Attached Link: PC & Mac Guy: Vista Security

I'm never impressed by any company, political group or in fact any one who's best shot is:-

"I have nothing of merit to say about myself so to make me look good I'll ridicule my competitor"

Not getting into a PC/Mac debate this goes across the board.

I'll have more time for any salesman who comes to me and says ... "Yes competitor's product XYZ indeed has merit, the company that I represent has similar products with equal features but may I point out some areas in which we excel"

That to me shows respect.

If your kids started to bad mouth their playmates would you let that go? Would you encourage them with ... "yeah the more you make them look small the bigger you'll appear to be" ?

Or would you rather hear them reply .. "But that's what the man on TV did and you just laughed"

ouch!

I agree with you PhilC.  I love PCs, especially being able to modify them, and I doubt I will ever switch over, no matter how beautiful the Mac machines.  However, it would never occur to me to belittle Macs or Mac users.  If that machine works for them, that's great.

I haven't found anything (including my artistic and musical endeavors) that can't be done as well on a PC as on a Mac, and find those commercials, although cute, pretty misleading.  Of course, they are directed at people who don't know very much about computers ... but it's sad that they need to get new users by misleading them and denigrating the competition.

Attached Link: http://blogs.technet.com/markrussinovich/archive/2007/02/12/638372.aspx

stupid campiagn - totally humourless and pointless. 

Like Jobs talking about removing DRM and yet all his overpriced incomptabile designer junk have this rammed to the gills.

We've got nearly the same ads here in the UK featuring 2 unfunny comdieans called mitchel and webb. Just print ads for now but TV are coming soon.

Advertisng like this doesn't want to make me buy their product - it's like most car ads - they don't tell you anything about the product. 

When I buy a computer next I don't care how pretty it looks, I need and want a machine that works most of the time and can run the stuff I've paid for.  So the next machine purchase will be a pc with xp and not a mac or anything with vista on it.

Too funny LOL, I am a PC user (die hard) but absolutly love these commercials

I agree with Phil, great point there. I've been a longtime Mac user, but I have to say if it wasn't for our PC brothers and sisters we'd have a substantially smaller amount of content and free stuff. Heck, with as small a user base as Macs have there probably wouldn't BE a Poser or DAZ Studio. It's the combined strength of all users who have contributed and made our hobby what it is. OTOH, I sure wish our PC brothers and sisters would just give it a try. There really is a lot elegant engineering under the skin and the OS has a ton of neat stuff you can do. We see the pain that PC users have to constantly endure, and in the end we just want you all to have an enjoyable computing experience too. That's all. Is the Mac perfect? Heck no, just ask Phil. ; ) but its not for lack of trying. At least consider the possibility of switching, that's all I ask. You can write to Steve Jobs and express your views (keep it short, civil, and intelligent). Apple does listen, I know because I've had a personal reply from him regarding an issue I raised. His email is "leadership@apple.com". cheers and best to all

P.S. @ odeathoflife - I've gotta get a tissue now, I blew coffee all over my keyboard when I saw your avatar !!! Way too funny ! : D

*"We see the pain that PC users have to constantly endure, and in the end we just want you all to have an enjoyable computing experience too. That's all."

what pain? all my PC's are pain free..... running Windows XP Professional as well... all run smooth, virus free, adware free and unhacked... wondering what pain I should be feeling?*

found it while searching for animated avatars, and just had to use it LOL

I agree with Phil, I hate this kind of ad. Ths reminds me of Politics.

Oh, I think the ads are funny ... no question about that.  They just don't make me want to run out and buy a Mac.  Very funny.  Misleading, but funny.

Elfwine, I have, from time to time, considered buying a Mac.  I've even gone down to the store to look at them and price them.  But, whenever I start talking specifics as to what I want in a computer (mostly hardware), I am told that they don't make a Mac like that and that I can't modify a Mac to be what I need.

Not having what I want does not equate to an "enjoyable computing experience" to me.  Also, not being able to fix it quickly when there is a problem bothers me.  (Of course, I'm still pissed off from when I found out that when my iPod battery goes, I can't just replace the battery.  I have to turn in my iPod and be given someone else's used iPod as a replacment .... WTF??)

I live out in the sticks.    I really need a machine that I can pull apart, get replacement parts fairly easily, and do the repairs and upgrades myself.  The Mac (and the Mac culture) doesn't seem to be very accomodating to hardware junkies like me.

That said ... I'm not about to buy or build anything with Vista on it for quite a while.  Not until the driver problems are history.  But, then ... I don't have to ... as a DIY PC type of person, I can just build something and put XP on it.  I'm not limited to what they sell in the stores.  And, if I switched to Mac ... that's exactly where I would be ... limited to what they sell in the stores.

Khai, please don't take this as being disrespectful, I really know very little about Windows, and I'm glad for your trouble-free computing experience, but I am honestly curious. Is this Windows XP Professional straight out of the box, with no other modifications? Or do you have a additional software running in the background to prevent intrusion and/or infection? If so, how much do you have to pay monthly to keep everything up-to-date? Surely, having such a trouble-free system doesn't come without constant vigilance or cost? all the best :)

ok lets see... all I did was turn off some services in the background I did'nt need, add on some free software (Zonealarm, AVG, Spybot and Adware), schedule AV and Malware Scans for 2am when I'm nicely asleep and thats about it... as to constant vigilance, I just don't open attachments unless they are scanned first and thats about it..

total cost to maintain : Free.
total time to maintain : for the scans 2 hours while I'm asleep and maybe 5-20mins a week awake.

ain't hard to do...

I'm cool with that. cheers! : D [~]D

The world is full of different people, and luckily they are not all the same. I personally don't bother with TV, I don't have enough time to do the rendering I want. But over the years I've seen millions adds that suck worse than these Apple adds. To me these adverts say lighten up, don't take your PC or Mac to seriously. If you're in the PC camp, have a laugh at yourself, if you're a Mac user have a laugh at yourself. Both are just caricatures. If you take TV so seriously I wonder how you reacted to the superbowl snickers add. OMG.

I don;t know... I'm a die hard PC user but I still get a chuckle over those commercials. I mean doesn;t Gates own a sizable stock in both Windows and Apple? so it's kind of like 2 kids poking fun at each other, can't take what they say serious, but on it;s own merit it's amusing.

mike

on the same lines have you guys seen the "I'm a Wii and I'm a Playstation" parody on youtube? very funny as well.

you said Wii

Most of the ads I've seen are pretty boring, but the Vista one was spot on.  I'm a died-in-the-wool PC user and never had any real problem with any software.

EXCEPT Vista (and Poser 7 which is for another thread!) .  We had to reformat one at work after book-keeping put Vista on it.  My boss had a hammer out at one point and I was frustrated to the point of letting him beat on it.  We put XP Pro back on it after reformat.

NOW I laugh everytime I see that I see the Mac vs Pc Vista commercial.  I see it more as a slam against thoughtless Microsoft more than PC's.  Don't see many people slamming Linux, either and that's a PC OS. LOLZ

When it comes to ANY corporate chest-pounding adverts--I don't take ANY of them seriously.  At least when they are supposed to funny makes them easier to laugh at.  Most of the time. :lol:

Yeah, I did a lot of research before deciding NOT to "upgrade" to Vista.  I will wait until everyone else goes mad trying to get that OS to work.  XP works beautifully for me and I'm keeping it.

I'm with Phil on this one. Trying to make PC's and their users look stupid is not any way to endear me to your products.  

I'm a PC Owner and I've used Mac's and yes, they are nice machines, but these commercials won't make me switch to a machine that costs nearly 3 times as much and is less versatile than a PC.

i'm a mac user and most of my friends have pc. at work we are 1/2 mac 1/2 pc, Pc seems best for people who like to customize and want a wide range of software, the mac is best for those who don't want to have to know a lot about how it works and whos software needs are basically personal life management or graphics. Both platforms seem to leapfrog eachother in terms of speed and processing power. As an artist I want to concentrate on my art and the mac allows me to do that with little worry about the mechanics of the computer. I will say I do love the ads and how they capture the public images of steve and bill. Mac has never been about selling all the facts in ads or on there packaging they let the web site and mac stores do that. But i have been frustrated when I go to and electronics plavce that doesn't have mac eperts to tell the details. If you live near a mac store go there for your info and answers to any hardware issues. Got a little off topic sorry, to sum things up both platforms have advantages for differnt people. And please forgive steve and us macs enthusiests for having a little fun at bills expense. After years of being told we were second rate, a little success has gone to our heads.

not that long ago, an independant made a "reverse" commercial to the pc/mac ads....... its back when people would hav the mac commercials, a single individual, "hi i'm such in such...... and here's what i can do on my mac......." so on so fourth.  Not sure if you remember them.  

Wish i had a link to the skewer did in reverse, i nearly fell off my chair.   I'm a pc user, and i've seen macs........   still not sold. lol.    Yes, some things about the PC sucks, but Mac's have their OWN issues, different, but just as mind strangling as ours.  Don't let the ads fool you, no one's grass is any greener.

Attached Link: "Crash Different on a Mac"

lol, we don't like our computers being made to look stupid... What if they start on my washing machine, oh no they're pocking fun at my hair-drier. but we're happy to broadcast the same old put downs of the Mac, we're now in 2007. Time to revise you're old prejudices, search the net, Macs cost about the same as any brand named PC. And Mac's are just as versatile, in fact they can run all that PC software too. So they are more versatile. I don't think the adverts make PC users look stupid.

It has never once even occurred to me, nor have I seen anyone, react badly to the Mac and PC guy commercials. They are funny. It surprises me that people are offended. The two guys pretty much sum up the image of both Operating Systems. The PC guy is Mr. Business and looks a bit like Bill Gates. The Mac guy is Mr College and looks a bit like Steve Jobs. Most the humor stems from the Mac guy being ahead-of-the-curve and the PC guy is playing catch-up. That happens to be true. Learn your computer history. Mac has always been visionary. Maybe that's why I laugh at the commercials, -- I completely agree with the point of view of the commercials, it's like truth wrapped in joke. bB

I like macintosh computers, however Steve Jobs seems to think innovation is just creative copying.
The recent iphone comes to mind. The original mac interface wasn't stolen as often implied. It was a good deal for Xerox and Apple, but Jobs still copied the work of another person, improved on,  and called it innovation. I saw a youtube ad where he derided microsofts copying Apples use of Fonts, however I don't believe he came up with those either.
Apple has done a lot of great work, but I'm not sure I'd label all of it innovative.

I found this article on Jobs interesting.  It's a bit old, but still true . query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html

Well, BastBlack, it's more like a half-truth wrapped in a joke.  It's a good joke, mind you, but the things left out can be pretty important.

For example, the Mac OS has security holes.  It's just that the people who like to create viruses, worms and other destructive bits of code perfer to get more bang for their buck.  And, since Macs make up such a small percentage of the computers out there, they've been left alone.  That doesn't make them more secure, it just makes them worthy of being ignored ... for now.

I think you all ought to thank your lucky stars and hope that more people don't decide to get a Mac, because if they ever get a real toe-hold, you all are going to be a much more attractive target.

The other half-truth that cracks me up is that PCs are only for business.  There's a sterotype that isn't grounded in reality.  Oh, yes, I am able to use my PC for business, but I've also be publishing photographs, creating books and artwork, playing games, listening to music, for close to 2 decades now.  So, to say that PC users are non-creative business types (which is the stereotype of the ads), is .... well, wrong.

So, it's not "like the truth" wrapped in a joke .... it's not the truth at all.  It's an ad ... and as we all know, ads are not for dissemminating information, they are for selling a product.  In this case, in order for Jobs et al. to sell the Mac, they have to make the PC look bad.  It's a not very noble try ... but it may work, for those people who, as you said, don't want to know anything about their machine and plan to live close to a Mac Store for the rest of their days.

I thought it was funny, I have not seen a microsoft program yet that I like, including windows.

It would be funnier if as a Mac user I recognized the problems he was complaining about. As it is, it seems that he's terribly upset that the Mac doesn't operate exactly the same as a PC. Duh. -Alan

Quote - not that long ago, an independant made a "reverse" commercial to the pc/mac ads....... its back when people would hav the mac commercials, a single individual, "hi i'm such in such...... and here's what i can do on my mac......." so on so fourth.  Not sure if you remember them.  

Wish i had a link to the skewer did in reverse, i nearly fell off my chair.   I'm a pc user, and i've seen macs........   still not sold. lol.    Yes, some things about the PC sucks, but Mac's have their OWN issues, different, but just as mind strangling as ours.  Don't let the ads fool you, no one's grass is any greener.

Quote - I'm with Phil on this one. Trying to make PC's and their users look stupid is not any way to endear me to your products.  

I'm a PC Owner and I've used Mac's and yes, they are nice machines, but these commercials won't make me switch to a machine that costs nearly 3 times as much and is less versatile than a PC.

No arguments from me- you know what you want and need- and are happy with it! I realized the futility- and pointlessness of my OS is better than yours discussions! However... "I'm a PC Owner and I've used Mac's and yes, they are nice machines, but these commercials won't make me switch to a machine that costs nearly 3 times as much and is less versatile than a PC." Cough Cough! Have you looked at the Intel Macs? Just curious. It's easy to run XP at full speed with the latest Intel Core duo2 or Quad core Xeons- on a Mac. I've used PC's at work since DOS. Currently I use XP Pro at work and OSX 10.4.8 at home. I'm savvy on both- just prefer the ease of use and near total absence of Trojans, Worms, etc on OSX.... Also the price disparity has narrowed a great deal. True- there are no $300 emachine Macs- but there are $599 Intel Core Duo Macs And since it Unix at heart- you can open a terminal and away you go. I bought the last dual core G5 version Tower-JUST as the new Intel Macs came out- because I wanted to use old OS 9 programs-my next will be a 4 or 8? core Intel Mac. Best of both worlds. You can BOOT XP or run at around 90% speed as a window under OSX I'm listening to a CD, Rendering in Lightwave 9.2 and surfing and writing on the net right now. I've online accomplices who are using the 3 Ghz Xeon Quad Core Mac- Envious I am! Eric Hate PC's? Nah.

Just a reminder, folks... That thing on you desk is just a tool. The most important computer is the one between your ears. Later joe

Quote - Just a reminder, folks... That thing on you desk is just a tool. The most important computer is the one between your ears. Later joe

Yay!

It's just a tool.  The only computer is between your ears - the rest of the stuff is binary logic and mathematics masquerading as something else.  Remember, it's a dumb machine just like your washer and hair dryer (to which was alluded).  It's a special dumb machine, but it's still dumb.  They still can't really understand what the heck you're saying and they certainly can't think in any sense of the word.

I love the commercials.  You must take them with a very large grain of salt (the Dead Sea might be a start).  And as a long-time computer user of various flavors, I still find them hilarious - even as fun is poked at my main squeeze.

How can you not laugh at "speaking of peripherals!"  If you can't laugh at yourself, you need sponge-bath, tickle my feet Elmo therapy. :D  Face it, the world is a f...ed-up place and we don't get much time to enjoy it (lol).  Isn't that funny?

Quote - Heck, with as small a user base as Macs have there probably wouldn't BE a Poser or DAZ Studio.

History note: Poser was originally written specifically for MacOS, I believe. ;) As for the commercial? c'est la vie. I have both Macs and PC's. With a real OS on the PC (Linux), I see no real difference, performance-wise. But then, both OSX and Linux are UNIX forks. Most of what Apple (truthfully) pokes fun at is Microsoft Windows, and much as everyone derides it as arrogant or whatever, it's true for the majority of Windows users out there. That said, I like they way they used to advertise Linux much better: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmVGVdUEgJk Inspiration beats snark anytime, IMHO. But then, when the snark is based in general and easily verifyable truth...? /P

You want to hear something completely strange? (I think this strangeness is just as true of OS as it is true of discussions/arguments of favorite character models.) In a way, the computer, (or a figure), becomes something like a pet. We invest all this money in it, take care of it, nurture and let it grow... So maybe that's why there are debates like this even if it's not rational? bB

Eh, well .... I put all the blame on my ex-boyfriend.  Most of you will never have heard of him, his name is Guy Kawasaki.  They used to call him the "Mac Evangalist."  He worked for Apple for a number of years (not while we were dating ... that was while he was still getting his MBA).

Anyway, he has written lots of books about different aspects of business ... and one comes to mind called "How to Drive Your Competition Crazy: Creating Disruption for Fun and Profit."  Guy is a great person, a wonderful human being, but I never agreed with this particular idea.  I just don't think that the marketplace should be turned into a war zone just to sell a product.

Of course, I'm not a multi-millionaire and Guy is, so apparently turning the marketplace into a war zone works.  Sad, but true.  Anyway, I think a lot of his thoughts about business practicies can probably still be found at AC, and are very evident in those commercials.

I guess because I've never had a security problem with my PC, and never been limited in the art I produce, or the music I listen to, or the (gasp) business programs I run .... and I'm able to run them all at the same time, I'm just missing out on where this "easily verifyable trust" lies.  I haven't heard a thing in any of those snarky commercials that relates to my machine (note, I say my "machine" .... I have more than enough pets).

Debating over who likes mac and who likes PC is rather like trying to figure out why some like Wings3d and some like maya.  Its all simple preference to the user.  That said, lets look at the commercial (and its other ad campaigns) a little more closely.

I actually think as a consumer, mac is doing a disservice to itself in how its portraying itself....... as this "fun seeking cool kid".   Though amusing with vista, of course, and its noted problems, thats a program, not the PC itself.   So the vista aside, lets look at the two and how the mac commercial's portray them.

Mac:  Cool young college looking guy out to have a good time
PC:  Serious business suited man looking to work.

Personally, as a consumer, I want a computer that is "serious machinery", that will do the tasks I ask of it, yes for business, as well as what else i know a PC can already do by using one so many years.  Make films, art, play warcraft and do my taxes.   The idea that a PC only runs windows alone and a word processor is actually showcasing in mac commercials that they have no clue what a PC can actually do.

Mac highlighting whats "wrong" with a PC, but not highlighting whats actually user compatable in a mac..... "It can do what you already do but better" (which should be the idea), its not selling too many people on it.  If as portrayed, PC users are all serious stuffy business people crunching numbers, well......... they aren't going to make any sales anyway telling that stereotype "hey, lets make a goofy movie!".

So to find out anything of what a mac can really do you have to either, find someone who has one and have a look, or search around all over for the specs and information.  I've done both, and have found really, nothing a mac can do, that my PC can't.  Its basically a computer with a different operations.

I know several people in manhattan that work for a graphics firm and they all have macs, because the idea is macs are better for graphics.   I have gotten the lectures from all of them, that i should be using a mac for what i do because its "better"................. then I show them my work.

"You made that on a PC?".
"Yeah, HP Pavillion".
"Oh.......".

It would appear they had no idea I could do that LOL.

Yup, Tiari, I get the same response from Mac users all the time.  They cannot believe that I do the things I do, and with a home built PC no less.  It gives me the giggles.

The ads are cute, but since I want a machine that will do the fun stuff as well as the business stuff, those commercials are not going to convince me to switch.  And, Apple Computers has a long (long) way to go before it makes any serious inroads into the computer marketplace.  I just don't see that this line of ads is going to take them very far in the right direction.

Quote -
Mac highlighting whats "wrong" with a PC, but not highlighting whats actually user compatable in a mac..... "It can do what you already do but better" (which should be the idea), its not selling too many people on it.  If as portrayed, PC users are all serious stuffy business people crunching numbers, well......... they aren't going to make any sales anyway telling that stereotype "hey, lets make a goofy movie!".

So to find out anything of what a mac can really do you have to either, find someone who has one and have a look, or search around all over for the specs and information.  I've done both, and have found really, nothing a mac can do, that my PC can't.  Its basically a computer with a different operations.

That's exactly the complain I've had about Apple advertising.  They do make good hardware, especially laptops, but they don't actually bother telling you about it.  No, you have to buy an Apple because it's cool.  My sister has a Macbook and the reason she has it was because of word of mouth from a friend of hers who had one and so on and she could see what it would do.

Quote -
I know several people in manhattan that work for a graphics firm and they all have macs, because the idea is macs are better for graphics.   I have gotten the lectures from all of them, that i should be using a mac for what i do because its "better"................. then I show them my work.

"You made that on a PC?".
"Yeah, HP Pavillion".
"Oh.......".

It would appear they had no idea I could do that LOL.

Yeah, that "graphics and sound" nonsense was true ten or more years ago but there are very few programs you can only get on Apple versus a Wintel machine these days.   It's inertia more than anything.

Not to mention the many times I've seen this little note on downloads:

"This product is for the PC only. There is no Mac support."

Yes .... I know you folks can run Windows on your Macs now, but what does it say about the Mac that you have to run Windows on it to have do what you need it to do??

I didn't mean to spark a Mac vs PC debate- I just thought the commercial was funny!
Does it convince me to buy a Mac instead of PC? No.
Does it convince me not to install Vista? Partially, but I know enough to do some research on Vista to make sure it's right for what I do.
 
Changing the subject slightly: has anyone seen the movie "Accepted"? When I saw the trailer for the first time, I thought, "Hey, Mac Guy is in a movie!" That guy may become stereotyped as "Mac Guy" forever. ;)
 
Now, let's get on to a more serious discussion: as everyone obviously knows, Picard was the better captain. :lol:

LOL.  I agree. Picard rulez.  ;)

I have thought about the guys in the commerical being forever "Pc guy" and "Mac guy". Remember Dell Guy and he caught smoking weed or something and what a PR problem that was? What if Pc guy or PC guy does something that could be bad PR?  The PC Guy is on the Daily Show, but it's hard for me to see past his "Pc Guy" persona. The Mac Guy I think has been in some comedies but I don't think they did well.

In other news... I just ran across this video of a guy who hacked his Prius and installed a MiniMac to run his iTune music library. OMG.... That is so hot.  I want one.  drools
http://www.kusnetz.net/prius/

bB

No argument, Picard was (i) the best captain and (ii) the hotest captain.  Of course, I'm still really pissed off from STE killing off Tripp.  I have no idea what possessed them to do that.

But, just thinking about the ad for the moment ... not the PC/Mac debate ... but just the ad.  Who is their target audience??  You would think that, for all the money they are spending on an ad campaign, they would hope to reach their target audience ... whoever those people are.

It can't very well be people who already have a Mac and are happy with it.  Those people don't need an ad to get them to buy another Mac.

It can't be people who own a PC and are happy with it, because that ad does nothing to tell them what (if anything) would make having a Mac better for them.

I don't see how it could be people who just don't like Vista, because most of them are just sticking with XP or moving to Linux or some alternative platform.

Not certain it would be people who don't like MS, since the OS is just one program among many.  Most of what I use, and keep purchasing, are non-MS products.

So, I'm left with people who don't own a computer and know absolutely nothing about computers  (and whose grade school children are probably going to make the computer purchasing decision).  For them, the "cool" factor is going to be what's important.  Now, most of us know that "cool" is an gawdawful reason for purchasing anything, much less something that is going to cost you more than $20 for a "cool" t-shirt.

But there you have it ... funny ad, providing no really useful information, target audience: grade school (and possibly somewhat older) children who need the latest "cool" thing.

In the end, the ad has nothing to do with the merits of either PC or Mac.  Nothing to do with Steve Jobs or Bill Gates.  Nothing to do with computers at all.  Everything to do with how much they can get someone to buy into the cool factor.

I just hope that anyone who purchases anything based on thinking it's "cool" still thinks they got the most bang for their buck when it's not "cool" anymore.  (I'm thinking mostly about all my neighbors who ditched their Hummers recently.  Apparently, it's not the "cool" car to own anymore.)

If you want to know who the target audience is, you look at the TV program, the time slot, and actors used in the ad.

I see the Pc Mac guy ads when watching The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. They are famious with advertisers for having the coveted 18-35 male demo.

bB

Quote - I'm just missing out on where this "easily verifyable trust" lies. 

Imagine this: * not having to hunt down drivers. Plug it in and odds are it just works. * not having to run any anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-anything. * Everything else? Here's a few sites: Security Focus UAC troubles ...plenty of references in this very forum ab't Poser 7 and Vista. Why OSX and Linux are safer ...while you mention that you yourself have not seen any troubles, I daresay that you are a member of a lucky minority in this regard. As someone who does this sort of thing professionally, I can say with certainty that Windows is the cause of the majority of IT headaches, and not just because of numbers (for instance, 2 Windows servers in a 100-server enviironment will readily eat 20% of a sysadmin's time just to keep them running and somewhat secure). /P

18-35 year old males.  OK ... well, we pretty much know that for them, sex and cool is what sells.  Not the merits of the product.  So, for them, it's the perfect ad.

Penguinisto  I can imagine that.  I've never had to hunt down a driver.  If I do update a driver, it's taken me all of 2 minutes to find it and another 2 to run it.  Also, as to security, I don't spend a lot of time running anti-anything.  Those things run in the middle of the night while I'm asleep, so I don't much notice them.

Keep in mind, if Macs ever become really popular, then you too will be running all those programs.  Then again, as long as businesses stay away from the Mac, you may be safe.  And, before you start talking Vista .... when did it suddenly become necessary to run Vista in order to have a fully functional PC??  And is Linux run on Macs??

Are you somehow confusing the PC with a specific OS?  And not only that, but with a specific version of that OS?  That's not much of an argument to make.

The target audience for the commercials are people who are not particularly tech savvy and are disenchanted with Windows. The commercials are saying, "hay over here, you have another choice."

Now I agree that they are a bit over the top, they are funny, but I have to kind of agree with PhilC's point of view as well.

Me:
I own 4 PC's Running 3 flavors of Windows and Ubuntu and 2 Macs. My experience is about 90% windows, 9.9% Mac, .01% Linux. (Just because thats what I use and maintain at work.) AND I have run into problems with Windows and Mac and Linux over the years. It's just a fact of life.

I prefer Macs but I stopped a long time ago trying to convince people to use Macs. Its like arguing religion or politics. In the end you both leave pissed off and no one has changed their opinion. In fact it usually only serves to harden a persons existing opinion.

*For instance, 2 windows servers in a 100 server environment will readily eat 20% of a sysadmin's time

*Not so sure about that. My brother is the senior sysadmin of a mixed server environment - several Windows servers, several Linux servers, plus a couple of HP UX machines.

When it comes to patching security leaks, HP UX is easy. The patch is on the HP site. Windows is easy. The patch is on Windows Update. Linux - my brother has had to track down some specific patches for a leak in Apache, then he foud out that this particular patch required another patch, he had to hunt down that one too, he had to make sure he had the correct patch for the distro he's running. in short, it took almost a day before he had patched the Linux servers, while the Windows and UX machines were patched in minutes. 

Oh, and Mac patches are easy too, of course.

I've run a Windows server OS permanently connected to the Internet for over 5 years now. My logs tell me they're regularly scanned, and sometimes an automatic attack is tried. Nothing has ever broken through. 
Then again, nobody will really spend time to break into a simple home network. If your defenses are good enough to withstand automated attacks, you're fine.

Big companies is another matter, of course. Hackers WILL spend time and effort to break in, so you need better defenses.

Personally, considering the heavy use of PC's and the lighter use of Mac's, saying Mac's have no security issues is a bit premature.   No one's breaking into them, because the markets waaaaaaaay over there, in PC land.   I mean  after all, would you rob a bank or a quarter toy vendor outside walmart?