Gates Speaks Out Against Mac Ads

When Newsweek's Steven Levy sat down with Bill Gates to discuss the Vista debut, it wasn't long before Apple's television ads were brought up. The ads depict a cool, young "Mac" guy and a not-so-cool "PC" middle-ager, played by author John Hodgman. A recent ad showed Hodgman having to undergo surgery to update to Vista.

Gates' reaction?

Well, he wasn't too impressed. (Source: dailytech.com)

"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," Gates says. (Source: msnbc.com)

Gates didn't stop there. He argued that Apple's assertions in the ad -- that it is more difficult to upgrade on a PC than on a Mac -- are false. "Certainly we've done a better job letting you upgrade on the hardware than our competitors have done. You can choose to buy a new machine, or you can choose to do an upgrade." (Source: msnbc.com)

Continuing to express his repulsion with Apple ads, Gates said: "I don't know why [Apple is] acting like it's superior. I don't even get it. What are they trying to say? 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." (Source: msnbc.com)

Gates also addressed the numerous Vista reviews that note that many of Vista's features are already in Mac's operating system. He hinted that Microsoft -- not Apple -- was the original designer of these features. Further, he reasoned that Apple was quicker to market these features because Microsoft made their plans public and also because it took so long for Microsoft to create the new security base. (Source: macnn.com)

Still skeptical? In that case, Gates encourages you to talk to Vista's chief developer. "Jim Allchin will be glad to educate you feature by feature what the truth is," he said. (Source: msnbc.com)

It certainly isn't surprising to hear Gates express his displeasure with the Mac ads -- and all things Apple. But Team Apple shouldn't get too excited for Gates' 2008 departure; he promises to stay fully involved in Microsoft's affairs. (Source: macnn.com)