Microsoft Laptop Hunter Ads Stirring the Pot

First there was Lauren appearing as the first “Laptop Hunter” in the ad by Microsoft, tasked with hitting the Best Buy in search of the cheap (sub-$1,000) laptop. Lauren chose an HP and was quite happy. The second ad in the series has been running for a while now and is continuing to stir the “Windows vs. Mac” debate, no doubt Microsoft’s intention.

The second ad features Giampaolo, a self-described picky user looking for a power machine. Giampaolo also ended up choosing an HP laptop, coming in under the $1,500 Microsoft allowed him for the task. This ad is getting the Mac camp up in arms as he states that while sexy, the Mac lacks the power he needs to get the job done. Hey, what else did you expect Microsoft to throw out there?  :)

What I found funny while browsing through the online reaction to the ads was on the Microsoft Watch blog. Noted eWeek tech guru Joe Wilcox weighed in on the ad brouhaha with his own story of shopping for a laptop. Joe waxes on and on about how much he likes Macs and OS X but that he really wanted a Sony VGN-Z590. The problem was the Sony was much more expensive than the 13-inch MacBook and 15-inch MacBook Pro Joe was considering.

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In the end Joe went with the Sony which he found on sale for $1,899. While $300 more than the MacBook he considered (and discarded due to low screen resolution), he admits that what ultimately turned him in favor of the Sony (besides the screen resolution) was that he loves Windows 7. He readily admits that he could run Windows 7 on the MacBook using dual-boot but he ultimately went with the Sony.

I understand Joe’s decision; ultimately he felt he was getting a really good deal on the Sony. What he gave up however, was that ability to dual-boot he readily admits he could do on the MacBook. Now he can run Windows 7, still in beta, rather than both OS X and Win7. And he only paid $300 for that feature. BTW Joe, I am writing this on Windows 7 running on my MacBook under Parallels, switching back and forth between the two OSes as need be.

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