We’ve just discovered a new Windows 7 ad by Microsoft featuring a little girl, Kelly, talking up the new OS. In the ad, Kelly finds Windows 7 reviews on her dad’s Sony Vaio notebook and proceeds to make a slideshow about the awesome new operating system, complete with a unicorn, a kitten, and a piggy with huge ears. If you look closely, the slideshow displays four quotes from positive Windows 7 reviews (Gizmodo, Maximum PC, CNet, and ZDNet) all to the tune of Europe’s The Final Countdown.. The ad concludes with Kelly saying, “I’m a PC and more happy is coming.”
Perhaps that last part is referring to the Zune HD and a the much-anticipated Windows Mobile OS?
Check out the ad after the break! Read more »
Posted in
Advertising,
Microsoft,
Windows 7
We all love Apple. Well, most of us do. The last few years, especially since the Vista launch, modern media has pushed on us the virtues of owning a Mac. Most of the top names in the tech blogosphere use Macs, and support almost all of Apple’s products. Leo Laporte, Ryan Block, and Peter Rojas are all self-admitted Macs (though they all come clean to using PCs). The “in” thing to do in the industry is to be a Mac. While this may put Apple in a position to become the leader in the PC industry, there are several reasons as to why Apple doesn’t want to and cannot do so.
Apple has long been the underdog of the PC industry. Right before Steve Jobs’ return as iCEO, we can see that this was for a good reason. Apple’s product line-up was a mess and the company was suffering through its worst years ever. Apple started out as a company that was all about the ability to “Think Different.” With Jobs’ return to Apple, this concept was embraced again, and the company started producing computers for the people. The original iMac and iBook are perfect examples: a colored and translucent computer was all about style and appealed to a younger audience. On the other hand, Windows PCs of the day were still considered the computers of choice amongst the tech elite and the business world.
Cut to today
Apple’s lineup of computers is amazing, to say the least. An Apple computer represents the latest and greatest in hardware: processors, graphics cards, RAM, connectivity technology, and enclosure engineering are all top-notch. The Mac lineup caters to both personal and business users and does so with extreme precision. Yet Apple is still the underdog of the personal computer market, having approximately 10% of U.S. market share. And this is exactly where the company needs to and wants to be, give or take a few percentage points.
One of Apple’s greatest strengths is its ability to manufacture both the software and the hardware that combine to make an amazing piece of machinery which outperforms all competition. But this level of performance comes at a price: the company’s second-greatest strength is the margin it enjoys. The last bevy of financial reports have pegged profit margin in the area of 30% or higher. Compared to rival companies such as Dell and HP, that’s an astounding number! It has turned Apple into a company that’s not only debt-free, but one that also enjoys tens of billion of dollars in the bank (and other short-term investments). But why can Apple charge so much more for its computers while other companies try so hard to earn even a 5 percent margin? Read more »
Posted in
Apple,
Business,
Decisions,
Featured,
Mac,
Marketing,
Microsoft,
Operating Systems,
Predictions,
Software,
Speculation,
Windows 7,
Windows Vista
You might have read, heard, or otherwise seen something about Windows 7 in the last few months. You might have also heard that it’s a much-improved, much more polished version of Vista. Skeptical? Don’t be. In this series, titled Why Windows 7 is better than Vista, I will outline the top five reasons why I love Windows 7, and why you should too.
First up is the shut-down menu. I think I should let the following screen shots speak for themselves: Read more »
Posted in
Featured,
Microsoft,
Windows 7,
Windows Vista
