What is Digg?121 Comments
- armbar, on 10/12/2007, -3/+40Don't confuse me with the facts, guys.
- FearlessFreep, on 10/12/2007, -6/+30"In my opinion, when Apple made a computer than could run both Windows and OSX (Intel-based), they approached their problem from the most ass-backwards way possible. They need to stop obsessing with hardware, period."
Apple delivers what nobody else does. A complete PC solution. Dell doesn't make the OS and MS doesn't make the box. This allows Apple to maintain much better quality control in delivering an OS that they know is going to work with the hardware. Their' obsession with hardware' is part of what makes Macs so attractive. - IQ70, on 10/12/2007, -9/+29To get a perspective:
-----------------------------
HP shipped 9.9 million PCs in the third quarter of 2006, from 8.4 million during the same period in 2005. This caused U.S.-based HP’s market share to rise to 16.5 percent, up from 13.6 percent in the second quarter.
Apple's share of PC sales stands at 2.8 percent currently. - r3zonance, on 10/12/2007, -9/+26@ItchyMcknobster
"Can someone please clarigy something for me? Why is the mac "more fun" than the pc (besides media telling us it is?"
I have both, and I can't figure out why. Everything I can do on a mac, I can do on my PC. When I'm sitting on the computer (doesn't matter which one) I surf the internet. It is the content that makes the experience fun, not the machine. Is that what fan boys cry about the Wii? Its not the graphics, its the content? Thats what I thought."
For me personally, it's how easy it is to do everything, and the very user-friendly, well thought out interface designs on applications. i.e. Having the most important 20% of functionality (i.e. the most used functionality) available readily at hand, rather than have 70% of the functionality available with complex menus and multiple dropdowns and hardly any of it readily available.
"In fact, the only time the machine brings me joy is when I'm gaming and the last time I checked, you can't do serious gaming on a mac."
Fun/enjoyment is about more than just playing games. But I agree with you on the gaming side.
"Oh wait, I hear that tired argument of video editing on the mac. Please, someone tell me how video look better on a mac than my pc with SLI'ed 880GTX's. It doesn't, end of story."
Again, it's all about the USER'S EXPERIENCE of video editing. The Apple software is very intuitive, compared to the likes of Adobe's offerings, and also Apple leverages the superb frameworks (Quartz/Core Image and Core Video) that are available on the Mac, that make things work a lot faster. Apple also uses floating point values (windows uses Integers) for the color spaces meaning once a large number of layered effects have been applied, a more accurate final color value is produced.
"Why are people so rabid about certain products so much? Why can't everyone just admit that they are different and people like them for different reasons."
Mac people are rabid about Macs because MS people are rabid about PCs and PC people can be quite venomous and vocal about their hatred of Macs, causing the Mac people to be even more rabid. It's a vicious circle.
"They both, pretty much, do the same thing."
Yes, but the Mac does, pretty much, the same thing BETTER! - replica, on 10/12/2007, -6/+23Overall PC sales for the quarter were 59.1 Million units. So, Apples 1.6 Million units is 2.7%.
PC unit sales for the quarter
=================
Hewlett-Packard 9,852,000
Dell Inc. 9,541,000
Lenovo 4,444,000
Acer 3,468,000
Toshiba 2,551,000
- zang74, on 10/12/2007, -2/+15There was a time when Macs outsold PCs; prior to both Windows 3.1 and the allowance of IBM-PC clones.
- rodrigo74, on 10/12/2007, -2/+14Well I can only tell from my own experience, having both a Mac and a PC: maybe funnier wouldn't be the word I'd choose, but it is certainly less frustrating for me. No need to worry about the latest malware, the latest virus. Less software available alright, but those which are available are usually (not always of course) more polished, more consistent UI-wise and less buggy. I also find it a "smarter" OS: for example, if there's some text in a web page that I wanna save, guess what, I can just select it and drag it to the desktop, and a text file is created. Small stuff like that, all over the place. That's why I find it funnier.
In the past I would find Linux (actually, KDE) to be even funnier, I used to love doing all the tweaking, but now I got a bit tired of it, maybe I am getting older after all...I prefer a system that "just works" and gets out of my way. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9I am not an apple fanboy. I own a dell laptop. That said, I own stock in AAPL. Because their profit margins a so much better, this small increase in market share is huge for the AAPL bottom line.
- Danathar, on 10/12/2007, -4/+11Quite honestly. I think it's amazing that apple has figured out how to be quite successful WITHOUT having a monopoly. It looks like they are quite happy with 3-5% of the market.
Let Windows take all the arrows from hackers and the mob. - zang74, on 10/12/2007, -6/+13Video editing has a lot more to do with it than the video card in a machine.
There are things like colour matching/representation, availability/interfaceability of hardware and editing software available that can affect things greatly. - RunnerOne, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8Wow...another flamebait Mac vs. PCs waah-a-thon on Digg. Fun.
- Lynn, on 10/12/2007, -10/+16Rise again? When did it rise the first time? Apple Market Share has been between 2%-3% for as long as I can remember.
Also, how is this new information? Apple released their fourth quarter sales back in October. - kendals, on 10/12/2007, -5/+11Perspective would be to differentiate corporate and personal computering purchases ;)
- Kamorra2, on 10/12/2007, -5/+11Speaking from the female perspective. I recently purchased my 1st Mac and I can tell you there's definately something about them that appeals to women. The PC market seems to be very gender neutral but Macs are damn cute. You can't deny that. I think girls are starting to decide they'd rather have one than a boring looking PC.
Also, their new advertising campaign is really effective. - sv650touring, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7As a former car salesman, most people are most interested in how a car looks. The sales materials said it, and the customers showed it. How much of a brain is dedicated to processing visual info?
Caring about looks is human nature and it does matter to normal people.
I like having a cute girlfriend, and I like having a nice looking machine - which is why my PC is in a Lian Li case. It was also a major selling point of my iMac - which has lots of advantages over my PC, but the single hard drive keeps it from being my main machine.
The reality is Apple shows other companies how "nice" computers can look and feel - hardware and software. No SINGLE company has contributed as much as Apple to the improvement of personal computers in these areas.
BTW, when I bought the iMac (Summer 2001) I hadn't been exposed to much marketing. I saw it, played with it a few minutes, and asked the CompUSA sales guy "Will this thing do ___, ___, and ___?" He said yes (I could tell he genuinely liked the machine), and I bought it. Marketing didn't convince me Macs are "nicer", but using it did. - questionable, on 10/12/2007, -4/+9@PathDaemon
Apple is in the business of making money by providing a "complete solution." It's carved out its niche and is making healthy profit. If it was possible to dominate the market, Apple would. The reason they won't abandon the hardware market is because that's part of the Apply mystique and selling point, the beautiful casing. They would be taking a massive risk by abandoning their computers/laptops and going head to head with Microsoft.
And for the malware question you've brought up, it's a question of attractiveness. Microsoft has such a large market, there's no point in attacking a Mac. Besides, most "hackers" now are script kiddies and people attempting to use hacking to gain a profit. No point in hacking a 2.7 market share when there's the other 90 percent of market there.
Don't glorify Apple. It's a company to make money. Its philosophy on doing so is just different. - MacParrot, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8ummm, not as I remember it. Apple, other than early on with the Apple II, has never been the dominant market share leader.
- FearlessFreep, on 10/12/2007, -7/+12"Bad idea, the only thing that makes OS X stable, is because it is run on such a restricted platform. If it ever got released for the general market, it would suffer the same problems as Windows."
No. They have widley divergent security approaches. Not all security implementations are the same. That's like saying "A piggy bank is easier to break into than a safe because more people have piggy banks so they get attacked a lot, If safes were as popular as piggy banks, they would be just as vulnerable" - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7reply button
- hockey, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7I've seen all those "get a mac" commercials and I've come to the conclusion that as a simple unix systems programmer I'm simply not cool enough to own a mac. . .
- DucksofAnaheim, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7PC`s sell that many in an hour ;)
- splinecl, on 10/12/2007, -12/+17@ilyag
Bad idea, the only thing that makes OS X stable, is because it is run on such a restricted platform. If it ever got released for the general market, it would suffer the same problems as Windows. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7@rodrigo
True, the malware and viruses are an issue that I didn't really take into the equation. If I got them more often maybe I would.
I just don't come across those issues much, unless its my ignorant family members lol. Mac is definitely better in that department. - AloofDufus, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6Why can't we all just get along?
- meatmcguffin, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5" I have never heard a PC user say:"A Mac sucks hardcore. Use Dell/HP/Gateway,etc etc."
Welcome to the internet, i assume you've only been here five minutes. But you are sort of right;
In my experience, when arguing about computers, mac and linux users will complain about windows *software* being crap. On the other hand PC users attack the mac and linux *users* and not the software they use.
So bloody childish - Kamorra2, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7No a marketing campaign got me to investigate my options. Then I made a logical decision. Isn't that the point of marketing campaigns?
- Shivetya, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5they are a monopoly on their platform.
People seem to still think Apple is competing with MS when its not true. Apple is in a world of its own and thats how it should be. - FearlessFreep, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4"I just wish PCs and Macs users would just chill for a bit and have a normal conversation without being so subjective and offensive, at least have some respect for each other. "
That's because we're too geeky to fight over "Yankees Vs Red Sox" so we've got to do something.... - Kamorra2, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6No I would not buy a computer because of how it looks. What I'm saying is, all things being equal, I'm going to pick the one that looks better. If the Mac sucked, it wouldn't matter how cute it was.
The advertising campaign is effective in that it made me consider a Mac. After putting in a ton of research and talking to people that owned one, THAT's when I decided to buy one. The cuteness factor was secondary. - threemagic, on 10/12/2007, -6/+9armbar:
would you buy a car because of how it looked? (assuming you could afford those that look the best) - redhatcat, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5"Bad idea, the only thing that makes OS X stable, is because it is run on such a restricted platform."
Once again, the BSD code goes unrecognized. - Kyderdog, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5The total US Mac OS X market share number comes in at 5.39 percent.
Note that the 4% is WORLD Share - Quix, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Apple getting out of the hardware business and selling OS X for generic PCs would be SUICIDE. It's not as if all Windows users would suddenly run out and buy a copy. We're talking a relatively low percentage, I'm sure (plus many of the copies would probably be pirated, like Windows). And at $129 a pop, they'd have to sell an awful lot of copies to make up for their instant loss in hardware sales. You do realize much of Microsoft's profit comes from selling Office and not the Windows OS, right? And since Apple has no $400 office suite to offer...
Factor in the huge jump in support costs to troubleshoot OS X problems on FrankenPCs of all stripes. Not worth it.
Not to mention the whole beauty of Apple's integrated hardware+software as mentioned by previous posters.
You want to see a repeat of OS/2? Apple going to a software-only model would do it. - meatmcguffin, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4"#14 Macs age more slowly than PCs"
OS X 10.5 runs faster than 10.4 on the same hardware. 10.4 runs faster than 10.3 on the same hardware. 10.3 runs faster than 10.2 on the same hardware,
Seeing a pattern?
Vista runs slower than XP on the same hardware. XP runs slower than 2000 on the same hardware.
Seeing a very, very different pattern? - meatmcguffin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3On the flip side, if Apple hadn't received a surge in popularity over the last few years would we have seen updates to the iPod? The Nano? The Shuffle? The iTunes music store? iPhone? iTV? Even the Intel switch?
I'm not sure i would like to take a bet on that! - FearlessFreep, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"While ultimately, a higher world marketshare is the goal, "
The ultimate goal is to have revenue higher than cost.
Hell, why does nobody care about 'marketshare' between Porshce and Ford? I wager that Ford has a much larger marketshare, but I wager than Porsche keeps high enough profit margins and earnings to keep their board happy - Boondoggle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I am as undeserving as the next guy...
- TheJas, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5The Mac OS is great and aesthetic nonsense aside, it is the only reason to buy a Mac. I tell all non-computer people who ask my advice to buy a Mac and definitely get the protection plan since the hardware will most certainly break within a year or two. But hey, every computer manufacturer cuts corners like that so whatever. The bottom line is that for the techno-challenged majority, Mac is it. Of course the Mac is capable of very complex, wonderful, and advanced things blah blah blah. However, they want to increase market share so that means they want to sell to the average, help line calling, doesnt know a bit from a byte, using a disc tray as a cupholder, moron. These people should all get Macs and stop bothering dorks like me. For those of us who know enough to build our own rigs so we get quality stuff in the case, we don't really have issues with the small annoyances of windows. These days it's not very hard to get a machine working well and keep it working well if you know what you are doing.
- NewChar, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I don't think most Windows users are gloating about the numbers, we're just sick of all articles about how Apple might maybe sort of increase marketshare by half a percent in Guatemala.
- Thataboy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3But what will the US marketshare be? Their world share has always been much lower.
While ultimately, a higher world marketshare is the goal, I think the best way to get there is via critical mass in the US. If Macs hit 10% in the US (which I think is very possible in the coming years), then it will further legitimize the platform in the eyes of the world. People won't have to worry about Apple going out of business. Software companies will pay more attention to a US 10% marketshare-holder, so the value of having a Mac will increase for people everywhere.
I bet you that current Mac owners are even starting to hold off on upgrading their machines, opting to wait for Leopard. Look for even bigger numbers once that is released. - canyonblue, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5First off Apple doesn't need to win the marketshare war to win the battle. They are making money, and a lot of it right now... off the both iPods AND Macs. Their stock is the envy of the tech world and developers who left are seemingly coming back to the Mac.
The majority will still buy Dells and HPs but those among us who desire a computer that is physically beautiful with a state of the art operating system that is way ahead of Windows will continue to buy Macs. The fact that they now run Windows too, and natively, is simply icing on the cake. Macs literally do it all... looks, power, and flexibility.
Let it be my dirty secret, my buddies in the 2.8% know how lucky we are! - jkoke, on 10/12/2007, -1/+31998 called and wants its anti-Mac propaganda back.
- riquito, on 10/12/2007, -1/+33% to 4% is 33% more !
- phugger, on 10/12/2007, -4/+6>3% LOLZ
Do ya think this is the year?
When Apple switched to Intel I thought it was a big mistake. No one would buy any more Apple hardware. Why would they? They would simply run OSX on any old beige box.
I was so wrong. Nobody wants OSX. The Mac is finally a useful machine now that it can easily run Windows. MS is selling large numbers of XP to all of the 'switchers'. Didn't Gartner just say that over the next few years the Windows market share would increase?
What I'd really love from DIGG for Christmas is an Apple Fanboy filter - some way to filter out all of the Apple Hype that fills this forum - Market share 3%, Diggshare 60%. Maybe they can have their own special forum! - jstone, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I'm not saying its going to happen anytime soon, that was directed at all the people who were saying "Macs are so much better than PC's. Everyone should buy a mac." If everyone bought a Mac, and nobody bought a PC, that would make Mac a monopoly now, wouldn't it.
- dBass, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5The significant bit to me is that Apple continues to lead in two key areas important to business (not haters or so called "fanboys"):
1. Market share growth greater than the industry growth
2. More than double the margin on their sales (They actually make money selling goods and services)
More and more mid-market and high-end buyers are putting Apple at the top of their short list. The low-end, mass market has never interested Steve Jobs. - adpowers, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Lynn, that's because Microsoft's main money makers are Windows and Office. Software has a huge profit margin. Apple makes hardware and software. If you compare them to other hardware companies, you get a better idea:
Dell: 6.39%
Acer: 2.66%
Lenovo: 0.21%
Gateway: 0.16%
HP has really good profit margins, but they make a lot of consumer products (like printers) that I'm sure help their bottom line. - flipmeat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2A lot of people that rail about Apple's 'hardware monopoly' are really missing the point.
Having end to end control of the user's experience is a dirty, nasty, evil advantage over the rest of the world, which Apple leverages well.
Take your photo editing for example. Say something breaks, or doesn't look right, and the glitch might be in some underpinning of the system. Joe App Engineer can basically walk over to where the 'underpinning' guys work, they can study the problem together, and they can figure out a fix. They might also end up clubbing each other with ADB keyboards, but that's beside the point. :-)
This situation simply does not exist in the Windows world. It is a key Apple advantage.
Taking it further, hardware and software groups could work together to make sure things are not only compatible, but that they *enhance* each other. On Windows, all those different companies are separate, and communicating that well would be hard. Not impossible, just hard.
On Windows, guys who build systems are having to act as their own system integrator. Out of millions of possible combinations of hardware parts, will all your apps work on yours? Who has to work that out? You! There's a business opportunity there for someone...
What's that? You want a screaming, clocked to an inch of its life, multiprocessor box in a trick aluminum case? Apple's hardware geeks like those too, and they ship them that way from the factory. :-) Go on, stick a cold cathode in there, and have the door laser etched, you know you want to. - jstone, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4I second the apple fanboy filter.
- jhub908, on 10/12/2007, -10/+12oh god, not this ***** again....
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