Well, well, well. Something I said wouldn't happen is actually trying to happen. I don't know how long it will last or how far it will go, but there is certainly something here. While I have always respected Apple computers, and admitted that they are more stable, easier to learn and easier to use than their PC counterparts, I have also put out there that in spite of that, the Mac has been a dismal marketing failure because not only have they failed to get that message accross, but they have (in my opinion) priced themselves out of any serious consideration by the vast majority of computer users.
Well, they have been sneaking prices down a little bit over the past couple years or so, and of course now that they have abandoned the Motorola 68000-based CPU's and have embraced the Pentium, giving Macs the ability (with additional software of course), to be able to run Windows applications, they are actually enjoying, not just a ripple of increased sales, but what can be legitimately called a "spurt"! Here's the actual sub-heading of an article of CNet:
"With a wider range of systems available, consumers have been snapping Macs up, giving them a growth boost that outpaced the rest of the market."
The article goes on to say that sales have jumped about 12% over last year, and that overall, about half of these increased sales are to folks new to Macs. Pretty impressive. Nevertheless, to protect my honor, I do have to point out that 12% of a 3% market share is a tiny ripple in the industry as a whole, but still, from an Apple perspective, it's significant and impressive.
Of course, they're doing a lot of hooping and holloering over at Apple, and perhaps they should. Or maybe they should take a strong look and what it will take to sustain this growth. I am sure that part of the reason for it is that many people, even diehard Windows users, are just getting tired of Microsoft and Windows for a number of reasons. Constant worries about security, WGA, Vista delays, even Bill Gates riding off into the sunset are just fatiguing many PC users. So I think, in a way, these things are helping drive Mac sales, not just the fact that they have "joined 'em 'cause they couldn't beat 'em", although I do believe that the brain trust at Apple finally realized that they were standing on a platform that just didn't give them much competitive leverage.
I'm not ready yet to make any predictions about haw far or how long this spurt will go, but it'll be interesting. Oh, and by the way, I'll never own a Mac myself until either the price becomes reasonable, or unless they give me one.
Oh, by the way, wanna know what was after the ending paragraph of that report on CNet? A visual ad for...a Dell computer! HAAAhahaha. Too funny!