Secondary factor is that they are losing market share to Apple. And the hidden message behind these ads is that Macs are for rich elitists, which kind of plays into Apple’s “I’m a Mac / I’m a PC” commercials, where sometimes the kid comes off being too smug and the bumbling older PC guy almost sympathetic.

Of course they are suppose to sell their product, and they have spent a ton over the years doing it.

I’m just noting that Microsoft used to talk about how great Windows was, how easy the machines were to use, how it was compatible with all software, etc got slammed by Apple for a year about how unrelable Vista is, how much easy a Mac is, the applications that Mac carried, etc., and Microsoft answer is, hey we’re cheaper.

So maybe its a good sales strategy in the short run but for a tech company I think it will hurt them long term

I’m not saying they have the best products, but the commercials are good and show that there is a big price difference. That is the exact same strategy I would use if I was them.

And the more people I know who get macs, the more complaints I hear.

Microsoft is still the big bully in technology and people won’t put up with that crap forever, just look at GM.

Even though I am on XP, I made sure not to “upgrade” to Vista. I never use IE and try to avoid Microsoft whenever I can and I see no reason to change my anti-Microsoft practice.

Is the younger generation going to go to Microsoft? Nope. Ipods. Iphones. Cellphones. Microsoft isn’t a Player in any of those so I don’t see them pulling in the younger generation.

Just sit back and watch Ballmer grind Microsoft into the ground.

Microsoft had me as a customer for life too until there stuff stopped working and become to difficult to operate.

Exposing your customers to your product can be the worst thing you do if your product sucks.

I won’t try to compare the quality of one vs the other, but I think getting the word out that you can buy a decent PC for $700 is a an excellent marketing point.