Microsoft Ad Campaign Gets Under Apple's Skin

Batteries can't be replaced, but few do so anyway

(NEWSER) - Removable notebook batteries are convenient in theory, but hardly anyone actually replaces them. Apple and other firms are responding with sealed-in batteries, which, Apple says, can be bigger and thus last longer. Walter Mossberg ran his “own harsh battery test” on the new MacBook Pros and found their sealed-in powerhouses “excellent,” he writes for the Wall Street Journal. More»

(NEWSER) - Microsoft has changed at least one of its highly successful "Laptop Hunter" ads after Apple called to complain about it, Advertising Age reports. In the original, a law student shopping for a laptop observes: "This Mac is $2,000, and that's before adding anything." Her mother adds, "Why would you pay twice the price?" But Apple's lawyer called to say the ad was out of date, and Mac prices had gone down. So the shopper now says only: "It seems like you're paying a lot for the brand." She still rejects a Mac in favor of a $972 Dell PC. More»

Microsoft hires Wal-Mart guru for new retail effort

(NEWSER) - Microsoft has hired a former Wal-Mart exec to help the company open a chain of retail stores—a new strategy in its battle with Apple. The move is the latest sign of upheaval at Redmond, reports the Financial Times, and represents a change in approach. "To open their own stores is a big about-face," said one analyst, who thought Microsoft would "definitely incur some ill will" from retailers that stock its products. More»