Comments on: More to Mac sales than a halo

For years, it's been fashionable to link an increase Mac shipments with an increase in iPod shipments. That's because it's easier to draw one line than six lines.

[JohnMcGuire]

Speaking for myself,

Although I've used Macs at work for the last 17 years and
currently support them, until two years ago, I didn't own one.
Price was a major consideration, but also my need for Windows
compatibility for certain programs at home was the reason for
owning a Gateway, then a home-built model.

I first bought a G5 IMac two years ago to make it my main
computer, because I was tired of the whole spy-ware, malware,
virus fight.

My second is a Mac Mini (with VMWare Fusion) bought in the last
two months for retaining my still needed link to one or two
Windows programs.

My daughter owns an IPod but this did not factor in our decision
at all. I'm sure that's a factor for some, but the perceived
security and the ease of use were our main factors, and the
Windows compatibility only solidified the choice.

I'm sure a lot of people think different similarly. :)

[popa pineapple]

Windows Are Good for IT Departments

I've been Mac only since 1984, but I can see the upside to
Windows machines. In my company it kept a large IT
department fully employed. If everyone had gone Mac, which
was my suggestion, the IT department would have had very little
to do. My only complaint was that the IT department would
hold up delivery of new Macs because they insisted on running
the same virus tests on them as PCs. Sort of strange IMHO since
I've never had a virus and I've using Macs heavily since 1984.
Yeah right, it must be the iPods. That's the ticket ....

[Lee in San Diego]

Mac not MAC

Please everybody it is Mac or Macintosh. MAC is something else.
You all probably use MAC, but not all of you use Macs.

[atrombly]

New Mac customers are Windows refugees

I totally agree with much of the premise of this article. The Mac's
new found success is directly related to the adaptation of the
more realiable Intel processors by Apple. However, there is
another very important reason that needs to be cited more and
that is the fact that many, many professionals have Windows
fatigue.

We converted most of our computers to Macs this year. Since the
intitial and painless transition all of our employees have shown
increased productivity and job satisfaction. Frankly, Windows
was a huge blackhole sucking up countless hours of our time in
maintainence that added nothing to our bottom line.

That being said, Apple should not rest on its laurels but
continue to refine its rather crude Mail and Word Processing
offerings which are the two places we have stuck with a
Microsoft products. Pages does have some redeeming features
but basically it is an amatuer attempt at a Word Processing
program. Mail, on the other hand, well there is not much any
honest user can say in favor of that embarassment.

We love our Macs ad we like much of what Apple has to offer. We
feel like we have been cured from our IT immune defeciency
syndrome. How great! Now if Apple could just write some great
Word Processing and Corporate capable Mail software the deal
will be sealed.

[kool_skatkat]

Why Apple?

Word processor, Mail.. why Apple? Should apple do everything? Apple focus is consumer... they have to have focus.

[sevenalive]

Gonna End this....

Apple will never ever ever have the market share that windows does. Why?
A. They are Closed! You cant run Mac OS on non Apple hardware. You can't customize your hardware, can't upgrade the way you want, can't build your own machine.

B. Ubuntu. Great OS, Free, and updates every week, new OS every 6 mo.

------
Also Mac OS has vulnerabilities, they got viruses (YES THEY DO, But Not really widespread). Mac OS is not Invincible to attack, its just not probable. Come on 17 year old kid cracked iphone, programmers release software unlocking. 13 year old kid cracks ipod touch. what does that say about there code security, not much.

Sure you may think i am a windows fan boy. No not really. I use Windows and Linux, yes i do like the fact i could run all 3 (bootcamp), but i hate the fact it has to be with apple's hardware.

Mac OS has some good things to it, mostly because of Unix, and with linux i can run it with anything, for free!

As for the reasons because of Vista i say this:
Vista is not a bad os, UAC needs to be tweaked to be more like Ubuntu's UAC. But u can disable UAC too. Vista provides a lot of improvements for everything, most people won't care or don't notice.
This always happens with every OS release.
When xp came out they said it sucked. SP2 came out they said it sucked. Now everyone is like XP SP2!!!! Same thing with vista, another year and Vista!!!!! Its just the same type of ppl giving it crap because its new and different (and a whole lot better really, although i hate the new network repair)

[shane--2008]

better to remain silent...

...and be thought a fool than speak and remove all doubt.

"Also Mac OS has vulnerabilities, they got viruses (YES THEY DO,
But Not really widespread)"

yes, i guess that is true, zero viruses is not really wide spread....

[saintlouisranger]

You just don?t get it do you?

OS X is a modern operating system. Macintosh computers do not
need the market share of Windows systems. Because Apple
makes the whole widget: hardware and OS users don?t have to
worry about incompatibilities between the two.
Linux is NOT the answer, open source is a good idea but no one
is in command. Things get fixed and updated on a whim, not so
good for business computing.
Forget about Bootcamp look at the VMs so you can run many
OSs at the same time.
Admit to yourself you are control freak and you have an
automatic bias against all things Apple. Now is the time to open
your eyes and buy a Mac and get over it. You keep saying you
can get things for free and on the cheap, at what price? I would
guess the price is you have to constantly tinker, play with and
get a bigger hammer just t get the beast to stay booted. With a
Mac this just doesn?t happen. Wake up and smell the electrons.
The Mac works and allows you to get things done without all of
the constant tweaking.

[shane--2008]

logic isn't your forte is it?

""Apple sold 473,000 Macs at its retail stores. That means we're
talking about something like 200,000 people last quarter who
were new to the Mac--assuming some number of people
bought multiple Macs to send the twins off to college--and the
rest are Mac veterans upgrading to a new Macbook or one of the
new iMacs," "

so out of 2.2 million, only 200,000 are new users, because you
see ALL the new Mac users buy at an Apple store. there has
never in the history of the world been a new user who bought
online or at another store.....

seen in another way, if only .4 million of the 2.2 million where
sold at the retail store, but 100% of new Mac owners bought at
the retail store, those are some odd shopping habits.

[Vegaman_Dan]

Um...

I know I'm probably pointing out the obvious, and I shouldn't respond but...

It's accepted that Microsoft Windows sales are compareable to Mac OSX sales, and not based on hardware.

Just to avoid confusion.

[vegamanfraud]

No Kidding

Wow, did you figure that all by yourself?

How about Rate of Growth?

Some people are paid to voice their opinions

[sevenalive]

they got viruses

What i meant was they got viruses, they are not invincible and i can't wait for the day when you apple fanboys figure that out.

Most of them are called proof of concept, which means a company or person created it, it worked, but did not release it except to apple for them to study it and fix it.

But there have been some viruses that have been released. As i said if a 13, and a 17 year old can crack apple's software, not to mention the other ppl who did 2. What does that say about code security.

Let's face the fact, humans made it. Man made, man break. If the Mac's actually had a good market share, then they would be more inclined to attack. Remember Apple Fanboys, it was Unix that gave you OSX. Linux is the free clone. Linux is free and can run on multiple architectures. Mac expensive and closed.

[McBlayde]

You have never used a Mac

have you?

There are no viruses for Mac OS X in the wild. There are some rather interesting concepts that generally require social engineering. Save computer practices are certainly always a good idea, but Linux is just as "vulnerable" as Mac in that respect.

Since you obviously have never used a Mac, you have no idea as to how the combination of hardware and software makes a unique ecosystem that, to use the old cliche, JUST WORKS, even when you make changes, which is certainly not a strong point for Linux, sorry.

Stop by an Apple Store and just play with a machine for about a half hour, then get back to us.

[siucdude]

Windows who needs it?

Why is it that Mac has less then 10% market share but every windows user comes here and complaints about it.

I just pre-ordered two Mac's--and you know why---its everything that has been posted. Vista is crap, I am sick of making sure everyday if my anti-virus, anti-spam, malware, firewall are all up to date and running.

So to sum it up, You buy what you can afford and what you like. And leave the comments to people that actually know what they are talking about.

"Mac=because computer is meant to work from the time you turn it on and not worry about anti-crap"

[ralfthedog]

Windows is for business.

Windows, not Linux or Mac is for business. Windows supports Direct X. Linux and Mac do not. Do you want your workers installing and playing substandard games while you are out of the office?

Remember, If your people can't play Halo, they will spend more time searching for porn. End Porn, say No to OS-X!

[a-k-a-l-l-e-n]

uhm..

The internet does exist...

[mindpower]

ntfs

Also try writing a program to change the permissions on a folder 100 times and test performance. The more you change permissions on files the slower NTFS gets. That's because Windows doesn't remove the old permissions, it just marks them as defunct and adds new permissions onto the end of the security bit. NTFS has been shown over and over to perform badly against filesystems like XFS, ReiserFS, etc.

[geronamo]

iMac

I have had a PC since 1998.I purchased a new imac in May of this year.Its a great computer.I just installed the new OS Leopard.This computer will last me a long time and is very fast.No freeze ups either.

[enovikoff]

If it's not one thing, its another

Come on, all of us are tired of Microsoft's we-have-you-by-the-cojones attitude. Time after time, if I need their help, they demonstrate that they get all the control and I get all the responsibility. Their EULA even says that after you buy Windows, you still don't own it. Change your hardware and they get to decide if you're cheating them, not you, because it's their software.

I just tried my mom's new iMac and loved it. But wait... am I running from one heartless monopoly right into the arms of another? Look at how Apple regularly screws its customers, incurring lawsuit after lawsuit. They might be cute, but lovable... no. And they have absolute control over your Mac just like Microsoft has it over your PC. I know more than a few people who have iBricks after they thought they were buying an iPhone. Absolute control breeds absolute contempt, even if it's dressed up to look cool, creative, and Think Differently.

I'm switching to PCLinuxOS. It works out of the box...er, download. And it comes with more software than the Mac, for free. And there's nobody involved with it who gains benefit from trying to control me.

[forkboy]

You've got it

Thank the heavens someone else understands that Apple is really no different than Microsoft. Actually, I may go so far as to say they're worse. I've been shopping for an Apple computer lately for use with a client I have that is very Apple oriented. My research has led me to believe that they are actually worse than Microsoft in the area of control. Think about it: you can load Windows OS on ANY IBM-clone computer. Period. According to Apple's own EULA for their OSs, you can only load an Apple OS on an Apple computer (which used to make more sense when they used the Motorola chips, but it shouldn't be an issue any longer). So while I can load Windows OS and Windows-based apps on an Apple (never mind the expense of doing such - having to buy the OS and the apps), I CANNOT load an Apple OS on a Windows-driven machine.

And beyond that let's consider the most popular part of their computing line: the iMac. Here's a device that is so totally closed - hardware and software. It's their computer, their monitor and their OS all bundled into one unit. If the Mac Mini is too little and the Power Mac too much, you're left having to buy their all-in-one solution, which, to me, represents the epitome of control over the end-user.

And while I have your attention (sorry - I can ramble) I don't know why everyone gives Windows OSs such a black eye. I've been using them for years and have had very little in the way of problems. Once I opted to build my own computer and avoid the issue of tons of useless bloatware being loaded by the manufacturer I have found XP to be incredibly reliable. I used to work for a company that used Apple computers and I found them to be fairly unreliable in the great scheme of things. Ultimately I think it has more to do with the end user and their computing habits as to whether or not their computer functions reliably. I've often thought, even though I have no evidence to back this up, that Apple users tend to be more computer literate and therefore take better care not to do things that may cause their machines to malfunction, while anyone with a heartbeat uses a Windows OS machine. And, as we all know, not everyone with a heartbeat is that smart.

Thanks for your time.

[buddhak0n]

It's NOT a Halo

Well I guess you could argue that People Wouldn't have
"rediscovered" the Mac without the Ipod but frankly...

I think the Mac and it's platform once actually USED.. stands
alone as it's own exceptional product.

The Integration of Mac's and their software is so far superior to
it's PC counterpart it's downright funny.

I used PC's exclusively for about 25 years and I got my first
Mac-- a MacBook Pro 15" laptop. about a year ago.. and MY
GOD..

now some of this may just be the cumulative LET DOWN of
trying to do things for 20 years with a PC that I couldn't...

But in all honesty... The Mac and the PC are two completely
different animals...

1) The Mac never FREEZES.. It never spits something out it
doesn't want and crashes into an inordinate amount of silly
errors.

2) I don't spend half of my work week trying to
"TROUBLESHOOT" my mac.. I plug it in.. I pull up the App I want
.. I do my work .. I save my work... I share my work.. END OF
STORY...

3) Did I mention that I don't call anybody for tech support
anymore? Oh was just wondering...

4) And if you think I"m a Dumb Downed user.. remember this...
MY PROFESSION For 10 years was installing and servicing
Coroporate Networks for medium to smaller sized businesses.. (
CNE.. blah blah blah.. name the silly cert .. I qualify......

THE "intel" mac by eliminating the compatibility problems is
without a doubt the greatest computer ever made...

A MacBook Pro with Parrallels installed so we can all run our
Microsoft Office... is without a doubt the greatest thing since
sliced bread...

Now I remind you that I don't do my gaming much on the Mac...
I use a PS 3.. but I do play a couple of titles like Lord of the
Rings but with some tweaking.. the MAC comes with all the
hardware you need.... the graphics card easily outpaces anything
you get in a DELL or a HP.

YOU Pay for it... but it is superior... there is no doubt.

[amelehy]

Mac or Windows

Actually I would like to try Mac. Everytime I intend to buy Mac here in Egypt, I am afraid that resell it not easy. But I think maybe before of end of this year I will. As I am interesting in getting more deep with graphics and images.

Hope to know what a big difference between Mac and windows.

[pmchefalo]

CAD? For Linux or Mac?

None, won't ever be at the current rate of progress on Wintel platform.

So, engineering companies can't switch.

[Jkirk3279]

Mac CAD ?

Ashlar Vellum, Vectorworks, Maya, Lightwave 3D, Amapi...


The one you're thinking of is AutoCAD, I know. But I can run that
in Boot Camp now.

So the Mountain has come to Mohammed.