Bill Gates on Mac ads: "I don't even get it"

So, we didn't get our wish of a Gates vs. Hodgman showdown on the Daily Show this week -- too bad -- but that doesn't mean Bill has been totally mum on the topic. "I don't think the over 90 percent of the [population] who use Windows PCs think of themselves as dullards, or the kind of klutzes that somebody is trying to say they are," said Gates. "And I don't know why [Apple is] acting like it's superior. I don't even get it. What are they trying to say?" He continued, "Does honesty matter in these things, or if you're really cool, that means you get to be a lying person whenever you feel like it? There's not even the slightest shred of truth to it." Perhaps it's good there wasn't any Gates / Hodgman interaction after all, things could've gotten a bit testy. Gates was also asked straight up if Microsoft would have a new OS in 2010-2011, to which he responded, "Absolutely." Which seems to put to rest some of those will-they-won't-they rumorings. He also had plenty more to say about the future of Windows, calling it "more user-centric" in a portability of data sort of sense (read: Windows Live). Bill also promised even more handwriting recognition and speech improvements, claiming "Students won't need textbooks, they can just use these tablet devices." Gee, we've never heard that line before.

[Corey @ Feb 3rd 2007 1:32AM]

Um, have you ever called MS for Windows support? If I remember correctly, it's $100/incident and you talk to an Indian. Woohoo. I'd much rather deal with the stupid Apple technical support...at least I can understand what he's saying.

[Dan @ Feb 4th 2007 3:36PM]

"Hmmm...do I go with the Jew OS"

Did you just really say that? Are you kidding me?

[jack Blackwell @ Feb 2nd 2007 5:43PM]

ruuuuuubes

[Jypson @ Feb 2nd 2007 5:45PM]

Poor Bill, his sense of humor isn't exactly fine tuned.

[mikey p @ Feb 2nd 2007 5:46PM]

HELL YEAH BILL!

I loathe this ads, the only reason mac doesnt have viruses is no one would want to waste there time on the few mac users there is. I have never gotten a virus on XP anyway.

[mark @ Feb 2nd 2007 7:37PM]

well, then you don't run a virusscanner to tell you you have viruses or the machine isn't connected to the internet. You tell me which one it is :-)

[DeTinux @ Feb 3rd 2007 3:03PM]

Post hoc ergo propter hoc

[js @ Feb 2nd 2007 5:48PM]

At least he is acting more mature than the head of the company who thinks their products are "superior" than anyone else's.

[Alex @ Feb 3rd 2007 5:27AM]

At the end, what matters to him is, that people buy the products he sells, so he can earn money.

He can think his own products are the worst, even though he has to say they are the best when he's in public. He just has to convince you to buy them all...

[Dave @ Feb 2nd 2007 5:49PM]

Bill is 100% right on this topic. I think those commercials are offensive and will not cause anyone to switch to Apple. I despise their elitist attitude, and I used to be a Mac user.

[Dave @ Feb 3rd 2007 3:37PM]

"their elitist attitude"

Who is the one always touting 92% market share? I think you have that backwards buddy.

[Deezee @ Feb 2nd 2007 5:48PM]

Why would it be Gates vs Hodgman, shouldnt it be Gates vs that dork Justin?

I thought the "switch" campain was bad until I saw these new commercials. Those were annoying. But these are annoying plus insulting to my intelligence.

[Matt @ Feb 2nd 2007 5:48PM]

If there was anyone I would think doesn't "get" those ads, it would Bill Gates. C'mon, it's hyperbole. Who ever said ads were completely fair or accurate?

[mikey p @ Feb 2nd 2007 5:52PM]

hey people will buy macs based on looks. I know a kid in my class who is spoiled rotten, and she got a macbook pro becuase it looked pretty. I would sooner use Linux over mac os anyday

[maxmatt @ Feb 9th 2007 1:57PM]

mikey p is as funny as the ads...mac os is linux based.

[Austin @ Feb 2nd 2007 5:55PM]

I think that the ads are funny. That is their intended purpose. I think that they are successful as well. Not because they are entirely true, but because they take a stereotype and run with it.

Windows (XP) has all sorts of 'fun' stuff for families. None of it works that great, but its there. Like windows movie maker or WMP.

Windows OSs aren't MS Office. But sometimes its fun to think of them that way. The ads are to MS users like Chapelle's Show is to white people.

[Miguel @ Feb 2nd 2007 11:47PM]

No. I love Chapelle's Show, and I'm white. I get it. Chapelle's show is based on cultural humor, not "racial" humor. If you understand the culture he is lampooning, you'll find it hilarious. I'm like Bill. I don't get the culture Apple is lampooning in these ads. They're not taking a stereotype and running with it. They're inventing a stereotype and running with it. The only community that sees a Mac vs. PC issue at all is our own--the Engadget-reading community. The mass public sees computer vs. computer, and then they see Apple looking like a smug asswipe while the PC is at the very least focused on productivity in the commercials. Apple invented the "Mac users have to be hip" myth for the commercials, not the other way around. Jeez.

[tevetorbes @ Feb 2nd 2007 5:55PM]

Um, Bill (and others who don't seem to "get it"):

The ads aren't making fun of windows USERS, they are making fun of COMPUTERS that run windows.

Ever seen the commercials? They start with introductions along the lines of "I'm a Mac, and I'm a PC", NOT "I'm a Mac user and I'm a PC user".

Again, the ads aren't saying that PC users are dullards are klutzes: they are saying that PCs that run Windows are klunky, bloated machines that aren't good for much else than spreadsheets, where Macs are sleek machines that are good at "that creative stuff".

Whether you agree is irrelevant: the fact is that the ads don't make fun of the users, just their crappy computers.

[Nishanth @ Feb 3rd 2007 1:28PM]

You are absolutely correct.

[Mike @ Feb 2nd 2007 6:07PM]

Um, tevetorbes (and other Apple fanboys who don't realize it)

By extension the ads are making fun of users.

[3rdsun @ Feb 2nd 2007 6:18PM]

Anything your Mac can do my PC can do better..with a little tweaking, try playing a HalfLife 2 on your Mac.
Those ads are just to make the few diehard Mac fans feel good in the morning

[Arbee26 @ Feb 3rd 2007 12:25AM]

@Tecetorbes - I've been a mac user for over 15 years now and I currently use a mac at work. However, I've always considered that PCs are superior due to their flexibility and that's why I choose to use a PC at home. Contrary to what you may think, Macs are just PCs in a nice case. All the components are off the shelf parts with a few proprietary bits added on by Apple to make you stay with them for servicing. Now, even the CPU is a PC part and you can even run Windows on a Mac. Therefore, there isn't any special reason to criticise the PC hardware or it's users / OS.

As for Windows being slow/clumsy and crashing all the time, I'd like to point out that my Mac (Dual 2Ghz G4 running OSX 10.4) also has a lot of issues, including crashes (the 'black screen of death'), problems with permissions and it doesn't even come standard with a defragger. It's generally slower than Windows XP at booting and shutting down. It's constantly being patched through security updates (like Windows) and virus protection is virtually non-existant. Yes, Macs are generally free of virus attacks but it's not invulnerable so prevention is better than being being caught with your pants down one day. I can also say that out of the Windows users that I know (quite a few) and also the die-hard Mac fans (some of my colleagues), PC users are no way any different from the average mac user. PC users are not any smarter or dummer than the latter.

I guess the reason I've never really 'switched' even though I am more of a mac user than some mac users, is because of this 'I'm better than you' attitude that apple tends to portray. If I had to make a choice tomorrow between my pretty mac or my reliable PC, I'd be running away with my PC.

My 2c.

[Unregistered @ Feb 5th 2007 2:54AM]

@Arbee - "virus protection is virtually non-existant"

I'm surprised a person who has used macs for 15 years hasn't heard of Virex.

[tug @ Feb 5th 2007 9:14PM]

You're absolutely right. If it were "I'm a Farrari" and he spoke with a Italian accent and acted like a stereotypical "fast" and "smooth" Italian macho man - you wouldn't expect Farrari users to say "Derrr...I'm not Italian, I'm not a womanizer"

Like Bill, many just don't get it.

[Nate @ Feb 2nd 2007 5:57PM]

Man I'm glad I'm done with the quest Bill gave me. I'd better lvl off this...

[tease @ Feb 9th 2007 8:19AM]

No, they don't make fun of the users by extension.

But the users who aren't to smart think they do and get angry. And that is really funny :) because at that moment the user unknowingly extends the ad so it makes fun of the user as a consequence of the users own action.

Its awfully evil and it makes us Mac users feel really smart, and rich too. Because we know that most of the Apple haters are just angry because they can't afford to buy superior and good looking Apple branded products.

[Mark @ Feb 2nd 2007 6:11PM]

I can not stand the ads, I don't get it either, why are you picking on me becuase I bought a less expensive computer that can do the things I want it to do, I have an ipod (who doesn't) but I am not going to buy a Mac any time soon. Apple Inc. is catering to there fanboy base with these comercials and I doubt they are really gaining market share by picking on the 90% percent of the world that currently has a PC running window.

[chris @ Feb 4th 2007 10:15AM]

Right. I have no intention of upgrading to Vista but even less intention to every buy overpriced limited Apple hardware. I realize the ads are picking on the PC and not the PC user, however the LIE is that they are picking on the WINDOWS PC... pretending that PCs are only used for Windows is where the commercials really get me angry.

As I've stated before, when OSX came out, plenty of Mac users found they had to buy brand new machines so that their systems didn't run like molasses in winter.

[mswartz @ Feb 2nd 2007 6:11PM]

The weirdest part about the "I'm a mac" ad, the one attacking Vista, is taht if you follow it to its likely conclusion, it's kind of redundant.

They point out that if you want to upgrade to Vista, you probably need to upgrade your hardware. Fair enough, but if you follow the ad where they want you to go, you will have to buy an entirely new Apple machine.

Not to mention that the jump from OS9 to OSX wasn't particularly kind to Mac owners who didn't want to upgrade.

[GrantNW @ Feb 10th 2007 6:36PM]

I'm a bit ambivalent on the ads, but ... upgrading from OS9 - OS X was a piece of cake.

[Deezee @ Feb 2nd 2007 6:11PM]

If Apple really wanted it to be hardware vs hardware they would have used computer animated computer systems insulting each other. Its not like Jobs doesn't have connections with Pixar.

Everybody knows what image they were going for. They are indirectly insulting everybody who would be stupid enough to buy a PC.

[Dave @ Feb 2nd 2007 6:11PM]

I get it. The ads are saying, "Macs are for cool people. PCs are for dorks." But they should also say, "Cool people don't play games--because you can't play a lot of modern games on a Mac."

[Dave @ Feb 2nd 2007 7:20PM]

Macs run the same games as Windows because, uh, Macs run Windows now, um, uh, didn't you know?

[LongshotX @ Feb 3rd 2007 10:44AM]

Keyword: Windows

OSX doesn't run most gaming applications natively. It needs Windows to do it. Apple doesn't care about gaming.

[JT @ Feb 2nd 2007 6:14PM]

I personally don't give a crap about the holy war going on between Mac and PC. I switched to the Mac 4 years ago because XP needed me to format every once in a while and I thought there had to be a better way. So virus-wise, I'm quite glad of my switch. It's not perfect, I can't get the latest graphics card, or the best game, but the peace of mind of the overall experience make up for it quite nicely. Live happy no matter what your choice is, just don't try to stick it in my face like I'm a loser if I don't have the latest chip.

[Pipper @ Feb 2nd 2007 6:15PM]

Well, it would be "funny" if bill got so fed up with Apple and end the development of Mac Office (just like Mac IE)

That would really be a blow to Apple.

[Corey @ Feb 3rd 2007 1:11AM]

Um, Macs can run Half-Life 2...or any other PC software actually...since they can run Windows WHILE running Mac OS X. What now?

[pipper @ Feb 2nd 2007 6:23PM]

Oops, I think Bill once said he read Engadget.. hee hee please don't discontinue Mac Office...

[Jason Brown @ Feb 2nd 2007 8:28PM]

Never mind mac office. all he needs to do is not release the office 07 .docx compatibility to mac coming out this spring. lets see how long a mac user will last if he can only receive documents from 10% of population! And before you rebut, with that piece of crap software they are using now to read .docx. All it does is pull the text out of .docx. The only way they can read .docx is to convert to .htm.

[Joshua @ Feb 2nd 2007 6:26PM]

Yeah you have to buy a new machine to run OSX, but that same brand new machine will let you run Vista anyway, so its a win-win situation. OSX still runs pretty decently on relatively old hardware.

[JimyD @ Feb 2nd 2007 6:34PM]

Billy doesn't get it? He should try using a Mac and then he would get it.

[PEZ @ Feb 2nd 2007 6:57PM]

I heard windows was on 90% of the worlds computers.. so how is Apple better?

I dont get it.

Besides, VISTA sounds cooler than X. X is a drug.

[Philster @ Feb 2nd 2007 8:14PM]

@ PEZ QUOTE:
"I heard windows was on 90% of the worlds computers.. so how is Apple better?

I dont get it.

Besides, VISTA sounds cooler than X. X is a drug."
END QUOTE

Yeah. A lot more people own Hondas than Porsches, too. That doesn't make Honda better.

You clearly DON'T get it.

Vista is a point of view. X is the roman numeral for 10.

[Reg Muffet @ Feb 2nd 2007 6:44PM]

@pipper > "I think Bill once said he read Engadget"

Judging by the comments, he writes all of them too!

You'd think with 95% marketshare, Windows supporters would cut their competitors some slack. Windows won a LONG time ago. So what if Mac wants to advertise itself as an alternative choice for some people.

Even if Mac doubled, it wouldn't affect the fact that everyone has to use Windows. It's not going away.

[Lloyd Hobden @ Feb 2nd 2007 6:45PM]

Half of these comments sound like they're coming from people who haven't even watched the ads.

Firstly, Apple hardware IS NOT PC hardware - sure the guts are the same but Apple just puts much more thought into the design of their machines (and I'm not just talking aesthetically).

I'd like to re-emphasise that the ads are not comparing users, but systems.

The ads are, of course, hyperbole of the real situation and clearly Bill Gates cannot respond "jee golly I love those ads, they're hilarious!" and the only answer he can really give is "it makes no sense"...

I'd say that the points being made in the ads are fundamentally correct once you look beyond the hyperbole.

I also feel that the ads are just begining to wear a little thin now but when they were debuted, they were a prime example of Apple's awesome marketing machine - certainly a million better than what's been coming out of Redmond.

Has anyone been listening to the hyperbole surrounding Vista's lauch! Makes me want to scream! Bill Gates talking about his original vision of a GUI with windows - now entering the next phase - hold on, wasn't it Apple that moved the PC industry on beyond CLIs?

[arteekay @ Feb 3rd 2007 12:58AM]

No, and thinking so means you've spent time in the RDF.

(hint, it wasn't MS either)

[walk2k @ Feb 2nd 2007 7:18PM]

Face it, those ads do nothing to actually sell people who are looking to buy a new computer on the Mac - or to entice PC users to switch, in fact the opposite, they alienate the PC users.

All they are really good for is so Mac users can laugh at the "dorky" PC guy and feel smugly superior because they bought a white computer instead of a beige one....

[Bobo @ Feb 2nd 2007 7:23PM]

Gates is even funnier than Hodgeman.
His best lines always come from the "we're not copying Apple's OS" while looking at you with a straight face.
Hilarious !

[TorontoGuy @ Feb 2nd 2007 6:58PM]

Apple's next ad campign will be "Mac: So easy even a Caveman can do it!"

[Juaquin @ Feb 2nd 2007 6:59PM]

As a college student, let me say that online/electronic textbooks SUCK. You don't want to drag a laptop everywhere you need a book, printing pages you want is pretty expensive, reading off screens is annoying (for that kind of thing, no offense Engadget), and you can't write on it if that's your thing. Sorry, Microsoft, it just isn't going to happen.