Parallels faster than VMware in virtualization head-to-head
Tue, Feb 9, 2010 - In a comprehensive set of benchmark tests, virtualization competitors Parallels Desktop 5.0 and VMware Fusion 3.0 were examined head-to-head, finding Parallels to be an average of 30% faster than VMware. ( 71 comments )
Windows 7 priced below Vista, to allow upgrades from XP
Thu, Jun 25, 2009 - Microsoft tried to appease disgruntled customers on Thursday with news lower Windows 7 upgrade prices as well as a concession that lets owners of the now 8-year-old Windows XP move up to the new operating system at a lower price. ( 198 comments )
Microsoft issues Windows 7 RC on road to October launch
Thu, Apr 30, 2009 - The last test version of Windows 7 has reached a wide audience and is now believed on track for a late October release, putting Microsoft's last cards on the table as it prepares to square off against Mac OS X Snow Leopard. ( 164 comments )
Windows 7 vs. Mac OS X Snow Leopard: Apple ups the ante
Fri, Jan 23, 2009 - While Microsoft is working to refine its flagship operating system to be more palatable to a wide audience of PC users, Apple is working to keep Mac OS X a key attraction to Mac hardware to woo potential switchers and retain its loyal users. Here's what's known about Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. ( 153 comments )
Windows 7 vs. Snow Leopard: Microsoft's comeback plan
Thu, Jan 22, 2009 - As the previous segment detailed, Windows 7 and Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard aren't competing directly; instead, each is part of competitive strategy to either grow the Mac user base at Microsoft's expense, as Apple has been doing, or in Microsoft's case, to stop the hemorrhaging market share losses and reclaim leadership of desktop operating system development. ( 125 comments )
Windows 7 vs. Mac OS X Snow Leopard: competitive origins
Tue, Jan 20, 2009 - The tech media is working to pit Microsoft's upcoming Windows 7 release against Apple's new Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, but the two products aren't really direct competitors. ( 117 comments )
Microsoft saw Apple's anti-Vista campaign coming
Wed, Nov 19, 2008 - Microsoft officials were concerned about the performance of Windows Vista and the way it would be compared to Mac OS X long before Apple zeroed in on the problematic software with its humorous "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" advertising campaign, internal emails show. ( 67 comments )
Microsoft parks "I'm a PC" recording booth outside Apple Store
Fri, Oct 31, 2008 - Microsoft Corp., engrossed in multi-million dollar marketing blitz to counter comical ads from rival Apple, Inc., is now using a portion of its budget to fuel guerilla retail tactics near the Mac maker's stores. ( 210 comments )
Microsoft's "I'm a PC" spot having little web impact vs. Apple ads
Wed, Oct 29, 2008 - In spite of Microsoft spending $300 million on a concerted effort to get itself back into a positive public mindset, ads most directly targeting Apple are failing to resonate with web viewers and may have already been thwarted by the Mac maker's response. ( 35 comments )
Microsoft's Windows 7 to bring Apple-tinged design changes
Tue, Oct 28, 2008 - At its Professional Developers Conference, Microsoft has shown Windows 7 to the public for the first time and has revealed a user interface with some of the largest changes to the operating system's interface since Windows XP -- if not earlier -- and which bear slight resemblances to Apple software. ( 123 comments )
New Apple ads savage Microsoft's $300m Windows campaign
Mon, Oct 20, 2008 - Not content with just criticizing Windows Vista itself, Apple has launched a pair of new TV spots that accuse Microsoft of launching its ad blitz to distract the public from the problems with its software. ( 114 comments )
Microsoft already on defense, cites "Apple Tax" in new emails
Tue, Oct 14, 2008 - There's still a few hours to go before Apple takes the wraps off its new notebook line, but that hasn't stopped its rival to the north from scrambling into a defensive stance, firing off emails to its employs that bill the new systems as overpriced, underspec'd and locked down. ( 92 comments )
Microsoft's 'I'm a PC' campaign created with Macs
Fri, Sep 19, 2008 - Metadata found on Microsoft's creative copy used in its 'I'm a PC' ad reveals that the graphics were actually produced using Macs running Adobe Creative Suite 3. After the details were published on the Flickr photo sharing site, Microsoft scrambled to polish off the embarrassing details last night ( 194 comments )
Microsoft calling up Gurus to take on Apple's Geniuses
Fri, Sep 5, 2008 - As part of its efforts to shore up Windows Vista's battered reputation, Microsoft has revealed plans for retail helpers that bear a strong resemblance to Apple's Genius Bar staff. ( 75 comments )
Why Apple keeps its iPhone 2.0 SDK under NDA
Thu, Aug 28, 2008 - Apple's insistence on keeping iPhone 2.0 development under strict non disclosure agreements is frustrating efforts in the development community to share ideas, teach classes on iPhone development, and print reference books on the subject. ( 33 comments )
Microsoft taps Seinfeld to help battle Apple in new ad campaign
Thu, Aug 21, 2008 - Battered and bruised by a long-running advertising campaign on the part of rival Apple, Inc., Microsoft Corp. is turning to sitcom star and world renowned comedian Jerry Seinfeld to help clean up the public perception of its Windows Vista operating system. ( 146 comments )
Apple's secret "Back to My Mac" push behind IPv6
Tue, Aug 19, 2008 - The Internet is running out of addresses. To get around this problem and a host of others not addressed in the existing Internet Protocol (IPv4), a new revision has been in development for years, called IPv6. Uptake has been slow; it requires upgrading all the routers and devices that make up the Internet. Apple has a few tricks up its sleeve for pushing IPv6 adoption, and many Mac users are already chin deep in the technology without even knowing it. Here's why, and what it means for users on every platform. ( 83 comments )
New iPod touch hidden in firmware; Microsoft's pro-Vista videos
Tue, Jul 29, 2008 - A simple reference in the beta of Apple's latest firmware could hint at a significant remake of the iPod touch. Also, Microsoft has posted the controversial "blind taste test" videos that promote an improved Vista, and a Wyoming county's schools will receive 3,000 MacBooks. ( 86 comments )
Microsoft sets sights on providing an Apple-like experience
Thu, Jul 24, 2008 - Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer on Wednesday issued a company-wide memo outlining his battle plan for the new fiscal year in which he singled out the Apple experience as a benchmark for future success. ( 119 comments )
Microsoft plans anti-Apple marketing blitz for Vista
Tue, Jul 8, 2008 - Having lost its patience with Apple's "Get a Mac" advertising campaign attacking Windows Vista's public perception, Microsoft will spend hundreds of millions of dollars trying to prop up the standing of its operating system. ( 105 comments )
Ballmer: you can buy Vista and downgrade to XP for free
Wed, Jun 4, 2008 - While Apple is encouraging its install base to upgrade to the latest version of the Mac OS X operating system, a new sales pitch by its Redmond-based rival to the north recommends that customers unhappy with Vista take a step in the opposite direction 'for free.' ( 95 comments )
Apple's Mac OS X 10.6 code named "Snow Leopard" - report
Wed, Jun 4, 2008 - Apple is indeed well into the development of Mac OS X 10.6, which the company has internally code-named "Snow Leopard," according to ArsTechnica. ( 134 comments )
Briefly: Mac OS X 10.5.3; AT&T iPhone hotspot access; Vista sales
Thu, May 8, 2008 - Apple on Wednesday broadened the testing focus for developers evaluating the next update to Leopard. Meanwhile, AT&T has officially announced free WiFi Hotspot access for iPhone plan holders; iPhone Software v2.0 will deliver limited YouTube support within Safari; and Vista has passed the 140 million sales mark. ( 49 comments )
Microsoft: Vista successor may not arrive until 2011
Mon, Jan 28, 2008 - However well customers are taking to Windows Vista, its replacement is only in the earliest stages of development, according to a statement from Microsoft. ( 91 comments )
Vista's 100m sales mark said to hide disappointing results
Tue, Jan 8, 2008 - Although Microsoft's opening keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show outed record-setting Windows Vista sales figures, supplemental information suggests the software's debut may have been underwhelming in a larger context. ( 36 comments )
Briefly: Apple games, Ballmer on Vista sales (and Apple), patents
Thu, Feb 15, 2007 - Apple has taken its search for gaming-related talent a step further by seeking interns to fill programming roles. Meanwhile, everyone's favorite Microsoft CEO was caught yapping about Apple and the Mac while attempting to reset Vista sales expectations. And Apple has tightened its grip on interface patents that cover both the iPod and iPhone. ( 54 comments )
