Have you seen Apple’s PC vs. Mac commercials (click to view ads)? You know, the ones where:

Two men stand side by side in front of a featureless, white background. “Hello, I’m a Mac,” says the guy on the right (who is much younger and dressed in jeans). “And I’m a PC,” says the guy on the left (who wears dorky glasses, ill-fitting khakis, and a jacket and tie). The two men discuss the many advantages of using a Mac and seem to agree that Macs are “better” than PCs [description courtesy of Slate.com].

I love those commercials, and I’m utterly a PC fan. But they are so well made and appealing (which, of course, is the idea). In fact, the ad campaign is rather brilliant, I’d say.

And, with 2007 being a war of new technology release between Microsoft and Apple, I would say that we’ll be seeing this ad campaign for awhile. Both companies will be releasing new versions of their main computing operation systems this year. The releases are expected to lead to upgrades to both the inside and outside of computers as we know them, as well as increase the selling price, for the first time in nearly 10 years, by 20-25%.

Microsoft will be releasing Windows Vista toward the end of January. The new operating system boasts features such as Windows SideShow, a technology that enables laptop manufacturers to include a secondary or auxiliary display in future laptop designs, which can be used to easily view the critical information you need (such as e-mails), whether the laptop is on, off, or in sleep mode.

Other Windows Vista features include voice recognition and Windows Backup, which allows you to access lost elements of your hard-drive more readily, even if the system crashes.

Apple’s new operating system is called Leopard. Some features include Time Machine, a similar program to Windows Backup, which allows you to search for deleted or lost files. Another feature, Spaces, organizes your on-screen windows into categories such as “work” and “play.”

Apple is also due to release iTV, a video-streaming technology, this year. This unit, a box similar to the Mac mini and designed to send video from a computer or iPod to your television screen, is expected to sell for around $300.

Intel has jumped on the release train as well. Due to release this year is their new wireless technology, Santa-Rosa, which will feature the latest Wi-Fi as well as greater power saving capabilities and faster access to memory. Robson, another innovation that is designed for Windows Vista, helps to speed up the start-up and application loading processes, making them up to two times faster (finally!).

There is also expected to be a boom in the ultra-mobile PC industry that Sony and other electronics manufacturers have already tapped in to. A cross between a notebook and smart phone, ultra-mobile PCs are designed for the consumer to be able to take their entire computer absolutely anywhere.

I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to the innovations coming our way in 2007. It never ceases to amaze me how rapidly technology advances right under our noses. Who knows, maybe we aren’t far from the world of The Jetsons afterall.

Source:
• BusinessWeek.com: Tech - The Look Ahead to 2007

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