At a conference mid-march, Ballmer (Microsoft CEO) re-fueled a PC vs. Mac debate by commenting,

“Now I think the tide has really turned back the other direction [against Apple] … the economy is helpful. Paying an extra $500 for a computer in this environment — same piece of hardware — paying $500 more to get a logo on it? I think that’s a more challenging proposition for the average person than it used to be.”

And of course, he is absolutely right. Although I would have priced it at about $700 (USD), $1000 (AUD). This comment cleverly preceded a new addition to the Microsoft campaign. Dubbed “Laptop Hunters” (which suggests more of these ads are to come), Microsoft asks an individual to find a laptop for under $1000, and if they find it, they can keep it.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/watchtheads/video/behindthescenes/

Recently when I was investigating Business Systems, it was proclaimed that Apple utilises ‘Differentiation’ as a tactic to set their brand apart- but when you look at the bigger picture, at what price? A highly inflated one. Especially in the current economic situation, people will factor this price tag (with an excessive Apple Tax) into consideration and turn away from Apple and instead towards PC.

Overall, this new ad campaign milestone from Microsoft really intertwines well with improving the image of the PC. With Ballmer and this new ad jeering at Apple, I can almost feel an impending “I’m cool enough to be a Mac person” campaign rebuttal…

Late last year Microsoft started their ‘I’m a PC’ campaign to try and alter the stereotype given to PC users partially by Apple from their ‘Mac vs. PC’ ads.

Microsoft initially produced a website to allow the billion PC users that were dubbed and categorized by a certain pc advertisement, to speak out and show their real faces. http://imapc.lifewithoutwalls.com lets you browse the ‘Real PCs’ of the world, their stories, and ultimately why they don’t fit the ‘PC stereotype’. This project rapidly grew and prompted Microsoft to produce various compilations of these real PCs into TV ads and videos.

Microsoft continued their campaign by then showing the world how easy using a PC can be. Several TV ads represnt kids as young as 4 and 1/2 managing their photos using Windows Live Gallery and using simple functions such as and emailing photos, and stitching together panoramic photos.

Overall, these ads, which can be viewed here, provide a great backing for Microsoft’s campaign to prove that PC users can’t and won’t be stereotyped.

The dangers of alternative energy…

xkcd

The guys over at XPS-Wiki have found a way to enable Stereo Mix on a Dell XPS M1730.

Originally, Dell reported that Stereo Mix was not enabled due to ‘hardware limitations’, however this mod provided by XPS-Wiki users (BatBoy & L33) has proved otherwise. The install process is simple too;

1. Download the original IDT audio drivers (R196492) from Dell.
2. Download the mod archive from here.
3. Run the original install from Dell to extract the files, but quit the installer prior to the real installation.
4. Locate  the extraction path.  The default is C:\Dell\drivers\R196492
5. Depending on your system configuration, copy the appropriate files from the mod archive (32-bit or 64-bit directory) and overwrite the ones in the extraction path.
6. Run setup.exe to perform the installation. (C:\Dell\drivers\R196492\setup.exe)
7. Finally, reboot when the installer is complete.

XPS Wiki reported that there is 100% compatibility, but some elements of the audio driver (such as Jack detection and surround sound) don’t seem to work on my system. However I am not overly fussed, more importantly, Stereo Mix functionality is now enabled on my XPS.

Thanks XPS-Wiki for the mod .

And another xkcd …

http://xkcd.com/74/

I was tired of combing through forum posts for this skin on the Internet so I decided to post it where I (and hopefully others) will be able to easily find it. I’m not sure who to credit for the creation of the theme, however source files say ‘XcSkins’ so it will have to do .

This is a skin for Windows Media Player on a Windows Mobile 5 (not sure about wm6) device which themes the player’s main UI to look more like WMP 11 on Windows.

Below I have included some rough instructions on how to download and install the theme on your device. If you have any issues, just leave a comment on this post.

To Install

1. Locate and browse to the Program Files\Windows Media Player folder on the root of your device.
2. Extract this file containing the skin files and place them in the above path (a WMP11 sub directory is optional).
3. Open Windows Media on your device and move to the ‘main UI area’ (by pressing OK from the Library screen).
4. Select Menu > Options… and change to the Skins tab at the bottom.
5. After a moment of searching, the default theme will appear. Push the Next button to cycle to the new WMP11 skin.
6. Press OK.