What is Digg?226 Comments
- kelly, on 11/15/2007, -23/+103While it's important to recognize that this is market share (which only gauges sales of a product rather than its install base) its equally important to recognize that the majority of the public mistakenly uses the market share statistic to gauge Microsoft's install base.
For example, throughout the time the Microsoft apologists spouted Microsoft's 95% market share, the company maintained only an 78% install base among consumers (not including servers and dumb terminals that run Windows.)
It's been said that Macintosh install base is somewhere in the range of 10-13% among consumers (not including servers and dumb terminals that run Windows) but you will find few research companies that report this data because its not in the best interests of Apple to pay for statics showing they market is disproportionally skewed and its not in Microsoft's best interests to correct public perception about the differences between market share and install base as they would prefer that people believe that 95% of the computers out there run Windows.
While this is in fact great news... I would guesstimate that the Mac's install base in Japan is only 30%, but as long as misperceptions about market share and install base continue to go unchecked, its probably best to let Apple have misperceptions benefit Apple for once rather than have them solely benefit Microsoft. - inactive, on 11/15/2007, -14/+72The market share argument is not important because 80 percent of Windows purchases come from OEM pre-installs. Microsoft only makes 20 percent of their sales at retail. What that means is that people really don't choose Windows. It comes with most computers by default.
The market share argument is also not important because market share doesn't always equate to quality either. McDonalds is proof of that. - plarp, on 11/14/2007, -1/+38how much of the install base of vista/xp is pirated?
note: in general 1 mac = 1 mac osx (hackintosh's are probably statistically non-existent) - Berkana, on 11/14/2007, -8/+40The Japanese appreciate Apple's design aesthetic. And complementary to that, Steve Jobs is a fan of the Zen/wabi sabi aesthetic.
If I remember correctly, the second largest bank in Japan (Aozora I think) changed its entire fleet of over 2000 computers to all iMacs a number of years ago and saw their tech support costs plummet, cleared up tons of desk space, and made all their workers very happy. Plus, they were able to do video-iChat with anyone in the office without any additional hardware. My guess is that if the Mac breaks into business/enterprise applications in a big way, it will happen in Japan first. - PiGuy, on 11/14/2007, -7/+29As opposed to Mac's that come with OSX by default? Of course people are choosing Windows, they're buying a PC with it pre-installed. If they had purchased a Mac, would you say they didn't choose OSX, they just chose the Mac?
- gfunk84, on 11/14/2007, -2/+21So instead of rewarding them for not hindering you with DRM and activation, you pirate it anyway... why do you think companies waste so many resources on DRM schemes?
- TunaFisu, on 11/14/2007, -1/+1787% of threats against kittens are not fufilled due to their cuteness.
- Mejogid, on 11/14/2007, -4/+19If I see another made up statistic in a comment on this article, I'm killing a kitten.
- pintomp3, on 11/15/2007, -4/+18interesting statistic, but this is primarily upgraders. most computers come with an OS, and since leopard just came out there are a lot of people upgrading to it. those who planned to upgrade to vista without buying a new machine probably have by now.
- Mejogid, on 11/14/2007, -4/+18I'd also say it's because Microsoft provides a much wider range of products and is largely in a different market (hardware vs software). If you really think it takes 18,000 people to support the majority of PCs then you're just wrong - provide an open driver framework and vendors etc. would take care of a lot of it. The real reason for Apple's policy is that they use OS X to push their high margin macs.
- chugger1992, on 11/14/2007, -2/+15"...with about 53.9 of the total OS-only marketshare..."
it still doesn't mean REAL market share if it doesn't include computers that come with Windows (thus being OS and Computer bundle) - Tenoq, on 11/14/2007, -0/+12So it's actually 6, not 4 installs?
- rimantas, on 11/14/2007, -6/+16what are they afraid of? Crappy hardware and crappy drivers for crappy hardware.
"If you are serious about software you should make your own hardware". - inactive, on 11/14/2007, -5/+15What I'm saying is, Microsoft doesn't sell directly to consumers while Apple does. Microsoft sells their software to computer manufacturers. It's the computer companies that made Windows popular, not consumers. If consumers had been given a choice, things might have turned out differently. If you were able to walk in to a Best Buy and choose your OS, people would probably have made different choices.
A lot of people don't talk about this, but in the beginning, Microsoft would penalize computer companies who advertised different operating systems. That's why you see Windows stickers on PCs. The OEMs are offered a discount on Windows for recommending Windows. That's starting to change a bit now, due to the Anti-Trust lawsuit and Linux competition, but for years, computer companies really didn't have alternatives to offer people different operating systems because they were contractually bound to Windows. - heynoop, on 11/14/2007, -3/+13zing!
- mrsteveman1, on 11/14/2007, -2/+11I'm well aware of what Microsoft has done with its OEM partner agreements, but be realistic, Apple let this happen. They had the market cornered with BETTER stuff with the original Macs, and the Apple ][ before that, and they screwed it up playing silly ass games with the ROMs etc, and we ended up in the situation we have now. Consumers had little choice then either, it just happened to be Apple at the top.
Apple may be able to turn it around, but nothing has changed, Apple is still playing silly ass games with the way they sell products, they just happen to make better stuff once again. - psg188, on 11/14/2007, -3/+12Except that will never happen because OSX is only allowed to be sold by Apple on Apple hardware.
I prefer building my own PCs thank you. - jakem1, on 11/14/2007, -1/+10You shouldn't believe something just because it's in an Apple ad.
- Chirp08, on 11/14/2007, -3/+12Who the ***** asked?
- FHKE, on 11/14/2007, -0/+9Buried for misleading title.
The original articles talks about the *sale figures* of a retail copy of an OS, not market share. (In other words, Windows bundled machines and Mac OS X bundled Macintosh do no count there.)
Basically the article says Mac OS X outsold other OS in October and took up 53.9% OS sales (at over 2200 stores that the sale figures collected).
You have to be very careful when reading the graph on the original article because it is based on PERCENTAGE, NOT SALE FIGURES. It tells nothing about the actual sale figures. Let me draw a simple example:
Assuming 1000 copies of Windows and 10 copies of Tiger were sold each month. In October 1000 copies of Windows were sold too. However, when Leopard came out Apple fans rushed to get one and 3000 copies were sold. In this case OS X become the best selling OS but it does not mean that less Windows copies were sold! (And all people who bought Leopard already has a Mac...)
Google translate from Japanese to English of the original article:
http://www.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fbcn ... - Bamborzled, on 11/14/2007, -3/+11Source: http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB114304862088 ...
Google. What can't it do? - deadnoob, on 11/14/2007, -6/+14do you really want.. "just fine"?
- Berkana, on 11/14/2007, -4/+12It's not just Japan that has a large install base; the Mac's "personshare" in the San Francisco bay area is at least 20% based on my informal estimates. It certainly dominates in colleges:
http://duggmirror.com/apple/Look_at_them_apples/94 ... - schrutefan, on 11/14/2007, -1/+9This definitively proves that Macs are better computers for porn.
- mrsteveman1, on 11/14/2007, -3/+11You are saying this situation is OK so long as Apple doesn't have to hire more people? In the end it doesn't matter what you call either company, what matters is how well they are doing, and Apple would probably be doing better if they weren't trying to make everything themselves. Their current business model is no different than it was in the 80s when MS walked all over Apple, they just happen to make better stuff now.
Apple could easily form an open ecosystem, people look at the way the Windows OEMs work and claim Apples model is necessary to make good stuff, but it just means MS and their partners make crap, it doesn't mean the idea of an ecosystem is flawed. - inactive, on 11/14/2007, -1/+9Hang on, are you blaming Dell and Compaq for not selling OSX?
- flux1, on 11/14/2007, -0/+8And two weeks ago the 360 outsold the PS3. I think its safe to say they are currently in some kind of temporary time paradox.
- Terrk, on 11/14/2007, -3/+11Yes! Another useless stat that fan boys can use against each other!
(FIGHT FANBOYS! FIGHT!) - Berkana, on 11/14/2007, -2/+9Part of the reason it "just works" is that because Apple makes both the hardware and software, it only has a tiny fraction of the system configurations that it needs to make sure its OS works on before it is safe and stable enough to release (namely, G4 and G5 macs through the current generation if intel Macs, all made by Apple), whereas Windows faces a multitude of differently configured systems, any of which may have a configuration that causes problems that beta testing missed. (And even after all that testing, Microsoft failed to deliver Vista in a substantially trouble free manner, even though the Vista-eligible computers are a tiny subset of what's out there.)
If Apple were to have to support the MacOS on a multitude of different hardware configurations, many made by other brands, I'm sure it wouldn't "just work" nearly as well as it does now. Even the "Hackintosh" macs aren't trouble free trying to run the MacOS with system components chosen to closely match existing macs. - inactive, on 11/14/2007, -6/+13The jump is sales is just the loyal fanbase buying it when it was released. Nothing to be impressed about. Let's see how well it does in the next few months.
- Canadian0207, on 11/14/2007, -4/+11LINUX RULES!
digg me up? - McoreD, on 11/14/2007, -2/+9how do you explain me buying an iMac and installing Vista?
- ewok85a, on 11/14/2007, -1/+7Aozora is not a big bank, they fall far behind even some regional banks like Resona.
I work in Finance and Windows rules supreme because OSX doesn't have the flexibility needed. Bankers need to use a wide range of applications, many that are in house, and need support for things like Bloomberg which has its own special keyboard. - Mejogid, on 11/14/2007, -2/+8And, just as easily, you can install firefox and AVG. I have a mac and a PC (although I mostly use Linux except for games nowadays), and have never got a virus.
- skunkman62, on 11/14/2007, -2/+8simmer down fanboy
- BossKey, on 11/14/2007, -5/+11There's also no reason for you to drive anything other than your Chevy Aveo. You can drive to the store, visit your friends, or even take a road trip, no problem! Why should any other kind of car exist?
- quattros, on 11/15/2007, -2/+7I'm assuming they're comparing retail sales figures which don't accurately reflect the install base or a change in the trend either way.
- pnrl, on 11/14/2007, -1/+6Using this logic - there is no reason to buy any computer after '90s. They could play music, games and even edit some video back then. And IE is 'fine' for browing, no need for Firefox or Opera, etc.
It's not that you can do it, it's how easy, comfortable and powerful it is. - bahman2000, on 11/14/2007, -1/+6This is not about reading comprehension but knowing the terms one uses in writing.
Market share is what the first comment refers to as Install Base.
Current Retail Sales Share is what this article is talking about.
FTW - CAPSLOCKISCOOL, on 11/14/2007, -1/+6No, but it handpicks the hardware that is supported by OS X and only writes drivers for that hardware
- Terrk, on 11/14/2007, -3/+8RIght, because when you own a mac, that MUST mean you're classy and have a sense of style!
I hope you do realize how freaking ironic your comment is. - inkswamp, on 11/14/2007, -1/+5> not including servers and dumb terminals
Just for the record, I know some users who would qualify as dumb terminals. - santaliqueur, on 11/14/2007, -14/+18You can also catch viruses and spyware with the greatest of ease. Sounds awesome.
- inactive, on 11/14/2007, -3/+7PC's run Linux too you know. Just because apple says so doesn't mean PC = windows
- inactive, on 11/14/2007, -0/+4Also, they don't factor in Windows OEM sales, which means this is very nearly irrelevant...
- scyon, on 11/14/2007, -0/+4IIRC, hackintosh = normal PC with a hacked copy of OS X running on it.
- inactive, on 11/14/2007, -3/+7http://marketshare.hitslink.com/report.aspx?qprid= ...
There, that is based upon users who go to websites that they monitor, not sales. Nope nothing like 13%, not even half. It is not so much that he is stupid as he is ***** insane, because his point mirrors that of a roughly drafted article. - EXreaction, on 11/14/2007, -1/+5That was a ***** review by PC Mag. They were comparing 6 month old systems laptops that costed half of what the Macbook Pro did. You don't need to pay someone to tell you that the Macbook Pro would obviously win in that situation.
- rimantas, on 11/14/2007, -1/+5your webiste statistics can only show that 85% of you visitors use Windows.
- danieleran, on 11/14/2007, -7/+11Apple has enormous market share in education, and retail software sales indicate that Apple also has around 15% of the consumer market that actually buys software. Among retail laptop purchases, Apple is claiming over 25% of the market according to NPD.
That doesn't include the piles of laptops Dell sells to businesses, but Apple is also selling nicer hardware that represents the cream of the market. The world's fastest Vista laptop--according to PC Mag--is the MacBook Pro. -
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