“Dude, you’re getting a Dell! Well … maybe not any more. According to the Office of Information Technology (OIT), 45 percent of computers purchased [at Princeton] this year were Macs, more than in any previous year. In 2003, when this year’s seniors arrived on campus, just 15 percent of them chose Macs. The next year, a quarter of incoming freshmen did, and the year after that, 38 percent. These statistics aren’t comprehensive, because some students choose not to buy their computers through OIT. Nonetheless, the upward trend is real. Macs are where it’s at,” Doug Eshleman reports for The Princetonian.
“The upswing is not limited only to students. ‘A relatively high percentage of faculty use Macs,’ said Steven Sather of OIT. ‘And that percentage has also increased over the past couple years.’ Many faculty members in the Engineering School have adopted Macs despite the fact that some engineering software programs only run on Windows,” Eshleman reports.
“Why is it that Macs have recently become popular and PCs less so among Princeton students? One possibility is the comparative reliability of the systems… Mac converts Andres Moreno ’10 and Katherine Sanden ’09 cited earlier PC and Windows problems as a significant motivation for the switch. Both of them had a Windows machine that performed slowly and had been subject to several viruses and spyware programs,” Eshleman reports.
“Dave Morreale, senior manager of OIT support,… bought his Apple online, also appreciated Apple’s unique website. Moreover, he has always been impressed with Apple stores, in contrast to their PC counterparts. ‘Apple stores are well-organized, the people are knowledgeable and they are passionate about their work,’ he said,” Eshleman reports.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: 45% is a remarkable number. Now, some people quoted in the article don’t seem to realize that Macs can run Windows, too, for those pesky few programs that are Windows-only; that sounds like the only thing keeping them from switching. Once they learn that Macs can run Windows, too, we expect Mac to overtake OS-limited Windows-only PCs on the Princeton campus. Apple needs to do a better job “embracing” Windows, so the Mac can begin “extinguishing” it in wider numbers. Apple should sell the Mac to the general public first and foremost as able to run Windows. They need to know that they can have their “Windows Insecurity Blanket,” so they will make their next PC purchase a Mac. Once Apple gets Macs into their hands, the Mac will do the rest of the work by itself.
Let’s face it, Windows-only users have no idea what they’re missing and most are not inclined to do a several hundred dollar “test” to see if they really like Mac OS X and the Mac platform. Imagine if they could feel “safe” in buying a Mac that can run their Windows that also happens to let them run Mac OS X. And we all know what happens once someone really gives Mac OS X a try—Windows quickly falls by the wayside. That’s why these Intel-based Macs will help expand Mac market share, if average people can be made to understand that the machines can run both Windows and Mac operating systems natively. Remember, it’s a good bet most of these average people (we’re probably talking somewhere around 70-80% of personal computer consumers) don’t even know what an operating system is; they think Windows is a personal computer; you know, the ones who think the “blue e” is the “Internet.” For most people, Macs will become the “2 for the price of 1” computer. Even for the nearly illiterate personal computer buyers, with a little Apple-supplied education via marketing, it would make little sense to buy a limited Windows-only machine from the box assemblers like Dell, Gateway, etc. Give them their “Windows Insecurity Blanket” upfront and they’ll throw it away themselves after they realize how tattered and threadbare it is in comparison it to Apple’s Mac OS X. – Stevejack for MacDailyNews from the article “Intel-based Macs running both Mac OS X and Windows will be good for Apple” – June 10, 2005
Apple Macs Do Windows Too:
Related articles:
Apple Boot Camp’s ‘Windows Insecurity Blanket’ helps buyers decide to switch to Macs – May 19, 2006
Research firm: Intel, Boot Camp powering huge Apple Mac sales surge – May 19, 2006
Needham: Apple Mac sales could surge due to Boot Camp, newfound ability to run Windows apps – April 20, 2006
Cowen & Co survey shows strong Apple Mac sales prospects, Boot Camp impact ‘broadly positive’ – April 18, 2006
Apple’s Boot Camp vs. Parallels Workstation for running Windows on Intel-based Macs – April 14, 2006
Baig: Boot Camp works so well it reminds me why I prefer Mac OS X to Windows XP in the first place – April 13, 2006
Pre-Boot Camp report: Apple could double market share on Microsoft defections – April 13, 2006
Mossberg: ‘Every mainstream consumer doing typical tasks should consider Apple Mac’ – April 13, 2006
Boot Camp could be big win for Apple Macs in schools – April 12, 2006
Thurrott: Apple’s elegant Boot Camp opens up a world of possibilities – April 11, 2006
Apple’s Boot Camp is first step towards Mac OS X Leopard’s inevitable support for virtualization – April 11, 2006
IT specialist: Apple’s Boot Camp ‘definitely makes the Mac more attractive’ – April 10, 2006
Apple trying to steal customers from Windows with Boot Camp by letting people try superior Mac OS X – April 09, 2006
Apple reseller: Boot Camp could sway a ‘huge percentage’ of PC users to go to the Mac – April 07, 2006
Analyst: Apple’s Boot Camp may bring ‘significant benefits’ beginning in 2006 holiday quarter – April 07, 2006
Analyst: With Boot Camp, Apple has removed another barrier to switching – April 06, 2006
Analyst: Apple Boot Camp could be an opportunity for Mac market share gains – April 06, 2006
Enderle: Apple’s Boot Camp allowing Windows on Mac ‘could change PC landscape as we know it’ – April 06, 2006
Apple’s ‘Boot Camp’ a watershed, could dramatically expand Mac market share – April 05, 2006
Apple’s ‘Boot Camp’ is bad news for Windows-only PC box assemblers – April 05, 2006
Reuters: Apple’s new ‘Boot Camp’ could draw millions of new Mac buyers – April 05, 2006
Apple introduces Boot Camp: public beta software enables Intel-based Macs to run Windows XP – April 05, 2006
Dude, you got a Dell? What are you, stupid? Only Apple Macs run both Mac OS X and Windows! – April 05, 2006
Intel-based Macs running both Mac OS X and Windows will be good for Apple – June 10, 2005
Yet another lie from MDN, everyone knows that Mac marketshare is -20% because Paul Thurrott tells us that is true.
Or maybe he’s an asswipe who I notice has been less vocal about the Boston Red Sox this year.
Wow, what a trip down memory lane: I bought my first computer–a 128k Mac (the original, baby!) when I was a sophomore at Princeton. I guess there really are smart people there
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Go tigers!
I want o say something inflammatory under a new name.
The Mac snowball is getting bigger and bigger. Wait until this time next year. Is that an avalanche I hear????
And the change begins. Not with a bang, but with a slow wave, gathering steam, year after year.
Soon, people are reluctant to admit that they ever used a PC with windows. “Who me??? Never!”
The beginning of the end.
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N.
What can I say… My younger daughter (14) says “Why do we have to use Word at school Dad? – Word is such a pain!”.
She’ll be at the UK equivalent of Princeton in a few years time ho ho. And Daughter One now taking chemistry, albeit using my old Powerbook with a 10gb memory (that’s TEN: seemed OK at the time!) – yet it’s still cruisin’, as is my old SE/30 and Powerbook 145b!
This campus trend is building a base for Apple’s conquest of the enterprise when these now students become employees.
I would like to request that college student MDN readers write in to let us know the purchasing statistics at their schools – this year vs. previous years.
Snowball is correct. Once the train leaves the station it ain’t goin’ back. I’m betting in two years apple will have 35% or more world-wide. Ballmer will be Zuning in his pants.
Apple should sell Macs with windows preinstalled for those who want it and don’t already have a Windows licence.
The Tipping Point is coming…
While Microsoft sees a light at the end of its tunnel as it nears the Vista release… but wait, that isn’t a light, it’s a train coming the other way!
lobo:
I would guess that most persons wanting to buy a Mac for Windows already have a copy of Windows at home. Diehard OS X users will purchase a Mac with OS X preinstalled and be glad not to install Windows.
Why does MDN link to such CRAPPY YouTube versions of the Apple Commercials? They are all readily available on Apple’s site in Glorious QuickTime format.
http://www.apple.com/getamac/ads/
I agree, most people don’t even KNOW what Windows is. They have no concept of operating system.
Thus the Microsoft Myth of Choice (MMC™) Is allowed to proliferate.
Put 10 PC’s from different manufacturers behind a curtain with generic monitors and have people tell you which one is from which manufacturer.
They can’t. They all run Windows. The choice is a myth.
Princeton has seemed to figure this out. Good for them.
When 45% is the global market share all will finally be alright in the world.
Oh, what the heck:
I had a bad experience once.
Apple should let the ignorant masses know about their computers, not ponce around with a dork and a elite prick in their ads. That’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it.
Sorry—an elite prick.
Ivy League elitists. The heartland will never give in to their secular ways.
I went to Cornell.
Therefore, I am inclined to hate Princeton.
Microsoft’s about to get zuned.
I work for IT at one of the campuses for PSU and i don’t think our spike is 45%, but there was a big increase in the number of macs on campus. Even with windows only engineering programs, there are multiple solutions with OS X as the answer. At least on our campus, there’s remote desktop (for us PPC folks), Parallels, Boot Camp, and we even have a few Crossover Beta Testers on staff. It’s nice to see a change. Oh yeah, I’ve had the chance to ask many a OS X user what made them pick that as their computing solution. It’s normally a form of “OS X is better.” “My parents bought it for me.” “I like the design better.” and so on. Many a windows user has seen my iBookG4 that i use for troubleshooting dorm connections (yes that’s right, an OS X machine keeping a windows network running) and are always along the lines of “I wish I had a Mac” or for the more tech inclined “I want OS X and all it’s features…”
Time for M$ to start thinking different….. as in lowered market share.
Among the faculty I interact with at Harvard Medical School and it’s affiliated hospitals, and the biologists I know well at MIT, at least 50-60% use Macs. I don’t know whether the percentage is increasing. It would be interesting to find out. The data should exist because many students and faculty buy their computers through the school, as they do at Princeton.
Why won’t the chirping stop?
Life sciences folk have always been heavy Mac users, in particular because of a single program, NIH Image
The current java version runs fine on Windows and OS X (better on OS X, in fact, with it’s superior Java performance) but for years this workhorse of an image processor was Mac Only.
MDN Word “Wrong” …if this is wrong, I don’t want to be right ….
ok I’ll bite,
I had a bad experience last night!