“No, that has Vista on it….”, “This runs XP? Naaaah.”, “Oh, this is for Microsoft? Good, keep the cameras recording… hey guys, I run Linux. Can you tell me how to remove Windows for a refund?”.

If the low-cost Windows laptops pushed in the Microsoft TV ads work reliably, save their users some cash (great idea in the post-Bush economy!), and suit their owners’ requirements, then snooty Mac aficionados should zip their lips and let the new Windows-laptop users enjoy their machines. Time will tell if those machines cost less after the owners pay for future Operating-System upgrades, security software, pricey tech support (sorry), and so on.

The reason Microsoft has started attacking (instead of merely tolerating) the Mac is not mere phobia. Microsoft has for years regularly announced that, sadly, Windows would soon crush Apple, as suggested by the Mac’s small market share compared to Windows. Didn’t happen. The average individual doesn’t realize that much of Windows’ market share comes from airport ticketing computers, bank terminals, all those PCs at your friendly local DMV, and so on. These corporate systems are not really “personal computers” — e.g., selected and paid for by their future users.

Gaming! Anyone seeking action-packed, shoot-everybody, multi-level, multi-user 3-D games with babes should get the fastest Windows PC their budget allows. Learning these games might one day get your kid a freelance gig at a movie-studio! There are comparatively few such games for the Mac, which instead has an abundance of educational, reference, graphic-design, film/video-production, workflow-management, and “creative” programs — perfect for the kid who will someday run the movie-studio.

Here’s a good recent article about Apple’s increasing “Mac market share.” Even better reasons for Microsoft to be nervous would be: iPhone, iPod, iTunes, Google, Android — but I digress.

Microsoft should choose its words more carefully. They claim “Each [Laptop Hunter ad] participant sets their own budget for a laptop to meet their own unique needs. We then provide the participant with cash and sent them out to find and purchase a laptop -– all in a single day. Everything is completely unscripted.” Unscripted? Any time allowed to ask friends or Internet forums which laptop they bought, and why? Any time to actually test-drive Apples versus possible lemons?

A closing thought…. Considering their tight schedule, did the laptop-hunters when visiting the Apple Store see any of the MacBooks with Windows included and pre-loaded? With those dual-OS machines, a family pays for only one laptop — a real Mac which can also run Windows (probably for Dad) when absolutely necessary.