Bloggers’ outrage faked

I use Windows. I do very few things on my computer: I watch videos, play casual games, both online and downloadable, use normal office software, and waste most of my life online. I have used Vista. I have used whatever the latest Apple OS is. Apple is prettier, absolutely. But for my purposes, the only thing I cannot do equally well on both platforms is play games. I also already have all the software I need for Windows. Any office I am likely to work at uses Windows. When I do purchase computers, I go for price given a fairly low combination of features, because I don’t actually need anything more. I do not have spyware or virus issues, nor does my computer crash more than once every few months, if that. Find new fights against Windows, Apple obsessives, or just allow it to be a difference in preference as opposed to a clear superiority of one system to the other at all times and for all uses, which people refuse to see out of some obstinate stupidity.

So when I saw the new Microsoft ads, I thought they were sort of clever. Give someone a budget to buy a computer with some specs, and they find that Apple doesn’t have that computer, while machines running Windows do. They’re much better than any other Microsoft ad in recent memory (much, much, much better), and a lot less grating than the stupid I’m a Mac/I’m a PC stuff.

But — horrors! — some people have now found that the latest Microsoft ad involves an actor. Not only that, but she probably didn’t actually go into the Apple store, and she was specifically looking for something that Apple is known not to make. The ad was contrived. I know! Normally all ads are just people on the street, and agencies just ask around until they find someone attractive using the product. When a commercial has a dentist saying that 4 out of 5 dentists suggest whatever, that’s a real dentist who has just this second finished a statistically valid sampling of dentists worldwide. Hint: that new (amusing) McDo commercial, where two hipsters shed their hipster ways after finding espresso based drinks at McDo? Those are actors. I bet if you followed them, you’d find that in real life, they still go to coffee shops.

On the other hand, if you want to offer me a free laptop to switch OS, I’m game.