deceptive marketing at apple 11 of september, 1996 by johnmichael patrick monty monteith

Apple computer in 1984 was known for their amazing marketing campaigns and advertising. They not only manufactured the computers people wished they could afford to buy, but they manufactured the advertising we wanted to watch. Today, Apple Computer has been unable to sell their Macintosh computers at any price, so they have resorted to deceptive advertising to move their systems. Let me give you just one recent example:

In Apple’s "Macintosh or Windows?" video, shipped to would-be converts to the Macintosh, there are seemingly a boatload of these deceptions. One of the many is a ploy which compares the Macintosh "Alias" command versus the Windows 95 "Shortcut" feature. The Alias feature allows a second icon to be created for the original program. The video talks about what happens when you move the original program. When you do this on the Macintosh, the system automatically knows that you moved the original program, and the Alias is able to locate it without any additional work. When you move the original program on a Windows 95 shortcut, this video contends that it may not be able to locate it. I say "may", but to be honest, I have never run across a case where the shortcut could not find the new location. But, apparently the folks in Cupertino did. So I will assume that after hours of trying different combinations, they were able to create a combination that Windows 95 could not locate the original shortcut file.

However, that is not the deception I am talking about. The real deception has to do with the fundamental difference between an Alias and a Shortcut. An Alias is a different name for the same program. A Shortcut, as the name suggests, is a shortcut to a location. Therefore, if you move the original item out of a location, there is a possibility Windows 95 will not be able to find it.

But, people move files very rarely. So, not only is it extremely rare that Windows 95 would not find the file, it is extremely rare that you would ever move the original file. Yet, there is a situation which happens very often which Microsoft thought of, and Apple did not.

Often I am editing a document on multiple computers (laptop, desktop and home, desktop at work). For the more popular files, I have created shortcuts on the desktop to get to them quickly. After I edit the file at work, I would replace the original on my home machine. When I double-click on the Shortcut, it knows that I meant for it to open the new file I put in place of the old at the same location. Try this with the Macintosh Alias and you will get quite a different response. Not only will the Macintosh not know that the file with the exact same name at the exact same spot is the file you mean for it to open, but unlike Windows 95, if it cannot find the original program, it will not be smart enough to find a logical replacement, either. Even if it has the exact same name and is located at the exact original spot. Now, you tell me which system has the smarter and easier to use option.

The folks in Cupertino know that the Windows 95 Shortcut command is not only more intelligent, it is also easier to use and far more logical than the Mac Alias. But, instead of just avoiding the subject altogether, they have decided to twist the viewpoint and stretch reality to help sell their computer. Unfortunately, this is only one of many deceptions in the "Macintosh or Windows?" video.

I hope Apple returns to the powerful advertising campaigns of 1984 rather than persist to stretch truth to sell their computers today.