Have you ever purchased a Microsoft product? How about an Apple product? Maybe both? Which experience was simpler and most straightforward? My guess is the Apple purchase. Why? Because Apple makes it easy. You don't have to sift through a side-by-side comparison chart to find out if you need the student, home, business, business professional, expert home-based business, part-time business, upper-level executive, or in-the-business-of-building-homes-for-business edition of whatever it is you are buying.

I doubt anyone has ever been confused deciding which iPod to purchase. Sure, they may be indecisive, but not confused. It normally comes down to size and color…not a whole lot more difficult than buying a pair of shoes.

What if Microsoft had released the iPod? This video takes a satirical look at what that may look like.

Pharrell Williams shares his views on music, life, energy, and technology in this video, as part of the Microsoft Windows "I'm a PC" Life Without Walls initiative. This video, part of a new campaign meant to turn the company's staid image on its head, might be a bit more convincing had Williams (seen below with his gold-plated iPhone) not claimed to be "a Mac Guy" in the past. Anyway, you can check out the video here.

Microsoft was discovered to have made a bit of a marketing gaff this past week when a Flickr user discovered the company's new "I'm a PC" advertising campaign was made on a Mac.

Maybe it's me, but it seems having the digital resources for a major campaign produced on a competing software platform is probably not the best endorsement for Microsoft.