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The first Windows 7 ad has appeared, and it's just awesome. Kudos to Microsoft for continuing the positive vibes...
Discuss this Article 42
I like the "Rocky" style theme music, suggesting the underdog is now ready to take on the champ.
Cute approach.
Please. No more kids hawking Microsoft products. No more cuteness. Just show people using Windows 7. (I thought those concept ads are better, especially the Aero Shake one.)
I do like the ad though.
Detailing features and not trashing the competition. That refreshing.
I'd like to see the how iCabal unleashes the snark. I wouldn't put it past the rabid Macboi frothers to start trashing poor Kylie for be a 'fake child actress!!'.
Apple needs to hire that "You Lie!" Congressman from SoCar to run counter ads to Kylie.
Good I hope they pour it on, the more they keep a positive tone the more people see the Apple ads as political type negative ads.
Especially after the 10.6 non-upgrade that just breaks things.
whiplash55 wrote: "Especially after the 10.6 non-upgrade that just breaks things."
That is called the Snow Leopard Debacle.
weedmonk: "I'd like to see the how iCabal unleashes the snark."
You mean with a story like this -
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10350510-56.html?tag=newsFeaturedBlogA...
How does THAT become a story on a major tech news site? A self-identified Mac geek manages to see an arcane reference to a show that not many people watched and the title of the story is "Windows 7 commercial strikes an odd note." What the?
Hey I've watched all the Arrested Development episodes at least once and I didn't make that association. That article is just snarkiness to the extreme.
How cute! "My Computer and "My Documents" have become "My Little Pony".
I'm becoming more and more convinced that Paul is baiting and trolling the Mac community:
" Mac OS X Snow Leopard was also met with a collective yawn"
Strange. Snow leopard was met with the same 'positive vibes' that Windows 7 has been.
Then theres this laugher: " the eagerly-awaited Zune HD" and the
What is this -- a MS commercial?
To all you "iCabal" and "political hype" folks... truth hurts, doesn't it? While Microsoft has sputtered with its "I'm a PC" campaign, all Apple does is state the truth... Vista was a disaster, Windows has BSOD and viruses and trojans and all kinds of malware. If you can dispute that, then, yes, Apple is lying and Microsoft can hire Joe Wilson, Republican shill, for its ads. But the truth is, Apple is doing nothing but dputting a spotlight on issues that Microsoft (and its followers) keep trying to sweep under the rug.
The site is having stability issues today.
It's not hosted on a Windows Server, is it?
The best part about this post is the comments..
THREE POSTS IN, commentators start mentioning Apple and iCabal and being snarky and taking shots at Snow Leopard and whatever....
Does ANYONE see the hypocrisy in that at all?
Good point by weedmonk whiplash55 - RE: Positive atmosphere of the ad compared to Apple's arrogant, Windows users are lame, ads.
(I still don't like the cuteness though.)
So cheesy... A 6 yr old MS geek...
At least the movie and emailing picture with her was cute and conveyed the message, but that is so lame. They should have used a totally different setting for the launch, it's not because a commercial kind is well perceived that they have to use it for all variations of their ads...
@Oceanjoe:
"I'm becoming more and more convinced that Paul is baiting and trolling the Mac community:"
Trolling the Mac community? In fact, he's probably baiting the Mac community that's trolling his site.
Christopher made a comment on one of the IT Pro article that I think applies to this site as well:
"You do realize that all of you are just as biased as he is, but in the opposite direction? Actually I'd say vastly more so because you take the time to come to a site for Windows folks and post. It's just weird.
Mac fanatics post drivel about PCs all the time on their sites, but I've never had the urge to go over there and "set the record straight". Why? Because a well-adjusted person doesn't feel a need to do things like that. If other PC guys do that, well they're full of garbage too."
"...Microsoft can hire Joe Wilson, Republican shill, for its ads. "
In tech circles, he's refered to as Walt Mossberg.
"I've never had the urge to go over there and "set the record straight".
I'm a PC guy. Never owned a Mac.
Windows 7 now dipped in fabric softener!
Front-lining adorable little kids or pets is nothing more than a retreat to the safe zone--a time-out from the marketing playbook. Enjoy the the break folks, coz at some point the whistle's gonna blow and Microsoft will have to step back onto a very competitive court.
I certainly don't consider Vista a disaster; I've been running it since day one. I've never had a BSOD, never had a virus, never had a trojan, never had malware.
Trouble with a lot of Mac fan boys, is they can't stand to hear that Windows doesn't follow their perceived weaknesses. I'm not a typical PC user; I'm a Windows Software developer; I tend to use a lot of Beta software, and run my machines very hard.
Wasn't Paul and Microsoft and all the other reviewers saying these exact same things for....
Windows Vista
Windows XP
Windows 2000
Windows 98
Every time there is a new version of Windows about to be released, its always positive press.
This is finally THE version of Windows. This version finally gets it right.
Yet somehow, 6 months afterwards, that enthusiasm seems to die down.
Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.
This ad is far from "just awesome". It's "just awful". This saccharine overload isn't cute, it borders on exploitative. Horrible.
The bing ads are awesome. This is crap.
As someone commented on YouTube, I wonder what other happy pictures she found on Daddy's computer.
"Good point by weedmonk whiplash55 - RE: Positive atmosphere of the ad compared to Apple's arrogant, Windows users are lame, ads.
(I still don't like the cuteness though.)"
I agree. Once was enough with those kids.
This is REALLY just an attempt by Microsoft to brainwash its customers into buying Windows 7 by using only positive reviTHEEEEEEEEE FIIIIIIINNNNNNNAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLL COOOOOOOUNNNTTTTTTTDDDDDDOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWNNNNNNNNN!
*drool* must...buy...windows...seven...*/hypnosis*
Its a cute commercial. Pretty harmless. If a little girl can see that Windows 7 bring all the goodies, then everyone else will too.
At least it doesn't play on outdated issues or F.U.D. and actually shows the product in action. At least we actually saw the Windows 7 taskbar and GUI in action along and quotes from the top websites.
I think its a very effective ad. Frankly, Apple should be embarassed that lately it hasn't shown off its beautiful desktop in any of the Mac vs PC commercials.
Microsoft did. It maybe post production but at least they show the merchandise. That's what I expect in a commercial. Show me the product, what it can do, and who has endorsed it. Not two idiots standing infront of a white background. No originality what so ever. That could have easily been done in the 1950's.
Nice job Microsoft.
"Show me the product, what it can do, and who has endorsed it."
Most people are going to buy a computer anyway. MS doesn't need to sell them on features...just that its a good solid workable solution.
I'm far from being an expert at marketing, but as part of my career I have read several books on advertising. I'd say that doesn't make me someone in the know, but rather someone who knows what they don't know.
And what I don't know is whether this is a good ad or not. It's very hard to judge a marketing campaign. A lot of people talk about whether they like an ad or don't like it, but all that matters is the ad's effectiveness and effectiveness is measured in sales.
On the surface it's a feel good ad that seems to work. Will it inspire Microsoft's target audience to purchase copies of Windows 7 that they might not have otherwise purchased? Don't know. And neither do you.
"On the surface it's a feel good ad that seems to work. Will it inspire Microsoft's target audience to purchase copies of Windows 7 that they might not have otherwise purchased? Don't know. And neither do you."
Well, looking at the ad campaign that they had from Windows Vista, where they didn't use any positive press critiques at launch, the public perception followed what some of the press had exaggerated, and the effect snowballed out of control. I get people coming in the door even recently, that "heard that Vista isn't good" etc. Whatever. That's not the case now, and it hasn't been for a while. Anyway, long story short, Microsoft is just using press statements to feed public perception towards the positive.
BTW: It's been not quite a month since I migrated our business desktops to Windows 7 Professional, since we got it in our Action Pack subscription. Overall, I don't notice any really big performance enhancements. The system I'm typing on is an Ion systems with an Atom 330 dual-core, and performance between Vista SP2 (what was on it before) and Windows 7 isn't perceptably different. The taskbar takes some getting used to, and in some cases I find it takes longer to navigate between windows. I guess that's always the case with organization though - the more you organize stuff, the harder it is to get to it. And the more customization you offer, the more cluttered the user will make it. I think the Start Menu is getting to the point where it's just not easily manageable enough to make it also easy to find stuff there. Luckily there's Windows Search though.
OT but funny (SFW except for the odd swear):
http://tac.tv/the_willi_waller_vid1001
http://tac.tv/lcd_shovel_full_hd_vid1341
I think the add will help MS, provided its a massive multi-aproach ad campaign, with this being just one approach.
The major difference is that Windows is seen as a "work tool", more than a consumer product. The reverse is true of a Mac.
For years Microsoft has marketed feature lists, many of which are for business, where Apple has marketed ease of use and it just works for consumers. Those Mac commercials are not about joe business manager trying to pick which to go with they are about joe consumer trying to decide.
Macs are still seen as the "other choice" the silver BMW 5 series vs the grey Ford Taurus. The Ford Taurus is everywhere, the 5 series is still unique.
Windows 7 is very nice, I have been using it sin 8/07. Its runs great on one of my work laptops. Its greatness is no doubt do to the Microsoft really fixing/tweaking Vista, and the fact that my laptop today has 4gigs of RAM and a 2.4ghz core 2 duo compared to what I had when Vista came out. Leaner OS + way faster hardware = MUCH better experience. I finally feel like there is a reason to get off of XP at work.
That said I view it as a business OS. There is nothing on the Windows side that gives me the all around simplicity of OS X and iLife from a consumer standpoint. When I explore what Windows can do for me in this regard its a huge mess of confusing offerings that just turn me off. I can figure out the alternatives because I do IT for a living. I know there are free alternatives, but Joe Consumer does not want to hunt them down, or figure it all out.
OT
http://www.neowin.net/news/main/09/09/11/zune-hd-to-remain-us-only-for-now
WTF? So if you are weeeetorn you wont get any Zune luv, old or new, since they are abandoning the old Zunes. Incredible.
@rrode:
I won't give up a Windows Mobile phone for something else more consumer-y.
I can multi-task using WL Messenger, listen to music, and surf, and even just last night I had to use Remote Desktop to move a few things around on my server, and I didn't have a computer nearby - so I used my phone. It also updates RSS feeds (including video and audio feeds aka podcasts) over the air. Next phone I get will have a hardware keyboard though. I like the size of the Touch Diamond, but I miss the keyboard that I had from the previous phone I owned - a Moto Q. The touchscreen stuff doesn't wow me either. I could easily do without, if it weren't for the fact that you need a touchscreen for the WinMo RDP client app. If I didn't use RDP on my phone, I'd probably get one of those HTC S740 phones, because it has a really nice form factor, which includes a narrow candy-bar style WITH numpad, but also has a slide-out keyboard. I don't mind the larger BBerry-style front keyboards, like the Moto Q (the HTC Ozone looks svelte), but I'd much rather have the slider keyboard with a larger screen. I like the dual-input of the S740 though, and I'd love it if they had that with a touchscreen. I like the look of a narrow phone that's both simple, and yet not at the same time. I like the esthetics of something sharp, with straight edges rather than all this curved corner silliness.
http://www.htc.com/us/product/htcs743/overview.html
http://www.htc.com/us/product/ozone/overview.html
Neither of those products is available in Canada either, but I'll wait until Telus offers me a discount on a contract renewal.
I'll wait until the WinMo 6.5 phones become available before I take a serious look again.
I'll probably end up with something similar to the Touch Pro 2 or whatever HTC has with WM 6.5.
"So if you are weeeetorn [sic] you wont get any Zune luv, old or new, since they are abandoning the old Zunes."
They're not abandoning the old Zunes in Canada at all. They are continuing to sell them for the foreseeable future - this is according to one of the Zune reps in Microsoft that I talked to over the phone, when I addressed my concerns that, according to Paul, "production has stopped on the old models". He assured me that is actually not the case, and wasn't sure where Paul got that information. Anyway, they talked about how they would have them available until at least into next year and have no plans to change that any time soon. The Zune HD launch in the US is not to have any affect on Zune products in Canada, and according to even customer support, and indication that existing Zune 2.0 devices will be not be available for sale, or will be discontinued is entirely untrue and Microsoft has made absolutely NO public announcement to the contrary nor do they have any plans to do so.
In other words, there won't be much change to Zune sales in Canada as it stands right now. The Zune HD is NOT "*THE* Zune" going forward.
What's more incredible is that people have overexaggerated what was a bit of hearsay.
A screenshot of a YouTube video? You know you can embed them on the site, right? Is that a limitation of Windows 7 when you post?
This is awesome? That's what happens when a throng of people with zero taste get fed this gruel. This is mediocre, and that's at best. Quite pathetic would be more apt.
@robertsjoe:
Kylie makes Justin Long look like a shmuck.
And you make Bill O'Reilly look like Walter Kronkite.
@waethorn. Actually I agree with you on the phone. First if I did not take care of Exchange, I would not have a smartphone. Second I just have to have a real keyboard. The iPhone is a really amazing device, my wife has one, but beside a few games its not something I want to carry around.
At work we use WinMO and we are with Sprint. I just ditched my Treo 800W (winmo pro) for a HTC Snap (winmo standard) and its so much nicer. I never turned on Wifi, or used the touch screen. I just need a PHONE, and something to maker sure ActiveSync is working for my users. The HTC Snap lasts twice as long as the Treo 800W
Its a nice ad and very cute. I agree with subzero that these ads are effective and appealling and not full of the im a mac and im a pc silliness from apple.
@rrode:
I know someone that had an 800W and said it was extremely unstable and he had to do a soft reset every day on it.
My Touch Diamond is much better. I had the odd stability issue with my Moto Q, but I pushed it pretty hard, and it had an inferior CPU to the Touch Diamond, and it was also only WM 6.0. Still a decent phone for me, and it had A2DP Bluetooth so it wasn't bad. It didn't have RDP, so it kind of hampered some of my remote IT work.
Still, if HTC had an S74x (they have an S740 and a 743 - dunno the difference) with a touchscreen, RDP, and Opera Mobile, I'd buy it in a second. I love that form factor - slender, with hard lines, and with a numpad, and I prefer the larger, slider keyboard to the Tic-Tac style keys that some phones have on the front. Some phone manufacturers have improved on the front-facing keyboards, but I find the larger sized front-facing keyboards have buttons that run together and are hard to type on, so the side-keyboards are bigger and more adequately spaced for me.
For now, I'll hold onto my Touch Diamond until I see something better, hopefully with WM 6.5. Still, that's one of the benefits of Windows Mobile, in that there's a choice in form factors. Sometimes you can't always get exactly what you want though, as I point out.
If I didn't find WinMo as useful as I do (and HTC includes Newsbreak for free - called "RSS Hub" on their devices), I might opt for a Palm Pre. It has ActiveSync support, but other than that, it doesn't do what I want, so it's not an option.
I'll keep watching for HTC's new form factors as they roll out.
For now, take a look at what I was swooning over:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qU7DPL_czU
Nice hardware. A few options short of being adequate enough for my uses though. I love the sliding panels UI of WM 6.1 Standard too, which is much different from WM Pro, but hopefully we'll see nice form factors with WM 6.5 Pro that work similarly well. I don't like the idea of not being able to browse through stuff on the Today screen though. I prefer having at least a summary of each email or notification rather than just a number saying how many new items there are and having to launch a program to see them. That's one of the reasons why I hate the iPhone UI. From what I've seen, the WM 6.5 [Pro] UI shows notifications like the iPhone (as an item count only, no summaries) rather than like WM <6.5. I'll have to see one first-hand to see exactly how it works though before passing judgement. I like HTC's hardware too, and they'll likely have their own TouchFlo overlay UI. Stuff to watch out for....
rrode74 said
"That said I view it as a business OS. There is nothing on the Windows side that gives me the all around simplicity of OS X and iLife from a consumer standpoint."
I would completely disagree with that statement. Considering that there are more consumer based internet services on the Windows side such as Rhapsody, Cinema Now, Movielink @ Blockbuster, Steam, and many other services.
As for your comparison of iLife and OS-X, I'd argue that the latest wave of the Windows 7, Windows Live Essentials, Microsoft Office, and free software can matches up pretty well against iLife.
iPhoto - Windows Live Photo Gallery
iMovie - Windows Live Movie Maker
iDVD - Windows Live Movie Maker
Garageband - Audacity
iWeb - Windows Live Writer
Mobile Me - Exchange/Outlook/Windows Live Mail-Hotmail/Live Mesh/Windows Live Sync/Windows Live Skydrive
"Macs are still seen as the "other choice" the silver BMW 5 series vs the grey Ford Taurus. The Ford Taurus is everywhere, the 5 series is still unique."
Honestly, I don't think that comparison is accurate at all. I would rate Macs more along the lines of Lexus, Audi or Infiniti. Windows can be anything based upon a few factors:
Kia/Hyundai/Saturn (Celeron/Sempron)
Ford/Chevy/Chrysler(Pentium Dual Core/Athlon 64/CoreSolo)
Toyota/Honda/Acura/Lexus/Infiniti (Core2Duo/Athlon64x2)
Lamborghini/Ferrari (Core2Quad),
or the world's fastest car's the SSC Aero/Bugatti Veyron (Intel Core i7).
It comes down to powerplant. Now I would agree that the Mac Pro Workstation is a truely stellar piece of engineering. But for the average folks its way too expensive and probably overkill. I'd prefer to keep this in the consumer discussion. I'd argue that the Core2Duo which is standard across all consumer based Mac lines, are the about the same as today's V6 engine. A Core2Quad would be more along the lines of a V8. Apple currently doesn't have a consumer based PC based up on that processor. Nor does it have any consumer line based upon the Core i7.
So how can you argue that its a premier or elite top of the line machine, when it has such a common processor? That's like saying a Mustang is a top of the line vehicle, when there are European sports cars that blow it away? Maybe with Professional Performance Parts and Mods... but the stock version? Please.
I'd argue that Windows in general way more than just a business OS. Its more like a General Multi-Purpose Operating System. Its consumer strengths are obvious with over 1.2 billion active machines. In 6 months, Windows XP by itself took 90 percent control of the netbook market, for consumer needs not business. Windows 7 and Windows Vista with SP2 "just works."
Windows plays to a much larger audience. Joe Gamer, Joe Business, Joe Casual, Joe Enthusiast, Joe Musician, and all walks of life. With that kind of wider audience comes complexity. As Apple is discovering with OS-X 10.6, playing to a much larger audience isn't quite as easy as saying "it just works."
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3258
http://snowleopard.wikidot.com/
http://www.macresearch.org/snow-leopard-compatibility
Apple certainly does have its strength and its shown that OS-X is a high caliber and flexable system. But its not perfect, its got plenty of vulnerabilities, and certainly doesn't have the reach of Windows.
I'm certainly not knocking OS-X. I'd buy the Mini and the $999 notebook version. I just think that the hardware is way overpriced, when I can build a hardware superior version for the same amount or less.
In my analysis, Windows 7 vs Snow Leopard its a very close horse race. But Windows 7 wins, by a nose.
