So I’m walking back to the office (work for Microsoft in Bellevue, WA) after meeting my wife for a nice dinner out. And I’m wearing a black t-shirt that says “I’M A PC” in white letters across my chest. I’m half way through crossing the street and a guy runs up to me, whips his arms around, points his two index fingers an inch away from my chest, and then yells loudly: “I’m a Mac!”

I give him a shoulder shrug and say, “cool, dude” while the rest of the crosswalk traffic is trying to ignore what just happened. We then walk our separate ways. My first thought was: “how bizarre.” But then that thought was quickly followed by my second thought, which was: “how normal.”

Sure, this is ancedotal and an isolated story. But for being completely random, I can’t think of a better story that characterizes my experience with how Mac fans express themselves as compared to PC fans. Some fans feel the need to yell their stance to your face (read any Apple fanboy blogs lately?) while others feel more comfortable simply wearing a shirt.

Now I’m wondering if I still want to wear this shirt from time to time. I think so. I wouldn’t want to pass up another chance at a Mac fan proving my point.

*Disclaimer* I work for Microsoft but do own certain Apple products, just how most all of my “Mac” friends own Microsoft products. I personally think the tech world is a better place because of both companies. But that’s too long a message to shout to someone’s face.

Cross-posted to the Microsoft Learning blog.

The Microsoft Games for Windows team working with the SideWinder (gaming hardware) team put together a fun event a few days ago. Of course, I may be saying it was fun because I won third place in one tournament and first place in another.

Winnings included everything I needed for a lazy weekend: Fallout 3, 007: Quantum of Solace, SideWinder Mouse, SideWinder X6 Keyboard (won two!), and a LifeChat LX-3000 headset (see picture above or see an unboxing video here by a fellow winner).

Seriously, though, I want to thank those involved for putting this together. The more I work at Microsoft, the more I realize it’s a company full of some pretty cool people.

See below for my post-victory interview video. Incidentally, this is my first time posting a video of myself online. Given the context, it’s a little heavy on the “I’m a computer game nerd” content.

At first, I wasn’t sure if I wanted it to be the first impression of me for anyone who might come across it. But then, given all the hoopla around Susan Boyle, I decided I’d go with the “embrace yourself” mentality. This is me, no need to provide excuses or disclaimers (even if I just did).

Also, for you World of Warcraft players, I kid. Don’t take what I say about it too seriously. (I actually played it for a summer a few years back before giving it up for more gaming variety.) But for you coworkers I’m talking to near the end, take what I say very seriously (or just buy me lunch sometime).

Meet Lisa and her son Jackson, who’s looking for “speed, big hard drive, and a good gaming computer” for under $1,500. After a quick look at some PCs, Lisa says, “Let’s go see the Macs, they’re kind of popular at this age.” But then, Lisa points out that “…these are way more money, dude” quickly followed by Jackson saying (about a Mac), “It’s a little too small.”

So back to the PCs: We’re shown how you can use a PC with a remote and then we see both Lisa and Jackson get really excited about none other than “Bluuu-ray!” And, of course, Blu-ray is missing from Macs. For me personally, not a huge selling point of the PC. But for others like Lisa and Jackson, it seems pretty cool. And that’s the point being made here: there’s something for everyone.

This is the third ad in this series (embedded below), and just like I thought the second was better than the first, I think the third is better than the second. Having a mother/son shop together gives a little more credibility to the unscripted, regular people feel that wasn’t as apparent with the first two.

As always, though, it’s only a matter of time before the Apple community figures out which Sony Vaio was purchased in the ad and does a much deeper comparison. I always enjoy seeing the reaction as much as the ad, and this time is likely to be no different.

*Update* When it rains it pours. The Windows blog has a post up entitled “Avoid the Apple Tax – Cash in on the value of Windows” (which is quickly being questioned) while there are a number of other Microsoft ads out today featuring cute British kids.

Microsoft just came out with its second Laptop Hunters video. Personally, I think this one is better than the first one, but you decide (embedded below).

We’ve got a guy with a $1,500 budget looking for portability, battery life, and power. And he says he’s “technically savvy” and knows what he wants.

After spending some time in the Mac section, he sums up his experience by saying “Macs to me are about aesthetics more than they are about the computing power. I don’t want to pay for the brand. I want to pay for the computer.”

Ouch. That pretty much sums up the Mac critique of this commercial. Oh, and it ends with “I’m a PC Because I’m Really Picky.” Can’t wait to see how the blogosphere responds to this one! I’m sure there’s plenty to dissect. Interestingly enough, I had an exchange with VentureBeat’s MG Siegler yesterday that now seems relevant:

Bob Caswell: So are you saying you’d be a lot more convinced if someone was given much more than a $1,000 and still picked a PC?

MG Siegler: Yes, that would certainly be more convincing.

In any event, just remember that if you were offended or victimized before, who knows your state of being after this.

*Update* Good ol’ Dan Lyons offers his two cents to the Newsweek audience. He may be a little late to the discussion (centering around last week’s ad), but he’s got plenty of good things to say and uses numbers and stuff to back himself up rather than relying on opinion like we do here in the blogosphere.

Also, have to say, I love the latest discussion we’re having over at VentureBeat. And for those interested, you can follow me on Twitter: @bobcaswell.

Laptop Hunters #2 – Giampaolo

So Microsoft put together an ad (embedded below with more to come apparently) that does what Apple started (comparing PCs and Macs) only from Microsoft’s perspective. That is, when either side plays this game, they focus on the pros of their team while pointing out the cons of the other side all while conveniently forgetting to mention their own cons.

That’s how commercials work, you see. By and large, Apple and Microsoft are playing the same game. A game that Apple started, I might add. And kudos to Apple for starting it; it seems to have worked well for them.

But now that a strong response is out by Microsoft (a separate tangential conversation is whether Microsoft should be throwing so much money at a “response” campaign; that’s debatable), the Apple fanboys are restless (this topic was at the top of Techmeme earlier today) and feel the need to point out the “offense,” “pointlessness,” and “inaccuracies.”

Wow. Talk about a classic case of dishing out but not being able to take it. Case in point, what was the first point of the author who wanted to explain why this was so offensive? In his own words, “…she goes into the “Mac store” — red flag here already, anyone who is even remotely interested in a Mac knows it’s the Apple Store…”

I can’t even begin to understand what that has to do with anything remotely relevant to being offensive, but to each his own, I suppose. Anyway, back to my original point: When Apple ran their commercials, I didn’t feel the need to take offense or complain about inaccuracies and onesidedness. It was a pretty good campaign. And now Microsoft has put together a decent response by using a similar formula.

Why can’t we just leave it at that? Do we really need to get out the fine tooth comb and go through all Apple’s ads and all Microsoft’s ads and benchmark them against some universal neutral fairness system (which doesn’t exist)?

Laptop Hunters #1 – Lauren

So in case you missed it, Apple responded to Microsoft’s new “I’m a PC” ad campaign. You can watch the ads on Youtube via Gizmodo and TechCrunch (or a whole bunch of other places). I was discussing this with a friend / coworker last night and thought I’d share my thoughts here:

…makes a decent point even if a bit hypocritical. I mean, Apple is all about pouring the millions into marketing/advertising. When we do it, of course, it’s because we’re misallocating how our money is spent (according to them). But when they do it, it must be justified. Right. Well, here’s my reallocation advice for Apple: use some of those millions in advertising to make a computer that’s affordable for once. You see? It’s not that hard to second guess how another company spends money.

Interesting that I wrote this before seeing Gizmodo’s take, which is basically the same:

There’s also the minor matter of Apple accusing Microsoft of spending money on advertising that would be better allocated to fixing Vista. The message, of course, is delivered in an expensive advertising campaign, the week after Apple released brand new, prohibitively expensive laptops.

But, of course, Gizmodo doesn’t work for Microsoft. So when they say it, it sounds more credible.

Sony and crapware have a special relationship, so much so that it takes over two minutes for its laptops to boot into Windows (compare that with 30 seconds for a MacBook). The company has even issued press statements explaining its reasoning: “The programs are carefully selected and provide benefits to many consumers, up to 30% of whom act on the offers.”

But apparently Sony figured out that if 70% of its customers aren’t interested in two dozen icons of offers (really Sony, 3 to 4 is one thing, but over 20?), the company should offer a crapware-free version of its laptops. Sony, in all its branding glory, has decided to trademark the term “Fresh Start” but has made the huge mistake of charging $50 for it. Here’s the description:

“Opt for a Fresh Start^TM and your VAIO PC will undergo a system optimization service where specific VAIO applications, trial software and games are removed from your unit prior to shipment. Fresh Start^TM safely scrubs your PC to free up valuable hard drive space and conserve memory and processing power while maximizing overall system performance right from the start. “

I love the terminology. “System optimization service” is what we’re calling a computer that comes without crapware. And by characterizing hard drive space as “valuable” and memory in need of conservation, Sony is effectively digging its own grave. I mean, do they not see that consumers notice this? If this new $50 feature “maximizes system performance,” then what does that imply of all the Sony laptops sold before it?

Also, it should be noted that no “Fresh Start” is available unless you pay the extra $100 for Microsoft Windows Vista Business. Here’s a list of all the crapware Sony installs:

• Two desktop icons for America Online services
• At least two dozen icons for random offers
• Two desktop icons for Microsoft services
• Napster window in the lower right part of the screen
• “Watch Hit Movies Now!” icon which requires you to pay to play the movies already taking up space on your computer
• Internet Explorer preloaded with AOL toolbar
• AOL set as default search engine with Google not even listed as an option
• Symantec Internet Security 60-day trial (requires multiple rounds of warnings / scans / updates before use)

*Update* Wired is running a piece claiming that Sony “won’t charge $50 to remove bloatware.” They even have quotes from Sony spokespeople: “There will be no charge for Fresh Start.” Well, I just went to Sony’s website to verify this news and… surprise, surprise, the charge of $50 is still there. Maybe it’ll change soon, but Sony PR and Sony Online apparently need to talk first.

*Update 2* Gizmodo has a brief post that pulls a Sony quote of nowhere: “Starting March 22, Sony will offer Fresh Start free of charge. We want VAIO users to have the best experience possible with our PCs, and we believe Fresh Start will help ensure that happens right out-of-the-box.”

It looks like the consumer uprising today may have had an effect. Here’s another quote, this one from Sony’s Mike Abary, Senior Vice President of the VAIO division:

“We didn’t intend that to happen. We’re removing the $49 charge. VAIO is the poster child for negative experiences people had [with trialware]. We recognize that, and we acknowledge it. We’ve been really beat up by this issue. We’re listening and we’re taking action.”

Starting within the next few weeks, Dell computers (notebooks and desktops) will be for sale in more than 900 Best Buy locations in the U.S. After this move, Dell’s products will be available in almost 10,000 stores worldwide. This seems ironic considering Dell pioneered the low cost, online, skip-the-middleman model. But the company lost the “world’s largest computer maker” trophy to HP, and the retail distribution channel is one area where HP shines.

This news follows after Dell has already announced similar deals with Staples and Wal-Mart. The company is hoping to become more consumer-friendly, as the business market has slowed in comparison. And there are apparently too many consumers that like the “try before you buy” model in retail stores. Right now, Dell gets only 15% of its sales from the consumer market with most of its sales coming from the business-to-business market.

So would you buy a Dell in a Best Buy?

*Update* Here are some PR quotes from each company:

Michael Tatelman, vice president of sales and marketing for Dell’s global consumer business: “Seeing the latest fashion colors of our Inspiron and XPS notebooks or previewing the ultimate gaming experience on a high-performance system can be an important part of how people shop… In the next few weeks, people looking to upgrade to a Dell notebook or desktop in the U.S. can visit their local Best Buy to check out and purchase our award-winning line of products.”

Dave Morrish, senior vice president for Best Buy’s mobility business unit: “Dell is clearly one of the most popular and successful PC companies and their addition to our retail and online selection gives Best Buy customers unprecedented choice when buying a computer.”

The big computer companies seem to have one thing in common right now: bring computer gaming to the masses. Last week HP launched the Blackbird 002 desktop PC, the company’s first HP-branded gaming PC. The starting price is $2,500, roughly half the cost of much of the high-end gaming competition.

Then there’s Gateway (soon to be purchased by Acer), which plans to introduce a gaming PC in November called FX540 with a gaming-oriented notebook line planned for release in January. And let’s not forget that both Toshiba and Dell released new, more affordable gaming computers this summer. Toshiba, with its Satellite x205 series of gaming notebooks which start at around $2,000, and Dell with its XPS 720 gaming desktop, which starts at roughly $1,700.

Traditionally, PC gaming has been a niche market of avid gamers willing to spend upwards of $5,000 for the latest gear. But now gaming is catching on with a new group of consumers, including women, who still enjoy their games with good graphics, but aren’t interested in breaking the bank for high-end gaming computers. Even stay-at-home moms are getting in on the action. Thais Walsh is given as an example of a stay-at-home mother who plays Guild Wars (an online role-playing game) often while her kids are napping.

Interestingly enough, even though cheaper options are on the rise, the big companies are releasing them in conjunction with keeping the existing extra-expensive systems. The mainstream may be interested in computer gaming at a different price point, but the niche of deep-pocketed extreme gamers is still there. Phil McKinney, chief technology officer for HP’s PC unit explains that “HP is working to broaden the availability of game play for a much bigger audience.”

This move into mainstream gaming seems to make sense. According to a recent research study, more than half of Americans age 12-64 play some sort of electronic game every week, and 29% of them play games on PCs, which is still higher than the 24% who play games on consoles. Also, sales of PC games are expected to grow to $13 billion by 2012 from $7 billion in 2006.

Microsoft software will sell for just $3 in some parts of the world in an attempt to reach the five out of six people worldwide still not using computers. The software giant has a goal of bringing computing to a further one billion people by 2015 (doubling the current number of computer users). Bill Gates made the announcement during a speech in Beijing:

“All human beings deserve a chance to achieve their full potential. Bringing the benefits of technology to the next 5 billion people will require new products that meet the needs of underserved communities; creative, new business approaches that make technology more relevant, accessible and affordable; and close collaboration between local governments, educational institutions and community organizations.”

Here’s how it will work: Microsoft will provide the $3 Student Innovation Suite to governments that agree to purchase PCs directly for students to use in their schoolwork and at home. This new suite of software will start shipping in the second half of this year and includes Windows XP Starter Edition, Office Home and Student 2007, Windows Live Mail Desktop and many other educational products.

Minimum eligibility for governments is that they pay for at least half the cost of the computer, though the software can also be used on refurbished computers. Microsoft explains that refurbished computers can be purchased for as little as $50.

So now the developing world has the $53 Microsoft computer vs. the OLPC $100 laptop in the works. Whichever becomes more viable, it’s only good news for those 5 billion people without computers…