Analyst: Apple to double market share by 2011

[onehandle]

Source: IDG

Apple has been on a roll in recent years, building on the momentum of the market-leading iPod and the release of the iPhone last year. Now it seems that momentum is translating into increased market share for its Macintosh computers.

In a recent report called “Key Predictions for IT Organizations and Users in 2008 and Beyond,” market research firm Gartner predicted Apple will double its U.S. and Western Europe computer market share.

While Gartner praises Apple for its software integration, analysts still place much of the responsibility for Apple’s rise at the feet of the rest of the industry.

Read more: http://www.macworld.com/article/131899/2008/01/marketshare.html

[Stephanie]

1. I'm ready to switch.

If I have to learn Vista anyway, if all my old files are going to be useless, I might as well switch to Apple.

[TommyO]

4. I switched two years and and have zero regrets!

My old Windows machine (that I built) was on the way out, I could have bought the pieces to build a new machine, but decided to put the money towards a new PowerMac G5. It was the best computer purchase I have ever made. The machine has been chugging away for more than two years, and even though it's slower than most intel-based Macs currently produced, it's still fast enough to do everything that I need with ease.

[awoke_in_2003]

9. I switched 5 years ago

and no regrets. Everything just works. Even Microsoft office for OSX works better than the windows version I have to use at work. One thing about Apple software is it MUST live up to user interface standards. All menu options, button placement, etc must live up to the standard. Makes jumping between different vendor software much easier.

[Bonhomme Richard]

2. My son is a Mac Genius and.............

they have been busy as hell.
You wouldn't believe how many people go through that store in a day.

[drdtroit]

3. Only Apple for me!

24 years of blissful computing.

[leftcoastie]

20. Oooh Darn,

You've got two years on me. I started with a used 128 and floppy drive and the original "Happy Mac" face. Never looked back. Yes, had to use PCs occasionally at work and got by. As a former graphic and web professional I'd never switch especially since the new Macs could run Vista...but who the hell would want to?

[KillCapitalism]

5. Cool, but I'll still stick with Microsoft.

I like my Zune 8gb a lot better than my old Ipod Nano.

Vista really does suck right now, but new hardware is starting to catch up to the demands of the OS, and SP1 for Vista will be out soon which will contain many patches/bug fixes.

I'm not a MAC hater or anything, but I can't run GeForce video cards in SLI on a MAC.

[AndyTiedye]

6. Vista is Always Going to Suck Because of All the DRM

They didn't make Vista for you and me, they made it for the entertainment industry.

[Phx_Dem]

7. Vista plays my mp3s

Regardless where they came from. How does the DRM affect me?

[arcos]

12. Ever had a .zip take 5 or 10 minutes to extract?

A simple file which takes 10 seconds to extract with 7-Zip takes at least a minute and a half on Vista, thanks to DRM.

I'm seriously considering upgrading to XP (yes, upgrading) because Vista makes some things so much more difficult. And I have to admit, I love Vista's interface, the search tool, as well as the lovely Media Center. But some of the problems/features it has are just too annoying.

[pimpbot]

17. Nope sorry never seen that

I'll admit Macs are better at certain things, but your zip file story is fishy. I've never had an issue unzipping files on XP or Vista. Right click, extract here, boom done.

[arcos]

21. I know how to extract a zip file... it is not fishy, it is a pretty known and common problem...

http://forums.thedailywtf.com/forums/p/4970/111073.aspx
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1170709
http://forums.thoughtsmedia.com/showthread.php?t=31211

I don't like Macs either, I don't feel comfortable as I feel on Windows, and as I said, I love Vista's interface.

But there's other stuff that it's ridiculous.

[TriMetFan]

45. I thought if some one that uses Windows Vista

then went back to XP, that would be downgrading, right? It would be like me a Mac user going from Leopard back to Tiger.

[KillCapitalism]

11. There's a way around that.

http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/07/16/fairuse4wm-now-defeats-zune-drm/

[AndyTiedye]

15. There is Always a Way Around DRM

but no way around all the overhead it imposes on the system.

[awoke_in_2003]

10. One nice thing

about OSX (and I switched when it first was released) is that every version got faster, and with no upgrade in the hardware. Of course, apple does have an advantage here, as they control both the hardware and the software, whereas Microsoft has to leave a lot of extra software in their for old legacy hardware.

[JeanGrey]

33. Everybody keeps talking about how awful Vista is. I've been running

Vista for months and had zero problems with it. Even my old HP printer that is about five years old had no problem from day ONE. I like Vista. It is a great system and runs smooth and I've had not one problem.

[alfredo]

8. Gore has bought a bunch of Apple shares in the past few days.

[Stephanie]

13. Where are they made?

I bought the bf a nano for xmas but then i wished i could keep it!

[alfredo]

14. Not sure. I'd like to have a nano. Maybe some day.

[Stephanie]

18. oh boy, he was delighted with it

it was without doubt the best present i ever got anyone. he had it out and loaded up in minutes, i had to laugh at him.

[alfredo]

23. You know you give gifts that you'd like to have yourself. The new

nano is so nice. I like the shape.

http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/ipodnano2_wideweb__470x298,2.jpg

[nc_gadfly]

16. you know what they say...

once you go mac, you never go back

[Up2Late]

19. Ooow! 12% by 2011! Wow!

:sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm:

Be careful what you wish for, once Mac reaches a certain level, maybe 15% to 20%, you all will have to start installing the same sort of Anti-Virus software like the other 93% of us.

I might be forced to buy one of Apple's over priced computers soon too, if Apple keeps giving away their video editing software "Final Cut Pro" to kids and schools to run another superior editing package (sold by a smaller company) out of business.

[roseBudd]

25. LOL! I find the stupid TV commercials insulting. I find C++ skills much more admirable than

making a scrap book with iPhoto. We are supposed to dislike the PC guy because he wears uncool clothes and he's not good looking.

I am the lone PC in a dept. of "we are artists! we must use Macs!" I was forced onto an iMac and i am running Parallels.

I feel like Apple has babied Mac users with that silly everything gets dragged and dropped and everything is on my desktop.

I watch the Mac people dragging things across a 24 inch display and all I see is a time consuming way of working.

My no name PC that I have installed RAM, DVD burner, HD by myself cost $500 4 years ago. My 1 GB RAM cost $54, my DVD burner $35. No Apple Store for me.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

26. Oh, PC macho

Some of us just like to do things without having to build the equipment first.

[onehandle]

27. An Etch A Sketch is only $12.

You got ripped off.

[Up2Late]

29. Me too, I have 3 PC's that I built myself...

...and when I need a faster computer, I go get the newest and fastest Motherboard that I can afford (which is usually only about 3 months old) and start from there. Then I take all the old parts, (that had been replaced with Upgraded parts) and can rebuild my old computer, with the old OS and the old software that I still want to use and CAN still use it. Why? Because the PC hasn't changed it's shape or "Form Factor" in over 10 years like the iMac has.

I'm still using the Windows95 PC I built in 1997 everyday to stream audio off the internet! It has a new OS (Windows98SE) and a faster processor than the original Pentium II 233Mhz (it my brothers second-hand Pentium 3 500Mhz processor) and it's got an additional 10Gb Hard Drive in it (also my brother's cast-off), in addition to the original 6.4 Gb Hard drive and, like I said, it STILL works. The RealPlayer software, and the Quicktime software, etc. have gone though several versions, but they still work too.

And don't even get me started about the having re-purchase all new software if I "just moved to a Mac..."

Anyway, what rosebud57 said, and then some.

[roseBudd]

37. I agree, being able to get inside with non-proprieatary hardware is empowering

I built my first 486 with the parts from a 286 and a baby AT case. Three years later I built a 686.

I love opening up my case and adding a 2nd HD, DVD burner, vid card or RAM. Regarding backward compatibility on softtware, I still sometimes use WS-FTP from 1995, that fits on a floppy! That's one way to have portable passwords.

If you can open up that overpriced imac I have at work it tmust be with a putty knife. IT still hasn't pried my 5 year old Dell Optiplex outt of my cube.

Mac users, price does matter.

[Tesha]

36. So isn't it nice that every retail version of the Mac OS includes the complete developer toolsuite?

> LOL! I find the stupid TV commercials insulting. I find
> C++ skills much more admirable than making a scrap book
> with iPhoto.

So isn't it nice that every retail version of the Mac OS
includes the complete developer toolsuite? C, C++, and all?


> I feel like Apple has babied Mac users with that silly
> everything gets dragged and dropped and everything is
> on my desktop.

So use the Unix shell and bash away!


Tesha

[Pavulon]

22. For iCrap (which I consume)

sure. However it will never become a platform that lives in a datacenter. As vmware grows it makes their tie to art deco equipment even more meaningless.

The hardware is commodity, the OS is virtual. Only the ergonomics of their OS have any real value...

[midnight armadillo]

24. I'm building a Hackintosh

That would be a Mac sans Apple hardware... www.insanelymac.com for info.

[IndianaGreen]

28. VISTA has done a lot for Apple

I am still using XP because of the VISTA bugs and problems. I am seriously thinking about using my rebate check to buy a MAC mini to replace my older Pentium PC.

[rayofreason]

30. computer haiku..

It worked yesterday
It does not work today...
Windows is like that

[Irreverend IX]

31. Apple has carved out a niche as a high-priced luxury computer...

I wonder how they'll fare if the economy really starts tanking and spending $1600 on a computer doesn't seem like such a good idea anymore. The $200 Linux computers might get a shot in the arm if that happens.

[Lorien]

34. "Luxury computer"? If you're a professional artist it's called "necessary

equipment" and it's a tax write off. And they start at $600.00, not $1,600.00. The massive amounts of time and aggravation a Mac saves makes it a real bargain.

[roseBudd]

43. I am a pro digital artist, Flash, PhotoShop, HTML & XHTML development & I use all PC versions...

of the Adobe and formerly Macromedia products. Fact: PC users got tabbed documents in Flash a full version before Mac users. Macromedia Homesite was never rolled out for Macs.

The memme all artists must use Macs is a myth. Price does matter & I would never have been able to afford a computer in 1995 if it weren't for the non-proprietary business practices of the PC market.

Lest you think I have not experienced the joys of Mac mania, I am now running Parallels on an iMac so I have tried the Mac way as I have both PC & Mac versions of the software I use everyday except Homesite. XPs thumbnail view allows me to view large thumbnails of every image on my HD without selecting a file. I can also see the images in subdirectories before opening those folders. That alone was the Mac deal killer.

[dysfunctional press]

32. we just bought a brand new imac...

i had a lent a friend a bunch of money last year, so he gave my wife and i a $500 gift card for Best Buy, and they caryry Macs now, so we pooled all the xmas money from our folks with the gift card, and got ourselves the imac.

i'll still keep the pc, as it is useful for some things- for instance, my wife does web design and can make sure everything works correctly in both worlds. she's had a powerbook for awhile, with a large second monitor for use at home- but for me it's the first mac since i switched to a dell pc when our old IIsi became obsolete years ago.

[tuvor]

35. Wasn't this thing supposed to double their market share a decade ago?...

[Thor_MN]

38. Twice a small number of fanatics who don't want to know how their computer works

is still a small number of fanatics who don't want to know how their computer works.

Yes, I am biased towards Microsoft. Why? Because Apple computers were not able to accept additional boards to allow them to interface or control other devices. Much of my early work with computers was obtaining information from lab instruments and Apple computers were worthless for that. Granted, instruments now have computers built into them or you can pull data from a serial port, but as far as I am concerned, Apple computers are for word processing and email for novices, or graphics design for artists. Of the large number of computer professionals I know, the very small number them who like Apple computers are the type of people that strive for individuality. If Apples became mainstream, they would go find something else just to be different from the crowd.

That said, the next PC I buy for my mother might be an Apple. They are more reliable for novices and then I can honestly tell her I don't know what she needs to do to print labels or whatever.

[bettyellen]

39. LOL, you're only buying a MAC so you can be a lazy little weasel with your MOM

way to go, son!

[Tesha]

40. Why don't you design a GPIB driver for an NI card and make a small fortune?

> Why? Because Apple computers were not able to accept
> additional boards to allow them to interface or control
> other devices. Much of my early work with computers was
> obtaining information from lab instruments and Apple
> computers were worthless for that.

Why don't you design a GPIB driver for an NI card and
make a small fortune for yourself?

See a need, fill a need!

Tesha

[Tesha]

41. Actually, quite a few of us Mac users know how our computer work.

> Twice a small number of fanatics who don't want
> to know how their computer works is still a small
> number of fanatics who don't want to know how their
> computer works.

Actually, quite a few of us Mac users know how our
computers work, and at a rather deep level. But the
most interesting point for us, of course, is that
they *DO* work. This is in pretty sharp contrast
to many of the PCs that we also deal with.

By the way, do you build your own car? Do you know
exactly how your car works? Or do you just buy one,
get in, turn the key, and expect transportation?

Tesha

[rolleitreks]

42. I don't give a damn how it works. I just want it to work. n/t

[AP]

44. I hope everyone realizes was a drag it would be on the economy if everyone had to be an expert

in C++ or whatever in order to use their computer effectively and efficiently.