“While the public perception is that Macintosh users are a world apart from mainstream computing, the Mac and PC worlds appear to be drawing closer together as technology continues to converge. Even though Apple software sells to a much smaller user base than Windows products, Macintosh users generally face no shortage of business and productivity software options,” Jack M. Germain reports for MacNewsWorld.
Germain reports, “Macintosh software remains very viable for small business and enterprise users, according to Yankee Group analyst Laura DiDio. This is especially the case for vertical applications targeting graphics, art, marketing and advertising professionals. ‘It also works just fine for general purpose office applications, though in the past, the price premium associated with Macintosh desktops and laptops was a gating factor in more widespread deployment,’ DiDio told MacNewsWorld.”
Germain reports, “Part of the reason for Apple software products’ staying power is that Macintosh computers have run mainstream Windows-based applications like Microsoft Office for years, she said. Perhaps a bigger reason for Apple’s viability is that both Macintosh systems and their software are extremely user-friendly. ‘This makes it easy for individual end users to self-manage their Macs,’ DiDio emphasized. ‘However, it should be noted that any organization that deploys a large contingent of Macs and the accompanying Mac OS software and applications is well advised to employ the services of a trained Macintosh IT professional.'”
Germain reports, “The recent deployment of an Intel processor that runs Windows applications, coupled with the release of Apple’s Boot Camp software, adds a new horizon to traditional Macintosh-only software. Apple’s Boot Camp installs Microsoft’s Windows XP operating system in a partition on the Mac hard drive. This gives Mac users the option of booting up either with OS X or Windows XP… Prospective customers will still pay a 15 percent to 20 percent premium compared to the average Intel/Windows-based PC or laptop, DiDio acknowledged, ‘but the price breaks are a start.'”
MacDailyNews Take: Ms. DiDio, please spec out comparable machines and show us where Apple customers “will still pay a 15 percent to 20 percent premium over an Intel/Windows-based PC or laptop.” We’re waiting. Plus, doing a shortsighted and rather simpleminded Mac vs. PC hardware-only comparison is just plain silly as it fails to factor in the Mac’s unique ability to run Mac OS X and Apple’s best-in-class Mac-only applications!
Full article here.
Related MacDailyNews article:
Dude, you got a Dell? What are you, stupid? Only Apple Macs run both Mac OS X and Windows! – April 05, 2006
