“In July, the IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index rose 8.5% to a six-month high. The index has three components: the six-month economic outlook, personal financial outlook and confidence in federal economic policies,” Patrick Seitz reports for Investor’s Business Daily.

“Dell was the preferred brand of 50% of likely PC buyers in July. That ties its best showing ever from April. Two brands known for multimedia capabilities scored surprisingly well. Apple Computer was the No. 2 brand for the first time. It was the choice of 8% of likely buyers. Sony was No. 3 with 6% of likely buyers, a new high for the company,” Seitz reports.

“Apple and Sony both sell PCs optimized to handle digital media such as music, video and photos. Apple is riding a huge wave of publicity and media attention surrounding strong sales of its iPod portable music players,” Patrick Seitz reports. “That success might be rubbing off on its PC business, says Roger Kay, an analyst with International Data Corp. Consumers might be looking to extend their iPod experience to Apple’s Macintosh computers.”

“The multimedia software on Apple computers is intuitive, feature-rich and easier to use than the software on most Windows-based computers, he says,” Seitz reports.

Full article here.