Microsoft declares war on the 'Apple tax'
Microsoft is on the warpath once again, with some Redmond executive slamming Apple for putting a tax on Macs and suggesting (in a kind of roundabout way) that Macs aren't really more secure than Windows. (Yeah, right)...
Ina Fried at Cnet has the report, and it's a classic example of a journalist digging away at a slippery interviewee in an attempt to get a straight answer.
Brad Brooks, vice president of Windows Consumer Product Marketing, argued that Mac buyers face hidden costs if they try to add Windows to their Mac or if they decide to forgo Windows compatibility.
In fact, his remark is priceless: "If people want a Windows experience, then start with a machine that was built for the Windows experience." We couldn't agree more, using virtualisation software and a copy of Windows on your Mac is as purpose built as you need.
This attack continues, though, with Brooks bridling at what he sees as the 'Apple Tax', saying, "There's going to be an application tax, which is if you want choice around applications, or if you want the same type of application experience on your Mac versus Windows, you're going to be purchasing a lot of software," he says....(sparking incredulous gasp from man over here).
The Microsoft exec also goes off to point out that Macs aren't upgradeable, and that Apple's machines don't support things everyone wants such as, erm, HDMI, Blu-Ray and so on.
And Macs aren't immune to viruses, it's a "fallacy" said this Microsoft bloke before almost instantly going on to declare Windows Vista to be 60 per cent less virus prone than previous versions of, erm, well, of Windows, basically.
And then, asked for a direct comparison between Mac and WIndows security, the exec suddenly goes all quiet, "You know, it's hard to get a direct comparison, Ina. I want to be very specific in any kind of the data or the information that I give you there is that you're running one system versus another..."
In other words, Fried had him beat...
Anyway, the gist of the rest of the interview (do read it) is that Microsof is sick of its failure to define itself as a consumer experience that's worth having, is prepared to do things such as not offering feature parity in Mac versions of Office to tempt new users back, and is drawing a line in the sand to preserve its market share.
Including stressing the fiction of the 'Apple Tax'. Now, just how much does Windows cost to purchase? And how much extra for the anti-virus software?
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Comments (22)
I am intending to buy one of the soon-to-be-announced Macbooks, and as a first time Apple buyer I was thinking that I would also include Microsoft Office '08 in my purchase.
However, after reading this b.s. from some Microsoft wanker, I think I will just keep the extra change in my pocket and pursue other office productivity avenues.
Thanks Andy for saving me from a certain Microsoft-tax!
Priceless! Enjoy your new Macbook
iLife (included with a Mac) is good to get you started for home stuff, and iWork (which includes spreadsheet app Numbers, presentation app Keynote and wordprocessing/page-layout app Pages is excellent and very affordable, keeping you well away from any MS app.
Or else check out the recently renewed free Open Office for Mac right here at 9to5:
http://www.9to5mac.com/OOO-3-Mac
That 'll keep you productive in the office at a fraction of the cost with no aggravation.
Enjoy your new Mac
OpenOffice, does what Microsoft Office does but for FREE!!!!!
Download Openoffice for Mac or go and get iWork, it's great to work with!!
i second the iwork path. but openoffice works as well
i second the iwork path. but openoffice works as well
I'm sick and tired of hearing that mac's are safer than windows. The only reason they are safer is not because of better software, it's because hackers aren't as much interested in OS X, it is a minor player. If you want a virus to spread you don't atack a system that has a 4% worldwide user base. It's as simple as that. I run Vista and OSX on a hackintosh, on a quad core 3ghz system for a fraction of the price apple would charge me if i bought their hardware, and OSX and xp on an MBA. I am happy with both systems, I don't even use an antivirus on the windows installations, and never got any. If you remeber there was a competition to see wich oS was hacked first by a team of hackers, it only took them 30 minutes to do it on OSX. Every system has their strenght and weakness. Mine is english :) Have a nice day.
yes and your hardware sucks :-) And before you start to say you get a good cpu ecc.... try a real Mac. They costs what they offer. OSX is safer, it is unix based, so stop this no sense.
I own a MBA as in "Macbook Air" last time i checked it was made by Apple as in "china". The hardware of my computer was way ahead of what apple had to offer at the time, for half the price, that's why I built it. I'm not even going to discuss the hardware specs, because it's obvious you have no idea of what you are talking about when you say apple hardware is superior. Peace.
Go away M$ shill. Nobody buys your BS crap anymore.
You couldn't be more wrong about the fact that we don't get viruses because there aren't enough of us. It's simply because they cannot get through the superior operating system. There are very few holes, some have been released into public but you have to be a retard to actually go through the steps required to install the virus. A 4% market share is nothing to laugh at, just think... you believe macs are more expensive, so the people with macs therefore could have more money which would be a prime target for a hacker or virus creator to try and create a virus that could see your screen to get your banking numbers etc.
But the point is, you are flat out wrong. It's not that there's not enough of us, it's the fact that microsoft got greedy creating 5 types of windows vista (all of which sucked) and charges a huge amount for each. Take office vs. iwork, iwork is half the price, easier to use, and looks nicer. The fact that microsoft is threatening to remove features for future mac versions is just pathetic. Can you imagine if apple dumbed down the windows version of itunes to get more people to switch over to mac?!
Microsoft needs to fight apple with revolutionary technology, not cheap shots. Quit complaining that we are picking on you (microsoft) and invent! Make your operating system easy to use and intuitive, pretty doesn't make frustration any easier to deal with. The fact is that no one really cares about microsoft complaining, they need to restructure and offer something of value that will make people think before switching.
Mac is unix based, and Unix has some security that windows is no where near.
A simple thing.
on a Unix platform you can on a file give more premissions.
There is
Read acces
Wirte acces
Excecute acces
and you can deside if 0, 1, 2 or all 3 has to be active, and for the owner of the file, user group, or root(admin).
So basic you can have a file that only normal user can excecute, but not write to (so a virus can not get in to that file) and the root(admin) can't excecute.
You can have all pictures, documents and so on to read write acces, but no excecute acces, so no hiding a program/virus/addaware hiding in a fake file.
And it's not like in windows with the pop up messege. The file is write protected overwirte anyway Yes/No.
Beside that then Mac/Unix has also a plus that you can do a lot of thing with out being root(admin)
Most Windows systems are unsecyred because they are allways locked in as admin.
The reason for this is that if almost anything you wan't to do in Windows you need admin rigth. (In Vista alot of games need admin rigths to start)
And there is two ways to react to that
1) allways log in as admin.
2) just click yes/type admin password when asking for it. With out reading why.
You are so use to the pop up that the security is gone and it's just annoring.
Yes there is virus scanner programs for Mac and Linux, but the real reason for that is
1) The firms that sells the programs says you need it
2) You copaty demand that you have on installed
3) You system is a mail server, and scan for virus before users get's there mails
Yes there is a few vira out there for Mac/Linux..... Or that is someone have made some for proff that you can, and not in the free.
And the last crossplatfor virus that got a lot of PR was not a virus.
It was a program that you manual had to start, and it then overwited all other files in it's folder... if it had write acces.
Then the But Linux/Mac is not that populer so no one wants to write vira for them.
Linux/Unix is very populer on servers.
Mac is getting bigger and bigger.
And most of the vira is also made as "See what I can do" so why do geeks like that not target Lunix/Mac, when it would be respect to be the first to get a real virus on them?
Windows is baset on the power and functions that maschins had in the '80
Unix/Linux/Mac is envolving and are optimezed for todays computers.
Just look at the names of Windows procces/files most of them are still using the old 8.3 file names.
While Unix based systems are using long file names, so that the common user have a ide of what the file is.
The hole pount whit dll files.
It was a good ide from back in the days where shared files could realy save some disk space.
Today you migth save 50MB by installing 2 programs of 2-5GB
That is just a bad way to program today.
Also that the mode dll junk files you have installed in Windows the slower the system is.
It wan't to load/preper to acces the files if a program ask for it.
It's all this small things that a thing of the past but still living in Windows.
So long story short. Unix based system is more securted then Windows based.
And that Windows is a OS based on needs that has not exsited the last 15 years.
Guess what NOOB... Apple has MILLIONS UPON MILLIONS OF USERS... SO... should that not mean at least 1000 or viruses? Or how about 100? Okay... 10... NO YOU IDIOT... NONE, ZIP, NADA! Yet M$ has in the 100's of THOUSANDS and STILL can not do a proper OS that is secure. Plus the OSX you mentioned that was hacked... sorry but I have a serious problem with believing that story and that there was no "fudging" of the system. Your "hackintosh" ... yeah good luck with the software updates. What a pain in the ass to have to reinstall the OS every time. Plus, I can just imagine how FUGLY your computer looks. Macs are still the best price going... do not forget, you have no iLife on Windows and the cost to get an equivalent is ridiculous. Virus software, updates, and WHEN you do get a virus... oh how fun it is to WIPE the HD. Enjoy your MicroCrap!
They just don't get it, different OS different HIG! Ribbon will not Work with Apple's OS, but iWork goes a way as easy as a Ribbon.
Isn't Ribbon just a copy of what Macromedia, bought out by Adobe employs in a lot of their software? That is adding a row of macros and shortcut tools stuff at the top of the doc (or free-floating window), right? I've seen it on other software, too. That's like a decade old concept, which doesn't mean it's bad, just not like the most innovative thing out there. Besides, if you know your keyboard shortcuts, Ribbon slows you down and takes up screen space..
@ Security
the market share excuse is lame and a horse beaten so bad to to death that it has been revived and beaten a million times. the truth is the unix foundation is much more stable and has far greater firewalls built in.
take an English online class and get back to me.
My goodness, after reading the interview the Microsoft rep sounds like a schoolyard taunter: "Your mother wears combat boots!"
"There's no question, if you look at it, and go to Apple's Web site today, their No. 1 selling feature that they're telling students as to why buy a Mac is because it does run Windows, and that you can get Office when you're running it in Boot Camp or Parallels. But, then you're just paying that tax again. You're paying for an upgrade to Windows, you're paying for the full version of Office, where you could get all of that at one price, at a price point that with a Blu-ray disk drive you can get with an $800 range from an HP or Sony."
I defy ANYONE to characterize Apple's marketing campaign as "Microsoft compatibility" being its #1 feature. At most, it appeals to recent switchers like me who want the safety net of Windows for stuff that just won't run on OS X - and surprisingly, running very well (under XP) many of the programs that Vista won't touch.
And what's this nonsense about "If people want a Windows experience, then start with a machine that was built for the Windows experience." when PC Magazine's tests last year showed that the fastest "Windows PC" was a MacBook Pro running bootcamp!
I call BS...
I agree that they are pushing the Windows compatibility for switchers. However, there is absolutely no need for Windows on a mac. As you said, this is just to provide a 'safety net' for switchers that aren't sure what they're getting into. I challenge anyone to give me a task that I can't do faster and better in OS X, even with a smaller amount of applications to chose from. I gladly pay the 'Mac Tax' for a system that works and give me only minor headaches from time to time rather than the constant agony of trying to make anything work right in Windows. As for Office, fuck it. I don't need that crappy software. I've always hated it, never understood its popularity. It is not an essential piece of software as some people think. There are plenty of better alternatives.
As for the virus thing, I also say BS to the reason macs aren't affected being the small market share. The whole web is full of people flaming Macs who are perfectly capable of writing such malicious software for it if it was so easy. It's not as if most malware on Windows isn't a worthless attempt anyway. Most of the time it is just to prove to one's self that they can do it, I think. So why wouldn't they do it on the mac if they hate them so much? Market share doesn't matter, people who do things like this do it because they are childish.
Wow! Microsoft is really running scared!
Reading between the lines... MS is really scared of Apple and what it's been able to do and will do in the future. Instead of fixing what they have and presenting this to its customers, they are insulting there customer base calling them ignorant, or saying they just "don't get it"! In my experience, most of the users moving to Mac's do so because they "do get it", not vise verse.
Ballmer's going to run MS into the ground!
KRR
Yes, Microsoft has lost the plot. But that doesn't make the Mac ideal, either. OS X is great under the hood, but it's seriously hogtied by a hideously antiquated user interface. What looked brilliant ca. 1984 is more and more of a straitjacket in the 21st century. Time to move on, Apple. I can run more apps and get more done on either Windows or Linux, simply because I'm not forced to fight with a UI that was built for single-tasking (then kludged with inferior Windows knock-offs like the Dock).
Aghast, Mac-fans? Here's just one obvious example: the menu bar. Made sense at 640x480 to put it at the top of the screen; makes no sense at all on today's 24- and 30-inch screens. I often ask Mac users about it, and their inevitable response is that they mostly use keyboard shortcuts. Which only proves that this miracle GUI is seriously broken. The menu is also horrifically modal; it constantly changes as users click on different windows. Again, not a problem in the old single-tasking days; pure stupidity now.
If Apple, Microsoft or anyone else would come up with an OS that combines strong internal architecture with an intelligent, usable user interface, I'd grab it in an instant. Right now, Apple has the high ground purely by default.
You need to update your history! Windows did not invent "the dock" or any other similar construct! The UI was build from scratch for OSX, not reworked! MS's UI is more or less unchanged since win95. None is perfect, but OSX is light years ahead of the windows UI.
Linux?!?!?!?! you have got to be on drugs! The UI on Linux is a huge anchor around its neck! Never to go anywhere as a desktop OS until they get rid of X.
KRR