Poll: Will the Mac OS ever overtake Windows OS?

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: jaykishankrk

Originally posted by: theGlove

Originally posted by: aidanjm
you think the starving masses in Africa, India and south america can afford Vista?

at roughly $1 for a pirated copy, sure

LOL LOL

Recall this Bill Gates quote?

people don't pay for the software. Someday they will, though. As long as they are going to steal it, we want them to steal ours. They'll get sort of addicted, and then we'll somehow figure out how to collect sometime in the next decade.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: HomeAppraiser
Can macs emulate windows and run PC programs and games?

<- Haven't touched a Mac since college. And even then I used protection.

Macs have two options of running Windows: dual-boot or virtually. If you boot to Windows, it will act just like a Windows computer - if you have the matching hardware you can play whatever game you want. Virtually (Windows in a window) it cannot, but it can run most basic Windows programs (emulated video card).

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh

Originally posted by: jaykishankrk

Recall this Bill Gates quote?

people don't pay for the software. Someday they will, though. As long as they are going to steal it, we want them to steal ours. They'll get sort of addicted, and then we'll somehow figure out how to collect sometime in the next decade.

Wow, there's some foresight for ya :Q He is one shrewd businessman, which has made him very, very rich.

 

[jlbenedict]

During "Lost" lastnight, Apple had an "anti-Vista" commercial.
Anyone notice it? They were really emphasizing Vista's "Allow or Deny" popup that comes up on all user actions. I guess they were using that against Vista and trying to "sell" me that Mac & Apple is better

 

[Minerva]

LOL the iPod is what's keeping Apple alive not their overpriced pc's.

Yes I said PC because a MAC is a Personal Ccomputer. Simple.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: theGlove

Apple currently has 4% overall marketshare. I think it will grow more now that Apple is becoming stronger and more popular.

They are, but I think it is partially (mostly) due to them being trendy. Consumers go through electronic "phases" - PDAs, Razr phones, etc. Right now a Mac is the "thing to get", especially the laptops. Apple did lay some prior groundwork to help facilitate this however - the iPod. The iPod was (and is) trendy. And who buys iPods? Kids. Where do kids go? School. What do kids need at school? A computer, especially a laptop. Go to any college campus today and start looking for Mac laptops, you'll probably be amazed at how many you see. Apple switched to Intel chips last year (brand-name) which allowed users to run Windows. They make a pretty product which is fun to show off and gives you that "I'm different" kind of feeling.

I don't think that Apple will ever overtake Windows, and not just because they're trendy right now. Number one on the list is expense. Macs are expensive, period. The cheapest new Mac is a 1.66ghz Core Duo Mac Mini with 512mb ram, which goes for $599. 99.9% of my customers want a "cheap computer", i.e. the $299 Dell that comes with a 17" CRT, keyboard, and mouse. The Mac Mini doesn't come with a keyboard or mouse, and the cheapest monitor Apple sells is the 20" LCD for like $600 or $700.

The next reason is partially related to marketshare. Jobs invested in making his product better, Gates invested in marketing his product so everyone would have it, learn it, use it, live with it. Now Windows is the default OS - everyone on earth who uses a computer knows how to operate Windows. You've grown up with it your whole life. Macs are different and Macs are not compatible with the rest of the world. What I see often are users who are frustrated enough with Windows switch to a Mac. Most normal people don't find learning a new operating system an enjoyable activity that they would do in their spare time. Plus you have to figure out all the software. Granted it is getting better, but there are still so many things that don't run on Mac or that have compatibility problems that it makes it hard for switchers to change effectively.

With that said: I am a Mac fanboy, but I have no delusions. Macs are definitely not for everybody. I can't personally use one as my main computer at this time because the dual-boot mode is only in beta until the next release comes out around May, and the virtual machine doesn't have all the features I need to properly do my work (full USB support, emulated video card, etc.). I enjoy using one at home, however.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: jlbenedict
During "Lost" lastnight, Apple had an "anti-Vista" commercial.
Anyone notice it? They were really emphasizing Vista's "Allow or Deny" popup that comes up on all user actions. I guess they were using that against Vista and trying to "sell" me that Mac & Apple is better

Yeah, I was actually a little shocked at that. Did you catch the end, where the security guy was talking to the PC guy and said, "You are pointing out Vista's flaws, allow or deny". That's a little harsh :Q

http://www.apple.com/getamac/

 

[AdamK47]

Ha! The poll results are great!

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Minerva
LOL the iPod is what's keeping Apple alive not their overpriced pc's.

Yes I said PC because a MAC is a Personal Ccomputer. Simple.

Oh definitely. Apple just posted a record 1-billion-dollar profit this last quarter. That's chump change...I just checked and Bill Gates is current worth about $24 billion. Not Micrsoft - just Gates himself.

 

[jlbenedict]

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: jlbenedict
During "Lost" lastnight, Apple had an "anti-Vista" commercial.
Anyone notice it? They were really emphasizing Vista's "Allow or Deny" popup that comes up on all user actions. I guess they were using that against Vista and trying to "sell" me that Mac & Apple is better

Yeah, I was actually a little shocked at that. Did you catch the end, where the security guy was talking to the PC guy and said, "You are pointing out Vista's flaws, allow or deny". That's a little harsh :Q

http://www.apple.com/getamac/

"Allow or deny! Allow or deny!"..

I thought it was annoying myself..

To me, it appears Apple is hypocritical now.. They mock Vista.. yet, they are the ones developing "Boot Camp" so Windows operating systems can run on your Mac.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

Originally posted by: Oxaqata
Once your everyday user can run the majority of software on Linux then Windows will have a problem

Here in lies the problem. Corporations are not going to change. That would require a complete retraining of it's work force. That's big $$$ in training and lost productivity. Linux still has a long way to go to be a true competitor. Besides, you have tons of flavors of Linux, which one do you propose should become the defacto Linux?

And lets face it, unless M$ ports Office to Linux it's not going to work.

 

[Malak]

Originally posted by: theGlove

Apple currently has 4% overall marketshare. I think it will grow more now that Apple is becoming stronger and more popular.

Didn't it peak at 6% a while ago?

And as long as they have those snobby commercials, no. They will never overtake Windows.

 

[loic2003]

businesses won't adopt it. Imagine you're an IT manager: will you decide to flip over to a whole new OS such that all your currently experienced staff are now inexperienced? You have to find new alternatives to each and every piece of software you own, buy new hardware throughout, retrain your staff, break contracts, retrain all your users and above all, justify this you *your* supervisors, and explain why a few throusand dollars a year in AV software insn't sufficient to keep your business secure (or whatever reason you recon OSX is better suited).

Maybe in the home market....

 

[BrokenVisage]

Bahaha I love the poll

 

[FoBoT]

which MAC OS? Linux?

 

[Aberforth]

It will overtake Windows when apple releases Do-it-yourself-mac-kit

 

[JonnyBlaze]

Originally posted by: aidanjm

Originally posted by: ntdz

Originally posted by: aidanjm
no, but linux variants will. particularly in the third world and europe, where governments are wising up to the dangers of the M$ tax and realizing the benefits to be gained from widespread adoption of open source software. this will occur within the next 10 years.

I'll bet you everything you own that Linux doesn't overtake Windows in 10 years. I'm not even sure it'll gain any significant amount of market share.

you think the starving masses in Africa, India and south america can afford Vista?

you think they need a computer? they should work on the starving part first.

 

[Nothinman]

I'll bet you everything you own that Linux doesn't overtake Windows in 10 years. I'm not even sure it'll gain any significant amount of market share.

Maybe not in the US, but the rest of the world isn't so locked in and most of them don't like supporting US corporations. It'll be just like the Metric vs Imperial measurement systems all over again.

 

[Robor]

Q: When with the Mac OS overtake the Windows OS?

A: To quote Chris Rock, 'They tell you never say never? I'm sayin' never!'

 

[thirdlegstump]

Originally posted by: loic2003
businesses won't adopt it. Imagine you're an IT manager: will you decide to flip over to a whole new OS such that all your currently experienced staff are now inexperienced? You have to find new alternatives to each and every piece of software you own, buy new hardware throughout, retrain your staff, break contracts, retrain all your users and above all, justify this you *your* supervisors, and explain why a few throusand dollars a year in AV software insn't sufficient to keep your business secure (or whatever reason you recon OSX is better suited).

Maybe in the home market....

Don't they say with Mac, you wouldn't need IT staff since they're supposed to be problem free and anyone can use them? With that said, businesses SHOULD switch then because now they can save TONS of money by not HAVING any IT staff. They also say users will be much more productive and creative because they wouldn't have to reinstall their OS every other week and they aren't affected by viruses or spyware. Isn't that what businesses want?

 

[nweaver]

Lets see...

work desktop->Ubuntu
Work Laptop->Dual boot XP Pro/Ubuntu
Home PC->Deb Testing
Home HTPC->Deb Stable


so JUST the boxes I deal with every day, I'm running 3.5 to .5 Linux to Windows. I could care less what the rest of the world is doing.

 

[sam509]

Originally posted by: Malak

Originally posted by: theGlove

Apple currently has 4% overall marketshare. I think it will grow more now that Apple is becoming stronger and more popular.

Didn't it peak at 6% a while ago?

And as long as they have those snobby commercials, no. They will never overtake Windows.

Years ago it was 30%, in the late 90 it was around 6% in the US then shrank to less than 3% of new US computer sales in 2005. Last year it climbed up to over 4% of new US computer sales.

I have got to wonder how much of Apple?s new US computer sales gains from last year were actual switchers and how much was from current Apple users replacing the old machines with new Intel based computers. If Apples computer sales are flat or shrink this year it will tell us.

In the vast majority of places outside the US Apples computer sales are still dropping. For all intents Apple computers are completely insignificant and irrelevant outside the US. But then they are barley relevant in the US.

 

[drag]

Originally posted by: halik

Originally posted by: aidanjm

Originally posted by: ntdz

Originally posted by: aidanjm
no, but linux variants will. particularly in the third world and europe, where governments are wising up to the dangers of the M$ tax and realizing the benefits to be gained from widespread adoption of open source software. this will occur within the next 10 years.

I'll bet you everything you own that Linux doesn't overtake Windows in 10 years. I'm not even sure it'll gain any significant amount of market share.

you think the starving masses in Africa, India and south america can afford Vista?

you think their only option is to pay for it?

It comes pre-installed on most computers, even in third world nations.

And people that can't afford it, just steal it. Just like here in the USA.



It's very difficult to predict the future with Computers. However the consumer PC space is the most lethargic, non-innovative, and very slow to adopt new technologies compared to other things. So movement is very slow.

Currently the highest rates of adoption for Linux desktops isn't in the US and it isn't in third world nations, it's in Europe, which is a place were Apple sees very little penitration compared to the US. Then after that you can begin to see more growth in India and China.

(I expect that US IP laws, such as software patents, are going to end up have a large impact on American software industry, in a negative way. It means that not only wages are cheaper in other countries, but also your liability and legal overhead is much less expensive in, say, India then it is the USA. Especially when it comes to software research I would expect to see it begin to happen much more often in other countries in secret then they will file patents in the U.S. to milk corporations here for licensing fees and to restrict their competitiveness)

Ten years out it's impossible to say. 5 years out you'll definately see Microsoft still having a large majority of desktops.

I don't see Apple as a player realy. They don't realy have much of a desire to realy compete head-to-head with Microsoft. The Windows vs Mac advertisements are realy just advertisements, and are smoke. If Microsoft wanted to they could crush Apple's market share very quickly by withdrawing the Mac version of Microsoft Office from store shelves.

 

[nervegrind3r]

ive fallen in love with macs this past year, but it will never rival windows...ever

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: BrokenVisage
Bahaha I love the poll

I know eh

Pollownage!