What is Digg?245 Comments
- drakethegreat, on 10/12/2007, -4/+42The interesting thing is that so many people view this as apple winning some sort of epic battle. The reality is that both Apple and Microsoft win because in most cases dual boot on a mac means someone bought Windows at the FULL PRICE. Meaning they made more money then the purchase of a dell. The PC hardware companies tend to make a lot of money too. Who gets screwed the most? AMD :-/
- blackjack75, on 10/12/2007, -0/+18"Two mouse buttons would be nice."
Any two or whatever five button mouse will work fine on OSX. Additionaly even the Mighty Mouse Apple sells today has two buttons. You just can't see them but if you click on the right side you get a right click. Note that this feature must be enabled in the preferences (otherwise right=left), since by default the whole OS works with one button if you want it to. - leodavinci, on 10/12/2007, -22/+39I have no doubt that Apple will continue to gain market share. In a lot of ways they have a superior product, especially in usability and stability. The majority of users just want a computer that lets them: get online, view pictures, listen to music, and look at porn : ). Just look at Chapelle :P http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62-I4ChZhY4
- nixonrichard, on 10/12/2007, -5/+22threepio . . . it's the same reason Mac users bought Virtual PC. Just like Wal-Mart, you can hate Windows all you want but sometimes it just really comes in handy.
- abbott75, on 10/12/2007, -12/+29If they are booting Windows, are they really 'switching'?
- Aggaman, on 10/12/2007, -5/+21Well, the trend is for increased Mac sales. There are probably many reasons.
1. Apple has been picking up sales among the techie crowd since OS X came out. If you'd frequented mac discussion forums over the past five years, you would have noticed this. However, a lot of users held back because they needed a Windows machine. Now Apple is offering a machine that allows you to run the Mac OS, Windows and Linux all on one machine. It's no wonder that sales are picking up. I'm guessing that a lot of the bootcampers are these people, and not casual users.
2. Malware. For whatever reason, OS X is for all practical purposes malware free, and has been so for five years. I don't care to speculate about the causes for this, although I have found none of the explanations offered very convincing. Many people are sick of their Windows machines being attacked, and if they hear that Macintosh is "virus free", its probably good enough for them. I don't care if this belief is rational, or if it is idiotic: it is a belief that people have that is driving sales.
3. The iPod. Everyone knows what an iPod is, and almost everyone knows that Apple makes them. Many people buy them from Apple's own stores, or stores that stock Apple computers. Awareness of Apple is probably higher than it has been since the introduction of the original iMac. Also, many Windows iPod users enjoy using iTunes (so what if they are misguided, they do enjoy it) and are more likely to look at macs if they are used to using Apple software.
4. Aesthetics. Yes, this is subjective, but so are many things that drive purchasing decisions. In the view of many people, Apple simply produces better looking computers. Appearances matter to people. When Steve Jobs holds up a new MacBook Pro and compares it to some thick monstrosity from another manufacturer, some people will consider this important. Add to this that OS X has simply looked a lot better to many people than Windows for five years now (Vista will close this gap). Look at the CNN Zune clip. A lot of people agree with Soledad O'Brien. So what if other people think she is wrong in her aesthetic preferences? Some people don't agree with me that she's cute. So much the worse for them.
5. Apple is doing exciting things with online music sales and online movie sales. For better or worse they get more press than other services (probably because the Apple service is simple to use). Microsoft is doing it the hard way by going after the living room through gamers, who are a small segment of the potential market for digital media in the living room.
There's a lot of positive buzz around Apple these days. How terrible that Apple make products that people want to buy for whatever reason.
It's not unreasonable to expect more mac sales given the current climate. Apple is never going to be the dominant OS manufacturer, but then again OS X is not the biggest threat to the Windows monopoly. Open Source software and web apps are. - zenerdiode, on 10/12/2007, -9/+23doesn't boot camp imply the NEED for windows?
"Man, Mac is so great! I can run Windows on it now! Yay!"
Huh? - DirkVanAss, on 10/12/2007, -18/+32Comming new to Apple in '07....
....Viruses - ziadoz, on 10/12/2007, -5/+18You meant iViruses, right? Don't forget to market that shizzle. ;)
- MacParrot, on 10/12/2007, -3/+16frankie,
While I'm sure Apple would love to get a significant stake into supplying business machines, that isn't the market where additional sales are happening. Apple is gaining strength in the home market. This isn't a race, it isn't a contest. The OS wars are over and MS won. I got over the whole Apple must defeat product X a long time ago, and I doubt most Mac users care one way or another anymore.
There are of course fringe elements that say Mac or DIE! But just ignore them as they don't represent the mainstream Mac user any more than some of the idiot gamers represent mainstream Windows users.
Here's what's important to me. Apple is profitable. They continue to make hardware and software that I want. Gaining market share points is nice because it means that Apple will continue to be profitable and so on. They aren't going to take over the market. They aren't going to wipe out Windows. They aren't going to gain much on the business side of the market.
You guys talking about one-button mouse for Macs. C'mon! Say it some more! Anyone with a brain on digg will think you're an idiot. So prove it with 5 year old jokes. - Phych, on 10/12/2007, -7/+20People still don't get it do they?
First, Apple fanboys that think everything Apple does is flawless need to realize that there are drawbacks and problems in Apple products. May not be as much as Wintels, but they are there...and, no, Apple products sometimes aren't the best choice, iPod included.
Second, Wintel fanboys just need to quit talking like they know something when the only Apple they touched were the kind you bake in a pie. It's so painfully obvious that there is zero knowledge with any Mac that the comments verge on complete idiocy. If Mac fanatics were the annoying nerds trying to show off how smart they are, Wintel fanatics would be the dumb jocks trying (emphasis on "trying") to show any intelligence.
Third, I salute those who used their brains and actually read the article; the few that knew that this wasn't a "Apple will kill Wintels zomg lol roflcakes!!!!11elevendy11", but one that merely pointed out that more and more people are switching. Wintel machines still have a huge share of the userbase and Macs won't come close to threatening that fact for some time, however, the increase in people buying Macs is eye opening and something to be aware of.
Lastly, you really need to be able to use both Mac and Wintel concurrently to see that both platforms are exceptional, and they sometimes even complement each other. The negative of the Mac platform is not being able to use the Wintel platform, and the negative of the Wintel platform is not being able to use the Mac platform. Ask anyone who uses both regularly and they will say the same thing.
P.S. Flame away! - lo0ol, on 10/12/2007, -3/+14It's pretty surprising how many Macs they're selling now. For example, the open source project Adium just released some statistics on their usage a few days ago:
http://www.adiumx.com/sparkle/
From their stats (which could be slanted some, but it's a good indicator), they're already showing more Intel-based machines than PowerPC. I thought that was pretty interesting since this happened in just a year, plus there are many instances where some really old Macs are still perfectly fine to use (I know a number of fellow students who have three and four year old iBooks that they seem to love just fine still). Interesting numbers to look at, to say the least... 2007 will be even more interesting in terms of total Mac sales. - omaryak, on 10/12/2007, -4/+15"Just because you have to use a mac for its 6-year-old-simplicity"
I used to think "easy-to-use" meant "for stupid people." Now that I own a Mac, I understand it as "hassle-free." Saves time, energy and most importantly, stress. - Boondoggle, on 10/12/2007, -3/+13I've got news for you gamers. It is YOUR world that revolves around gaming. Not THE world.
- OpCzar, on 10/12/2007, -6/+15Everybody says they want a mac... But when they see all the huge discounts on PC's they are bound to not give in. This is especially true with laptops, 1249 $ for a basic macbook is a lot when you look at all the sub 1 thousand dollar selection out there. Don't get me wrong, the quality/price ratio is there but not the actual price.
- deadbaby, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11Instructions on how to ignore the Apple category:
1) Create a digg account or login to your existing account.
2) Click on Profile
3) Click on "Manage topics"
4) Uncheck "Apple"
5) Stop trolling. - DaffyDuck, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10"If they are booting Windows, are they really 'switching'?"
Mac is short for Macintosh which is the computer hardware Apple sells so in fact, if more users are going Mac and installing Windows, Apple is still benefiting because Apple makes the bulk of it's profit on the hardware sale. - Aggaman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8He's right. WoW on the macs with integrated graphics is surprisingly good. Of course you aren't going to buy one of these if you are a dedicated gamer, but then again you won't buy a mac if you are a dedicated gamer over everything else (since most games are Windows only).
Point of fact. WoW is better on the new MacBooks than it is on my 1.5 year old Powerbook (which has a separate graphics card).
From what I have read, the new Intel integrated graphics setup is far superior to the integrated setups of years past that gave such things a bad name. And this is not unique to Apple. No doubt Dell sells similar Intel based systems that are just as good in this respect. - Sarki, on 10/12/2007, -29/+37Oh, you can bet on it. Already the increases in Macs sold suggest that this is happening.
- ziadoz, on 10/12/2007, -10/+18The extra cash goes on your body's weight in packaging. Seriously there's nothing you can't do on a Macintosh that you can't do on a PC, and for a cheaper cost. So why would the average consumer jump at the chance of being ripped off?
- xtarburst, on 10/12/2007, -8/+16Of course, my new buy will be an iMac.
- n3twrkm4n, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8The mighty mouse has 4 buttons and a 360* scroll ball
- deadbaby, on 10/12/2007, -7/+14I'll give you one word and a number:
Wii
360
Enjoy. - Hegemony, on 10/12/2007, -6/+13I will not use a mac as my primary computer because you cannot build your own. I want to choose all the hardware and put it together. I don't want to pay the Apple hardware markup. If a part craps out I want to be able to order a replacement (maybe even an upgrade) without being raped on the price and be able to fix it myself. I don't want to have to send it off to be fixed and be without a computer for a week. Hell, I'd run OSX if it functioned properly on PC hardware. But I know that's not likely to happen. I may move to Linux next year though... probably have to dual boot windows for games.
- linkerjpatrick, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9I'm not a mac "fanboy" I use OSX, Windows and Linux. After buying my Macbook Pro a few months ago I converted my Windows XP Dell 8200 to a Linux testing server running Fedora Core. I use both OSX and Windows to test web development projects. Yes, I bought a copy of Windows to run on the MacBook Pro but I estimate I'm in the OSX environment using OSX applications about 95% of the time. My wife got an Intel iMac earlier this year and the MacBook Pro is the best purchase I have ever made on any computer thus far.
- nixonrichard, on 10/12/2007, -14/+21So, this is not really PC buyers going "Mac" . . . this is PC buyers going PC. Just because Apple started making PCs doesn't change the fact that they are PCs. I have a feeling once people start using the laptop they are going to pick one OS and stick with it. I'm glad that you can now install Windows on a quality piece of laptop hardware (with that cool magnetic power plug), but I don't think this is going to change anything.
- Veight, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8Once I started bringing my Macbook to work, everyone changed their tune about them. Two people have bought them already and several more have expressed interested with a couple insisting that their next computers will be Macs. These are all IT nerds mind you.
I can definitely see them doing well next year. I think once nerds actually see new Macs, and not just base their opinion off of old stereotypes, they stop hating on them pretty quick.
I'm selling off my PC desktop in the very near future and waiting until late '07 or early '08 to get a new one. If Apple puts a DX10 video card in the iMac or at least enough driver support to get one with a Mac Pro next year, it's over for me. - Aggaman, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7I'm a mac user.
The only game I play a lot on a computer is World of Warcraft. It used to be Civilization. Both of these are available for the mac. I have no interest in other PC games.
However, I do have an Xbox 360, and I spend half my gaming time on that (it would be more if WoW wasn't like crack, and I wasn't trying to complete my current armor set).
I'd never owned a console before the 360, and I have to say that I find the console experience much better for most games than playing on a PC/Mac.
I also want a Wii. - dbr_onix, on 10/12/2007, -4/+10"Web standards? Er... Which browser has trouble passing the ACiD tests?"
What do web-standards have to do with the Operating System?! Sure IE is probably less compliant than Safari, but that's hardly a reason for changing OS, you could quite easily install Opera if ACiD2 test compliance is all that's important to you in a browser..
- Ben - marinist, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Back in '95, I recommended that our marketing group purchase Macs. At the time, there were notable advantages in graphics software support for Mac vs PC. Over time, we've seen those differences erode and PCs slowly gained some market share with designers. Today, there is little functional difference between what a Mac or PC can do, and a PC often does it more cost-effectively.
The Mac was a great idea when they could market themselves on intuitive and functional advantages over the PC. Today, with these differences largely moot, Apple has decided to brand their products on intangible assets such as form factor and lifestyle--and at a premium over the PC. Until Apple takes a significant functional leap past the PC, I'm not paying attention. After 20 years of buying Macs, I'm quite happy using my IBM. - blackjack75, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Maybe someone should mention that any freaking mouse will work fine...
- Boondoggle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5@cqnnid:
Not really. Mac users are MUCH MUCH MUCH more likely to have realworld, hands-on experience with Windows. Most Mac users I know use Windows all day at work, myself included. Of course now I can do it on my Macbook either with Parallels or with RCD.
The windows user / preferrer that has spent enough quality time with a Mac to learn enough about the platform and comment intelligently is RARE.
Like "Macs suck, you have to open a file to rename it, that is crazy!!!!" Just read above, someone charged with setting up a lab of Macs made similar comments. - blackjack75, on 10/12/2007, -6/+11Comparable for sure, but really some really start missing if you have to go back to windows only. Things like GarageBand are so simple and well designed that you can let a 10 year old kid have fun with it, while the windows equivalents are just so complicated (although definitely as powerful).
As for Final Cut, not there is nothing to replace it. You have comparable sofware of course, just like you could use Gimp instead of PhotoShop, but people don't. - clyde2801, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8Enjoy your malware, moron.
-Delusional Mac User - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -12/+17You think?
Maybe some Mac users will switch to Windows? It's so hard to tell. - markthegoth, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5i switched this weekend, sick of having to keep tuning and playing about with my computer, its a cliche but macs just work
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7Suck it Dell.
- threepio, on 10/12/2007, -12/+17I code.
On a Mac. Welcome to Wrongsville, Population: You. - blackjack75, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7Where is the stop trolling link? I can't seem to find it?
- aaarrrggghhh, on 10/12/2007, -19/+23"Once you go Mac, you never go back."
I've been using macs since 1987 (Mac 128), worked for an apple dealer, became an apple reseller for 10 years and still have a Mac sat under my desk. I now only switch it on to read customer disks, convert a file, recover a hard drive etc, maybe once every 2 months. Windows for me now, OSX and really does nothing (in the real world) I cant do just as well for half the price on a PC. If your main concern is how your user interface looks, well, you need to start working on your computer instead of playing youtube vids and itunes.
I'm not knocking apples hardware, it has always been excellent, in the late 80's early 90's they built some truly innovative systems, the Mac II ci was amazing compared to PC's of the era, although there have been some poor patches here and there (I agree about the mouse but I've used an intellimouse on mac for years). The fact still remains that theres no REAL reason to chose apple over PC now other than fashion (win 98 was crap btw I would never touch it, we're talking 2000, XP only).
Anyone who wants to mention the blah blah Vista is gonna be $400 blah blah, if you bought into OSX at the start you could already on your 5th paid for upgrade (you did pay for it didnt you?). All my windows patches have been free!
I know this will be at -300 in 10 minutes. - guerrilla_suit, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6I bought a mac last year, and it's been a great experience.
I personally run Win XP, Ubuntu, and OSX on different machines and I carry my mac with me nearly everywhere. I have to say, I like my mac the best of my 3 computers.
-It's the best hardware out of the three. My Ubuntu is running on a laptop that's getting a little old. My windows machine is very nice as far as the hardware goes, but it's not as nice as my newer MacBook Pro Laptop.
-I like the squishy mac interface. I take a lot of crap for liking it, but whatever. I would run Beryl on my Ubuntu machine for more squishiness, but it can't hang with the hardware requirements.
-Out of all the computers I've ever owned, (9 machines over 11 years), this one is the most flexible of all of them. I haven't had any issues on it. And I'm suprised that I don't 'miss' Windows.
-I don't see what all the fuss is about. When I recommend a computer to someone, it's always a mac. Business? I think business and government should be using Linux, not windows. It's tools cost too much. And it's plagued with usability issues to get it secure.
If you got the cash, get a mac. You'll more than likely love it.
If money is an issue, use a good Linux distro on older hardware.
If you have to have windows, I just don't buy that you are going to save a lot of money buying a PC with Windows. Get a mac and run Bootcamp. I haven't bothered, but my close friend has it on his, for those "Just in case" moments. He's using it less and less. - Boondoggle, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6booting windows is a security blanket. It allows apple to answer the question "Will I be able to use the apps I already have?" with a YES.
The reality is that most users won't boot into windows that much once they start using the Mac - Jimgress, on 10/12/2007, -7/+11market trends in the past year have shown a steady increase in mac sales and there seems to be no sign of this slowing.
So how is this unlikely? Can't just say it isn't and not offer a reason
the burden of proof rests with you. - Chewie67, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6"I don't think so"
Huh? You must be dense. Read the headline - "More PC Buyers will be going Mac in 2007". It's an easily acheivable target. If 1 more person buys a Mac in 2007 than in 2006, the headline is right.
Based on sales figures from 2006, it looks like hundreds of thousands more (if not millions more) will be buying Macs. Saying "I don't think so" is just MS fanboy ignorance. - Absolute0, on 10/12/2007, -8/+12@koregaonpark
This is how they'll reply: Crappy frame rates, etc. - koregaonpark, on 10/12/2007, -27/+31I can say for a fact that this is happening here in India. More Mac users than ever before.
- archer75, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5A mac pro is a workstation machine. I don't know anyone who buys workstations.
However I can build a Dell system for the home user that is significantly cheaper than a Mac Pro and more powerful too. - archer75, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Now just give me a real video card option and the ability to upgrade it and i'm set.
- mpatterson1, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6You wanna bet? I actually made some money on bets from people in '97 that told me Apple wouldn't last the next few months.
- Gottschalk, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Thank God someone finally tells the truth.
As I have always said OS X vs XP is a frickin toss up (assuming apps will run on both). But IBM-comp./ Windows/ non-Mac PCs are generally more cost efficient. I don't know why people try to contest this. It is especially more cost efficient if you build your own and upgrade but that is not required for it to still be a better deal. -
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