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It's funny.  Laugh. Microsoft Windows Apple Idle

Pranksters Post Giant Windows Logo On Hamburg Apple Store 249

theodp writes "Working calmly in broad daylight and filming their efforts for YouTube posterity, a fake construction crew attached a large Microsoft Windows logo to the black facade of a soon-to-open Hamburg Apple Store. Neat hack in the MIT vein, but next time the crew might want to take along a pic of the Windows logo — with the adrenaline flowing, some of the colors got rearranged and were hung upside down."
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Pranksters Post Giant Windows Logo On Hamburg Apple Store

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  • by MobileTatsu-NJG ( 946591 ) on Sunday June 05, 2011 @08:35PM (#36346192)

    ... to see hilarity in this?

    • No. Its just some basic humor/friendly-ish jabbing. Its like when people put those Apple stickers on Microsoft stuff, its not see as vandalism, more as a joke or just done to be done. Nothing was broken or damaged so it really isn't vandalism (to me at least). And from the looks of the video, it wasn't easy to see it would be an Apple store.
      • by rhook ( 943951 )

        Nothing was broken or damaged so it really isn't vandalism (to me at least).

        The screws they used caused damage to the wall. Someone is going to have to fill those holes and repaint the wall. Although that wall is probably scheduled to be painted white in the near future.

        • The wall they screwed it on looks like one of the particle boards used to hide what they are doing and not the final part of the wall
    • by phantomfive ( 622387 ) on Sunday June 05, 2011 @09:11PM (#36346414) Journal
      No, but it would help if you enjoyed MIT style pranks. This is one of my favorites [mit.edu]. Unlike the typical MIT prank, this one caused damage, though (they used screws). The coolest part of this one, to me, was that they did it in plain daylight.
    • I don't see what's funny about this either. Then again whenever I see the Windows logo I usually feel pity, not hilarity.

    • by node 3 ( 115640 )

      I thought it was pretty funny. Not "hilarious" or anything, but a worthy prank.

  • Figures (Score:4, Funny)

    by topham ( 32406 ) on Sunday June 05, 2011 @08:41PM (#36346220) Homepage

    What? They didn't include the video when, 20 minutes later the whole black facade turned blue with cryptic text all over it?

  • by msobkow ( 48369 ) on Sunday June 05, 2011 @08:43PM (#36346242) Homepage Journal

    Had it been a penguin, then it would have been funny...

    • by nomadic ( 141991 ) <`nomadicworld' `at' `gmail.com'> on Sunday June 05, 2011 @09:31PM (#36346496) Homepage
      And nobody would have understood it.
      • In contrast to the *deep* understanding people infer in the purpose behind a giant Windows logo on a future Apple store location? W kind of message is that supposed to signify, exactly? "Learn about Windows"? "Apple couldn't stop someone from messing with their stuff"?

      • If you wanted to do the obscure, only geeks will understand, kind of joke the BSD devil would have been the things to do. Apple grabbed a lot of BSD code as the foundation of OS-X as such there would be a geek significance to that logo on their store.

        However, as you say, nobody would get it. The power in this joke is MS is seen as Apple's principal rival and everyone knows their logo. It was a joke anyone could get.

      • by mmj638 ( 905944 )

        Hehe

        NOW it's funny

      • by IICV ( 652597 )

        Pretty much. I've seen people using Tux iconography in totally non-computer related areas, and half of the time they don't even seem to realize that it's a mascot for something - it's just this cute picture of a penguin they found online.

        • I've seen people using Tux iconography in totally non-computer related areas

          I've seen Tux used on the front cover of a recipe book for cakes. I regret not having a camera phone on me at the time (and I wasn't going to buy a book just from the cover, though cakes are always nice...)

    • That's a feature.

      No, they were taking a page from the book of Jobs...'you're looking at it wrong'.

  • If only they did it multi layerd..
    as each layer was peeled off on the fascade..multiple prompts to surface...
    Are you sure you want take this logo down?
    This type of application can harm your computer...

  • Once Every Few Years (Score:4, Informative)

    by The O Rly Factor ( 1977536 ) on Sunday June 05, 2011 @09:03PM (#36346370)
    Microsoft pays someone to go do a PR prank like this. Remember when they paid a crew to drop a giant Internet Explorer logo on the front lawn of Mozilla's campus [snafu.de]?

    Frankly, a company with the corporate culture like Microsoft's pulling stunts like this puts an image in my head of creepy late 30's to early 40's guys pretending like they're in a college frat again.
    • by artor3 ( 1344997 ) on Sunday June 05, 2011 @09:32PM (#36346502)

      Haha, yeah, remember that one time fifteen years ago!?

      Of course, there's no reason to believe these guys were paid, and even if they were it's just a bit of fun that I'm sure Apple employees got a chuckle out of. But not the fanbois! No sirree, everything is a war, and if MS does something like this, it's "creepy".

      • Creepy? Yeah, it kind of is, actually. I mean, it's cute, but... are they trying to make a point, aside from looking somewhat incompetent? Even worse if they're doing this on their own time for free, you think they'd do a better job in that case.

      • by jo_ham ( 604554 )

        As an identified "fanboi" (I have occasionally passed a pro-Apple, or Apple-neutral comment, so that seems to qualify), I don't see this as "creepy" or "war" at all. It certainly has an air of 'aha, I see what you did there! It's funny because that's the Windows logo on an Apple store, and they're like, totally rivals!' way, but I thin I (and about a million other people) beat them to it - my Dell printer has an Apple sticker on it, as does my Sony MiniDisc deck.

        Fun that they did it in public, but getting t

    • by mcrbids ( 148650 )

      As a late-30s-to-early-40s guy, I wonder what monopoly college frats have on having a bit of fun? What about this kind fun prank makes it "creepy"?

      Seriously, WTF?

  • It's just a prank in my book, didn't damage anything, doesn't change the fact that Apple is building a store there, not Microsoft.

  • by cshark ( 673578 ) on Sunday June 05, 2011 @09:36PM (#36346526)

    Who in their right mind would even try that in broad daylight, if it wasn't legitimate?
    Beautiful piece of mischief.

    • by nick0909 ( 721613 ) on Sunday June 05, 2011 @09:56PM (#36346608)
      A lot of great urban "redecorating" has gone on in the middle of the day. If you do something at night, people automatically assume you are up to no good. If you are dressed like construction workers doing something in the middle of the day, you are just another noisy thing in the way of them getting to their coffee and they ignore you. One of the more famous ones I can recall from my area was in Los Angeles, there is a horrible interchange that gets everyone lost, so a guy made a CalTrans spec sign and hung it himself (http://www.good.is/post/the-fake-freeway-sign-that-became-a-real-public-service/). A more recent one was a surfing Madonna mural put up in Encinitas (http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/apr/25/surfing-madonna-appears-encinitas/).
      • I was going to bring up the Downtown LA freeway "vandal" as well, here is the original LA Times story [latimes.com]. What's funny is Caltrans recently redid all of the signage on the 110 though downtown, and though they replaced his particular sign, they completely adopted his informational scheme for the 110-four level interchange, to the point that the signs downtown are almost strange in their helpfulness compared to the signs on the 405 on the Westside or around the 101 in the Cahuenga pass.

        It's the sort of defaceme

  • by MrQuacker ( 1938262 ) on Sunday June 05, 2011 @09:56PM (#36346610)

    Since they are Apple's viral marketing team they can't use the Windows logo so they use a knock off. Notice in the article they don't mention it is the Windows logo.

    This:
            * Ensure that plenty of locals visit the store when it opens. "Hey, isn't this the store that had that wacky prank happen to them a few weeks back? We should go see if there have been any other shenanigans there within the last couple of days."

            * Subliminal reminder that Apple can now run Windows if you use Boot Camp.

            * It generally makes Windows users look desperate to Apple users, "Wow, they had to deface a store to feel better about their choice in OS". At the same time, it makes Windows users look funny and creative to other Windows users, "Haha! Stupid Apple store. This'll teach 'em! They're going to be so mad when they realize what we did!".

    I'll say this, I didn't know they were opening a new store in Germany but I sure as hell know now.

    • by scrib ( 1277042 )

      Bingo. I was about to post a comment like "Apple: Yes, We Do Windows, Too." You nailed it, except I don't think Windows users will much care.

      It COULD simply be pranksters, it may be an Apple stunt, but either way Apple really should run with it.

  • Mac's can run Windows right? The opposite would more insulting I think in that OS X doesn't (at least not legally) run on non-Mac hardware. Perhaps find a vendor that has abandoned linux as a factory install option and rub it in that there is yet another OS that they are denying you :-)
  • I just place all "Designed for Windows" stickers that I find onto dumpsters and trash bins of various capacity. Does it mean that my sense of humor is far superior to those pranksters (not to mention that I make a valid statement)?

  • Analog Bootcamp

  • with the adrenaline flowing, some of the colors got rearranged and were hung upside down.

    Nah, they just didn't want to get a nastygram from both Apple AND Microsoft.

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