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After a Decade, Mac Sales Again Top 10%
GMGruman writes "The last time Apple's Mac sales accounted for more than 10 percent of the U.S. PC market was 1991. This spring, Apple finally returned to that market share high, with 10.7 percent of all U.S. PC sales, according to both IDC and Gartner. That's a major reversal from its 2004 share of under 2 percent. The sales report comes after some other good news this week for Apple: A third of big businesses now let employees choose a Mac as their PC — and more than half choose the Mac."
Since when does 20 years = 1 decade?
That's TWO decades.
2011-1991 = two decades, which makes the return more impressive.
I thought 1991 to 2011 would be TWO decades, but math wasn't always my best subject :)
let me know when you pass 12 percent. silly moderns.
Since when does 20 years = 1 decade?
The title should read "After a Baker's Decade, ...".
#DeleteChrome
It annoys me how clueless people are to choice. No one can argue that Macs have a beautiful interface but it simply is not OK for a person or computer company to dictate that it can't be changed, what apps are OK or not OK, or how to use YOUR device. Get a clue people.
Digital is, by definition, imperfect. Analog is the way to go.
apple is having another little bubble in its PC sales, maybe they can change architectures and forget how to solder again to correct that
Perhaps this method of counting is an attempt to delay Y3K problems?
Am I the only person delighted that they used PC not exclusively in the Windows context? I don't think the Microsoft campaign to make PC == Windows is an accident.
mov ah, 4ch
int 21h
It's measured in some odd recursive binary.
10 in binary is 2
and so it's' recursive like PHP, 10 *2 = 20.
So 20 this is a recursive binary decade.
Do not meddle in the affairs of sysadmins, for they are subtle, and quick to anger.
They were marketing some of their Macs/Powerbooks as if they could run MS-DOS programs. This somewhat helped.
That was false.
Fast forward to now, since the x86 macs, they can finally actually run MS-DOS programs. (boot disk of course)
I wouldn't have expected this in a down economy, considering the mac's premium price. I'm a little surprised.
I'm wondering if part of the explanation is that the PC market has become saturated, with new hardware having much more horsepower than any office user could reasonably take advantage of.
But I have to agree about the uptick in corporations allowing macs, having seen it in my own company.
I'm not a mac fan; I have one at home because my daughter is required to use them at school, but it's always good to see more choices in the marketplace.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
1991 + "a decade" = 2001 ....
The only thing i am not understanding is why are the tech magazines online are making that great fuss over the results of one company only over its U.S. sales.
if u.s. is a market of 300 million, china is a market of 1.5 bn. japan is 100 million (and you HAVE to have advanced gadgetry there - cellular phones that cannot display tv broadcasts dont sell - that includes apple's iphones http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/02/why-the-iphone/ ), the market that is india is another 1 bn, the market that is europe is another approx 500 mn.
and all these markets have either huge volume, or high purchasing power.
and yet, this much stampede is being made over apple reaching 10% share in american market - so much that one would think apple conquered all markets.
or is it some marketing hype in order to make the stocks in nasdaq move ?
Read radical news here
The message from Cupertino over the FCPX debacle was "professional users should look elsewhere". What percentage of that 2% in 2004 were professional users, creatives and media types? What percentage of these users are going to stick with a hamstrung, consumer desktop and appstore model? Why would dedicated professional workstations even be connected to the internet?
What's the point of well engineered systems like core graphics / audio when core users are being put in the trash? Apple, remember when they didn't suck?
oh wait. their entire build environment is proprietary, as are their build tools.
ha ha!
and I like people who own flower shops and have big hula hoop earrings.
Apple does not sell servers. The X-serve was discontinued last year, I think.
Apple sells servers, in big tower configurations and in home appliance-like configurations. What they no longer sell is rack mounted servers.
I wouldn't have expected this in a down economy, considering the mac's premium price. I'm a little surprised.
I'm not. When you are really scraping pennies you want something that will not break all the time, that you can use as long as possible. As long as there's not an order of magnitude difference in price it's worth saving a little more to buy a computer that will last for five (or more) years.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
and also uhm...
the conspiarcy side of me says that there is a gigantic education bubble going on, all those 'graphic designers' need macs for their gubmint funded for-profit 'degrees in animation'.
Babylonians would probably use sixtieths instead of percent, making the milestone 6/60:
The last time Apple's Mac sales account for more than 6 sixtieths of the U.S. PC market was 1991. This spring, Apple finally returned to that market share high, with 6.4 sixtieths of all U.S. PC sales, according to both IDC and Gartner. That's a major reversal from its 2004 share of barely over 1 sixtieth.
The Apple Store isn't the only game in town for buying Mac service agreements.
Fink page says that the X11 server that comes with Mac OS X defaults to the quartz-wm window manager, which puts the window controls in the same place as the host window system's window controls. And if you switch your window manager in .xinitrc, it'll only affect X11 apps, not Mac apps.
Is there a linux distribution that can nativly boot on an Apple, ***without*** having bootcamp (that need's OSX work) or refit (that also need's OSX to work) installed, JUST linux partitions, no trace of OSX left...?
The public school district we lived in back in Ohio exclusively used Windows machines. We moved to Maryland three years ago. Again, the school district exclusively uses Windows. Both of my daughters have complained about this until I finally convinced them that Office on the Mac was compatible with Office on Windows.
That said, my eldest is going off to college in the fall. The university she will attend (St. John's) requires the purchase of a laptop. Students have a choice of being provided a Windows machine for "free" or ponying up $400 more for a Mac.
The first result from Google solaris workstation points to a page about the Sun Ray, not stand-alone desktop computers designed for, say, small office environments
1. It's a beautiful high quality machine. Screen quality is top notch and it's incredibly light and portable for a machine of this calibre.
2. I can seamlessly access all my linux machines without a blink. Terminal access, X-windows... the whole shebang.
3. I have a unix workstation that can still run important office apps and stuff like photoshop
4. I don't need to make sure that an antivirus program is installed before I so much as plug in the ethernet cable. To my knowledge there is not one single drive-by (ie: not social engineering) exploit that can p0wn my system by doing nothing more than visiting a web page.
5. If I close the lid, there is a 99% chance that the machine will still work.
5a. I measure my uptime in weeks, not days or hours.
Is it perfect? Of course not. There are plenty of limitations. But at the end of the day, for me at least, what it provides far outweighs the limitations.
Apple is doing well because they are making cool hardware designs. The imac and mac mini are both sexy. Aluminum feels way better than cheap plastic and the pc designs look old in comparison. OSX is nice and even though you can't change everything in it, it is quite secure and reliable with some nice tools. Apple adopts new technologies faster than PC companies, like EFI, GUID partitioning, mini displayport, etc. You can even dual boot with linux if you really want (i had to do this couldn't live without linux :)). I wrote a simple how to dual-boot on my blog: keithshome.blogspot.com
False economies tend to happen to people (and government agencies) that live paycheck to paycheck. For example, people use expensive check cashing services and payday loans because they lack the minimum deposit and credit history to set up a checking account and credit card.
The Apple Time Warp alters one's perception of time.
I'm thinking the editor just had a serious "Jesus- I'm THAT old?!" moment when he realised his mistake (or will do when he will). A bit like realising your favourite music is now considered "retro", or seeing a style of clothing come "back into fashion" which you recognise from the first time round.
I didn't know gcc was proprietary. You learn something new every day.
FWIW Apple has replaced gcc with Clang/LLVM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clang
At what point of Apple market penetration does it make sense to ask whether the bad guys are paying attention and whether Mac is as easily penetrated as Windows (as so many have claimed will happen when there are enough Macs out there).
Is that the Lion share?...
I'd be willing to bet that iOS development is a HUGE factor in this... because a lot of houses are wanting to jump on the iOS development bandwagon, and the only authorized way to develop for iOS (and the only way to get an app on iTunes) is by using a Mac for development.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
I talked to an IDC analyst when this broke: Apple was at 10.5% back around spring/summer 2010. The difference here is that Apple is likely to keep this spot because of gangbuster sales -- and, of course, Acer's "there are no iPads in Baghdad" strategy of depending way too much on netbooks and cheap notebooks.
Who honestly cares what other countries do? The only country that matters is the USA. Look at Nokia: they finally got their heads out of their asses and found that out, but it's already too late.
Because, with Apple products being so freakishly expensive here in the UK, it matters.
Apparently it's because of iPad sales. They're including pads in the "PC" mix.
This is why I love Slashdot. I read the summary and think "20 years is 2 decades, you fools", then the first post says exactly that.
Insanity: voting in the same two parties over and over again and expecting different results
It would be interesting to see how Apple stacks up in Asia, where the PC market is still growing at 12% per year...
Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
This trend won't last as soon as the new Mac owners start using their new Macs. Consumers are drawn to the Macs after good experiences with Apple's other, admittedly fantastic, consumer electronics products such as the iPhone and iPad. It won't take long for the word to get out that the experience of using these Macs pales in comparison to using the iPhone/iPad/Windows PC at work.
Before you dismiss this as flamebait, I have a Mac sitting on my desk at work running Snow Leopard and the option to use it for my daily work if I please. Every time I touch it, it's another fit of frustration thanks to the plethora of very questionable design decisions Apple has made. I also regularly use Windows (Vista, 7, and decreasingly XP) and Linux (Ubuntu, although not version 11 yet), and I experience none of the frustration with these OSes that I do with Mac OS.
My Linux is fun. I grew up on a PowerPC Performa and had an iBook until 2 years ago, it was dull and believe me i found every space to tinker in. Even had an alternate DE running OpenStep, with Mozilla, etc, but the packages available through Fink were so limited you really couldn't make that much out of the BSD underpinnings.
Yes Apple are evil, but:
Seeing as Microsoft have all but given up on the corporate desktop with Windows Vista/7 I suspect we will see more of this.
And I think it's a good thing.
Not that more Macs are being purchased, but that corporations are stepping out of this Microsoft monoculture. Now if they can just avoid the Apple monoculture during this transition we may yet see more corporations with Linux desktops. I know where I work we give newcomers the option of Linux/Mac/Windows, and the response probabilities are roughly descending in that order.
"Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
It can't run it legally, and you're very likely to have issues with hardware unless you very carefully buy each component to work properly.
I don't like Apple's high prices or the fact that they make it difficult to use OSX on a non-Mac computer, but you have to understand that Apple is in the hardware business, not the software business. The only way they can make the margins that they do is by keeping OSX exclusive to their hardware. There's also the added benefit (from Apple's perspective) or detriment (from the perspective of someone wanting to run OSX on non-Apple hardware) of not needing to support hardware configurations outside the scope of the few configurations they sell.
Sadly, this means there will be more of them to come here, we will be able to recognise many of them by the 'mac' they like to factor into their handles.
Lets just see how many more comments this trivial apple related tidbit garners compared to the news that GNU Hurd is about to hit, backed by Debian, no less. Lets go there, and talk about that. I'm bored of the flame war, not that i haven't let of a few blasts of my thrower.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin_(operating_system)
please let me know when you can compile a good portion of these 'open source releases':
http://www.opensource.apple.com/release/mac-os-x-1068/
opendarwin failed partly because Apple did not release its build system or proper source code for its tools.
the pure darwin folks (http://www.puredarwin.org/) are just now seeing the "dawn" of network support.
if darwin were 'open source' i dont think it would take 10 years to get an open source OS based off of it to have networking support (compare with redhat and whatever the free derivative is)
or ask the OpenDarwin people before them.
and does your mother know you talk like that ?
ask the OpenDarwin and PureDarwin people... its been 10 years, where is the open source OS based off apples core?
MORE GAMES, folks love their "entertainments" - you get that for Macs? MacOS X will rise far higher in the market than they are now... guaranteed!
* How do you succeed in ANY business? Well, easy - give people what they REALLY want - What's the saying??
Oh yea - "IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME!"
Especially if its built to user demand driven specs...
APK
P.S.=> Yes, it's THAT simple... In fact, I am certain of it, & Windows IS the "prime example thereof" in fact!
MacOS X?
Yes - It's without question, THE "Superior Warrior" out there from the *NIX camp, bar-none for personal computing!
(Linux IS getting there, but it too lacks games, & in a commercially driven world (unfortunately, by greed, when you really come down to it & the needs of the greedy "1%-er few" outweighing those of the "many") drivers for Linux take "back seats" to those for commercially produced OS', period)
So, the same goes here too!
Get Linux better quality drivers, & more games (silly as it sounds, folks LOVE their entertainments where imo, they'd be better served by self-educating online (yes, former "bigtime gaming fiend" here too by the by, no more though - I'm into better pursuits now, learning mostly))?
It too will "rise in market share" even if it's free, because FREE SHOULD WIN, but not in a market-driven capitalistic society...
That's just how it is, until things change (monetary collapse will assure that, "bank on it" & I think that's coming soon enough))...
... apk
After being called a "Apple Fanboi" several times here, I guess it's time to show my true colors. Yes, I like my iPad; it's a great piece of hardware and I use it frequently.
But I do not own a Mac - and wouldn't own one. They're OK in their way, but they're a PC with training wheels that you can't take off.
Is the popularity of the iPad leading to increased Mac sales? Maybe; if so, I hope the new owners are happy with what they bought.
Me, I'm using a Windows desktop and a Windows laptop - and an iPad. Each serves its purpose; why do people here bicker about "who made it" instead of "how well does it do its job?"
On a related note, it's not mentioned in this article summary, but according to the figures in the reports, the PC market declined overall by 4-6%.
You never heard of Steve Jobs' reality distortion field?
...
$89 - Win 7
Where are you finding a copy of retail Windows at that price? Microsoft says you can't use OEM Windows in a PC that you build for your own use.
If I don't care and I buy it, who gives a rip? If I wanted complete control, I would have installed Linux.
Except for ending slavery, the Nazis, communism, & securing American independence, war has never solved anything.
Cmon guys! We geeks should know that 20 years = 1 decade for very large values of "decade". It's like you guys never took Calculus. ;)
Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
Now they all run Macs and I rarely have to do anything. It's pure heaven!
Until you find them trying and failing to use Wine for Mac OS X to run an application designed for Windows that has no close substitute designed for Mac OS X. The fact that more Windows-only apps exist than Mac-only apps is part of why Macs get rated lower in "versatility" in Consumer Reports tests.
For less than 200 more than a netbook you can get a much more powerful laptop that weighs about the same.
But how large is it in surface area? Sometimes I want a computer that fits in my bag, and as far as I can tell, that means a 10" screen.
Netbooks will never disappear
What makes you so sure of that? There used to be home computers designed to connect to a TV back in the 8-bit microcomputer days. But as the market shifted toward IBM-compatible PCs with enhanced-definition (VGA) or high-definition (XGA) monitors capable of displaying more and more text, the concept of connecting a computer to a television pretty much disappeared. From the 1990s on, it was a rarity to see SDTV output on PCs. Even with the new HDTVs with VGA and HDMI inputs that can display PC video, the public is convinced that TVs are for the living room and PCs are for the desk and never the twain shall meet.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
You do realize that you can in fact buy a new bag, right?
First, this means the $200 price differential between a netbook and a lightweight full-size laptop is in fact more than $200 in practice: it's $200 plus the price of a new bag. Second, I'm under the impression that a larger bag is more attractive to thieves who guess that a valuable laptop is more likely to be inside. Third, a larger laptop is more awkward to pull out while riding a crowded bus to and from work or to and from the store.
the public is convinced that TVs are for the living room and PCs are for the desk and never the twain shall meet.
There is a whole class of PCs SPECIFICALLY designed to connect to your television, they are called home theatre PCs.
I am aware that the class exists. But even though the class exists, the public isn't convinced that it exists. Statisticaly nobody is buying them, if previous comments (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7) are to be believed. I can't even find them in Best Buy; instead, the sales associate directs me to the Xbox 360 or PLAYSTATION 3 section.
I didn't have a problem (except for one word), but then I hang out on other forums with people of various nationalities, which means varying English skills. I'll insert punctuation and fix spelling errors:
Macs don't cost a premium price.
While you certainly can buy a cheap PC somewhere, most people end up buying some non-cheap PC that's close in price to a Mac or even more.
And to you people bragging about prices and premiums all the time, try to understand once and for all: A Mac does NOT RUN WINDOWS. Someone who had a Windows PC for 15 years or more is obviously so tired of this bullshit OS that he'd like to switch away. A Mac is the first thing coming to mind then.
And why you call this "a down economy" is beyond me. Economy is soughring [sic] like mad right now ...
Also, compiling custom code is a lot simpler (gcc program.c) than setting up and dealing with either Visual Studio (and it's odd licensing for redistribution and compiler quirks) or Cygwin.
Which is why I've preferred MinGW instead of Cygwin. MinGW is a straight-up port of GCC to Win32 without Cygwin's copylefted POSIX emulation baggage. It's often used with MSYS, a lighter-weight port of GNU Coreutils and Make used to run build scripts.
So why do you expect a platform specific window to be affected by an X11 windows manager?
I guess some people expect all operating systems providing the POSIX API and a GUI to use the X Window System natively, despite that this is not in fact the case in Mac OS X and Android.
I mean come on. Troll?
It does not mean "-1 disagree"
For one thing, Boot Camp increases the price of a Mac by $200, the price of a copy of retail Windows, making Apple products look even more overpriced. For another, the copy of Windows still needs to be patched and kept clean of malware, bringing some of the alleged fragility back.
If their previous computer came with the OEM version of Windows XP or Windows Vista, then technically that license can't be transferred to a Mac. Part of what makes the retail version of Windows more expensive is that it includes the option to transfer a license when a computer is decommissioned.
then you download the source.... surprise, you can't compile it.
thats what im upset about.