The new series, dubbed "The Rookies," debuted earlier this month and features children demonstrating how easy it is to use a PC. So far two spots have aired, both featuring Windows Live Photo Gallery.

No one has accused the new ads of being as boring as or as bizarre as the (which some here at The Standard ). Everyone seems to agree that the star of the first ad, Kylie, a preschooler who e-mails a photo of her pet fish, is adorable.

But no one is favorably comparing the new ads to Apple's seminal , still going strong after three years, either.

Microsoft Watch's Joe Wilcox , in which a seven-year-old girl stitches together a panoramic photo, because it lacks "emotional impact". The series won't fly unless Microsoft releases a high-quality ad like the Kylie spot every week, he says. However, Microsoft was smart to go with children because Apple doesn't dare spoof The Rookies. "What is Apple going to do, make fun of little kids?"

The AppleBlog's Tom Reestman thinks . "Why isn't anybody stating the obvious? When you're 4.5 or 7 years old you have no idea what the phrase 'I'm a PC' is supposed to mean." What's next, asks Reestman, testimonials from animals? "With the Super Bowl well out of the way, I'm sure the Budweiser Clydesdales are available."