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Most Mac Owners Also Own a Windows PC, But Not Vice Versa
Barence writes "More than eight out of ten Mac owners also own a PC, according to a new piece of research. The NPD survey found that 12% of US computer-owning households have a Mac. However, 85% of those also own a Windows PC, suggesting that the Mac/PC divide is nowhere near as clear cut as both Apple and Microsoft suggest. Mac owners are also far more likely to have multiple computers in the house. Two thirds of Mac owners have three or more computers in the home, while only 29% of PC owners have two or more PCs."
Because we (PC users) can't afford them! Lower the price already. Also: I wasn't raided with the "I'm better than you - look at my Mac" attitude - or a hippie, or drive a VW, or ... you get the picture.
L'esperienza de questa dolce vita (The experience of this sweet life) - Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy
Gee, I could have deduced that most PC users DON'T also have a Mac. How? Maybe the bloody marketshare? Appologies for the US-centric market data, but I'm sure Apple is less than double-digit in the ROTW.
This is really a story in search of a topic, isn't it? :-)
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
This is a survey about households, not individual owners, so the fact that most Macs exist in households that also have Windows machines is largely just an expected result of Microsoft's high market share. Even if one person in a household has a Mac, others are statistically like to have Windows machines because, statistically, most people have Windows machines.
This space unintentionally left unblank.
I prefer to use a Mac, but I make lots of $$$ with Windows based software (which is s staple of my industry)
I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
...unfortunately. One of them has proven itself to be much cheaper to maintain (basically zero dollars), and with the ability to continue using it even after 10 years of age. I won't say which one, because I don't want to get flamed, but I bet you can guess.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
I never got people who were talking about using a Mac as "switching". Like you would suddenly not use the operating system you have been using for the past 20 years by buying a computer that runs something different.
I don't know a lot of people who are devoted to a single platform. Most people I know use one OS on their desktop, something else on their notebook, something else on their phone etc. So when someone buys a Mac, they just add that platform to the list of systems they were already using. There's no reason to stop using all of your other stuff because a Mac got into the house.
Pretty good is actually pretty bad.
the more likely to get fed up with the constant tweaking in Linux and move to a Mac.
There fixed that for you.
Actually, no, it doesn't. There is not enough information to come to that conclusion.
One could also conclude that Mac owners need Windows based PCs because the Macs don't do everything the owner needs.
Or, one could conclude that Mac owners own more computers because are more affluent and they can.
Or, one could conclude that Mac owners own Macs because they are more affluent and can.
Also, there is no indication of the number of PCs versus the number of Macs in multi-computer house-holds nor the age of the respective computers. If someone owns two new PCs and one only Mac, what does that say about the owner? What if one has one Mac for one of one's children, but everyone else uses Windows PCs?
There is not enough information provided to come to any conclusion other than what is stated in the write-up.
There is no "-1 offended" or "-1 you don't agree with me" mod options for a reason.
Thought there might be a smart ass remark like that but regardless, in this scenario, having to learn two different operating systems, the setups, configurations, etc, makes you more computer literate by default. The more you learn about different systems, you naturally become more computer literate. You can make snarky comments but you can't deny the facts. If I used merely a Windows machine compared to someone who used a windows machine and a mac vs someone who used Windows, mac and linux, it is pretty obvious that one leads to the other; more computer literate people generally use multiple systems and multiple systems lead to increased computer literacy.
This is my sig. There are many like it but this one is mine.
Actually, the more money you have, the more likely you are to have a Mac.
Your logic makes no sense. Even if they do need a Windows machine, learning about a second machine will still make you more computer literate than someone who just knows one platform. Learning about Mac and Windows makes one proficient on two platforms. By your logic, they might need a Linux box too because Windows doesn't do everything either. This forces them to learn about Linux as well. Now they know three platforms.
The point was that owning two platform increases computer literacy because they have to learn about multiple systems and not only do people who are computer literate buy multiple systems but people who own multiple system become more computer literate by default as a result of having to learn multiple platforms.
This is my sig. There are many like it but this one is mine.
Spoken like Steve Jobs. Options that we decide you don't need are BAD. /sigh I thought choices were good things.
My guess is that in households with both Macs and PCs, the PCs are older than the Macs.
When people buy their first Mac, they often already have a PC. The Mac is the new/replacement computer, while the old PC is kept around for "backwards compatibility" for a few programs that really need it. This extends the useful life of the old PC, but it also means Windows is getting phased out. Not everywhere, but you don't see many Mac users going back to PC.
True story: A group my business associates were visiting Apple headquarters in Cupertino. As visitors, they wanted to leave their HP notebook computers with the receptionist.
One guy says to the receptionist, "If I leave my computer here, will you keep an eye on it?"
She responds, "Sure, no problem. Nobody is going to want them!"
And if you're spending $10 for a pocket calculator, and $1,000 for a Mac, why, you've spent a hundred times as much for the Mac! Imagine that! Dude, the point here is that Macs and ultra-low-end PCs are different products. Some are right for some people, and others are right for others. If your budget and needs are such that the cheapest possible machine from Tiger Direct is the right choice, then, as you say, more power to you. People who need/want/can afford something better are not going to bother with the cheapo machine no matter how cheap it is.
As has been pointed out (over and over), Mac pricing is quite competitive when you compare (ahem) apples to apples. Which is why Mac market share in the mid-range and high end continues to grow. The concept of competitive pricing at the ultra-low-end is N/A... because Apple has decided not to go there. Which in turn is fine for Apple shareholders, who are making money hand over fist.
Apple has (wisely, in my view) decided that they don't want to and/or can't beat the Dells of the world in making the cheapest computers. And that's ok, because making a higher quality/higher priced product is also a perfectly fine way to make a profit... it's working for Apple.
Yeah, and not only does Mac ownership lead to homelessness, but also asteroid strikes and cannibalism! I mean, come on. If I bought a computer this week and became homeless next week, I doubt the first thought on my mind would be "Alas! If only I had bought a cheap PC!". If people are that nervous about being downsized, they probably shouldn't be buying PCs either. Probably your remark was meant to be funny, but it comes across as overwrought.
Most people with money enough to own a cool car also own a working car. Most people who own a working car don't own a cool car.
Where working car = a car that isn't very cool but takes them were they need to go, and is also more reasonably priced.
- anon who owns both a windows pc and an imac ;)
I really don't think that was a snarky comment. It's simply true. My parents use both Windows and Linux, but they're really not all that computer literate. They just click the thingy that takes them to "The Internet" and use the same browser (Firefox). Does this mean they will learn more about each system? Not at all.
The thing to remember, though, is that it was a survey of households, not users. You could easily have a scenario where one person owns a PC, the other a Mac, and neither use each other's computers.
Even by your definition of increased computer literacy, having multiple machines in the same household proves nothing.
It's not stupid. It's Advanced.