

Unicorn Tears, Eh? - jballanc
http://daringfireball.net/linked/2009/04/05/unicorn-tears

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albertni
This is getting silly, and even more annoying than it already was.

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unalone
For a long, long, long, long time, I thought that Microsoft was going that
angle as a marketing move. Then they started doing ads like this, that seem to
actively make them look stupid, and I'm starting to think that it's actually
what they believe, that their corporate culture really _doesn't_ realize what
Apple does well that they don't, and it's a very saddening thought.

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ashleyw
I'd love to see what'd happen if Apple opened OSX up to non-Apple hardware, or
competed on a price level with mid-range PCs. Personally I think the biggest
thing holding OSX back is the hardware price; even Microsoft know that I
think…instead of staying on the software level with their new ads, they had to
talk about the _price_ of the hardware (not even the hardware itself — the
second ad even said how nice the Mac hardware is!)

Hopefully Apple fights back, it's about time they did! I love unicorn tears, I
just wish they were cheaper... (it's strange they've kept Macs as nearly a
'designer' product, cause they know first hand what happens when you make
something mainstream; i.e. iPod/iPhone)

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marcus
But then Apple would have to spend a ton of resources on getting OSX
compatible with a gazillion different hardware setups. It will either slow
down iterations or hurt the user experience, the "it just works" magic.

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ashleyw
They could just have a list of off-the-shelf components which are fully
compatible, pretty much like the OSX86 project has; a good hackintosh with
tested components can be as good as the real thing.

It wouldn't be perfect, personally I'd still prefer a real Mac (I like the
hardware), but I don't think it'd be a 'wrong' move by Apple to try to open
things up a bit.

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bad_user
But then you'd have all these tech articles and blog/forum posts bitching
about how Mac OS X sucks because it doesn't support hardware X ... just like
you have with Linux.

It's a known fact that people don't look at the hardware compatibility list
before buying a X86 machine, not even the more technically inclined ones (I
know I don't ... and I'm running Linux ... although I should know better ...
somehow I hope that whatever problem I have, it would get solved shortly).

And there's always the issue of having partnerships with the hardware
companies to write those drivers for them, because they cannot do it on their
own (lack of specifications, resources available). Microsoft couldn't pull it
for Vista ... the drivers demanded from hardware manufactures were lately
delivered and improperly tested.

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pmjordan
_It seems clear that Microsoft’s stance on the Mac’s sales growth is that
there’s nothing wrong with Windows or right with the Mac, but rather that
there’s something wrong with Mac users._

So by declaring that they do not like mac users, where does Office for Mac
come in? What about mac users who are contemplating switching to Windows?
(they must exist, surely?) Aren't they going to be put off by this sort of
negative advertising?

So the target demographic of these ads is existing Windows customers, to try
to persuade them _not_ to jump ship. Desperate.

(note: I haven't actually seen these ads, I don't think MS advertise on
Austrian television)

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jballanc
Aside from the allusion to 70s and 80s car manufacturers, is warning against
open standards because "Microsoft could fail" still considered a far flung
idea?

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jballanc
Bah...that should read: "is warning against _closed_ standards"

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jemmons
Do you not have an "edit" button? I thought all logged in accounts were
allowed to edit their own posts?

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wendell
"Reminds me of the attitude of U.S. carmakers in the ’70s and ’80s, as more
Americans switched to Japanese imports."

Except that Japanese imports had better quality AND cheaper prices than their
American counterparts. With Apple products the former is arguable and the
latter is not true. Analogy broken.

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DLWormwood
Non sequitur. Gruber was analogizing the management motivation for the
marketing campaign, not the products being marketed _per se_.

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s_baar
I'm waiting for the Romeo and Juliet ad campaign that focuses on two
allegorical star-crossed lovers, with the last ad revealing that the drama has
actually taken place at a college campus and not Italy. Also, anyone who buys
a computer bathed in unicorn tears is cursed to a half-life.

