The Apple Tree Grows

Slashdot posted an article about how Apple sales are now surpassing Gateway Computers in the market. The original Computerworld article noted that "Apple's share of U.S. sales [is] at 5.6%" and notes that one in every six laptops now purchased is a Mac.

Why this increase? Spaketh Stephen Baker, analyst at NPD Group, Inc:

Baker attributed the jump in market share to refreshes that both laptop lines recently received.

Heh; they can't just come out and say that the laptops that Apple makes are superior. No. They have to couch it carefully in terms of "improvements."

Most folks that I talk to want to get Macs for the following reasons:

• They want to be able to manage music, photos, and movies and build their own stuff. Sure, you can get iTunes on Windows, but iPhoto and iMovie aren't offered on other platforms.
  
• They want to run Windows for one or two programs and like the fact that they can keep Windows isolated in a virtual environment. If Windows gets corrupted, they don't care; they can just recreate their PC in Parallels or Boot Camp and re-install their software with a minimum amount of effort (compared to doing this on Windows directly). Better still, Parallels now offers the ability to take "snapshots" of your environment, so even if things go bad, you can just revert to a snapshot.
  
• They love the fact that they just don't have to worry about viruses and malware as they do on Windows.
  

All eminently good reasons, in my book. People who never would have looked at a Mac a few years ago are now seriously considering it, including a coworker of mine and family members.

Apple, let me just say it: Nicely done. Keep up the good work.