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Apple G5 Ads Banned In UK
Justen writes "The Independent Television Commission has quietly banned Apple from airing an advertisement (in QuickTime here) for the Power Mac G5 in the UK. The Committee says that, prior to the initial broadcast of the ad, it was critical of the assertion that the Power Mac G5 is "the world's fastest, most powerful personal computer." However, Apple supplied what was asserted to be "fair and even" data, based partially on SPEC benchmarks, which "substantiated" Apple's claims and "satisfied" the concerns of their "IT expert." However, the Committee says some "viewers complained that the advertising was misleading," and thus, after an investigation, it reversed its original decision. The Committee has now decided that the ad "should not be re-shown in its current form." Conspiracy theorists take note, Apple's sales in the UK are up 36%, so far, this year."
one cannot advertise anything that cannot be _PROVEN_
You can if it is "obvious" that it isn't meant to be taken seriously.
Someone (possibly even CAMRA was it?? - must have been a very off day) once complained about the Heineken ads, on the grounds that it was not true that it "refreshed" some of "the parts other beers cannot reach" as illustrated on the advertisements.
The complaint was thrown out as being daft, because it was perfectly clear that you weren't supposed to believe the advertisements in the first place.
No, but you can't lay claim to something that is objectively proven by measurable criteria. Taste is subjective, speed is not.
Of course, what counts as measurable criteria is decided by the ITC. Hence the complaints; although the ITC is incredibly powerful when it wants to be. Case in point - it can ban Apple from its second most lucrative market, even though this is a relatively small country in population terms.
"This is why men never share their feelings; because women always remember." -Just Shoot Me.
Maybe you should take a minute and actually look at what _you_ are comparing. The scores quoted by Apple for the Intel machines explicitly stated that GCC was used as the compiler to remove the compiler as a variable. The published scores on SPEC's website do not. You are comparing cows to telephone poles.
Now, comparing G5 results with GCC to x86 results with GCC is pretty fair when you are comparing the hardware only, not the software. That is what they claimed to be showing.
kc8apf
Why is it that some government agency can say what some broadcaster puts on the air.
The ITC is not a government agency. From the ITC website:
As our name suggests, we're independent of the Government and of the broadcasters. We are funded by fees from our licensees, of which there are around 300 who between them hold nearly 600 licences.
When an advertisement lies, at least in the US, you have the right to sue for false advertisement.
In the UK, as you would expect, if you have been wronged in the eyes of the law you can sue. If you don't like the ITC's decision and you have good grounds, sue. We do however try to avoid the US disease of the lawsuit culture.
Wait a second, they are all controled by the ITC.
Half right. All commerical stations are controlled by the ITC. The BBC is self-regulating.
Suck figs.