Mass Microsoft Defections to Apple Possible 722
An anonymous reader writes to mention a MacWorld article covering research by the Forrester group. Their report shows that mass dissatisfaction with Microsoft and its products could lead to defections from the company. From the article: "Over all, only Apple and Tivo saw their brand trust rise in the last two years, according to the report. The final tally saw Bose, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Panasonic and Sony earn the highest marks, while Microsoft, Gateway and LG ranked lowest. The low scores for Microsoft could mean good news for Apple as consumers showed their distrust of the Redmond-based software-giant."
Are we reading the same data? (Score:4, Insightful)
If all your sales outlets have really high customer satisfaction, it's not really a big deal if your customers hate your guts.
Re:Are we reading the same data? (Score:4, Interesting)
Tell me where you can sell your 2 year old PC for nearly 60% of it's value and easily get it sold. Apple's usually get that premium.
I know of many people switching from Windows to MAC for video editing and graphics simply because the software on the windows side is utter garbage compared to the apple offering, and the regular consumer is starting to see that.
When you get high end hardware with high end software and couple it with a system that you do not haveto hire a company every 2 months to clean it out you get the general public looking at it very closely. The mac-Mini entices them further as it's cheap and will use their monitor. (Actually a Dual G5 tower will use their PC monitors, just the FUD surrounding the apple products leads them to think otherwise.)
Also faced with dropping $300.00 for Vista and the requirement to double ram, speed,etc... people will really look at apple closer as their current system ages.
Other than games or wierd business apps from the vertical market, there is no real reason to not switch to a more stable, secure and user friendly platform like OSX.
anyone that lived in the windows world for their computing life will be up to speed on OSX within 48 hours.... I know, I did that switch.
Re:Are we reading the same data? (Score:2, Funny)
That's good to know because Apples tend to be 60% overpriced anyway. I guess you can call it a deposit.
Re:Are we reading the same data? (Score:5, Insightful)
Enough with the overpriced BS. Prove it to me. You show me any PC that can match every spec on an iMac or MacBook Pro that costs 60% less.
Watch carefully, students (Score:5, Funny)
Apples tend to be 60% overpriced anyway.
On the left, hidden by the foliage, you can barely make out the Mac fanatic. He is identifiable by his quick defense of the Mac platform. Sometimes this species puts together coherent thoughts, but as you can see in this case, he is more interested in showing his rainbow-striped plumage than engaging in an actual battle. He is hoping that the Windows troll will be frightened away by the display.
show me any PC that can match every spec on an iMac or MacBook Pro that costs 60% less.
You in the back. You had a question?
Now let's head back to the classroom so as to let these little buggers get back to their routine.
Re:Watch carefully, students (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Are we reading the same data? (Score:3, Informative)
The Dell was $1,400.
The MacBook Pro was $2,500.
I use both, but that's a very big price difference.
Re:Are we reading the same data? (Score:5, Insightful)
Does the dell have a x1600 video card with 256m of dedicated memory or does it use shared ram? That is a pretty big difference in terms of price. You can play World of Warcraft and edit video on your MacBook. I wouldn't try that with the Dell.
Re:Are we reading the same data? (Score:5, Insightful)
It's like when people look to compare Mac minis to Dell Dimensions, and they note that the Dells are cheaper for the same stats... but then you have to look at the form factor. The closest thing Dell offers is the Ultra-small form factor Optiplexes, which are still bigger than the Mac minis. Suddenly, the minis don't look that expensive.
Re:Are we reading the same data? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Are we reading the same data? (Score:3, Insightful)
In the 20th century, that was true. Modern operating systems now use the powerful graphics processors available to manipulate video frames in real-time [apple.com] without touching the CPU. This is the sort of stuff we used to buy $3,000 real-time video compression cards for only a few years ago (of course, they were always tied to particular software and codecs).
Windows has viable video editing applications
They are viable, but none are nearly as good/powerful as the F
Re:Are we reading the same data? (Score:3, Interesting)
The appearance of the MacBook versus the Dell, is, alone, enough of a reason for me to spend more. Not that I do, I happen to own an old Toshiba 7200. My point is that some people buy Porsche, some buy Ford. To say that the Porsche is over priced because they both have the same horsepower is to miss the point entirely.
Re:Are we reading the same data? (Score:5, Informative)
Inspiron E1505
Intel® Core(TM) Duo processor T2500 (2MB Cache/2GHz/667MHz FSB)
1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz, 2 Dimm
15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA Display
100GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
256MB ATI MOBILITY(TM) RADEON® X1400 HyperMemory
85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Remote Control for Windows XP Media Center Edition
Standard Features: IEEE 1394, 4-USB 2.0 4-pin, 5-in-1 Combo Card through ExpressCard, 15-pin VGA connector, S-Video connector, Integrated 10/100 Ethernet, Integrated v.92 56K modem
HxWxD: 1.44" x 14" x 10.45"
Weight: 6.18lbs
Total: $2180 (after a "special offer" $200 discount)
MacBook Pro
2.0GHz Intel Core Duo with 2MB shared L2 Cache, 667MHz frontside bus
1GB (single SO-DIMM) 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
15.4-inch TFT display with 1440x900 resolution
100GB 5400rpm Serial ATA hard drive
Slot-load SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW) [Apple doesn't state this explicitly, but it's 4x and not dual layer]
ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 256MB GDDR3 memory
Standard Features: iSight, wireless networking (802.11b/g), Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, ExpressCard/34 slot, dual-link DVI video out, Gigabit Ethernet, USB 2.0, FireWire 400, and optical digital and analog audio in/out.
HxWxD: 1.0 x 14.1 x 9.6
Weight: 5.6lbs
Total: $2500
Dell advantages:
S-Video
More USB 2.0 ports
Better DVD burner
Modem
MacBook advantages:
Higher resolution screen
Better GPU
Lighter and smaller
Single DIMM preinstalled
DVI
iSight
Gigabit Ethernet
So, a whole $300 difference (on special), and you be the judge of those differences.
Re:Are we reading the same data? (Score:4, Informative)
From http://www.allonlinecoupons.com/st/dell/ [allonlinecoupons.com]
SAVE $750 on Select Inspiron(TM) notebooks $1999 or more (before tax, restocking fees, shipping & handling)! Not available on XPS notebooks or Spotlight Savings offers. This offer is not combinable with other dollars off, percentage off or mail-in rebate offers. Only one coupon may be applied per cart at checkout. Coupon code expires after first 4000 uses, or when the limited time offer expires, whichever is earlier. Offers subject to change. View details in My Cart. Enter coupon code at checkout to receive this offer in Dell home
Enter Dell Computer Coupon Code: 1CS4WZBB5$LVSS
They are also offering a $100 rebate and free shipping.
I just ordered nearly the same laptop as you speced out from Dell on Monday. Total cost after tax, discounts and rebates: $1202.77. I have the invoice to prove it. Yes I know the Dells are overpriced to begin with so to say you're "saving" money is not quite correct.
Since when does Apple give you a deal like that?
Re:Are we reading the same data? (Score:3, Informative)
The Dell is sitting on my desk right now. Arrived 5 days after I placed the order with free shipping. The charge on my credit card is $1067.
Re:Are we reading the same data? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Are we reading the same data? (Score:4, Insightful)
I'm not discussing which is cheaper to the consumer. I'm talking about value to the customer.
Where did I get these incredible debate skills? It's called reality.
Reality: Dell has razor thin margins, because they can afford it, and it makes their computers cheaper.
Reality: Apple doesn't have thin margins, they have very fat margins. Then that's how they make their money.
Reality: Dells are cheaper systems than Apple
Reality: I still wouldn't buy a Dell unless I had to.
You're perfectly free to vote with your wallet to say that you want the cheapest hunk of metal on the earth, and a design that hasn't changed significantly over the last 5 years.
Meanwhile, I'm perfectly free to vote with my wallet, and say I don't just care about something being cheap.
To me, money isn't the most important thing in the world that drives every purchase decision in my life. Money just doesn't drive and control my life and purchasing decisions.
Again, you're entirely free to make your own choice, I'm not arguing AGAINST you, I'm arguing around you. Saying that the money isn't what's important to me. Apple provides things that Dell doesn't, and I like Apple more than Dell. That is why I buy Apples.
I just want people to understand that some of us are grounded in reality, and realize that Apple computers are more expensive. I'm just saying that that's not the only thing that counts.
OK, what am I missing? (Score:3, Informative)
I gave Dell the benefit of the doubt for the LCD quality, and left it with the cheapest. I added a DVD burner and Bluetooth, like the Mac has, and a 128MB Radeon to approximately match the Mac's
Re:Are we reading the same data? (Score:4, Insightful)
While I still think that Apples are priced highly, you do get alot of features built into the system.
Re:Are we reading the same data? (Score:5, Insightful)
While I still think that Apples are priced highly, you do get alot of features built into the system.
A lot of which are useless for most people. Are laptop webcams in any danger of becoming standard-issue items? Are most people's homes wired for gigabit ethernet (heck, are most businesses)?
I think a big part of Apple's perception problem is that they focus so highly on the high end where you get diminishing returns for extra features and specs. A PC with exactly the same specs as the $2,000 MacBook Pro probably would cost close to $2,000, but a PC with 90% of the features specs of the MacBook Pro might only cost $1,000. In fact, I just went to HP's site right now and built a PC with everything the MacBook Pro has except the webcam and the gigabit ethernet, and with a 64 bit AMD CPU and a 1280x800 screen, and the total was $1,033.99. That's still with a DL DVD burner, ATI graphics card w/ 128MB dedicated, 1GB of system RAM, same hard drive, etc.
I mean the question is what are you paying literally 100% more for? Most people just aren't going to see it. Yeah, component-wise, maybe Apple is pretty close to what those specific components cost. But they could choose only *slightly* less powerful stuff and shave a huge amount off the price. They choose not to do that, and that gives them the perception of being overpriced.
I realize they have the iBook line, but until they actually update/replace that line, it's really a joke at this point. Nobody takes a G4 seriously anymore, and the $1,000 HP laptop I just priced absolutely blows the doors off the $1,000 iBook. (Again, I realize the iBook is smaller and lighter, but when you're comparing overall specs and features, it appears the iBook is way overpriced.)
Re:Are we reading the same data? (Score:3, Insightful)
YES BECAUSE GIG-E RUNS ON CAT-5. heh. Read the spec sometime, they pulled out all the stops to get that thing running on 8 strands of copper rated at 100Mhz. At a casual glance, that would seem impossible, but it turns out that was the major design goal, to not rewire anything.
Re:Are we reading the same data? (Score:3, Funny)
And this is different from any other PC hardware... how? How much faster is the Athlon FX60 over the Athlon X2 4600+? How much faster is the fastest RAM or GFX card than the one below it?
Specing out an HP commodity laptop vs a Mac Book Pro is like specing out a weeklong trip Warsaw, Poland (where I'm from) and a seculded island in the Indian Ocean. On paper, the trips might have exactly the same elements, but the experience is worl
Re:Are we reading the same data? (Score:5, Insightful)
That's not a $1,300 difference.
More accurate price comparison (Score:5, Informative)
When I match the specs/features, I get $2,075 for the Dell and $2,399 for the Apple or a difference of $324. That's hardly 66%.
Here are the specs/features I used for each:
Apple
----------
$2,399
Dell
----------
$2,075
These really aren't even exact matches, but they're very similar and moreso than the prices you quoted.
* The Mac includes a backlit keyboard, remote control, OS X install disk, CD/DVD RW, Bluetooth, and ATI video standard while the Dell does not, which is why, aside from the backlit keyboard they're added to the Dell. Although the remote on the Dell won't work with XP Pro supposedly.
** Despite the limited web hosting ability of XP Pro, OS X more closely resembles WindowsXP Professional over the Media Center version. Macs always include an OS X install disk while most (if not all) PC vendors charge extra for the Windows disks.
Re:Are we reading the same data? (Score:5, Informative)
Other differences: the Dell still doesn't have a built-in hi-res webcam, an IR remote control, optical digital audio, integrated Bluetooth, a tilt sensor to automatically park the hard drive when you drop it, or a backlit keyboard.
Re:Are we reading the same data? (Score:5, Insightful)
This is true. It's also true that Apple lives in a different horizontal from Sony, Dell, HP, etc. and has NO competition in that horizontal. IBM clones - the modern PC - allow for competition amongst hardware manufacturers and hence that competition has driven prices down for new PC's. When they are put back into circulation on the used market, they have to compete with the fact that a new PC is priced dramatically lower than a new Macintosh. OTOH, Apple pretty much has a stranglehold as to how their PC's are priced, and because there is no competition in that horizontal to force apple to lower it's prices - you can put a used Macintosh up for sale at 60% or 70% of it's original value, and because there's enough demand for 1) Macs and 2) Used macs that are still a solid product and yet cost less than their newer counterparts, people will still buy them at a higher premium then they pay for a used PC. Apple has the benefit of being the only name in their game - they are allowed to price their new PC's the way they do because of that initial quality, but the retained value is almost purely a result of the lack of competition in the new Macinstosh market and a demand for lesser-priced macs. If you want to really entertain your brain, think about how wise apple would be to offer a trade-up program to keep used mac's off the general market. It's very likely that such a move would allow them to charge an even higher premium for a new Mac because then there is no price competition in their horizontal *at all.*
Software and prices (Score:3, Insightful)
Aren't most of the apps for those purposes the same? But Windows probably got more of them, and the hardware is cheaper and perform better.
"When you get high end hardware with high end software and couple it with a system that you do not haveto hire a company every 2 months to cle
Re:Are we reading the same data? (Score:5, Insightful)
Apple may make better computers and may have a superior OS. That will not be enough to have consumers or businesses switching in numbers significant enough to threaten Microsoft's monopoly.
TW
Re:Are we reading the same data? (Score:3, Funny)
I assume you meant "dethonging". Of course, until this moment I was unaware that Gates wore thongs.
Re:Are we reading the same data? (Score:4, Insightful)
Name them.
All the web-apps I use have to work around the years old bugs of IE, they don't deliver because of IE but in spite of it. This is 2005 and MSIE can't even render PNGs properly or render CSS 2. Last time I heard that kind of crap was about 4 years ago, I thought people had stopped coming out with it, but obviously not. Web apps which have made news over the last few years have conspicuously not based on IE - gmail, flikr, delicious, rss, podcasts spring to mind. This is what MS was afraid of and why they crushed Netscape.
It's hillarious that people are arguing which is better. Which is better is not relevant
On the contrary, it's relevant for a lot of people. If everyone had attitudes like yours we'd still be living with DOS (Windows was a direct reaction to Mac OS). Hell even DOS was bought from someone else and was a poor copy. Things like a global spell-check (try it on your post) or address book make a lot of difference in some peoples' computing life.
Are you as satisfied as you sound with the pitiful state of OS software and browsers over the last few years?
2 things keep MS dominant
Their aggressive (often illegal) tactics, OEM contracts, bundling, buyouts, embrace and extend
Ignorance amongst the buying public
Thankfully the last of those is starting to change - it's something to be welcomed, but feel free to keep your head in the sand and sneer at alternatives like it's 1999.
actually, from those five... (Score:2)
see, Microsoft can now also sell to the purchasers of Apple hardware too.. it's called "boot camp"
Re:Are we reading the same data? (Score:2)
Re:Are we reading the same data? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Are we reading the same data? (Score:5, Interesting)
There simply are not viable linux choices for all the commercially available software that people buy out there.
It's not just that either. For example, most linux distro's do not ship with the ability to play dvds since there no licensed dvd player for linux. Try it. Install a full copy of suse or redhat for a novice user and tell them to get dvd support working. See if they succeed. In the unlikely event that they do, see if they feel using Linux was worth the hassle.
Essentially if there's something you cannot do after performing a full install of a given distro, it will not be easy for a novice user to figure out. Unfortunately in a closed source world these things are many.
Re:Are we reading the same data? (Score:3, Insightful)
What are you talking about? [nongnu.org] Installing xine is as easy as launching the package manager in your distro and selecting the package that is described as 'plays DVDs you n00b'. =)
Don't mistake the CLI way as the only way, although it is the fastest way
Re:Are we reading the same data? (Score:5, Insightful)
Programs available for OSX are simple to install and are GUARANTEED to run on all Macs without any special user knowledge about specific flavors or configuration settings needed. Same is true for Windows. Can ONE binary program run on EVERY flavor of Linux on every computer that can normally run Windows? If a developer were to make a Linux program to sell at CompUSA, would it run on the same wide variety of computer that Windows runs on? When Linux can equal Windows or OSX in this ease of use, the Dells of this world will have an incentive to abandon MS.
High marks for Sony (Score:2, Interesting)
...unfortunately indicating that outrage over the Sony rootkit [wikipedia.org] was a tempest in a teacup.
Defect my butt (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Defect my butt (Score:5, Interesting)
Seriously--having spent several years as a Windows sysadmin prior to becoming a IT apps/systems analyst, I thought that it was nebulous for a medium-sized company to need to pay $60-80K just to get access to NDA KnowledgeBase articles.
I'm sure some of you remember the great fun had with needing to keep comments off the Windows for Workgroups workstation name configuration because the Master Browser record was getting too big, and you couldn't see all the machines in your workgroup. We only got access to specific details on that because we had an MS Premier Support account.
Thanks for the mammaries, MS, you big teat. Sheesh.
Argh. (Score:5, Insightful)
I mean really? This is news? Product-specific magazine predicts rosy future for the product it reports on? No shit?
Re:Argh. (Score:2)
Re:Argh. (Score:2)
How many families are going to put the family boxen out to pasture to buy a new Mac? Not many, with what Macs cost. I'd argue that Ubuntu Linux is in a better position to gain market share than Mac OS X based on the information given, and I'm a fucking Mac-head.
If Apple is going to capitalize on the distrust people have for Microsoft, they need to get OS X 10.4 running on any Wintel box and they need to do it now, and have i
Riiiight. (Score:3, Interesting)
I am amazed that anybody could seriously believe that Apple could profit by going head-to-head with Microsoft for its core business. Microsoft has previously shown a willingness to cut prices radically when necessary to protect its
Re:Argh. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Argh. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Argh. (Score:2, Insightful)
Yeah, but they were right.
Re:Argh. (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Argh. (Score:4, Funny)
Let MS keep the market share! (Score:4, Interesting)
I agree, MacWorld is a glass always full kinda publication. And as an avowed mac freak, i for one do NOT want there to be a mass exodus of sheeple to the mac platform. One thing that keeps mac great is that in order to survive in the mac market, your software has to be pretty damn good and it has to just work. I do not look forward to our new Apple overlords. Being the little guy means more innovation, new interesting technology. As soon as Apple becomes the new M$ then it becomes all about keeping the cash cow alive at all costs. So, please, all you windows apologists! get crackin! We dont want your market share!
Re:Let MS keep the market share! (Score:5, Interesting)
Apple is innovative and amazing, and makes some of the best personal computers and software on the market. And the moment they started to get control of that market they'd be worse than Microsoft. (Who occasionally has to listen to people outside their company: the PC manufacturers for instance.)
Re:Argh. (Score:5, Insightful)
I help people around my area with computer problems, advise them on software, teach them how to do things, etc. Every single one hates windows. To them it's a bit like gas. No one likes paying for gas, but your car won't run without it. When I mention they have an alternative (Apple) many are somewhat interested. None of them want to go out and buy a new computer just for the OS, but they are fed up with MS. Even with the cost of having to learn a new OS (despite the similarities which they don't know of), they are ready to do almost anything to get a computer that "just works".
When it comes time to buy a new computer, many of them will be considering Macs. That may not be for two years or so (due to recent purchases or just hanging onto a computer for a long time), but if they ask me I'll be steering them towards Macs. I use my Mac at home and at school, doing all sorts of stuff. Then I get a call to fix a printer and have to go through tons of hassle to fix the printer on Windows. Or to make the internet work again. Or to remove spyware. Or to fix some odd windows problem (DNS just dies, only on one machine) that seems to require a reinstall to fix.
Windows is a pain. It always has been. It's gotten better, but not nearly enough. If I could turn back time and give all those people who I help a Mac instead of a PC I can not tell you how much easier of a time they would have had of things.
You won't see 20 million switchers a year. But they will switch. They've been doing it and it's been accelerating. Remember that with MS's market share, if even 1% of home users were to switch that would be a HUGE number. If this story gets "debunked" later and they say "only 0.25% of Windows users switched last year", remember that would be about a 10% boost to Apple's market share.
People are fed up. The only people I know who are NOT fed up with Windows are those who love to constantly tinker. I used to be that way, but I got tired of having to tinker. They will too one day.
If you build it, they will come.
If you advertise, they will come faster. I can't tell you how much Apple's sales would go up if they brought back the kind of ads they had during the first iMacs ("My family needed to do X and with their windows computer they had to do this and that and... and it didn't work. We plugged in my Mac and it worked instantly.").
Slashdot gets it right (Score:3, Insightful)
*Some* defections are a pretty good bet, seeing as how people have been leaving windows for Mac OS for the last several years now. Of course, you're right that the macworld headline is fairly optimistic; to double market share would be quite an accomplishment. But does it really seem that far out? Apple has what, a 3.5% market share or something like it? To get to 7% seems very doable so long as Vista is delayed long enough, or just plain sucks. Ju
I am not expecting a rush. (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:I am not expecting a rush. (Score:5, Insightful)
While it's true that there is less software available on the mac platform, a lot of people have a poor conception of the problem, and think there's more competition in the PC space than there actually is.
For niche stuff there's definitely an issue. This hits home with me in the games department, but I understand that for some really specific business-related tasks it's a big hurdle to adoption as well.
Then there's what normal people do with their computers:
That's about it. People who bitch about a big vaccuum of software on the Mac platform are still thinking in the 1990's, when the web was static and people published things like interactive, searchable Bibles and Microsoft Fucking Encarta. That stuff is like ice makers in a car: novel but totally unnecessary and easily replaceable by, say, getting ice from the freezer. It was an immature space and you had a lot of weird stuff out there, but now people realize it's less of a pain in the butt just to get it on the web for free or look at Wikipedia. Therefore, there are only five applications that people use:
IE - Office - Outlook - AIM - Quicken
Choice doesn't matter. Even though choices exist, 90% of people will use those 5 applications most of the time. It's a space where there's 31 flavors but everybody buys vanilla, and the clerk knows you want vanilla in advance so he starts scooping it and rings you up before you have a chance to say a word. In light of that, is it so horrible that on a Mac, you'll be using:
Safari - Office - Mail - iChat - Quicken
Oh noes! No ActiveX! Whatever shall I do? Furthermore, there are, in fact, alternatives to all of these. You could use Camino, Firefox, Shiira, OO.org, Opera, Thunderbird, Eudora, Fire, GAIM, Pages, or event Pine, Lynx, TeX, and centericq if you really, really like terminals. People have just been trained to think a certain way about the Mac/PC rift, and many of their ideas are sort of fossilized in 1996.
5 million subscribers? Warcraft? (Score:3, Informative)
in other news... (Score:4, Funny)
According to highly sensitive information that was leaked to us by an individual known only as "Dark Ottoman", the "Chair Launcher 3000" will combine real-time satellite imagery with a state-of-the-art targeting system making it capable of executing high-precision long-range chair-based attacks. To be more specific, you could be walking out of your local Apple store with you shiny new Macintosh in your arms, a smile stretched across your unsuspecting face, only to find yourself, moments later, crushed by a Windsor or an Adirondack dropped from a clear blue sky.
On an even more ominous note, shortly after providing us with this classified information, "Dark Ottoman" broke contact and vanished without a trace. While we are not sure of his fate, several days later an as yet unidentified Seattle man was found dead in a Best Buy parking lot, killed by a barrage of wicker chairs from the heavens. Steve Ballmer was unavailable for comment.
--
Was it the sheep climbing onto the altar, or the cattle lowing to be slain,
or the Son of God hanging dead and bloodied on a cross that told me this was a world condemned, but loved and bought with blood.
Not to Linux (Score:2, Funny)
employees or users (Score:2)
It's a Macworld article... (Score:3, Insightful)
After this story.. (Score:2)
frankly, why does eveyone think they can predict the future?
Proof the general public doesn't know jack (Score:3, Insightful)
...about computers. Sony got high marks this year in customer confidence. That proves it pretty much.
Distrust towards MS? Nah.... (Score:5, Interesting)
Yes, mass defections are *possible*, but... (Score:5, Insightful)
I wish the article had more numbers and less hypothesis. The gist seems to be "people distrust Microsoft, therefore Apple could get bigger." Now, how long has Forrester been conducting these surveys and for how many years in a row has Microsoft been un-trustworthy in the public eye? If 5 million MS users have distrusted MS for years but are still using Windows, the survey doesn't mean anything.
Of course "Mass Defections to Apple are Possible". But they've always been *possible* and yet Microsoft still holds the majority of the market share. Too bad this article couldn't shed more insight than "Survey confirms what Slashdot already believes - people don't trust Microsoft."
Why not? (Score:4, Insightful)
After they get the hang of OS X, they will wonder why they ever tolerated Windows. . .
I dunno about mass defections.. (Score:2)
that would be great, but improbable (Score:2, Insightful)
It just ain't gonna happen (Score:2)
How do you know? (Score:4, Insightful)
What makes you think that? Why would a whole user population constantly under attack from viruses and spyware not fall into a dislike of Windows itself? That's what I have seen with a lot of people.
Possible?! (Score:2)
Did anyone else misread the headline? (Score:2)
Don't be fooled (Score:2, Interesting)
Trust report? (Score:5, Insightful)
Sony?!
The public is either a mass of idiots waiting to be fleeced, or..uh...
I think I just answered my own question.
Re:Trust report? (Score:3, Interesting)
I buy their TVs and they are great. I wouldn't go with any other. I don't buy their proprietary crap, but they make excellent televisions.
Trying a Mac (Score:5, Insightful)
Windows users who give MacOSX a try find that they like it quite a lot. Anand Lal Shimpi over at Anandtech.com springs to mind. Windows uber user Paul Thurott also couldn't review the CTP of Vista without saying "I have certain misgivings about Vista resembling Mac OS X. With its translucent windows, such comparisons are going to be hard to avoid. But Vista's similarity with OS X goes well beyond window dressing. Certain applications, such as Calendar, Sidebar, and Photo Gallery, appear to be directly, ahem, influenced by similar applications in OS X." This is an OS that geeks can't help but love once they use it.
The really amusing thing is now the Mac supports more software than Windows does. You can run everything that runs on Windows, everything that runs on MacOSX, plus quite a bit of the software that runs on Linux. It's geek nirvana.
There really isn't any reason not go give a Mac a chance anymore. I'm an MCSE (gee, did you guess from my handle?)and I like OSX quite a lot. I can't wait to see what they do in the next version of MacOSX since it looks like Vista is going to be used dog food.
Re:Trying a Mac (Score:5, Funny)
Microsoft employees are excited about MacOSX.
Re:Trying a Mac (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Trying a Mac (Score:3, Informative)
I assume your talking about the menu bar (which can be configured to hide itself anyway).. but what your not considering is that under windows or x11 the menu is inside of the window itself, whereas with osx it's always in the same place at the top of the screen, so appwindow+menubar on osx is equivalent to appwindow (with included menubar) on windows or x11.
Re:Trying a Mac (Score:3, Insightful)
Lately ive been using macs instead. Now I have layered windows all over the place, and either use expose, which, by the way is the greatest thing ever invented, or, I just leave little spots of windows here and there so I can click on them to switch tasks that way. Its *a lot* easier to work in a lot of applications on a mac then it is on windows, something
i dont know about the conclusion (Score:2)
Me personally? I plan on ditching Windows in the next few years when that DRM crap comes full swing into my DRM enabled monitors. I'll likely get a Mac so long as they don't follow with the same crap (and then Linux next). Security is a concern, but not a reason. I just hate how everything is always crashing. Who knows how many of my friends share the sentiment.
But "mass defections"? Businesses can't swap away even if they wanted to. And a simple "I sorta don't like them" isn't a good enough r
Bose? (Score:2)
No highs, no lows. Must be Bose.
The potential is there... (Score:2)
As easy as Boot Camp is to use and get Windows installed, you still hav
On the flip side (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
In related news.... (Score:2)
Lee
Somewhat absurd (Score:3, Insightful)
Who cares about some brand recognition study? These people are all supposed to ditch their stock and steady income over an article on the web? Give me a break.
Last I checked Walmart sure has a lot of employees. Do any of you associate walmart with high quality?
No news? (Score:5, Insightful)
5.4 million customers? Such a staggering number, for Apple maybe. Really folks, how much revenue are these people going to generate for MS? A hundred bucks a pc, every 5 years?
If users need office they will have to buy it either way. In addition, it will be cheaper to buy the bundled version with a Windows based PC.
The salient point the article fails to make is that the real risk is to Apple. By not converting these people they miss out on revenue generated by hardware and software. Incidently, if you are a Mac owner, and you've paid for every major release of OS X, you've paid about $500 over the last 5 years for your operating system. Compare this with $120 (assuming 2k upgrade) for the last 5 years for an XP owner.
The article goes on to say that many people don't associate the iPod with Mac Computers. An interesting point - however it is going to be difficult for Apple to upsell people on a $3K computer, from a $300 purchase.
Upgrades (Score:3, Insightful)
Yes but OS X users are running the equivilent of Vista right now. How much is Vista going to cost, an
Re:No news? (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm sorry, who exactly is putting a gun to the head of Mac owners and forcing them to upgrade their OS? Every non-techie Mac owner I know continues to happily use the OS that came with their computer, just like the non-techie Windows users do. Upgrade cost: $0.
Compare this with $120 (assuming 2k upgrade) for the last 5 years for an XP owner.
Let me get this straig
Re:No news? (Score:3, Interesting)
How many people do you know that are still running Puma? Ummm, yeah, thought so. If you've bought another computer between now and 2001, the OS has been paid for as part of the cost of the machine.
Let me get this straight. You're trying to turn the fa
Who do you trust? (Score:5, Insightful)
Do I trust Microsoft? No way!
I would agree that (among my client base) there is a general uneasy feeling building towards Microsoft. So the idea that their ranking is lower does not surprise me at all.
Do I trust Apple? Not anymore than Microsoft.
The conspiracy theorist in me believes the real motive behind their switch to Intel has to do with standardizing DRM.
When all of the hardware is "Trusted" then who will you trust at all?
Only an apple fan... (Score:3, Insightful)
Can't fool me! (Score:5, Funny)
Okay.. in other POSSIBLE news: (Score:5, Funny)
BARSTOW, CA (AP) - Today, computer scientists at the DeVry Institute claimed to have solved the Halting Problem, a classic thought experiment of theoretical computer science. The problem's insolvability, a landmark in the field, was proposed by theoretician Alan Turing in 1938.
"We were skeptical at first, of course", said Dr. Ephraim P. Fingerbottom, emeritus professor of computability theory at DeVry. "The Halting Problem's intractibility is one of those snippets of lore we love to torture undergraduates with, so we really had no practical motive for accepting this hypothesis. Come to think of it, we have no practical motives at all, we're theoreticians. Anyway, our faces fell when we proofed the submission, let me tell you. Never ask a theoretician to come up with new material. Hell, now we may to juggle teaching and the hunt for grant money like everyone else."
Nonetheless, Dr. Fingerbottom was heartened by the new-found stature of his department in light of these findings. "We're attracting some exciting new talent here", he said, perspiring under the layers of chalk dust that have covered his face since 1962. "This development, coupled with our reduction of the '3-SAT problem' to a scientific proof of the existence of God, has swelled our ranks with students who want to do something else other than write software and make money."
The resulting paper will soon be published in the next issues of Communications of the ACM and the DIMACS Journal for Applied Math.
It's the cost of software... (Score:5, Insightful)
The user experience would have to become very bad for me to move.
On the other hand the troubles friends have with the Windows machines seems to suggest that they have passed that line already!
Our office is switching over to Macs (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:highly unlikely (Score:2)
Re:No way (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Admittedly (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Apple Stock Price Hurting (Score:3, Insightful)
Funny, my picture tells a different story. [yahoo.com]
Re:Enough already! (Score:5, Insightful)
I can't see a gamer spending a crapload of money on a system that they can't slap the latest video card into every 6 months.
First, gamers are a tiny segment of the market. Second, many gamers now use laptops to make LAN parties easier, thus have no upgrade option. Third, why can't you slap a new video card in the Mac tower when it is released?
And I can't see a business spending crap tons of money on a more expensive machine to do all the same tasks they currently do.
While some companies do use Macs for the simplified management and lower security costs, you're right that most won't be switching anytime soon. Rather, expect a slow migration towards Linux in the business space. That trend, I think, may open some doors for Mac purchases, as environments will become more friendly to standards compliant OS's
Maybe they'll sell some upgrades to people who use an older mac and want the ability to dual boot, but beyond that...?
Mostly I see this as a way to sell more Macs to potential "switchers." People might want to use OS X, but be unsure if they will like it in the long term. This gives them the security of being able to "switch back" at a low price point. The real market for new Mac users, in my opinion, are those who would love to ditch Windows, but require some Windows-only software. I foresee a lot more migration in this space as virtualization/emulation/reimplementation takes off. Here at work we get to choose among a few particular models of computers; one of which is a powerbook (used by maybe 55% the company right now). I know when the time comes to pick an upgrade several people in administration, sales, documentation, etc. who are now using a Thinkpad will probably go for a powerbook combined with something to run those Windows applications within OS X.
For some it will be their first experience using a Mac (or first using OS X anyway). They have at this point only looked over the shoulders of others and said, "hey how come you can do that?" and "wow that is really cool!" Another interesting item of note, is I don't know people that switch back. Well, I know one guy who bought a powerbook, used OS X for a while, and then went back to Linux as his main OS. But, by and large, when people buy a Mac, they continue to do so from then on. It is hard to lose all that functionality, once you get used to it. This will probably influence their next home computer purchase as well.
In summary, I don't see that bootcamp will be used much, but I do think it will drive some Mac sales. Further, I think other technologies (enabled by the switch to new Intel processors) that allow Windows software to run will drive even more sales. I think this particular article was empty fluff, but I do foresee increasing market share, especially among power users.