As Apple gains market share, they are going to see their competitors become more aggressive in their advertising. Currently, Dell and Microsoft are each independently running their own ads on their sites depicting why a PC is a better choice than a Mac when purchasing a new computer. My guess is that these ads are targeting the back to school shoppers more than anyone else. Out of the two companies I want to talk about Microsoft.
First off, I want to point out that their reasons for purchasing a PC really don’t hold water. They use the same old tactics in their reasons why PCs are better than Macs that the Windows platform has been using forever. Case is point, the old price chestnut. In my opinion, this point about price has been beaten to death. I even wrote about the misconception of how PCs are cheaper than Macs some months back. When you come down to it, Macs are less expensive in the long run.
Microsoft’s PC versus Mac site lists off several topics on why Windows is better than Mac OS X. One of them is entitled “Having Fun”. In this category, Microsoft holds back no punches. They rattle off a laundry list of items that PCs come with out of the box that Macs do not. The first thing they mention is a Blu-ray player. I’m not saying that it wouldn’t be nice to have a Blu-ray player on my Mac, but let’s be honest. If I’m going to watch a Blu-ray movie, I’m going to want to watch it on my 47” HDTV — not my 20” iMac. They also mention how you have to purchase an add-on dongle so that you can watch TV on your Mac. Again, another point that doesn’t hold water. First being, when you buy your PC with the TV Tuner, it’s an additional cost. It too is an add-on. Yes, it might be standard with that particular model, however, your paying extra for that add-on with that model. The second thing, if I want to watch a show on my computer I have Hulu, and an arsenal of other sites that have recently aired TV shows. Some that come to mind are ABC.com, NBC.com, and the list goes on.
The last thing I would like to touch on is their topic on “Simplicity”. The only sentence in this topic that has merit is – “Things just don’t work the same way on Macs if you’re used to a PC.” This statement is true. With that being said, of course the Mac is going to be different. It’s a different Operating System. So what Microsoft is telling us is that change is a bad thing, and that you won’t be happy with change. Sounds like FUD to me.
I could go on and debunk every topic, but I won’t. This is a perfect example of Microsoft fearing the worst. Fearing that Apple is gaining ground in every market that Microsoft is in, and wants to be in. Some might say that Apple did the same thing with their “Get a Mac” ad campaign. In my opinion they didn’t. However, I know that many will disagree with me on this. Microsoft should focus their efforts on improving and innovating their products, not attacking Apple with claims that simply are not true.
Photo Credit: Mac vs PC
Article Via PC versus Mac
