Mac vs. PC: Microsoft bites back...?

Alright, since I fancy myself a guru of television commercials, it feels appropriate to comment about this.

The new "I'm a PC" commercials put out by Microsoft are an interesting step. They're well-made and intriguing, and the people that appear in the commercial appeal to many walks of life. Additionally, they highlight all of the biggest and best reason to buy a PC: the network.

Networks get their value by the number of users of the network. This is like the cell phone plan that gives you free calling to everyone else who is with the same cell phone company. If you're whole family is with Jerkizon, you save on minutes, which means you may be able to get a cheaper plan and still talk to the people that are most important to you. But if not many people you know use Jerkizon, the ability to call anyone on their network is far less appealing.

It's no surprise that Windows and Microsoft have the largest network (by far) when it comes to computers. While it's not quite the same as the cell phone situation, it's similar: more users on one network mean more software companies willing to make software for that operating system, meaning more software to draw in users, etc.

So showing the quantity and diversity of the PC network is useful and arguably effective. However, it's not a new argument from Microsoft--actually, it's pretty much the same thing we've seen from them: we're big, we're established, and that means we're awesome. Buy our stuff. That's fine; it's old but it works.

So what is my problem with these ads?

...How long has Apple been playing the Mac vs. PC ads? And Microsoft just NOW responds? And their response, while somewhat clever, is just a rehashing of what we've heard before?

Perhaps it's a little unfair to assume that, if you wait a long time to respond, you're going to unveil the big stick that blows your competition away. Even so, I'm making that assumption anyway. Microsoft's new ad is too late and it's delivery doesn't make up for that lateness. In light of this, Mac is still ahead in the television ad debate.

Note: this has no bearing on which is the superior product (if any) or which I prefer. I own a PC but that decision was made five years ago and largely for gaming reasons. My "drug of choice" when it comes to gaming is World of Warcraft, which works on both Mac and PC, so when the time to upgrade comes around, who knows which way I'll buy? In any event, this is just about who is winning the ad war, and right now, it has to be Mac.

Game-Winning Two-Point Conversion

On Sunday, the Denver Broncos defeated the San Diego Chargers by going for a two-point conversion with less than a minute to play while only trailing by one. Of course, it was a gutsy call, but one that paid off.

There is little else in sports that is exciting as a two-point conversion for the win. A walk-off home run arguably comes close, but the truth is you'll take a home run anytime, whereas the two-point conversion always comes with risk, and there are many circumstances where it is not appropriate.

Seeing my beloved Broncos hand a two-pointer to the rival Chargers, who have defeated us four straight times over the past two seasons, was very exciting indeed.

The last "walk off" two-point conversion I witnessed was also thrilling--it was by another set of Broncos who hail from Boise State, going for two in the second overtime period during the Fiesta Bowl (in college, you have to go for two following a touchdown in the third OT period--such is not the case in the second OT). After all the other mind-blowing performances Boise State showed the world that day--the revival of the hook-and-ladder as well as the Statute of Liberty play--it was the perfect way to cap a shocking victory. Boise State was so good that day, and so fun to watch, that I don't think a single Oklahoma Sooner feels bad about that loss. They were fun to watch because of their talent, but this was enhanced by the creative and risky playcalling and execution of those plays.

Taking risks is always... risky. But the rewards can be great.

I Am The Swing Vote

Let me drop some knowledge on the collective bums owned by hardcore Dems and GOPers: your blanket trashing of each others sides do not convince the voters you need to support your cause.

I'm not talking about the candidates. I haven't heard a whole lot of what they have to say, if for no other reason that the most vocal propagandists are shouting so loudly that I'd rather read about the new, cheap XBox 360 and figure out how that candidate stacks up to my long-time frontrunner Nintendo Wii.

No, this call is to the idiots in charge of the campaigns, and the loudest supporters blinded by the light of their candidate that they have no litmus test for how to speak to someone outside of their party--or worse, to someone unaffiliated with a party.

Um, I don't care how loud you shout that Sarah Palin is a liar, or a bordello madam, or any of the other monickers you want to throw on her. Because they're all a bunch of liars and ne'er-do-wells, not because they're politicians, but because they're PEOPLE. Shut up and give me something useful with which to make this weighty decision.

Nor do I care about generalizations about Reaganomics. Clearly one side thinks they work and the other says it doesn't work. Truth be told? Sometimes it works, other times it doesn't. If that's not the case, show me definitive numbers (that I can understand, because I'm not an economist) to prove the outcome one way or the other.

Maybe the information is out there to prove definitively that Palin is unfit for office or that there is one, true functioning standard for who to pass the money to, only I can't hear it or see it over the din of overzealous extremists trying to scratch each other's eyes out. Do us all a favor and lobby for the people who can help you achieve those goals--swing voters like me. Otherwise, I'll make the decision based on what sounds better (Obama/Biden doesn't look too different from Osama Bin Laden), what my wife wants me to do, or old loyalties based on my lifelong residence.

Shut up and get to work.