Copycat Windows 7 may turn tide on Mac OSX
As many Mac loyalists are happy to point out, 2008 has been one of the best years ever for Macintosh sales, and much of it is due to the Mac OS X Leopard operating system. Leopard has taken the market share from near 7 percent in 2007 to nearly 10 percent of the market share (9.63 percent) by the time December 2008 rolled around. Part of those sales have been due to the Mac OS itself and part have been consumer reaction to Vista. That’s huge growth for this segment of the computer industry in just one year. Will Microsoft’s copycat operating system change that?
If you’ve gotten a chance to poke around the Windows 7 beta, the first thing you notice is how much it is like the Macintosh OS. It has a dock-like launch bar, easy user account management, a light weight feeling to it and, dare I even say it – a bit of an intuitive interface. This isn’t the first time Microsoft has launched a successful operating system using tips and tricks from Macintosh’s book. Those of you who are a bit older may remember when Windows 95 came out and all the cries of “copycat” that went around then, especially with features like the Recycle Bin, so reminiscent of Mac’s Trash Can.
I’m actually happy for Microsoft users. So many are forced to use the inferior, disposable products designed for PC and the operating system that goes with them that it will be a nice change for them to have a computer experience at work that they like. I do think that Windows 7 will steal back a little bit of market share, too, especially when it’s features designed for the netbook get everyone’s attention. Much like netbooks themselves, however, I don’t think it will fully grab customers the way Apple’s MAc OS has.
Netbooks annoy people after a while with the small screen and limited viewing experience, and I think that Microsoft will be unable to keep Windows 7 completely user friendly. This is mainly because Apple has always had the cool operating systems and awesome, rugged hardware to match. The closed system is frustrating for developers and clone makers, but offers the user a better, more reliable, more uniform controlled user experience that reliably delivers what it promises. No extra cooks mucking up the soup like you get at third party friendly Microsoft. In the end I think that as long as the successor to Jobs keeps on an even keel with the current company vision and best practices, Apple’s OS will hold its own and continue to grow. Now, if the successor feels the need to “make his mark” by changing Apple too much, that may be a Mac market share killer, but not Windows 7.
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January 14th, 2009
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January 15th, 2009
If you’re referring to this:
http://marketshare.hitslink.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=8
You left off this:
“IMPORTANT: The December holiday season strongly favored residential over business usage. This in turn increases the relative usage share of Mac, Firefox, Safari and other products that have relatively high residential usage.
Therefore, all December usage statistics should be read in that context.”
And this:
http://marketshare.hitslink.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=10
Shows Vista at having 21.12%. If Vista is such a failure, what do you call an OS with less than half of that?
7, which I’m currently running, is nothing like OSX. And seeing as how it’s still primarily the same as as Vista, the copycat charge is a curious one. But I forget that Apple invented food, fire, the Earth and Sex.
Journalism is dead.
November 1st, 2009
wasnt the original mac os created by att employees. LOL.
i have used both macs and windows pc and now that windows 7 looks snazzy just like leopard, mac heads have lost their edge. all things being the same i will use the OS that lets me use the best computer parts (not just what apple lets me use) and lets me “gasp” play games without have to dual boot windows.
my buddy and his 3500 dollar super mac was slower than my 2000 dollar built computer on benchmark tests and fps in games.
dont get me wrong without apple around microsuck would never have made windows 7 as it is today. heres to good health to apple computers. i love competition.