When writing about Microsoft’s previous Laptop Hunters ad, I made the following plea:
So, Microsoft, I’m begging you to bring back Lauren #1. Give her the same $1,000 budget so she can easily rule out a Mac
In its newest ad, the company did reduce the budget (to $700), and I think this tack is its best [...]
Windows 7 pricing was made official not long ago, and the general consensus is that, despite a slight drop in Home Premium pricing compared to Vista, it’s too expensive.
Still, there are some in the Microsoft community that try to justify it by comparing it to Apple’s pricing for Mac OS X. Microsoft can never win [...]
While I live and play in the land of Apple, where rainbow-farting unicorns frolic in the meadows, I work in a Windows world. While being a card-carrying member of the International Brotherhood of Apple Pundits dictates otherwise, I don’t view Microsoft as the Great Satan; a computer is but a tool to do a job. [...]
Microsoft’s free antivirus software, Morro, will soon be in beta testing — a free cure for one of the Windows world’s greatest sicknesses. And you know it’s gotta be good, because who better to close those doors than the company that opened them in the first place?
We should all practice safe computing, so as a [...]
Your first question might be, “Isn’t Zune dead already?” Or you might be wondering, “Why does Microsoft bother?” You might even be asking why there’s a report about Zune on TheAppleBlog.
Well, first the news. CNET’s Ina Fried reported yesterday that Microsoft has confirmed its long-rumored plans to launch an HD version of its portable music [...]
Apple’s fantastically effective “Get a Mac” commercials have entertained us for years now, and they just get better and better. Microsoft has been slow to respond, and when it did start to hit back, it first did so with the amusing-but-confusing Seinfeld commercials. Then the “I’m a PC” campaign started, and today we’re seeing ads [...]
Another Laptop Hunter ad is upon us, and with five of these babies under our belt it’s time to step back and see what, if anything, works, and what doesn’t.
It’s not hard to see the predicament Microsoft is in. It wants to push Windows machines yet is hamstrung by the following:
It can’t sell the operating [...]
Microsoft has lost its marbles regarding this whole “Apple is expensive” thing, which is clear with their latest “ad.” So far, they’ve only been running this ad online, which makes me wonder if even they know they’ve jumped the shark with this meme.
Their latest shot is a video with “certified financial adviser” Wes Moss. Wes [...]
Yes, I know “RC” designates Windows 7 as a Release Candidate, but a better designation would be Reality Check.
Windows 7 is an improvement over a very bad Vista, OK? Big deal. Let’s not pretend it’s more than that. The signal-to-noise ratio from some quarters is getting ridiculous.
Let’s look at the reality check:
Did they address that [...]
I’ve been waiting for the ability to edit Word documents on the iPhone since the day I got one. Why? Because I’m a dreamer, and my dream is someday not having to lug around a laptop of any size while I’m traveling, or just out and about in the city.
My iPhone has become a big [...]
So I’ve been unwinding in Vegas the last week (yeah, I know, “unwinding” and “Vegas” do not belong in the same sentence). Now I’m back catching up on my news feeds only to see that Microsoft has attempted a return to the good ol’ days.
The Way They Were
Back in those good ol’ days, Microsoft pretty [...]
The latest Laptop Hunter ad is out, and it went where it had no business going. The first ad featured Lauren, and setting aside that she was cute, the best thing about her was that she was enthusiastic and a non-techie. Her purchase was as much emotional as anything else. While I’d disagree with that [...]
A lot of apps have been promising to bring Microsoft document editing capabilities to the iPhone, like DocumentsToGo, which enjoyed prominence on the Palm OS, and continues to be a popular choice for BlackBerry users. But now it looks like Quickoffice might be the first app out the door, though it all hinges on Apple [...]
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer set the proverbial cat among the pigeons last week with his contention at the McGraw-Hill Companies’ Media Summit in New York that Mac buyers pay a $500 price premium for merely a designer logo.
“Apple gained about one point, but now I think the tide has really turned back the other direction,” [...]
Have you seen the ad yet? Lauren only has to find a laptop computer with a 17-inch screen for under a grand and she gets to keep it.
Lauren is a redhead. Long, thick, curly, lovely red hair. Did I mention redheads rule? Well, they do. Curse you, Microsoft, for using Lauren in this ad. Her [...]
Microsoft has already experienced the power the netbook has to open up operating system options for PC consumers, since it saw Linux distributions being included as the default operating system on consumer-oriented machines for the first time with the advent of the small, affordable, feature-light machines. They’ve since managed to gain a foothold in the [...]
Joe Wilcox has an article on Microsoft Watch about Microsoft’s new ads with kids. The series is called The Rookies, and there’s a second spot up.
Joe is less impressed with the second spot than the first, but goes on to explain how these ads have potential, Microsoft needs more of them (I’m sure more are [...]
Microsoft tried to generate a bit of buzz yesterday with a press event in Barcelona at which they unveiled three new technologies which are designed to help enhance their mobile customers’ experience. Enhance how, you ask? By getting them as close as possible to owning an iPhone, even though they still just have some Windows [...]
Get your spoon and prepare to swallow a whole tub of awesome because we’ve got the freshest picks from the App Store to stuff in your mouth.
Before we get in to the latest releases, I’ve got a couple of interesting picks from the week’s Apple news.
First big thing, file sharing has been activated for MobileMe. [...]
Taking charge of your own retail distribution is a questionable move even in the best of times, but it looks like Microsoft is bent on opening up another battleground between themselves and Apple, and that’s where they want to do it.
It’s a gutsy move on Microsoft’s part, and it’s hard not to offer up some [...]