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Latest Laptop Hunters Ad Shows Off PCs with Blu-ray & Remote

windowsMeet 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.

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New Microsoft Ad: Macs are “so sexy” but…

applelogoMicrosoft 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.

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Mac vs. PC: Some Can Dish It Out & Take It, Others… Not So Much

macvspcSo 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.

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Buying a “Smart” Phone for the First Time: Which One?

g1phoneFirst, I work for Microsoft. But I tend to purchase/use Microsoft products only when they are the best option for me personally (and they often are). In this case, I did actually look at Windows Mobile as my first choice. I’m on T-Mobile and not willing to switch carriers (most of my extended family is on T-Mobile, so I use hardly any minutes and like it that way, plus T-Mobile is the cheapest of all carriers and has been good to me the past few years).

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My $.02 on Apple’s Response to Microsoft’s Response

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:

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Photosynth Is Cool

In case you missed it, last week Microsoft released a cool freebie program called Photosynth. Basically, it takes a group of related photos you upload and makes a 3D environment out of them. My first tries at making a “synth” of downtown Seattle actually worked out pretty well. I’m sure there are plenty of practical applications for this, but for now, I’ll just say it was a fun way for me to waste time.

If you want more details, check out Mossberg’s review or various coverage from TechCrunch.

Console Gaming: From the PC Gamer Perspective

About a month ago, I ordered an Xbox 360. My reasoning for not having one has revolved around the fact that I have plenty to keep me busy (in a good way) with PC games. But then came the announcement that pushed me to purchase: Netflix would soon be available via the Xbox 360. The irony here, though, is that I haven’t even experienced that combination (coming in the fall) but now wouldn’t give up my Xbox 360 even if the Netflix deal didn’t work out. Here’s why:

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Yahoo Shows How The Wall Street System Is Broken

Leaving aside whether or not the potential Microsoft takeover of Yahoo is a good idea (strategically), I’m surprised the whole idea hasn’t caused more analysis on how Wall Street works (or doesn’t). The fact is, Microsoft’s first offer back in January was a 62% premium on the market valuation of Yahoo. It only went up from there, but Yahoo never took the offer.

Juxtapose that fact with another fact that according to Wall Street / business schools / the financial system, corporations are expected to maximize shareholder value, and we have a problem with the current example. Even if Yahoo is able to create enough value at some point in the future to meet the value offered by Microsoft in January, it would not be enough. This is because of the “time value of money” concept that Wall Street loves. Without diving into detailed examples, let’s just say that one dollar today is worth more than one dollar at some point in the future.

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