9 Comments

Vista Picks Up Traction, Surpasses Mac OS Install Base?

July 23, 2007 by in Apple with 9 Comments

According to metrics firm, Net Applications, Windows Vista has finally begun to pick up some steam. The amount of people that access the web with a Vista computer has risen dramatically while MacOS users have remained flat.

According to Net Applications, in June Windows Vista accounted for 4.52% of all systems that browsed the Web, up from January’s 0.18%. Vista grew its usage share each month since its release to consumers Jan. 30, hitting 0.93% in February, 2.04% in March, 3.02% in April and 3.74% in May. Apple Inc.’s Mac OS X, meanwhile, accounted for 6.22% in January, hit its high point of 6.46% in May, but slipped back to 6% in June.

If Vista’s uptake trend continues, it should pass Mac OS X in Web usage share by the end of August.

Now, I have a beef here. Fist of all it doesn’t take take into account the fact that Apple is on the verge of releasing a new OS. Also, I don’t think online usage is an accurate measure for OS usage. Mac’s tend to skew to more of the first time computer user, who may not ever surf the internet.

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  • websnap

    I’m sure that counts Site licenses… companies will replace XP with vista eventually, it’s just a matter of time. I think leopard does have something to do with the Mac number’s laps, it has always kind of hovered around there. In two years vista will be the dominant os. Just a matter of time.

  • macfanboy_or_not

    When will Mac fans realize that windows is the dominant OS and accept that fact… vista will eventually replace XP and that will be it. Leopard or not, windows has still the largest user base… and don’t give that corporate user bs… many many personal computers/laptops are sold with windows (vista lately) by default… they are inexpensive and are mostly bought for surfing!

    Macs might be the future, but windows are still the present and near future.

  • G R E G H I S C O T T

    All the XP users are faced with a decision. Upgrade to Vista and start climbing that learning curve or make the switch to OS X and begin to climb the OS X learning curve. Some will make the switch and some won’t.

    The interesting question is this:

    How many switch to Vista from OS X ?? Close to zero.

    Once you’ve had Mac, you never go back!

  • http://aviflax.com Avi Flax

    The entire premise of the article is absurd. Vista shouldn’t be compared to OS X. The comparison should be Windows market share vs. OS X market share – and it should be broken down by segment, because OS X has a bigger share of the home market than overall. When Leopard comes out, it might be useful to compare its adoption rates to Vista’s. Bottom line, the article is bogus.

  • Alec

    I think the article is pretty accurate.. I agree that Leopard isnt helping numbers, bet I bet once October comes the Mac share will go up. Windows has a higher home market share than Macs, and Vista will too. No matter how smart Apple is, Microsoft isnt stupid: Windows overall market share will probably never dip below 70%.

  • http://www.dedestruct.com Ayush Saran

    Im not sure i agree that more Mac users may not ever surf the internet.

    Just by their higher entry price the mac systems tend to be bought by slightly more affluent crowd than a regular $399 after rebate dell.

    these people are also more likely to be using broadband and using the internet.

    i used to fix computers for a while and saw a lot of people with low cost PCs who were on no internet or dial-up, but all the macs i had to work on had been on cheap DSL or better.

  • chad

    I just moved to vista on my media center pc and I’m switching back to xp I htae vista and its lack luster performance.

    As for windows being dominate … Of course it is if every car came default with 20″ rims they would be the most popular size ;)

    With that said overthrowing the windows beheomoth isn’t going to be quick.

  • YI

    The only thing that would throw a wrench into Microsoft’s gut is if Apple does what Microsoft does and put the OS on the shelf for any computer user/manufacturer to choose. Hey a few of the bigger pc companies offer Linux as a choice. One of the chief reasons I’ve never wanted to toy with a Mac is the poor customization choices. Every time I’ve looked Macs they have never offered the latest hardware only overpriced dumbed down versions (typically in the graphics area & chipset features).
    I’d rather work with Linux (maybe Ubuntu 7.04) than Mac OS X or the upcoming “leopard”.
    Market share online = influence everyone caters to the company/product with the most influence even the open source community serves windows users as much or more than Mac users because they can get a higher volume of people to support their projects.

  • http://www.iphone-vt.com Radmacdaddy

    Mac = one company, builds ALL hardware…
    Windows = software ONLY = MANY MANY hardware manufacturers…

    No way is this an equal comparison… I am a Mac user and technician… and am well aware that i have to also service PC(windows users) to pay my bills as they are a far larger client base… but, I am successfully switching users regularly as they want; 1) ease of use 2) ease of learning 3) built in ability to do more than just surf the web or write e-mails.

    As people wake up to what they get with a Mac and realize that the overall cost is better compared to a cheap PC then Mac will grow exponentially.

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