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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."

16 of 814 comments (clear)

  1. CALLING CAPTAIN OBVIOUS! by Jeremiah+Cornelius · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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? :-)

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    1. Re:CALLING CAPTAIN OBVIOUS! by Penguinisto · · Score: 5, Insightful

      No kidding... even from the fanboy front, supporters can easily call out that this is just a natural progression of all the "switchers" out there.

      After all, just because you buy a new computer (in this case a Mac), doesn't mean you simply toss out the old one. You give it to the kids, leave it loafing around the house for specific tasks you hadn't transferred to the Mac yet, keep it around for the occasional PC game you don;t want to get rid of, use it for backing up your Mac (e.g. you copy stuff from new laptop to the old desktop), etc.

      ...plus, I sincerely doubt that Apple gives a damn if users keep their old PC's around so long as they're buying new Macs.

      --
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    2. Re:CALLING CAPTAIN OBVIOUS! by ca111a · · Score: 5, Funny

      You give it to the kids

      you give kids a Windows computer?!!! You are a monster!

  2. Statistic by Narpak · · Score: 5, Funny

    86% of Slashdot readers shown to not care about random statistics. 14% of those said to absolutely not give a shit, with 25% just shrugging and moving on to other topics.

  3. This count dual-booting Macs? by neko+the+frog · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Just sayin'

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  4. There's no "switching" going on by dingen · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.

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  5. So what they are really saying is.. by pizzach · · Score: 5, Funny

    that 85% of Mac owners "swing both ways." *runs and hides*

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    Once you start despising the jerks, you become one.
  6. Re:Here's why by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Actually, what I took from that article is that the people most likely to gripe about Macs probably don't own one, whereas the Mac users griping about Windows are mostly speaking from personal experience.

  7. Re:Horribly misleading by Bob-taro · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... because you can't really do everything with Linux.

    (voices hush, piano stops playing)

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    Prov 9:8 Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you.
  8. Re:Here's why by mabhatter654 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    A vanilla Macbook is appropriately priced for what you get. You have to buy Sony or go online to get an equivalent laptop.. if anything the problem is that Apple doesn't make CHEAP computers like $300 netbooks so that cuts out the poor/cheap folks looking only at price. Even the maligned Mac Mini is a pretty good machine for MOST sub $700 machine buyers. The majority of PC users don't open their computers over the life of the machine. The majority don't even add ram or video cards. They pay $600 for Last Year's parts in an empty plastic box that makes them feel good. A Mini has nearly all the same features as a stock Dell, plus bluetooth, two video ports and firewire... all items adding $75 more each to that "budget" PC. Again, the problem is that Apple doesn't sell a "stripped out" model to hit a lower price point like Dell does... then you find out that the Windows PC was TOO stripped out and won't use all the features of your new OS (hint: THAT is why Vista bombed.. Microsoft caving to cheap OEMs)

    I'd look at these numbers differently. Most people own a PC because the workplace DEMANDS it. 12% of people that own a Mac in addition to a PC went out of their way to seek it out because they didn't like Windows.... that's a huge and growing dissatisfaction rating.

  9. Re:Horribly misleading by Whalou · · Score: 5, Funny

    (voices hush, piano stops playing)

    Do I need to have Javascript enabled to hear voices and piano on slashdot?

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    English is not this .sig mother tongue...
  10. Re:Horribly misleading by lawpoop · · Score: 5, Funny

    Disabling javascript can make the voices go away...?

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    -- Pablo Picasso
  11. Re:Here's why by Astadar · · Score: 5, Informative

    I spec'ed out the xoticpc as closely as I could to the MBP 17" stock model at $2499. It came to $1218.

    However, it has a 1400x900 display (vs 1920x1200), no wireless-n option, no GeForce 9400M/9600M GT graphics, no information about weight and, possibly most importantly, no information about battery life.

    While it does come in significantly less expensive, I don't think that you can argue that they are equivalent.

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  12. Re:Here's why by shmlco · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "...along with the belief that apple has that much better reliability..."

    Yeah, that's why Apple consistently has the highest customer satisfaction ratings in the industry.

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    Any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.
  13. Re:Here's why by jedidiah · · Score: 5, Informative

    Not quite.

    Dell offers a "tiny desktop" that is less than the Mac equivalent while having better specs.

    Furthermore, this "tiny desktop" can be upgraded with much more interesting options that simply aren't available from the Apple equivalent.

    The problem with the "specs games" that Apple fanboys like to play is the fact that a PC doesn't restrict you to one spec. One PC brand wont even do that.

    So I can replace my 09 mini with a $200 ION or get a much more expensive Dell that will blow the doors off the Mac.

    I can also get a semi-custom system for the same price as a mini that has most of what you would buy a Mac Pro for.

    Macs are more expensive because Apple Corp is confident that the faithful will bend over.

    --
    A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
  14. Re:Here's why by bazorg · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Actually, this discussion has happened millions of times, always to show that if your comparison starts with "I'll configure a PC to be comparable with a Mac", the Mac is a great deal; whereas if you start with "I'll pick a sane PC configuration and find a Mac that is comparable" you would have to be quite eccentric not to buy a PC.