Apple Vs. Microsoft: How Ugly Could It Get?

The ball is now in Microsoft's court after Apple's latest television ads, which poke fun at Microsoft's $300 million brand-polishing campaign as well as Microsoft's recognition of the fact that the word Vista, at least in some circles, has become somewhat of a dirty word.

Gordon Scobel, CEO of Qualitech, a solution provider in Bingham Farms, Mich., would like to see Microsoft respond to Apple in a more direct and forceful way than it did with the recent 'I'm a PC' ads, and he's puzzled that Microsoft hasn't yet dropped the gloves.

"Frankly, I don't think Microsoft's response so far has been adequate at all," said Scobel. "The problem Microsoft has is that Windows is not such a wonderful operating system."

Jim Liska, sales manager at Orlantech, and Orlando-based solution provider and Microsoft Gold partner, describes Apple's ads as "hilarious," and says while it's unclear whether the ads are having any impact on Mac's market share, more companies are entertaining the idea of using Macs.

"I think most people take these ads in a tongue and cheek way, but I have seen more business customers asking me about Mac products than I've ever had," said Liska.

Scobel doesn't sell Apple products, but he describes Apple's latest ads as "brilliant, consistent, and enjoyable," regardless of whether they end up sparking a surge of Mac adoption in businesses.

"I haven't seen any pronounced shift from Windows to Macs, but from a perception standpoint, the winner is clearly Apple," Scobel said. "And I find that a bit concerning, because my business is Microsoft products."

Indeed, in the opinion of some solution providers, Apple's superior marketing chops should worry Microsoft, which continues to give ammunition to Apple with bizarre proclamations about how the industry has enthusiastically embraced Vista. Last week at an industry conference in Brazil, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said Microsoft will have a hard time duplicating the success of Vista.

Jay Tipton, vice president of Fort Wayne, Ind.-based solution provider Technology Specialists, says Apple has the upper hand in terms of being able to dictate the terms of the marketing battle to Microsoft.

"Apple is spanking Microsoft right now, and I just have a funny feeling that Microsoft is going to lose at this game," Tipton said.

But some VARs believe that Apple is simply taking its criticism of Vista as far as possible, an approach that makes sense given the considerable amount of mileage Apple has already gained from these efforts.

"This is probably as far as Apple is going to go with these ads, although I think they'll still maintain an aggressive stance," said Michael Oh, president of Boston-based Apple reseller Tech Superpowers.