Last night’s “Emmy awards… served as the launching pad for three new Apple ‘Get a Mac’ ads, starring hip young actor Justin Long as a Mac and stodgy-before-his-time actor John Hodgman as a PC. As is my wont, I’ll try to review them, mostly from the mundane standpoint of PC-versus-Mac accuracy,” Harry McCracken writes for PC World.
“Accident” – Apple’s Mac OS X isn’t just safer than a Windows PC, portable Macs themselves are safer, too:
McCracken writes, “Seems a little oblique, unless you’ve ever damaged a notebook or its power brick in the way referenced by the ad. But MagSafe is indeed a wonderful innovation, although as someone who uses a MagSafe-equipped Mac and a non-MagSafe-equipped PC notebook.”
MacDailyNews Take: The ad’s purpose is not really to promote MagSafe. The ad’s purpose it to imply that Apple thinks about the details with Macs, as opposed to how the details are treated by Windows PC box assemblers and their main operating system maker.
“Angel/Devil” – Windows PC fights inner demon upon being presented an iPhoto book created on a Mac:
McCracken writes, “This is one of a number of “Get a Mac” ads whose point seems to boil down to A) Macs all come with the iLife suite, while PCS have no standard creativity tools beyond Windows XP’s skimpy offerings; and/or B) the vaguer, less defensible idea that PCs are just plain terrible for doing anything that isn’t boring. For the record, iLife is a dandy product which continues to be ripped off by almost every competitor on the PC side. But Snapfish, Shutterfuly, and umpteen other free services let PCs create nice photo books. And judged in terms of sheer volume, PC users have far more fun tools to choose from than Mac users do.”
MacDailyNews Take: This ad is one of the weakest in Apple’s “Get a Mac” campaign. However, we must point out the far weaker (because it’s just plain wrong) argument offered by McCraken (and often other Windows PC advocates), “PC users have far more fun tools to choose from than Mac users do.”
First of all, the amount of tools is meaningless when Mac users have the same or better quality choices. For example, and with made-up numbers to illustrate the point: a choice of 15 photo management options vs. a choice of 3 photo management options is meaningless when the Mac has the best three from which to choose. Same goes for Word Procesors and any other category of software.
Second, in case McCracken hasn’t heard, Macs can run Windows applications, too. Windows PCs can’t run Mac apps. Therefore Apple Mac users have the ability to run largest software library on earth, not Windows PC users. Windows PC users in reality “have less tools to choose from than Mac users do” in every single software category.
Also, did McCraken miss the part where the PC’s devilish side said, “Oh, fun, we tried that once, it was nothing but pain and frustration.” The truth in that statement will resonate with Windows sufferers.
“Trust Mac” – Windows PC tries disguise in attempt to evade spyware and viruses. Mac doesn’t need to do anything:
McCracken writes, “Another riff on a major point in favor of the Mac platform–the fact that it’s nearly free of viruses and spyware… Even in a world of slightly more OS X security worries than before, that’s still a huge argument in favor of the Mac and against Windows XP. If I were marketing Macs, I’d continue to hammer away at it.”
MacDailyNews Take: Some of these Windows PC users just cling to the incorrect notion that Mac OS X has been affected by viruses and spyware. Or they can’t wrap their minds around the truth. Fact: Mac OS X is virus and spyware-free.
Full article here.
Related articles:
Apple debuts three new ‘Get a Mac’ ads – August 27, 2006
Microsoft’s Windows is inherently more vulnerable to severe malware than Apple’s Mac OS X – August 23, 2006
Symantec researcher: At this time, there are no file-infecting viruses that can infect Mac OS X – July 13, 2006
Apple: ‘Get a Mac. Say ‘Buh-Bye’ to viruses’ – June 01, 2006
PC sux…. really it does here is why:
“1.Most Programs are made for Windows”
… mmm you mean MS word, MS Excel, Maxis Simcity, Photoshop, Civilization, Halo .. all originally made exclusively for the Mac.
“2.supposely mac handles graphic programs great.. soo then why does all Computer games are for a PC….. ”
So you’re saying that all those PC games running under Windows + Bootcamp won’t work now?
“3.sure a pc crashes.. but at least ur done with the pc u kno u have to install it again.. but in a mac it dosent notify u it just slows down it continues to run till it just wont work att all.. even my Pentium 1 based pc can outrun a damaged mac… “
Three years running virtually 24/7 and no crashes viruses spyware malware.. and still
running just as good as the day I bought it. Sure your Pentium 1 can outrun a damaged Mac, if you can find one. Try running Windows XP on that pentum 1… and I will run OS X Tiger on a G3 Mac… who will outrun who eh?
4.the mac cannot be personalized.. a pc can[[replace video card etc]].
… and the motherboard, the hard drive, and everything else that craps out before 3 years is up. Meanwhile original the Mac Plus is still running – 20 YEARS ON.
My mac talks to me all the time (literally – speech synthesis)… it doesnt get more personal than that.
5.if a mac crashes.. u have to call support,replace a new 1.. dont forget about the $$$.
and if a PC crashes you are on your own. Mac crashes? what Mac crashes?
6.macs just shows u “eye candy”
Windows XP just shows you disneyland. Gimme the fun of the fair over over fantasyland anytime.
7.pc shows “eye candy” and great speed and power
theres alot moore.
Yeah, Just like installing a Ferrari engine in a Ford Pinto. All that power and going nowhere fast until everthing falls in a steaming pile of cow doo doo.
Image is nothing, Design is everything
and about those commercials they annoy me.. [[i kno they show some truth]] but why wont they show a actual mac and pc not some dumb actors…
You annoy me too, can we have you replaced by a dumb actor too, so I don’t have to reply to dumb posts like this?
1 word:
Ignorant.
Just have to add something to these comments..
I am a PC user. Currently running Ubuntu on my laptop and desktop at home (desktop dual-booted just incase), and I work in a Microsoft-Everything office.
I am going to buy a MacBook, simply because they are a decent price for what they are (finally for mac), and I want to see what all the fanatics are drooling about.
I see it’s advantages, really.. the thing that is stopping me getting a MacBook so far is those Get a Mac ads.
I HATE the eliteist words that stray from Mac users mouths. My girlfriend is a Mac user.. but she is okay with anything really.. just prefers Mac, that’s fine. I don’t mind.
I know one household with all macs (3 laptops and an imac) out of that ONE household, I know that all 3 laptops have had issues, a LOT of the time.
The laptops are a powerbook, and two ibooks. One powerbook has been in for many many repairs, the ibook just died completely, but has had many issues before, I know that they had a MacBook Pro for a while but it was returned because it had a lot of issues also (i think it was the first of the intels) it was in for repairs about 3 times with a new problem each time. That would be forgivable on a laptop under.. $2000.. I bought a cheap laptop two years ago for $1000 and its still going strong. In fact, I am typing on it now.
So I just wanted to say to all of the Mac owners out there, I am happy for you, but your boxes are not perfect at any stretch of the imagination.
(Corporate desktop support left to fight in another comment perhaps?)