Forbes is running an online poll, “Which Company Makes The Best Personal Computers?”
IBM introduced the original personal computer back in 1981. Three years later, Lenovo Group brought the first PCs to China. Fast-forward a couple of decades, and a PC revolution has occurred. Computers are as commonplace as TV sets in households worldwide, and Lenovo is buying IBM’s PC division for $1.75 billion.
Yet now there is a plethora of PC manufacturers from which to choose–not to mention Apple Computer, whose Macintosh computers are often touted as being anti-PC. One fierce competitor is industry leader Dell, which yesterday announced record-setting fourth-quarter sales.
So we ask you, who makes the best personal computers?
Apple is currently leading with 36%. Vote by clicking the link below. You know what to do.
http://www.forbes.com/technology/2005/02/11/cx_jp_0211polldujour.html
Duh.
As of 11:47 AM EST, Apple leads with 36% followed by Dell and HP tied at 20%.
I thought Apple introduced the original personal computer in 1977 with the Apple ][.
As of 11:55am Apple is at 37%
forgot to mention Apple is still in the lead over others.
38%. Climbing faster than Apple stock
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22 votes in a minute, beat that
Someone posted this over at spymac.com… went up to 38% about a minute afterwards.
I tried to vote and it crashed my computer.
I swear!
Firefox hung, I force quit it, and got a kernel panic!
It’s fixed! The vote is fixed!
Up to 40% at 12:12.
Apple at 40%
IBM should credit for making the PC fire spread but Apple should get the credit for starting it. Had it not been for the Apple I & II, IBM may never have gotten into the PC business, or at least not when they did.
MY first post.
Apple – 2542 votes (40%)
Dell – 1193 votes (19%)
Magic Word – any – as in I can’t think of ‘any’thing to say regarding the magic word.
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This is stunning considering the fact that only 3% of computer users use Apple Computers. Nevertheless, they have hands down the best operating system and superior hardware. Windows users don’t understand what they are missing.
I vote for Apple. My first computer was an Apple Macintosh purchased in 1985. I’ve only owned Apples ever since then.
My work computers (as an engineer) have always been IBM or IBM Clones. I still get a thrill when I go home and fire up my 2 year old Macintosh G4 (with the hemispherical base and floating flat panel streen).
This pole is great news. It will be an eye-opener for many to find that a 1.8% market share company is regarded by >40% of the population as the leader. In doing this, it shows how shallow the market share figures are: how could 1.8% of the population sway a poll so remarkably? (Of course, they won’t know about the Mac web, but we don’t need to tell them about that). Finally, this is Forbes, not, for instance, the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Apple at 42% as of right now.
Apple’s up to 42% as of 12:35 pm ET. Dell’s next with 18% and HP’s at 17%.
Stop with this 1.8% market share crap.
Apple has a 1.8% market share in the entire world.
Apple’s market share in the United States of America the only place that matters is much closer to 10% and growing.
I just pray that either HP or IBM (or both) beats Dell.
I thought Apple invented the personal with Apple II or whatever it was called.
It’s now at 42% with 3105 votes as of 18:41 in Germany, 12:41 in New York, 9:41 in San Francisco
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43% now. I’m sure it’s because of me.
I voted for Samsung, cause they only had 7 votes, now they have 8. I felt bad for them.
I only voted for Apple ONCE, I swear, no really, pinky swear.
Zac
men mac users we are crazie i think there are like 20 votes each minute gone by!! lmao
My vote made it 44% for Apple at 12:58.
Let’s see if we can push Apple over 50%!
GO APPLE!!
Apple now at 44%!
Just voted–Apple at 45%.
now @ 45%
Dell record setting? All the reports I’m reading are about hour lousy dells finanials looked today, and why its stock just droped alot just today
Tommy Boy:
So sorry. I had no previous knowledge that because I live in Canada I don’t count. I’ll go open my wrists right now. I’ll make sure that the other 6,000,000,000 in the world join me. Should I take the dogs out too (after all, they don’t buy computers. How about American dogs?) Don’t forget to close the door after we leave.
Tommy Boy:
As I lie here in an ever expanding pool of blood, I was wondering if you could cite your source for that 10% figure?
46% at 1:19pm
sweet soul sister!
Mac Users …….Gay!
if you toss out the “i don’t know” votes, and maybe the silly “none of the above” votes i think apple is already over 50%.
I haven’t voted so often since we got Bush back in!
People who own Macs apparently have nothing better to do on them than vote in phony polls ( maybe if CAD for the Mac existed these brainwashed applesauce brains could be engineers ). Go look at the displays on the Sony and Toshiba laptops and tell me the Apple displays are better–and be honest. I think OSX is much more preferable than XP but I can see that the Sony and Toshiba displays are much better with graphics and text. How come no one sells accident insurance for Apple displays?
Try being honest with your selfs and you will wind up with better Apples–you will wind up with powermacs that record and play dvd- and + when you part with your 3000. You will wind up with notebooks that have a respectable 400 fsb instead of the measley 167 on Apple’s 2700 dollar 17 inch powerbook. I dont think you can buy a P C as slow as the Mac Mini but that doesnt necessarily make it a bad deal–it just makes it unlikely that the Mini is going to lure a lot of P C users over to OSX.
I think all people should be dissatisfied with the computer that they are using and all people should demand more…anything else is mush for brains. Im not saying Apple isnt the best, ( to make it clear for those of you who have spent too much time on a computer and not enough time in a book store ), Im saying that Apple wont remain the best for long if Apple is complacent. Im saying that together with Apple’s software, technology like the ‘cell’ could make a company like Apple a giant of anti christ proportions. Have another bite…
4421 votes and 46% at 7.43am NZST
4477 (46%) votes while Dell is at 1494 (15%).
9644 votes in total so far with feed back comments like this
99.2 in reply to 99.1
I don’t understand why anyone other than a hard core gamer or a developer of Windoze applications would choose a Windoze machine for personal use. Checking for and removing spyware and viruses, along with downloading patches to Microsoft’s software are extremely time-consuming. Installing and updating applications leaves little remainders that gradually accumulate and hurt system performance.
MacOS X, by contrast, is rock solid, and remains remarkably free of the malware that plagues Windoze. The standard programs that ship with the Mac are an outstanding value and are of excellent quality, as any Windoze user of iTunes can see. The default Mac Mail program runs rings around Outlook Express, and the iChat AV program with an iSight camera is superb. Office:mac is highly compatible with Office XP and Office 2003, and has additional features as well. The other iLife applications (iPhoto, iDVD, iMovie) have a high degree of degree consistency that makes them a big improvement over competitive products for the Microsoft platform.
and 4600 votes at 7.52am NZST
4803 votes for Apple at 8.02am and still 46%
Dell 1540 votes and 15%
HP1445 votes 14%
Gateway 374 votes 4%
4863 votes for Apple at 8.05 am NZST with 10555 people voted
Sitting on a Dell here at work and it made me think. Maybe Forbes is referring to IBM as the first company to introduce PC’s because most people, when they hear the term PC, they think of Windows. Most non-Mac users I know think that if it runs MS-Dos through Windows then its a PC. If its made by Apple, its a Mac. Forbes said it themselves in the article, “whose Macintosh computers are often touted as being anti-PC”.
By the way, I can’t wait to get home and get on my Mac. I HATE THIS STUPID DELL!!!!
Was just thinking about your post on Apple notebook displays. I have a friend who recently bought a Toshiba Satellite with a 15″ screen. The screen, while nice, is inferior to the screen on my 14″ iBook G4. Not to mention that my iBook, with a 1.33 GHz processor, runs faster than his 2.4 P4, and they both have 512 MB RAM. In fact, he just bought a Mac Mini so he can ditch his Toshiba (he never used it anywhere but home and church)
47%
Apple Computer: 47% of the vote. Dull 13%.
Where are Alien and Shuttle? What about an option for “Build your own”??
“Build your own” is not a company.
Apple is now at 48%, IBM at 15%, Dell at 13%, HP at 12%.
In 1977 during a local SF Bay area TV interview a Very young Steve Jobs coined the terms Personal Computer and PC while introducing the Apple II to the world. IBM looked down thier noses at Apple and the micro computers they created and did’nt show any interest untill 1980 when by then Apple was on the verge of becomeing a billion dollar corporation.
The Forbes writer is an idiot and should have researched his computer history better.
I just voted for Apple but I did hesitate to do so. I am not really that sure. As you usually say, “It’s the software stupid”. I’m sure Apple makes the best OS and the best software in general. As for the hardware I can’t really say which is best though I must admit that Mac OS X and a Macintosh computer makes a great combination.
At work I have to use Windows XP and MS Office and I belive that the only reason for using Office is that you don’t know about the alternatives.
5:29PM result for Apple:
7354 votes (49%)
7429 votes (50%)
No more than 50 are mine
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[strength] indeed!
http://aroundcny.com/technofile/texts/mac033104.html
Apple created the first personal computer.
When IBM jumped into the market Apple welcomed them with full page ads in major newspapers. Something like :
“Welcome, IBM. Honestly”
IBM legitimized the PC for use in big business in the eyes of the corporations.
Now, PCs sell at much higher numbers than Macintoshes, but not as high as we are led to believe. Because PCs aren’t all sold to individual people. They are sold in bulk to government offices, businesses, schools, etc.
Most Macs are sold to PEOPLE, and these people will vote for Macintoshes. A Dell sitting in a library or a gas station is not going to call in and vote. So in terms of marketshare Apple has closer to 10% or more based on my estimations. This is why ITMS sells in the millions even before iPods are for Windows.
Everyone is so mystified why Apple has so much clout in the marketplace, it’s because Apple is MUCH bigger than the media and the PC empire lead you to believe.
DV
Apple is now at 50% Now its time to see if any Wintel worshippers will respond, and if so, what they will say.
Sorry Mac Yak; just got so excited I failed to notice you reported 50% an hour ago. Still can’t wait to see what the windows world will have to say about this poll, if anything.
51% — ignore my nickname on this one.
Join the “party” (my M/W).
mine was 52
Actually I sold an Atari 800 to some professors from the Nanking School of Forestry in China in 1982. Couldn’t get an export license, or rather the hassle was too much, so a friendly ship captain took it to China for them.
Does that make me a terrorist?
Apple at 52%
IBM at 14%
Dell at 11%
Wow, I can’t believe they made it so a single person could vote multiple times. What kind of webmasters does Forbes have?
Apple was at 53% when I voted and the second best result was IBM at 13%.
There is no doubt that Apple’s computers (and software) are the best, but most buyers think that good enough is good enough, so they buy the Windows PCs. That, plus it is easier to get pirate software from friends and coleagues.
The fact is a lot of PC folks don’t have a clue about a Mac, they never saw one, never got to use one.
IBM’s architecture was opened up by competitiors and copied, so many more hands were in the fire, that’s why PC’s succeeded.
You can marry a PC to a cash register, but not a Mac.
You can marry a PC to a ATM machine, but not a Mac.
That’s the advantage of a open architecture.
Apple will most likely always be a minority platform, they target consumers with “appliance like” devices.
They target schools with easy to use, easy to learn computers.
They target the artist, the new person, the “cool people” and the smart ones who can use any platform easily to do what they need to do.
The day Apple opens it’s architecture, the day we will see a sudden growth of the company.
But then Apple will become another OS software company like M$, and they got that spot taken already.
So blow your nose and be happy Apple will always be a minority platform, just always the best and why are you wasting your time reading this shit for anyway. get a job.
“So blow your nose and be happy Apple will always be a minority platform, just always the best and why are you wasting your time reading this shit for anyway. get a job.”
Well what do you consider a minority platform? 3%? What about 5 or 10%? Because that’s what most PC makers have. If Apple grew to 15% they’d be up there with all the major players.
Here’s how the votes were cast in the Forbes poll:
IBM 2,403 (13%)
Dell 1,947 (10%)
H-P 1,732 (9%)
Gateway 1,527 (8%)
“I don’t know” 441 (2%)
Sony 323 (2%)
None of the above 282 (1%)
Toshiba 150 (1%)
Lenovo Group 118 (1%)
Siemens 18
Matsushita 17
Samsung 13
..and the first choice of the 18,971 votes cast in the poll to 11:24 p.m. Pacific time is:
Apple 10,000 (53%)
Oh yeah, MDN, I think we knew what to do
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[alone] = “… and you’ll ne-verrr walk aaaaaa-lonnnnnnnnne”…
Let’s see if Apple is the minority in this poll.
Apple with 11113 votes
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IBM with 2464
Dell with 2010
The rest not even worth putting up on this list.
Looks like the minority Apple has blown this poll right out of the water!
Hmmmm…. Plush why are you reading this s%#$? If that’s what you think then why don’t you do what you preach. This is a Mac forum for people who know what a great computer is made of. A great OS like OSX and great hardware like the G5’s Put them together and you have a stable running system with no viruses, malware, spyware, trojans to worry about. You can say what you like because we have all heard it a billion times about Apple being the minority and 2% market share, bla, bla, bla,bla. Apple has proved that it can sustain itself in this market share. But now it is growing and not just because of the iPod. The iPod has had an impact but I think OSX and the latest software from Apple has made Apple look more attractive because of what I wrote above.
No spyware,malware,viruses,trojans. People are tired of it on the PC side. Longhorn is now a dream instead of reality is also changing things. All the new promised features have been deleted so PC users have nothing good to look forward too.
Mac Yak-
[alone] = “… and you’ll ne-verrr walk aaaaaa-lonnnnnnnnne”…
Do you goto/work at OPRFHS? They are currently doing that musical.
Well, it seems that several folks don’t like the fact that the Macintosh market share is 1.8%. I assure you. I don’t like it either, but that is what it is. 1.8%. Like it or lump it.
Do I think it is going to stay at 1.8%. Nope. How big? Don’t know. My crystal ball is PC based, and is clogged with viruses just now. However, I always shake my head when folks say that Mac can never make any inroads into enterprise (where the real market share numbers are made). “Why not”, I say? Microsoft is our best friend, here. They are obviously incapable of fixing what is most definitely and most obviously broken. …And right over here in the corner is a company with better everything. Sometimes orders of magnitude better. One day very soon a very large enterprise player is going to say “Fsck it”, and pitch all the PCs out the window and go Mac. Then the floodgates will open. You heard it here first.
Do I know the difference between market share and installed user base? Yes. That is what we are seeing in the poll. In fact, you can see my entries there if you wish. Above, someone sent me to a link that discusses this. Thanks, but I know that. In fact, eternal optimist that I am (see fearless prediction above, and M. T. MacPhee is my real name), I believe that the user base is even higher than that author posits. Certainly, the user base among my friends is ~80%. A recent poll at the Globe and Mail (which is now down, unfortunately) put the number of Safari users at 12%, and all of the other browser options were available to (usually Canadian) Mac users as well. So I say 15% minimum, maybe more. How else could we present such a force in the market place?
Next, a reply to lisa….
lisa:
VectorWorks. Runs circles around AutoCad. Try it. You’ll like it.
Displays: Here goes:
Apple makes the best displays in the business. I have looked at all the rest. Apple has always made the best, and they continue to make the best. Period. Am I making myself clear?
To Jack A:
Actually the webmaster did a good job. You can only vote once (by clicking on the supplied buttons, at least). The results page shows when you cast your first vote, and discards the rest.
55% as of this post.
I wrote an AppleScript that votes, kills the cookie on my machine, refreshes my dynamic IP, then votes again. It’s slow, but I’ve voted about 250 times so far.
But I’m voting for Dell, so imagine where Apple would be if I weren’t.
To M.T. MacPhee
Just as an aside, Apple’s LCD panels are made by Samsung.
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John, I was quoting and then responding to the post above mine. My opinion is that Apple is doing great with the customer base they have, and that they are now obviously targeting a larger market, and I hope they do wonderfully. I’d love to see what they come up with when they have more money and more weight in the market.
AAPL 81.21 + 2.85
DELL 39.99 – 1.58
GTW 4.49 – 0.04
HPQ 21.30 – 0.18
IBM 93.30 + 0.54
MC 14.95 + 0.11 (Matsushita)
SI 79.20 + 0.93 (Siemens)
SNE 37.74 + 0.25 (Sony)
Also fun to see the stock prices listed on the poll page. Might surprise a few windoids to see APPL second only to IBM.
To mr dan:
I know that, and in fact mentioned it in my first reply to lisa. Not only do they use Samsung, they own a chunk of the company.
56%
I do….I make the Best Computers : )
Magic word “Big” as in “Thats what she said”
I’m suprised at Apple’s Volume..Its gone up significantly….
I’m so frickin’ clever. I love me some me.