I think it's definitely hard to say the percentage of home versus corporate use for either Mac or Windows, but even the Mac commercials (Mac vs. PC) really relay the idea. Apple's marketing engine is centered around the idea.
Maybe as time goes on, we'll see a difference in the market share. That's not to say you shouldn't use a Mac if it suits the personal and/or corporate need, just that it's not going to change overnight. Mac's market share has definitely improved since the release of Leopard, as depicted in the following table: http://marketshare.hitslink.com/report.aspx?qprid=9 (Linux market share is increasing, too) and, the next: http://marketshare.hitslink.com/report.aspx?qprid=9 <http://marketshare.hitslink.com/report.aspx?qprid=9&qpcustom=Mac&sample=5> &qpcustom=Mac&sample=5 Then, again, I believe these stats are based on computers accessing the Internet. I know several people who have old Macs that still access the Internet using dial-up at home, which means they may not be in a group that can be easily tracked. From: Eric E Eskam [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, January 02, 2008 10:10 AM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: RE: OT: Mac's and OSX "Rod Trent" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote on 12/21/2007 10:55:41 AM: > Plus, security really doesn't matter to home users. The Mac is > a home-based PC. Security is really only important to those who > have to support Mac's within a business environment. The percentage > is low. What percentage is low? I think we are back in statistics land... Seriously, just call it a toy and get it over with /rolleyes We have several thousand Mac's. Compared to the rest of our infrastructure, it's a low number, yes - but security with them is just as important as it is with our Windows based PC's. It's just with the Mac's it's not an issue. That may change in the future when a real honest-to-goodness exploit (not some lame trojan that requires an admin password to run) is actually in the wild instead of some blog headline, but right now it's simply not an issue. At all. Oh, you can clone mac's, mass deploy software and settings just like on Windows boxes. In some ways, because of OSX's Unix underpinnings and no stupid registry, it's allot easier to do those administrative tasks (everything can be scripted and most configs are in text files). I think it all boils down to familiarity, and most importantly - requirements. But to hint that Mac's aren't a good fit for the enterprise because they are a "home-based PC" is simply ludicrous and wishful thinking on your part. At home, my machine of choice is my PowerBook. Mainly because I know that when I pick it up, it will work. Faithfully and reliably with no fuss. I don't have to think about the computer, the OS, or yes - malware. It just works - as it has for the five years I've owned it. It's a nice change, to actually use the machine for what I want instead of having to think about the machine itself. YMMV of course, but for me it's a great solution. With the new Intel based hardware, there is no risk - you can still run Windows if you have to, but many folks who have switched have found out that after a while, they really don't need to run Windows as much as they thought they would. To me, that's the more interesting story... Eric Eskam =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The contents of this message are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government "The human mind treats a new idea the same way the body treats a strange protein; it rejects it." - P. B. Medawar ~ Upgrade to Next Generation Antispam/Antivirus with Ninja! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbelt-software.com/SunbeltMessagingNinja.cfm> ~
