft spin control, which is all they any experience at.

Wow, they really *are* getting desperate at Microsoft, aren't they?

Is it just me, or does the idea of a high-level Microsoft exec getting all giddy over a call from Apple legal seem a bit, um, weird? He's acting like Microsoft is the scrappy #2 getting a potshot at the big #1, which I suppose is at least consistent with the ad campaign they've been trying to run, which paints Apple as top dog.

If this is the extent of Microsoft's anti-Apple strategy – "keep running the ads with the incorrect pricing until Apple forces us to take them down, so we can claim a symbolic victory" – then Microsoft is in deep, deep trouble.

MW: "social", as in welcome to the social… disease.

Jul 16, 09 - 08:04 am Comment from: deepdish

All this blogging and spinning by MS does make Apple "look" scared.

Perception is reality.

Jul 16, 09 - 08:04 am Comment from: breeze

Micro Soft real desperate - needs Viagra

The interwebs are all abuzz. It seems that people think that Apple is trying to get the ads stopped because they are working. It never occurs to them that Apple wants them pulled because they have inaccurate information. The ads are false and misleading when it comes to the price and features of the computers Microsoft is comparing.

Jul 16, 09 - 08:11 am Comment from: Apelock

Computers that run our OS are cheaper, computers that run our OS are cheaper, COMPUTERS THAT RUN OUR OS ARE CHEAPER, COMPUTERS THAT RUN OUR OS ARE CHEAPER!

Wow, that's quite a compelling campaign.

Jul 16, 09 - 08:13 am Comment from: silverhawk

At least M$ advertising keeps people employed.

Why should Microsoft even care what Apple does? They're the ones with the huge market share, they shouldn't even be competing with Apple on the level they are, but as someone else said the way they advertise and respond like this makes it even more apparent that Apple are the #1. Microsoft may make more money, but only on a huge share of the market, imagine their products being the same but their Market shares reversed. Apple would be making more money than they could count.

"the PC Rookie ads clearly have been winners in the marketplace."

It apparently is working wonders for them.

@ deepdish – Except that, once people get "the rest of the story" (the false pricing angle), they'll realize that Microsoft has once again duped them. People don't soon forget when someone else makes them look foolish by feeding them false information.

Jul 16, 09 - 08:24 am Comment from: Ottawa Mark

The headline here is pretty misleading. There's no indication or proof that Apple legal "forced" anything. There's only the claim (very possibly false) that someone claiming to represent Apple told Kevin Turner to stop running the ads because the prices had been lowered. Turner is making the claim that this "call" only emboldens M$.

Only if Apple actually made a real legal claim, and only then if a judge agreed, would this headline then be accurate.

Jul 16, 09 - 08:31 am Comment from: Connor MacBook

Price is the last refuge of those with nothing left to offer.

"Windows, what you buy when you want second best."

Catchy. I'm sure this will work for them.

I'm also sure that their hardware "partners" just love having Microsoft telling everyone to only buy their cheapest junk with the lowest profit margins. Of course, Microsoft doesn't care----they get the same tax from the hardware vendors no matter how junky the hardware is.

I think Apple is going to utilize this legal action even further... hilarious

Jul 16, 09 - 08:36 am Comment from: Demon

I have a friend that works in Apple's Legal Department. Apple Legal never called Microsoft about the ads. In fact Apple's Legal Department as not even reviewed the Microsoft Ads nor has anyone at Apple even asked the legal department to review any of the ad. As far as my friend is aware.

Yes, I'm so sure that Apple never called Kevin Turner or anyone else at Microsoft about the Ads that will call Microsoft's Chief Operating Officer, Kevin Turner Bald Face lier!

I do think Apple needs to address it's relationship with Best Buy for allow the Microsoft Ads to be filmed in their store(s).

Jul 16, 09 - 08:40 am Comment from: Wha

Hi Apple!!!

Have I got a thought for you!...

Make a "Mac & PC guy" ad clearly pointing out this incident.. the $300 price difference.. and the PC guy doing somersaults over lying to the public. Have the PC guy excited to be misinforming the consumers with outright lies. That is the best way to deal with it. Go get 'em! This ad will not be made only to attract new customers as much as to just tear up the little morale that that Kevin Turner dick apparently still has around at MS.

Hearing how this MS employee reacted to Apple reacting to MS's false claims is just amazing to me. What an ass.

Steve should come out and tell the media that Turner is a liar.

Jul 16, 09 - 08:41 am Comment from: iSteve

The $2,499 price (17"?) next to the $1,999 price adds to the deception as well. The beauty of Apple's ads is they have longevity.

Went to the local Apple store last evening. So full of people that it was more like standing up on an airport shuttle. Thouight they might have released the tablet early ...

Jul 16, 09 - 08:43 am Comment from: HMCIV

Between the Dancing Monkey and the Cartwheel Boy you'd think Microsoft's CO execs are some of the healthiest people in the company. That's until you see his actual cartwheel and realize how much more coordinated Ballmer looks.

You do not mention Number Two, if you are number one. If you watch closely you are going to witness to companies do completely oppisite things. One, is going to remain profitable, while losing 20% Market share very quickly. The other is going to remainly insanely profitable while gain 10-20% market share.

Apple may well be the best manage company (Bank) on the planey ever. Looking at it, they have a relatively young management team as well.

Jul 16, 09 - 08:47 am Comment from: Cascadians

Somehow I doubt any Legal Dept would handle this with a phone call.

And once I escaped Micro$haft I've enjoyed the freedom of being sullied by anything they do or say. I only want the best, logical, rational, direct truth of experience. One of the reasons I like using Apple products so much: straightforward direct and to the point.

Jul 16, 09 - 08:49 am Comment from: Tommy Boy

I despise Microsoft, but those prices aren't deceptive, they're the prices for the high end 15" and 17" models.

I love how he has to try to make us believe it with "this is a true story".

Apple's ads are compelling. As long as they continue to show the benefits and value of buying Macs, Apple wins. Just look at Apple's sales to college students. Everywhere you go, you'lll see young people using MacBooks. There's a reason ... it's called VALUE.

Jul 16, 09 - 09:07 am Comment from: deepdish

The posters on this site are all free, we took the blue pill.

But most people are sheep and still stuck in the system.

The microsoft ads appeal to people who can't think for themselves, which is a majority of the people.

Jul 16, 09 - 09:08 am Comment from: deepdish

Oh ya, I have very little faith in humanity on a whole and my views do not reflect those of most Mac users. They are just my own.

nothing kills a bad product like good advertising

Does this Kevin Turner dipshit realize what he just did?

He just broadcast to all the world that Microsoft is perfectly aware that it's been engaging in false advertising since two weeks ago after Apple's legal department phoned them, and it plans to continue its false advertising knowingly.

Before Cartwheel Boy opened his mouth, MS could have at least pleaded ignorance. Now they can't.

If they really do "keep running them and running them and running them", then they are going to find themselves getting absolutely fscking demolished in court on a number of very serious charges.

Ladies and gentlement, boys and girls. Between this and their decision to open up retail shops right next to Apple Stores, it's clear that the time has finally come. We are witnessing the complete and total implosion of Redmond.

Jul 16, 09 - 09:16 am Comment from: The Dude

Why would Apple call? Don't they typically send letters by FedEx or UPS with signature confirmation so if the recipient does comply there is a paper trail for the legal battle that will ensue?

Reeks of more M$ FUD to me.

The Dude abides.

Jul 16, 09 - 09:18 am Comment from: DogGone

This probably works in Apple's favor now. Someone who goes into a store to buy a Mac gets a pleasant surprise that the MBPs are a lot cheaper than in the M$ ads.

I still think it is hilarious the M$ runs ads for products it doesn't even make.

has anyone considered the possibility that Apple Legal called MS and did have a conversation as portrayed above. It was Apple's intent to enthuse, excite, and inflame MS into staying with the same Laptop Hunter campaign to pin MS down into the low-end segment of the market. Reverse psychology. While MS is saying
"whoo hoo! we got Apple's goat!", Apple just chugs along producing exquisitely engineered laptops at a slightly higher price point, whose value proposition is instantly apparent to anyone who touches them. Even the shoppers in the Laptop Hunter ads frequently acknowledge that they are not worthy ('I'm not cool enough"). I'd say that between the Laptop Hunter ads and MS opening nearby retail "showcases" (their words) that the Lexus/Hundai contrast will be graphically apparent.

Jul 16, 09 - 09:24 am Comment from: HolyMackerel

Meehhh… I use my Macs for at least 3 years then pass them on to others to use for another 3 years or more. They are worth it even if they went up by $300.

Once Leopard comes out I think we will see even more MacOS vs W7 and hardware comparison/differentiation ads coming from Apple, esp as Apple will now have a truly viable platform to target the Enterprise for the first time.

Google will attack the low-end through ChromeOS, Apple through the iPhone. Apple is already attacking the high-end consumer and niche industries. With SL, a 'netbook' and the MacBook Pros Apple is attacking the middle-ground. Clone makers have nowhere to go to compete but down in price. Look for more exits, mergers, sales and bankruptcies amongst PC makers as Apple's PA-Semi chip/hardware/OS combination and margins prove unbeatable.

we will see next week how successful MS was at hurting apple's business when the latest quarterly figures are released on the 21st. I am going to bet that Apple will look pretty good.

I would think that if Apple legal had contacted anyone it would be the advertising council to lodge a complaint regarding m$'s false and misleading advertising. No way would Apple legal contact balmer clone.

Jul 16, 09 - 09:27 am Comment from: Mr.Fergus

Since Microsoft's top line hits like XP, Longhorn, ah Vista ah, 7 , and XBox have been accepted as big hits by the public how could they posable get the price wrong on their adds? Oh no, you don't think that bill's boys would lie do you?

You dolts are acting like Apple have forced Microsoft to stop with the ads, which is bullshit. The same exec who first made this public also stated that Microsoft would indeed continue to air the ads.

If the MAC OS is so great, release it for general use. I have been in the computer industry for 30 years. I use both MAC and MS systems.

I far and above prefer the Microsoft systems. Lower cost (not cheaper) better functionality, better ease of use (Yes I said that!!) and more secure. Yes, more secure. There are so many holes in the MAC OS you can drive a truck through them. The only thing keeping a MAC secure is obscurity.

Yes, you do have to take precautions with a Microsoft OS but that is because they have the largest user base in the world. Every time I have to work on my MAC I dread the restrictions that are in place with the OS. I didn't drink the MAC coolaid (misspelled intentionally) so I don't have any false loyalty to an expensive system that lacks flexibility.

Jul 16, 09 - 09:56 am Comment from: Mr. Reeee

What's it called? Truth in advertising?

Microsoft and truth are 2 works generally not found together in the same sentence.

So, really IF MS is going to quote prices in their ads, they really SHOULD be accurate.

What's it take to tweak the voiceover?

Jul 16, 09 - 09:57 am Comment from: Ferf Muckmeyer

As much as us Apple fanatics want to believe, there are still tons of people out there that are looking for $500 laptops - simply because that is what they can afford NOW. I recently pleaded with a friend not to buy a cheap Dell laptop for their kid for college. The bottom line had nothing to do with quality, OS, company, etc. It was $500. Why? Because this family, like many others, is experiencing financial hardships. An upper-middle-class family, no less.

The REAL shame in all of this is that these ads appeared during one of the worst economic crises in US history. People are losing their jobs, people are getting paycuts, and everyone is looking for a cheap deal. And it is MS that is playing off of that, telling them they can get a $500 laptop or some other POS.

We all know this is a load of BS. And we all know that MS is scared. But with "cartwheel boy" coming on the scene, Apple really needs to rev up their efforts to squash this bug already. The title of this entry is misleading - Apple did threaten MS and tell them to pull the ads. But we also know this pricing crap is, well, crap. The difference in pricing is not the issue - its the message.

The story needs a new headline "Microsoft Exec Giddy Over Phone Call From Apple". If you're the dominate software maker in the world and you are giddy over a call from what you say is a "niche" company, then your company has big problems.

The fact that this was the "greatest single phone call" of his career tells you which company is scared.

Jul 16, 09 - 10:01 am Comment from: aka Christian

MDN says "Most people don't want to think of themselves as cheap, shortsighted ignoramuses who'll settle for a poor man's Mac when the real thing is right around the corner or even in the next aisle."

Trouble is, many people ARE "cheap, shortsighted ignoramuses who'll settle for a poor man's Mac when the real thing is right around the corner or even in the next aisle."

I work with a guy who's a tech coordinator of sorts and who still insists Macs are too expensive despite having admitted to me that he once spent an entire weekend wiping and reinstalling his home network because of viruses. That's a whole weekend of his life he'll never get back thanks to Microsoft. But Macs are too expensive. Go figure.

Jul 16, 09 - 10:07 am Comment from: Bread

The funny thing is that the new price would be right in the budget, although that 2k computer wasn't what she was looking for. She gets a 13 inch after insulting a 15 inch that's now in her budget.

Jul 16, 09 - 10:10 am Comment from: leodavinci

In our current economic situation, people who are as concerned about price as MS makes them out to be in their commercials, should not be (and probably aren't) buying a computer in the first place.

Jul 16, 09 - 10:13 am Comment from: Journo

MacDailyNews gets the story right, while every article on this topic from at least 10 different media outlets that I've read gets it wrong.

@Apelock:

> Computers that run our OS are cheaper

You dropped a 'P' in front of "OS".

Jul 16, 09 - 10:17 am Comment from: Buster

What a difference in advertising perspectives...

Apple: Here's to the rebels, the misfits...

MS: Here's to the dumb cheap bastards that buy crap....

@leo:

I agree with you. Computers are (obviously) an important part of our lives, but they have not yet become an absolute necessity for most people, particularly if the new computer is a replacement for one they already have.

And anyone with shaky finances needs to spend their money on other things.

Jul 16, 09 - 10:30 am Comment from: zek

He can't even speak English, how did he get to be chief operating officer?

If he's basing the effectiveness of their marketing campaign off of one phone call from Apple legal telling them to stop running an ad with false information in it – then you know all you need to know about Microsoft's past advertising success history. Apple didn't bother addressing the other stupidities of the ads, it just said, "You better get the data correct".

What would be more interesting would be to see if the ads are actually having any success. My guess is no, especially since Apple gained market share yet again.