Microsoft hits Apple on their own turf
The gauntlet has been thrown down and Microsoft is making it pretty clear that they’re not going to be bullied around by Apple’s advertising tactics. In England at least. Apparently, these booths aren’t just advertisements, but they’re also interactive booths. From AppleInsider:
“It’s a friggin booth where you can record your own I’m a PC video,” he said. “This is outside the Apple Store, Bullring, Birmingham, England.” He added that a trio of Microsoft staffers will be on hand to turn patrons off from the Mac for the next three days.
Microsoft staffers will be there goal-tending! Wow, this is a pretty gutsy move. One would think this is just asking for it - how can things not get intense or even hostile? Of course, it’s perfectly legal for Microsoft to put these booths right in front of Apple stores, but talk about taking it to their house and just invading their turf - ballsy! Steve Ballmer and all his buddies aren’t holding back and are pulling all the stops. What do you guys think? Good idea, bad idea? Let us know!
Tags: Apple, apple store, Mac, microsoft, PC, vista, Windows, XP
Eat or be eaten.
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That looks like the apple store in Houston…
Unix, and Unix-CoZins unite!!!
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nice - any competition is healthy competition, dunno about ‘life without walls’ slogan though.
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Surprised Microsoft got that creative. Kudos to them.
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shows how desperate microsoft is. the problem is that no matter how ugly their tactics get, it just doesn’t matter if they keep delivering crap. why spend all this energy in a pissing contest when they should be focusing on fixing windows…or tearing it apart and re-writing it from the ground up. and do you think this will have any effect? if i’m headed to an apple store and i saw this, i’d laugh at it, laugh at any employee trying to deter me from entering the store, and go buy the apple product i needed. i actually think this will cause a negative backlash in the end, especially if microsoft gets aggressive and tries to pick off potential customers. fortunately most mac users have chosen the platform whereas most windows users have it by default.
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Now that’s what I call using your recources wisely! Heck with those dumb commercials… Set up camp! Haha
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I am not a big PC guy at all, but i do think this is ballsy as hell. I would love to watch people get bombarded by the Microsoft employees trying to convince them Apple is crap (when all they wanted to do was buy a Ipod, and have no clue what a “PC” is).
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Genius
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WE NEED SOMEONE ONSITE TO COLLECT VIDEO FROM THE INEVITABLE RUMBLE. WE ALL WANT TO SEE FOOTAGE OF THE SISSY SLAPFIGHT. I AM SURE THERE WILL BE A FEW SHIVS MADE OUT OF SPORKS FROM THE FOOD COURT.
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Looks like someone’s desperate for attention, and knows just were to attack it.
Fuck Microsoft.
GetaMac
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Yeah when I’m walking in to an Apple store to buy a macbook pro, macbook air, or an iphone, if I happen to see their “I’m a pc” poster I’m going to turn right around and run to a office depot and buy a shitty HP laptop or a Dell reject. Microsoft is run by fucking chimps.
Microsoft is completely devoid of creativity or innovation. Period.
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O no he didn’t! Ooo, girllll.
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pathetic…i really thought microsoft was bigger than this
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Lol Mircosoft its letting them know they aint scurred. Thats whats up.
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How Genius, Msft pays for a really expensive Kyosk that doesn’t sell or offer customers nothing and puts it right by that Apple store, While across the hallway Apple is Selling Millions of iPods/iPhones/iMacs,
boy i got to tell ya Msft sure has some Loyal shareholders, stuff like this makes Apple look good cause at the end of the day when you run across the bean counter ad Apple is running, your going to realize how much sense it makes. If anyone up there is Redmond is reading this, why not use that Kyosk to sell Zunes, or better yet Xbox stuff, or even software, use ya brains for once
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honestly .. it’s no better than apple making the “I’m a PC” commercials .. using comparison to belittle the competition .. why focus on the failures when you can focus on the benefits .. sorry but i will never buy a mac simply because i’m told the microsoft variety is no good .. if apple truly wants more business they should have competitive pricing .. i can build a PC from parts or buy sales and get a top of the line machine for very little money .. i’m not going to shell out $2500+ on a machine of equal power to that of a $1200 machine .. that’s a lot of money to spend on a computer .. these marketing ads are bogus .. on BOTH sides .. ask any mac user and they have to admit that apple is not without flaws .. otherwise they’re lying their butts off .. so focus on the product you’re selling and not the competition
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I’m sure the three days will make quite a difference, because of course people who buy Apple computers aren’t aware of Windows or what it can do. Right. No wonder they can’t figure out how to compete. Now, many of the people walking into the Apple store want iPhones or iPods. . .will the kiosk be talking Zune too? Oh yeah, MS no longer advertises the Zune, and WinMo 7 is on hold. Yeah, this is a REALLY good plan.
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@crazylegs
i completely agree.
mac > pc.
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People who understand computers buy PCs, people who don’t understand computers buy Macs, it’s that simple and there is nothing more to it. Now its pretty easy to guess which of the two groups above would be considered the “cool” group.
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i am seriously tired of the whole microsoft vs apple thing…it’s really getting pretty old. coming from a guy who uses both, each one has its own advantages. apple does well with all the graphic work that needs to be done, but i still use the pc for all office work. anyone that says that the two can’t co-exist is an idiot. by the way…i haven’t had any problems with vista either…if you can’t get it to run smoothly your a dumb@$$
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Ha. That’s like setting up a bunch of Bible thumpers outside of a strip club to “discourage” people from going in. Those that are headed into the strip club already don’t give a shit what the Bible thumpers think and turns them off religion even more so. Good job MS. Spend your money and useless ads instead of fixing your problems. Frankly, I love it that Apple has finally made the GIANT MS break a sweat.
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@ d
Actually, it’s people who understand computers and used a PC buy a MAC.
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It’s desparate. Lame. Clumsy. Apple wouldn’t do it because, among other things, it’s blunt and brutish, not stylish.
Disclaimer: I own 13 PCs and only one mac.
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All is fair in love, war, politics, business, qwerty vs touchscreeen, & PC vs Mac!
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@ bluehorseshoe
of course I expected someone to say that…
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