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Journalists Cover Microsoft, Using Macs

It’s not an easy time for Microsoft — with Steve Ballmer having to field questions about being “buffoons” and an “evil empire”  at the shareholder’s meeting (.doc) — so when they get together “the world’s most influential technology pundits and online writers” (nb: we weren’t invited) for Mobius to discuss super-secret mobile tech you’d think [...]

Guide To Black Friday Apple Bargains: Cheap MacBooks, iPods and Accessories Galore

Here’s a guide for finding the best bargains on Apple-related gear during the infamous Black Friday sales on November 27. We’ve compiled a comprehensive list of gear from leaked photos of sales flyers and descriptions of sales.
The bargains include a 2.26 GHz MacBook + $150 gift card at Best Buy for $999.99 ; a 32GB [...]

Review: Voices Is Today’s Best Thing Ever, Grab It Now While It’s Cheap

New on the App Store is Voices from the clever folk at Tap Tap Tap. You can guess what it does.

Open it up, pick a silly voice. Helium is pretty silly. A microphone appears and the app even clears your throat for you (try it, you’ll see what I mean). Now speak your brains, and [...]

Review: Sony Walkman S540 Series Video MP3 Player

Press releases, you will hardly be surprised to hear, are rarely very interesting. But one arrived in my inbox a couple of weeks ago that made me double-take.
“Sony’s S Series Walkman,” it chattered, “is a serious challenger to the iPod Nano.” Gosh, really? Perhaps the Cult had better have a look at one, then, despite [...]

Microsoft Songsmith Ad Is Today’s Best Thing Ever

Shake with fear, GarageBand developers! Cower before us on your knees, Steve Jobs! Bow down and acknowledge how cool we are, Phil Schiller!

For we are Microsoft, and we make Songsmith, and now NOTHING CAN STOP US.

(What you DIDN’T know is that the above video is NOT an advert for Songsmith, but in fact a cleverly disguised ad for another new Microsoft product called Adsmith. With Adsmith, you think up the coolest, most amazing idea for an advert, for any kind of product, and Adsmith automatically generates a high definition video, using just your thoughts as a starting point! That’s right, you don’t even have to sing or talk to it, it just READS YOUR MIND.)

((What you DIDN’T DIDN’T know is that Apple spies have been operating within the Microsoft marketing team for some years now. Their job is not so much espionage but sabotage – they are not there to discover Microsoft’s secrets (Steve Jobs isn’t really interested in them), but to ensure that as many Microsoft adverts as possible contain video footage of a MacBook Pro.))

About the author

gilest

Giles Turnbull is a freelance writer in England. He is a columnist for PA, and has written for the BBC, Guardian, Daily Telegraph, MacUser, Macworld, and The Morning News. He has a blog you can ignore and a Twitter account you needn't follow.

Email the author | Read more posts by Giles Turnbull.

27 comments

    So is the girl’s singing meant to sound so bad?

    Ah, but maybe Microsoft is finally getting smart and, knowing that Macs run windows too, they’re trying to eat into Garageband’s market. But Garageband is free with iLife…hmm. Oh well, nice try Microsoft.
    Still, if it only comes out with songs like in the ad all the users will have killed themselves anyway, or the people around them would have.

    Good Lord! Microsoft just did it! I’ve achieved the greatest ROFL heights today thanks to them.

    That was horrible. I don’t know who to feel sorry for more, the little girl for being exposed to these clowns so early in her life, or the MacBook for being covered in all of the decals.

    The girl in the beginning is 100% using a MacbookPro. Way to go Microsoft, there’s that attention to detail.

    Uh. Umm. No. Make it stop. No, wait – that’s not enough. PLEASE make it stop. No – hang on… Ears bleeding? Nooo… Brain melting? Hmm… Closer.

    I know I just got dummerer. I think.

    Wow.

    It’s me or the first laptop is a Macbook Pro ? :D

    they show the mac just because it runs better on a mac is it??
    and by the way Apple don’t need to shake seeing this…
    Just wait the firs quarter of the year and we will rock you!!

    and to be honest this tool looks like a toy for kids

    I am sure you don’t use a mac is it??
    we have no rivals….

    Let’s ask Microsoft! Here’s the link to the thread asking about the Macbook pro.

    Maybe the little girl has a great voice AND is a master of Bootcamp or VMWare or Parallels!

    http://community.research.microsoft.com/forums/p/2519/3874.aspx#3874

    I cannot for the life of me figure out whether or not this entire thing is a hoax or not…I mean c’mon, “Songsmith?!?”

    Ok, this is killing me. Is that seriously a Macbook with the apple logo photoshopped off?

    Has anyone really ever thought that MicroSoft makes easy-to-use products? Shwew, I hope the whole thing is a joke to be honest. I mean, who wants to create music by manipulating a set of drop down menus and levels with titles such as “Happy” or “Jazz” ?

    Wait a minute. Are you guys saying hat this an ACTUAL Microsoft ad for Songsmith?!? Seriously?!?!

    Ok, i just clicked on the link.

    Oh. My. God.

    Holy. Crap.

    What. The. F#%k.

    Okay, that was painful, and I didn’t even have the sound on.

    That is why perfect-pitched people suffer

    This finally nailed it. I hate musicals!

    I feel gay for watching that all the way through.

    So, even if you are tone deaf, Songsmith will match your tonal deficiency and prepare an incredibly shitty song that will make your ears bleed.

    I feel like I need to take a brillo pad and steel brush to myself in the shower after being violated like this.

    Thanks Songsmith!

    Hahahaha, Microsoft they are definitely getting bullied by apple . lol, and that was a long, boring add !!

    This pathetic bit gives “nerd” a whole new meaning. Microsoft is losing it.

    What’s with the link between songsmith and garageband? They’re two completely different products. It’s like comparing oranges to apples (LOL!)

    So the target audience is gay Indians? Well, who am I to judge… =)

    Did Microsoft go back in time and use their marketing dept from the 80s on that one?

    why are they using a Mac book pro to advertise a Microsoft product?

    What they use is Apple’s genius marketing strategy. How many million more people have watched the ad since it got public that they use a Mac? Free advertisement ALL over the world cause every single news page talks about it! Damn smart of MS, I’d say!!!

    do you think they’ve made such a shitty ad to get people talking? It can’t be real. Oh- and i don’t think they’ve photoshopped the apple logo on the macbook pro at the beginning, just stuck a sticker over it. I know the software’s real but is it like that cadburys ad, get people talking, create a buzz. these questions must be answered. Where’s bill gates when you need him?

    You nerds fail. You dont understand marketing at all. Thats why u end up with crappy macbooks.

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