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Mac market share breaks 8% mark in 2007's final days

computerworld.com — For December as a whole, Apple Inc.'s machines accounted for 7.3% of all systems that browsed the 40,000 sites monitored by Net Applications Inc., up significantly from 6.8% during November. At the beginning of 2007, Net Applications pegged Mac OS X's share at 5.7%, putting the one-year growth rate at about 28%.

Who dugg this? Made popular Jan 2, 2008

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  • notjustmii, on 01/02/2008, -17/+53Macintosh is really getting a break because of Vista being such garbage.
  • Urkel, on 01/02/2008, -17/+51This kind of ***** writing is what hurts the image of the Mac community. Mac is 7.3% for month of December. Yet the title of the article is "Mac breaks 8%..." which is a glamorized number based on 2 days of sales. C'mon, is the future of Apple really going to be based on manipulating numbers just to get headlines and diggs?

    Oh and Vista, that competing OS that seems to be bashed primarily by people who haven't spent much time on it? According to this authors verbal math then if 6.8% to 7.3% is considered "a significant change" then also be reported that Vista 's 10% marketshare "completely eclipses the entire OS X userbase to such a degree that if marketshare ever meant squat then Apple fans will never see the light of day again".

    Sure it's dramatic garbage based on meaningless facts but isn't that the point of this article?
  • rebotfc, on 01/02/2008, -3/+35Moreover, the author doesn't even understand marketshare. Marketshare compares respective number of units sold in a fixed period, he is referring to figures based on a browser usage comparison.

    Two completely different things.


  • Scorpy2643, on 01/02/2008, -16/+46Digg is so sad...

    Zune pulls >10% market share in portable media.
    Digg reaction: Zune is failure! Lolz, Microsoft is going down!!!!

    Mac scratches and claws it's way to 8% market share after 20+ years.
    Digg reaction: OMG!!! Vista suxxorz! Apple winzors!!!!! Microsoft is going down!!!!! AWESOMEroflcopter!!!!!onebbq!!!!twoleet!
  • Ireland, on 01/02/2008, -9/+31Yeah well that's one of the reasons, but not in any way the main or only reason. There plenty or other reasons, like the iMac, the iPod, the iPhone, the talented software engineers and management, and let's not forget the great designers too. It's kind of all coming together for Apple for about 10 different reasons. Vista being way late and quite underwhelming was like a cherry on top for Apple.
  • lumbergh, on 01/02/2008, -7/+21The more marketshare Apple gets, the more interesting the computing industry will be on the whole. Competition = good. For this reason alone, EVERYONE should be an Apple fan, even if they like owning Windows at home.
  • thufir, on 01/02/2008, -5/+18Of course opening a Word document is faster in Vista. On a Mac, Word is currently running on Rosetta. Compare it again using the Universal version of Word, which is being released soon. Then I'll listen.
  • fugazied, on 01/02/2008, -0/+11OS X is really great to use and has some innovative features other operating systems are trying to catch up to. Thats another reason.
  • Urkel, on 01/02/2008, -5/+15Before I respond let me point out that I'm not defending MS in this. I prefer Macs. My gripe is against these writers that resort to cheap "fanblog-worthy" stories like this rather than meaningful ones that actually require insiqht and intelligence. 8% in the last 2 days of the month is barely worth a mention let alone the headline.



    1) Diggs = Eyes = Advertising revenue. Let's be honest here. Most people don't read articles, they read headlines and then Digg it if it has the right keywords. It should take more than a sensationalistic headline to hit the front page.

    2) OS X marketshare is based on the same thing. This isn't a leopard article, it's about OS X as a whole. So while it can be safely assumed that every OS X owner is a happy clam, it is silly to assume that every Vista user is a miserable turd. A very small percentage of loudmouths are out there making a stink but in reality then most of the biggest complainers aren't even Vista users and like it or not, Vista "just works" also.
  • KnightWhoSaysNi, on 01/02/2008, -5/+14Ditto. I'm forced to use Vista every day at the office. It is a worthless piece of cow excrement.
    I use XP and OS X at home.
  • mazerrackham, on 01/02/2008, -4/+13That's stupid. Why doesn't carving out a small Windows partition for games "count"? Because you just want to employ frivolous rules to prove your point?
  • rheaume, on 01/02/2008, -3/+11Woohooo 92% more to go!
  • dgh1973, on 01/02/2008, -3/+10"The total bill was over $8k for this thing"

    Dummies bought the RAM upgrade straight from apple, didn't they.
  • vapblack, on 01/02/2008, -6/+13I would guess that he has.

  • Okari, on 01/02/2008, -18/+25Let me guess, you've never used Vista?
  • natenovs, on 01/02/2008, -1/+7it's not cheaper. it's the same price. and the mac is only superior in your head.
  • chesscat, on 01/02/2008, -2/+8I'm guessing he has, too. Vista is a chrome-plated turd.
  • Syraxis, on 01/02/2008, -2/+8Maybe Linux isn't in the article because it's talking about Mac OS X. Since this is the Apple section of digg, we want to read articles about Apple products, not Linux.
  • RealHyperX, on 01/02/2008, -22/+28I love my Mac Pro - my work bought one for me at home and in the office. It has the ATI 1900 video card, 8 gigs of ram and 2 Intel Xeon processors. If I were to buy my own computer, I would not buy the Mac pro. The total bill was over $8k for this thing - I could buy 3high end HP workstations configured with similar if not better hardware. On top of that, the unified menus on the Mac OS suck - especially with the 30 inch monitor. Try running two apps side by side. Finally the damn ATI card gets dust in its vents, and if I dont blow the dust out, I get weird graphic issues and even lockups. Yes - I know - not Apple fault.

    I have been playing with Vista on a HP 4400 workstation with 8 gigs of ram. The thing has all the cool features of Mac OS and in my opinion is faster.

    Digg me down if you wish, but try opening a word document (even with open office) and you will see that PC will feel quicker - even with the 'SLOW' vista.

    The one thing I absolutely love about a Mac is that you can boot off backups (not time machine backups, but when using the disk tools). This to me is fantastic.

    Both OSes have their places - but Vista is not as bad as people here try to make it. Not a single crash.
  • vapblack, on 01/02/2008, -2/+7Word is designed by Microsoft. Why do you think a word document would do anything but work better on vista?
  • DaffyDuck, on 01/02/2008, -2/+7You should have read his entire comment.
  • fani, on 01/02/2008, -4/+9It looks like at this rate, Macs will catch up with Windows around 2080
    Yay !

    sorry, I love my Mac a lot, but for gaming, nothing beats my Windows XP..
  • chris9902, on 01/02/2008, -4/+9What about the headline "Vista alone used by 20% more people than OS X"

    not so fun now is it.
  • MacParrot, on 01/02/2008, -1/+6Agreed. Even Mac users must admit that Leopard has had more than its share of mis-steps. Even as a new OS X release. I haven't seen this many problems with OS X since the initial release (which I stayed as far away from as I could). In part, Apple has been the victim of its own success. More people than ever are using Macs and a good number of them ran out (I did as well) and bought 10.5 on its first day. More people using it typically means more flaws will be noted.
    I run it on 3 different machines. A G4 iBook (it now has a cursor freeze on occasion that it didn't have on 10.4), a G4 QS Tower (no real problems, but it started out with 10.5.1), and an Intel 24-inch iMac that the one feature I was really looking forward to didn't work until the update came out (Back to my Mac).
    Apple WILL fix the issues that some people are having as Leopard lives out its life, but it's going to take some time. In the meantime, let's remember that while Macs usually "just work", there are people out there with significant problems.
  • kreatre2007, on 01/02/2008, -3/+8Aside from the Mac's market share, I think the most interesting part of this report is the fact that the iPhone beat out all of the other smart phones -- including Windows Mobile equipped phones. This doesn't necessarily mean that the iPhone is actually the top selling smart phone but, what it really says is that the iPhone is actually useful for browsing the Internet....THE REAL INTERNET... more than the other smart phones.
  • chesscat, on 01/02/2008, -6/+11Apparently, more and more people out agree with me that windows sucks and are getting a Mac. Go ahead, click the red button now. -Unapologetic Fanboy
  • tubeblender, on 01/03/2008, -1/+5What else can you pull out of your ass?
  • Xill, on 01/02/2008, -5/+9The new Apple computers are amazing pieces of design and technology, specially the macbook pro and the iMac. 8% may seem like little, but dont forget they sell the hardware too (everyone making that 8% has a mac). In the computer market around the world, 8% is HUGE. Anyway, computer gaming is fading away and for everything serious os X is leaps ahead of windows so this number will only go up.

    Windows is just a broken software and PC's always had compatibility problems - there is no going back once you had a mac.
  • MxM111, on 01/02/2008, -2/+6"Vista's 10% marketshare is largely due to forced purchases coming from the manufacturer of the computer... that doesn't mean 10% are Vista users by choice... you can't say the same thing about Macs because Macs only run one OS, so if you use a Mac, you're using Mac OS by choice, not by force."
    That was sarcastic, right? Or are you seriously calling "when you have only single operating system", i e, do not have choice as "by choice"? And when you do have choice, then it is "forced"?
  • Aggaman, on 01/03/2008, -0/+4This is the most ***** argument in the world. You aren't counting the cost of your labour, nor the cost of the time you spent learning how to do this, nor the cost of not having a proper warranty. Tot those things up and you'll find that building your own computer can be quite expensive. Most people don't have the time to learn all that crap anyway, so it's not an option.
  • iainc, on 01/03/2008, -0/+4I've also used it. It's pretty but it's garbage. XP, with Vista Inspirat, is also pretty and has the distinct advantage of being reasonably mature, stable and useful.
  • Tangeuray, on 01/02/2008, -7/+11Open source is taking from Microsoft too :P
  • SuperSunny, on 01/02/2008, -4/+8You just suck at typing. I type fine on it. In fact the problems you are complaining about are cosmetic changes designed to simplify the interface of a portable computer. A laptop. You sir, are a dumbass. Go take some typing classes.
  • manitoba98xp, on 01/02/2008, -0/+4Actually, World of Warcraft is available for Mac OS X. :)
  • iainc, on 01/03/2008, -1/+5Nah, you're just a bit of a tool. Alt-Up and Alt-Down function perfectly on my MBP as Page Up / Page Down, as does Fn+Backspace for Delete. Illuminated keyboard is lovely and the brightness of the display is adjustable. Stop bleating and... please... go back to using a PC.
  • s0ny, on 01/02/2008, -2/+6First off, Zune doesnt have 10% of the entire mp3 market. Microsoft made this 10% statement from "30GB HARD DRIVE BASED MEDIA PLAYERS".
  • Syraxis, on 01/02/2008, -0/+4That is just like asking someone why they buy a PC with Windows installed than create a partition and install Linux. Bootcamp was developed for Mac owners who needed to run a Windows only program without having to buy a separate PC, like programs that get used around a work area where the majority use Windows. Did it ever occur to you that not everyone who buys a computer is a gamer?
  • meantime, on 01/02/2008, -2/+5dude....w3schools.com does not equal the World Wide Web. You're talking about 1 site.
  • bejayel, on 01/02/2008, -3/+6buried cause your truspector and i hate you.
  • SebHughes, on 01/02/2008, -6/+9I feel proud knowing that I did my bit.
  • iainc, on 01/03/2008, -1/+4Got to agree with kazamx. One could argue that if games was one reason for owning a Windows-based machine then surely PS3, Wii and Microsoft's own XBOX360 are nibbling at the Windows market share, together with Ubuntu and OS X.

    As a Mac user myself, I can now get some decent games for my platform of choice, including EVE Online. However, if I were more of a gamer, I'd most likely opt for a PS3 or 360 and keep the Mac for more serious work.

  • doctordbx, on 01/02/2008, -0/+3Er... since when is Mac winning out over PCs?
    For every 100 computers sold, 8 are Macs. Whoop de ***** doo.
    I think they're great computers, but its the fanboyz I can't stand.
  • s0ny, on 01/02/2008, -0/+3I highly doubt they bought him an 8,000$ mac pro to open word files faster.
  • superkendall, on 01/02/2008, -2/+5With a Mac I can choose to run Windows or OS X or Linux. With a "normal" PC I have one less choice - I can't run OS X. How does buying a Dell give you really more choice then?
  • RealHyperX, on 01/02/2008, -1/+4ok here is an example of higher efficiency in Vista. Click on the windows logo, and type \nas and hit enter, and bam, your nas drive appears. Even if the NAS device is linux. On a mac I have to click connect to server, or map the drive. When I click delete in windows, the file actually gets sent to the trashbin. In mac, nothing happens unless I use a two key combo. My 64 bit version of Vista has not crashed and is quick.
  • shank2001, on 01/03/2008, -0/+3You obviously have never used the iphone/itouch to use the internet....I have a windows mobile smartphone, and I got an itouch for Christmas... guess what, safari on the itouch ROCKS... it has convinced me to buy an iphone when they come out with the 3G version... it really is that good! Best portable device I have ever owned, and I have owned a lot!
  • JohnDesmarais, on 01/02/2008, -1/+4But again, based only on visitor's to that one website.
  • manitoba98xp, on 01/02/2008, -0/+3I'm an Mac user and a casual gamer.

    Yes, I run Windows XP for gaming. No big surprise there. There aren't many games for OS X. (That's not a flaw of OS X itself, but I digress.) Apple's market share also isn't a terribly big deal. I want it to be large enough that Apple continues to make Macs and have a large enough R&D budget to make them continue to be the products that I like. I want their market share to be big enough that they are considered "significant" enough to be supported. But whether or not OS X has a majority isn't a big concern. I just want it to be large enough that people don't shrug it off as insignificant.
  • kazamx, on 01/02/2008, -3/+6er..... it doesn't say that at all

    "Mozilla Corp.'s Firefox, which is available in versions for Mac OS X as well as Windows and Linux, accounted for a record 16.8% of all browsers tracked last month, while Microsoft's Internet Explorer's share slipped to 76% from November's 77.4%. IE has lost nearly 4% market share since the start of 2007,"
  • superkendall, on 01/02/2008, -7/+10In what dream world does the Zune have a 10% share of anything? Last I saw, it was a lot lower than 10%
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