You have been told before that I maintain the Mac/Apple Ping list on FreeRepublic. I have been asked by 500 fellow Freepers to keep them appraised of events and news that happen that impact Apple, iPhones, iPads, and Macs. I do that. That makes me a "cultist' and insane?
You come into these threads and post irrelevant information about WORLD wide data based on website hits, not germane to the article and I correct it,... I posted data from actual sales figures... to rebut you. That is discussion. I have not insulted you or denigrated you, but you use slurs and insults to attack me, attempting to belittle me, instead of my information. That is not a way to debate fairly or properly. Even calling my posts an "obsession" is an attempt to belittle me.A large portion, I would guess no less than 95%, consists of a) your posting of most anything singing the praises of Apple and b) your zealous defense of Apple and near-instantaneous rebuttals of anybody who dares to disagree with the notion that Apple is the greatest company ever. In your mind, Apple has never, ever done anything wrong. I mean, their business model depends on both the indifference and ignorance of the average consumer and they are wildly successful at it. That's all well and good.
I post negative information about Apple as well as positive, but you go on to "psychoanalyze> me, again, attempting to trivialize my arguments and anything I post. That is ad hominem to the Nth degree, sir. Insulting to say the least... and you, sir, are unqualified to do anything of the sort. You also buy into the MYTH that Apple depends on the IGNORANCE of the average consumer when, for the most part, most Apple users are MORE knowledgeable of computer—since Mac users are usually computer by-lingual, having to use PCs at work, and have CHOSEN to use a Mac at home—than their PC using counterparts who have no Mac know how at all. It is truly the PC user who is ignorant. We Mac users run into that ignorance everyday in these Mac threads.
The post had NOTHING to do with claiming that Apple invented the electronic calendar or reminders, that's just your strawman false argument you raise to again denigrate Apple and the point being made, which you can easily shoot down, because you CAN'T shoot down the main point which is... that a PC pundit had predicted that Microsoft Windows7 was so good that it was going to force OSX Macs back into obscurity in the US by the end of 2010... or didn't you bother to read the article??? Apparently you didn't. The point was not only was he wrong, but that the Mac sales GREW by better than 25% over where they had been when he made that prediction... even with the growth of Windows7 sales in the US.
While the timeframes aren't the same, it is clear that any Apple numbers claiming a 10% or greater market share are listing other devices (like the iPhone and its variants) as "computers,"
No, Again, you are comparing WORLD wide sales figures to the wrong figures—and there, it's only clear to someone like you who, apparently prefers to make up false information. Why not look for the accurate data. Google can be a powerful tool... and it only takes a few seconds.
Apple is up to 5.07% of the worldwide sales of computers from 3% just two years ago—and if we were including other devices as computers than there would be no comparison in that. Apple sold almost 15 million ipads, 47 million iPhones, and about 60 million iPod touches in 2010, which totals to 135 million devices in 2010—all of which are, actually OSX UNIX devices at core—and truly computers, even if you don't want to call them that.
IF, we were using those devices in the count, and calling them computers, even accounting for all the smartphones and game consoles tossed into the computer market sales, world wide, which would bring the total number up to around 750,000,000, then Apple would be at about 18% of the all inclusive "computer" market worldwide... and would probably be in the number 1 position.
Several companies that count sales of computers are now counting the iPad as a computer and are listing Apple as the number one US maker of computers—eclipsing HP in that position—because they have been counting netbooks as computers.
But, contrary to your erroneous assertion, that greater than 10% of the US market statistic IS only computers... not anything else.
First of all, I did read the original article. I do not agree with the author’s viewpoint and I believe that was made clear earlier. The author does not cite the source of any of his numbers, so when he talks about market share it is entirely unclear what he means. We do not know if he means sales or total installed base. Again, the article was poorly written.
If Apple, for example, sells an iPod and an iPad to a person who already owns an iMac, they have not gained any market share. If Apple sells an iPod to a user who did not have an MP3 player previously, they have gained market share - in the personal audio device market, not the personal computer market. If Apple sells an iPod to somebody who is replacing their 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, or 6th generation iPod, they have not gained any market share anywhere. Posting sales numbers for markets that a) Windows does not compete with and b) electronic devices that are not computers is not relevant to a discussion about Windows.
I state what I do about the ignorance of Apple users because their ad campaigns were (and are) misleading and most Apple users, for example, believe that they are essentially invulnerable on a Mac or that their computers “just work” when Apple patches security vulnerabilities and software defects as often as Microsoft. In my heart and in my mind (I hold two degrees in Computer Science and am working on a third), I do not believe there is any real quantifiable difference in quality between the two operating systems.
I didn’t say that Apple invented the electronic calendar nor did I imply anybody else did either. I was mocking the use of the phrase “iCal’ed” (again, this should have been clear) as sophomoric. Using any sort of phrase like that immediately marks you as a “fanboy,” and credibility is lost. You did not use this, so do not take that personally. I again believed my intent here to be quite clear.
I do not take the iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad to be computers. You do not have the freedom that you have with OSX on any of these devices. They are not the same. Netbooks, on the other hand, are computers. I run Windows 7 on my netbook. It has all the functionality of any of my desktops. I am willing to call any of the handheld Apple devices computers when they run computer operating systems. They don’t, and two of them don’t even target the computer market. (The iPad somewhat does.)
I guess the moral of the story is that Apple has its benefits. They are very well-run and their production and management of their devices is very tightly controlled. What you can do with an Apple device is very tightly controlled after the fact as well. This makes for a consistent user experience, an important achievement. It comes with a hefty price, though, as few Apple devices can actually justify their inflated costs. They are unique as a computer company. They are not unique as a software developer.