“Many of the great pop-culture debates of our time involve intense rivalries — Yankees versus Red Sox, Britney versus Christina, Ford versus Chevy. Among these great discussions stands one that has shaped the technological world: Macs versus PCs,” Daniel Holevoet writes for Yale Daily News. “Ten years ago, the computer world was different than today, and it seemed like Microsoft had bested its rivals. Beleaguered was a popular phrase used to describe Apple, and Linux was less than a year old and unknown outside small circles of avid coders.”
“But today, the decision is not so clear-cut, and Apple has made a much larger comeback in Yale student and faculty computing than its 10 to 12 percent national market share would indicate. According to Yale Information Technology Services’ registration records, nearly 20 percent of University students and 33 percent of faculty choose Macs over Windows PCs,” Holevoet writes. “With a reinvented, cutting-edge operating system and a cool, sleek design, Apple is clawing its way to technological equality on campus. Products like iPod and iTunes have transformed the Apple brand into a status symbol as much as a technological tool, and alternative platforms such as Linux have moved out of the shady realm of hackers and into the public eye. The debate is renewed.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: This is a fun article to read, with one Mac user quoted as saying, “I have an Apple bumper sticker on my car, a patch on my hat and a poster in my room. You don’t find that kind of loyalty with Windows users, and there is a reason why.” After reading the article, we’re not sure if the writer and/or people quoted in the article understand that Apple’s Mac OS X is UNIX-based. Let us know what you think. There’s even one student who said insists that “his Windows system was adequate for his needs and purchasing a Mac was not worth it” and that he is “more comfortable using Microsoft programs and prefers Windows Media Player to Apple’s iTunes,” as if to offer proof that one can be “booksmart” enough to get into Yale and still display a certain lack of other smarts, not to mention taste. Meaning: if you haven’t used both Mac OS X and Windows XP, how much is your opinion as to which OS you prefer really worth? The comfort of familiarity, self-imposed ignorance, and some people’s resistance to change would seem to be some of Microsoft’s last best weapons against the superior Mac solution.
In a world without fences and walls, who needs Gates and Windows?
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Survey shows Apple Macs owned by nearly 10 percent of US small and medium-sized businesses – February 17, 2005
More people use Apple Macs than you think; 8-12 percent of homes use Macs – March 31, 2004
10 percent of computer users use a Mac; 3 percent is Mac’s approximate quarterly market share – February 10, 2004
Syracuse Post-Standard: 3 percent is a false stat; Mac holds ’10 to 12 percent of the market for PCs – August 27, 2003