Microsoft appears to be using a picture of an Apple laptop on the cover of its Windows 7 launch documentation.
The cover of Microsoft's "Final Win7 Product Guide" shows a man sitting on his couch apparently using the new Windows 7 operating system on his laptop. His son - we presume this is his son and not a random child jumping on his head - is also excited by the new OS, so much so that he risks breaking his father's neck.
But canny-eyed Andrew Harrison, Reviews Editor of PC Advisor, noticed that the laptop in question appears to be not a recent PC portable but an old Apple PowerBook G4 Titanium - itself incapable of running Windows 7.
"I'm discounting Connextix/Microsoft VirtualPC as a solution, as it'd be too glacially slow to run any post-XP Microsoft OS," says Harrison, who once owned a couple of models of the Titanium PowerBook and is therefore intimately aware of what the back of one looks like - even with the metal port-defending flap raised.
See the suspicious picture below:
To make matters worse Microsoft appears to have tried to disguise the Mac laptop by crudely Photoshopping a Windows logo over the prominent Apple logo that was part of the PowerBook's lid design.
The Apple PowerBook G4 in question was current from 2001 until 2003. The first Mac laptop with an Intel CPU that could theoretically run Windows 7 was the 15in MacBook Pro from February 2006.
So either the man with the child on his head was using Windows 7 way ahead of time (in which case why, for heaven's sake, didn't he stop Microsoft releasing Windows Vista?) or he loves his PowerBook so much that he hasn't upgraded in around seven years.
Another explanation would be if Microsoft is suggesting that he owns a Mac but loves Windows so much that he has obscured the horrible Apple logo, and is only now ready to switch to Windows 7. Anyone else got a plausible suggestion for why else Microsoft would feature an incompatible, rival product on the "final" documentation of its most important software launch in years?
Microsoft has been accused of using Apple Macs in the past. We can't be sure of the veracity of the image shown on failblog.org and pictured here, but the possibility that the Mac in question could actually have been running Windows seems a poor defence of a company not even supporting its own Windows partners.
This embarrassment tops off a rather red-faced Windows 7 launch week for Microsoft. At the London launch - held at a club called Hospital... - the company demonstrators failed three times to get the touchscreen Windows 7 PC to connect to the Internet.
The first two times it didn't work they blamed the PC for having a loose cable. The third time it happened - or rather didn't happen - they just stopped trying.
Comments
steveballmer said: That is a PC A dell iotuck they were just never released to the general publicfakesteveballmerblogspotcom
xxx said: Picture of the PowerBook G4imagesbusinessweekcomss09
PC and MAC user said: Its sad that the Apple community must use these kinds of agency related mistakes as a rallying cry to defend an over-bloated total cost of ownership for a redundant computer Hipsters rejoice
Will said: No this is not a Photoshop Mistake by the Microsoft Marketing Machine Whats actually happened it that said MMM has been duped into accepting an image of Steve Jobs evil relative Bill Legend has it that said evil brother has set out to undermine the Apple Empire by seeding apples with the Windows Gene and this is conformation of said undertaking
JAM said: Its not a vaio I used that computer for 6 years its unmistakably a G4 Titanium Powerbook MS use them in their advertising all the time because they get all their images from Getty and they are used in Getty stock photos all the time Thats the answer
Dave D said: Thats no Vaio Its an old stock photo of the PowerBook Yes Jim Gibson its the designer who mocked it up but as Dr Happy Mac says MS really should have been a bit more savvy about using a rival product for such a big launch BTW I like Windows 7
CK Lai said: What Jim Gibson said is absolutely spot on
holsten said: Sun SpotIts not a Vaio the the model they used is an old Titanium Powerbook G4 or Tibook Its a really old model made way before the Aluminum PowerbookMacbook Pro chassis you might be more familiar with
FAKE PHOTO SHOPPED by poster said: Oh CRAP I just realized it is a Sony Vaio after all I feel dumb now And the picture is Photo shopped by the person who put this up Completely FAKE
Too much analyzing said: To the 12 wit who wrote this You forget 85 of mac users run windows because it sucks to stay in leopard all day That said I have BOTH leopard and windows 7 and must say 7 is hands down better in several areas But it is newer so now its up to apple to catch up They as you said may want to show it can run on low powered hardware But it seems apple fan tards look all day long in desperation hoping to find something to make fun of ms with because they are insecure of their own favorite os That kind of thinking comes from the deceptive ImAMac commercials who prompt teens and tards that the only way to gain market share is to make fun of the competitor Also I the son is unlikely his real son While there is no EXACT answer to why they did this I think the best answer is its JUST an advertisement and what they use doesnt matter but its the people in the picture they like My final guess is they probably erased osx and put windows 7 on it lol
Sun Spot said: Hmm actually that looks more like a Sony Vaio Im pretty sure the PowerBook didnt hinge like that and didnt have an S-Video port on the back
Dr Happy Mac said: Stock image or not its inexcusable as part of a major product launch What MS cant afford a photo shoot This sort of thing happens to MS all the time because they dont sweat the details A similar error would never happen at Apple
Joe Anonymous said: I hope Apple goes after them for trademark infringement
Jim Gibson said: Assuming you are asking a serious question here the answer is obvious to anyone in the graphic design field This image is a stock photograph and was selected because the interaction between the father and son and computer is emotionally engaging and naturally appealing to the eye The designer assumed that once they removed the Apple logo the laptop in question would be unrecognizable She certainly didnt bank on the Apple nerds out there for whom no detail of Apples hardware--no matter how minor--goes unnoticed --Jim Gibson
Harley Street said: Ha ha Even they know the Mac is best LOL
Matthew Purchase said: LOL Dey has failed init the used the Mac instead of a windows compooter