Gates lashes out at Apple 'lies'

Bill Gates has branded recent Mac adverts lies and slated the vaunted security of the Mac OSX security.

The attack came in a Newsweek interview when he was asked about an Apple advert likening the upgrading of PC hardware for Vista compliance to human-surgery. He said: " There's not even the slightest shred of truth to it."

He denied Windows users are "klutzes" and, with a sideswipe at Apple's tight control over its machines, he added: "We've done a better job letting you upgrade on the hardware than our competitors have done."

Gates also challenged the preconception Macs are always more secure than Windows computers. He claimed: "Nowadays, security guys break the Mac every single day. Every single day, they come out with a total exploit; your machine can be taken over totally. I dare anybody to do that once a month on the Windows machine."

Apple released the 'get a Mac' adverts, which come in American and British versions, just before the launch of Windows Vista. They depict two men, one in a suite representing a Windows PC and the other in more informal attire representing a Mac, slugging it out over who is best.