Report: Mac users are smarter than PC users (get ready to rummmmmmmble)

ZDNet via Yahoo ^ | Ian Fried

[Dallas]

Those who surf the Web using a Mac tend to be better educated and make more money than their PC-using counterparts, according to a report from Nielsen/NetRatings.

The study also said Mac users tend to be more Web savvy, with more than half having been online for at least five years. And the Mac faithful are 58 percent more likely than the overall online population to build their own Web page and also slightly more likely to buy goods online, according to the report.

"With above-average household income and education levels, the Mac population presents a very attractive target for marketers, both online and offline," the research group said.

TS Kelly, director and principal analyst at NetRatings, said that his company decided to publish the study after noticing the differences between the demographics of Mac owners compared with overall PC owners. Kelly said Apple Computer is a client, but he said Apple did not commission the study nor was it made aware of the results prior to the report's publication.

Kelly said the greater affluence and education level of those who surf using a Mac is attributable in part to the company's comparatively pricier machines, as well as to their perception as a status symbol and their greater market share among those in the publishing and design industries.

"Any time you lower a price point you always see a broadening of the audience that is probable to buy it," Kelly said.

"Apple customers may be educated, but our customers are smart enough to have chosen Gateway, which offers the best value," said Brad Williams, a spokesman for the PC maker.

Apple has been aggressively targeting PC owners in its latest ad campaign.

Although Apple sales typically represent less than 5 percent of the overall U.S. personal computer market, 8.2 percent of Americans who surf the Web at home do so using a Mac, according to the study. Nearly all the rest of those who go online--89.4 percent--do so using a Windows-based PC.

Nielsen/NetRatings said that 70.2 percent of Mac users online have a college degree, compared with 54.2 percent of all Web surfers. That, combined with their longer surfing histories and their greater willingness to buy products via the Web, makes Mac consumers a prime catch for marketers, Kelly said.

"In many cases that is a market advertisers are looking at when they are promoting new products or upscale products," Kelly said.

A representative for PC maker Dell noted that it doesn't seem to be lacking for customers and that half of those customers buy their PCs over the Web--a sign that Windows users are also adept online.

The study notes that although there are clear benefits to marketing to Mac owners, it can be tough to target them specifically.

Once upon a time, marketers could target personal computer users as a whole to reach a more-educated, higher-income base, however the demographics of those with a personal computer have become more similar to the demographics of the overall population as personal computer penetration has grown. Kelly said advertisers can still reach upscale crowds in other ways, such as targeting those who have a broadband connection.

[Dallas]

Just call me ingnerant ignorant...

[Dallas]

ping...LOL

[martin_fierro]

Oh, right. These peoples' brilliance is blinding.

[dighton]

[Clara Lou]

Apple had to have paid Nielsen for this.

[billhilly]

As a MAC user I am going to remain silent on this issue. See how smart we are?

[browardchad]

Hmmm -- the only people I know with a Mac are better educated, do make more money...and are computer illiterate.

[M Kehoe]

Ask a Mac user what a bus or bios is and they will tell you something to ride on and a resume.

INCOMING!

5.56mm

[Still Using Air]

I picked this comment off another site (http://www.hardocp.com/) that pretty much sums it up for me:

Quote: "Let me just put my little spin on this here and it will make more sense. Less than 5% of all PC users are MAC users. 89.4% are PC users. So if we use 1000 people as a target number, that means 50 people out of every 1000 that own a computer are using a MAC, and of that 50 people 35 are college educated. Of the same 1000 people, 894 are PC owners and of that number, 485 hold college degrees.

Oddly enough, a recent study of all college graduates concluded that exactly 35 out of every 1000 college grads still live at home with their mothers past the age of 50. coincidence?? No they just Think Different." End of Quote

[isthisnickcool]

What did they say about us that have been fiddling with "
the net" since 1987 and started out on CP/M machines???

[Fresh Wind]

I would rather see a study comparing the snobbishness of the Mac user vs. the PC user. I think I know which group would come out WAY ahead.

[big'ol_freeper]

Gotta love that!!!

[MAD-AS-HELL]

having used and both computers and now being able to compare XP to OS X, there is no doubt that OS X is just a far superior and better laid out operating system. Pc's are always a pain in the ass due to the boneheaded software/driver problems that always kreep up. There's no doubt that MSFT has the marketing clout to make everyone use their product but they continually put out half baked goods full of security holes only to later send out patches after your data gets screwed. Oracle is notortious for doing that as well. Apple's problem was that they didn't have the marketing and thus failed miserably in getting Apple Os on every desktop. Apple is a snobbish company but they put out a better product. End story is the better doesn't always = most used or popular. As far as apple people being smarter, the survey is just poorly done. First off, most people opt for PC's cuz they are significantly cheaper than apples. And how can you compare 95% window's users intelligence to 5% apple users?

[woofer]

As a MAC user I am going to remain silent on this issue. See how smart we are?

I cannot fault your logic.

One issue with the article I have is that it appears that Linux users are catching up with Mac users. And all of the linux users are what I'd call "web-savvy". I'd say Apple has seen the light with the inclusion of Linux the their OS X and are finally ready to 'slip the bounds' of proprietary language and hardware. (The sole reason they are just 5% of the market.)

[TennTuxedo]

My dog is better than your dog.

[Lower55]

Cadillacs and Lincolns are better than other American made cars.

Why are people too stupid to realize this?

They run better and ride better and last longer.

Why doesn't everybody use Cadillacs and Lincolns?

If you drive anything but these, you're ignorant. If you drive foreign built, you're un-American.

[Paul Atreides]

What is truly funny is, that these Mac people claim to be so much smarter than PC people yet, the first thing out of their mouths is how difficult it is to use a PC.

[Drango]

I use both...

[isthisnickcool]

I ran across Linus and Linux in 1991. It's come a very long way since then. This "survey" actually seems to be about "Apple" or "Microsoft" OS users.

I suppose someone could make the point that some Linux users are smarter than Mac or Microsoft users combined because they actually have helped MAKE the OS itself. Unlike Apple or Microsoft which are closed systems. Yea, I know X is based on BSD but basically both OS's are locked. Unlike Linux. Which for the money is the best OS ever made for microprocessors.

[Lower55]

An Austrailian Shepherd is the smartest and easiest to train dog.

Why do so many stupid people have other breeds?