1 Million Windows to Mac Converts So Far in 2005

UltimaGuy writes to tell us AppleInsider is reporting that according to one Wall Street analyst over one million Windows users have switched to Mac in the first three quarters of 2005. It is speculated that these numbers are a direct result of the popularity gained through the iPod and related technologies in addition to security concerns from Microsoft. From the article: "According to checks with Apple Store Specialists, Wolf also said a larger than expected percentage of Windows to Mac converts appear to be purchasing Apple's higher-end systems and that their transition is fueled by the epidemic of viruses and malware on the Windows platform."

In other news,

[killa62]

AOL has signed up 2 million new users for their newbie-friendly internet service thru their dell computer preinstalls alone.

Certified A.S.S.

[k4_pacific]

Apple Store Specialists

Do you suppose these specialists abbreviate their title on their business cards?

Actually...

[kmartshopper]

Actually I'm pretty sure it's a direct result of all those dads buying their college-bound daughters Macs because they were told they wouldn't be cool without them.

Re:Is it because I bought a Mac?

[k4_pacific]

I seriously hope that I'm not lumped in that 1 million figure.

According to the article, you were the 137,565th person to switch, sorry.

Attention Apple Fags!

[Asshat Canada]

They are changing the campaign theme from 'Switch' to 'Come Out Of The Closet!"
Talk about target marketing!

Malware huh?

[Mkoms]

They must have not experienced the Adam and Eve virus... you know, the one that takes a few bytes out of your Apple. [Credit: somewhere on the internet]

Re:Actually...

[Dragoonmac]

it's because OS-X is the windows user's linux.

The Mac Demographic (Re:Is it because I bough...?)

[Anonymous Coward]

"I don't particuarly care for OS X at all... it's such a different UI for me that I'm just not all that comfortable using it."

Well, here's the problem. Mac OS X, and in fact the entire Apple experience, is intuitive for a certain kind of person. Artists, fashion mavens, leftists, and other creative personalities [atspace.com] can sit down with a 12-inch PowerBook running the iLife suite on Tiger and comprehend its sensitive, tasteful aesthetic [atspace.com]. It's a rare instinct, this appreciation for beauty and truth [atspace.com]; accountants and other such pencil-pushers haven't a prayer.

In summary, unattractive squares should stick to Linux [atspace.com] and Windows [atspace.com]. Macs are for different thinkers. [atspace.com]

* * * gallery updated 5 Nov. 2005 * * *

good for your computer

[observer7]

an apple a day keeps the viruses at bay

On?

[Anonymous Coward]

is fueled by the epidemic of viruses and malware on the Windows platform.

Or rather, is fueled by the epidemic of viruses and malware that IS the Windows platform!

Re:Certified A.S.S.

[Kjella]

"Apple Store Specialists"

Do you suppose these specialists abbreviate their title on their business cards?

Just be glad you didn't work as a Student Assistant (studentassistent) here in Norway. The abbriviation was stud.ass., I kid you not.

Kjella

Re:Certified A.S.S.

[spxero]

On a serious note, how do those guys take themselves seriously standing under the "Genius Bar"?
I'd hardly call being a mac tech (more like a CSR) a genius.

Slashdot OS X Typo award winner!

[Overly Critical Guy]

Hello, you've won the "Slashdot OS X Typo" award.

You see, in every Apple article on Slashdot, someone always makes a typo when writing three simple letters: OS X. Scientists are divided as to why it's so difficult for Slashdotters to correctly spell this very simple combination of letters (pronounced "Oh Ess Ten," the tenth version of Mac OS).

Common typo variations are:

1.) OS-X
2.) OS/X
3.) OSx
4.) OSX
5.) OSX86

Related typos include:
6.) MAC (instead of Mac)

Yours, sir, is the first insane typo of many in the comments to come when it comes to typing three simple letters: OS X. Be grateful in your glorious splendor! You are a scholar and a gentleman. Good day.

Malware coders switching to Macs

[Anonymous Coward]

My malware buddies and I are all swithcing to Mac. Having our computers lockup or blue screeded in the middle of compiling worms was annoying, to say the least. Of course self-infection was problematic too, diagnosing a self-infection versus some bug the machine recieved online was tiresome.

Not any more, We dedicated to the Mac platform, now my PC is just a lonely Guinea pig when not in zombie mode.
 

Re:Time to sell Apple Stock

[njfuzzy]

"Apple: Going out of business since 1984"

No zealotry implied....

[JudgeFurious]

  Zealotry comes later. For now you are a mere convert.

  Soon will come the "Quicktime-ning" and once you reach that stage you will begin gaining power from every Windows user you decapitate...

Re:"switched" or "also bought"?

[jafac]

implying that every Windows user who bought a Mac was turning his or her back on PCs. I don't think that has to be the case at all.

Certainly NOT the case with me.

I use a Mac at home, where I stay virus and malware free, and use my free time for games, web surfing, etc, and I make my living working fixing and making fucked up Windows machines useable. So I wouldn't say that I turned my back on PC's entirely. They fund my Mac addiction.

Re:Certified A.S.S.

[Yaztromo]

A few years ago, the Canadian Reform Party (which later renamed themselves to the Alliance Party) were in talks to merge with the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. After days of public discussions as to what to call the new party, they decided to call themselves the Canadian Reform Alliance Party. It wasn't until after the final vote for this name passsed that someone stood up to inform everyone that the abbreviation was CRAP.

Of course, the oblig. Red Dwarf quote comes to mind here:

RIMMER: Erm, I think we're all beginning to lose sight of the real issue here, which is: what are we going to call ourselves? Erm, and I think it comes down to a choice between "The League Against Salivating Monsters" or, my own personal preference, which is "The Committee for the Liberation and Integration of Terrifying Organisms and their Rehabilitation Into Society." Erm, one drawback with that -- the abbreviation is "CLITORIS."

Yaz.

We feel exactly the same!

[Alejo]

Nike shoes are so much faster. I will never use Adidas again.

Re:"switched" or "also bought"?

[Gilmoure]

The percentage of geeks in general population is growing (or growling, as the case may be)? Cool! More pale chicks with glasses, long hair, and unshaved legs!

Re:Onlly reason I haven't...

[birdman64]

Just for all the non-Australians on the board, the Australian dollar is essentially the South Pacific peso. The price isn't all that bad.

Re:Analyze this!

[corvair2k1]

For solo-work, my most productive times involve just me, my machine, and a good cup of coffee. No Internet to let emails bug me, nor fun websites to distract me from what I should be doing.

Re:No Surprise Here

[Anonymous Coward]

So the "d00d" that was moded as a 0, Troll was actally right and the smart guy who responded as a smart mouth and moded 4, Insightful was quite wrong? No, way... this is not the slashdot I know.

Re:"switched" or "also bought"?

[Don Negro]

Most of the geek girls I know shave at least as often as the geek guys I know.

Think about it, on average it takes 1,000 geek girls not shaving for a week to equal one RMS. I'm almost certain it's been 1,000 weeks since he last shaved.

Re:The Mac Demographic (Re:Is it because I bough..

[BonesawLtd]

I'm a brainless moron as well... I buy Macs because they place their products in high profile Hollywood "no-brainer" movies and that's reason enough.

Re:why don't you..

[idlake]

As a desktop OS, Linux sucks.

Linux is a great desktop OS: KDE and Gnome have all the functionality you would want in a modern desktop OS, they are easy to use, attractive, and reliable.

I think WiFi on my Dell notebook is about the best example that I can come up with off the top of my head. it's a dual band 802.11a/b/g card for which Linux drivers just don't exist.

So, you bought a laptop that isn't well supported by Linux; that's your fault, not Linux's. If you buy your laptop from a Linux laptop vendor, Linux just works out of the box.

Dell vs Apple pricing

[bradleyland]

That's almost laughable. I'm an independent IT consultant, and I'd like to personally thank Dell for their pricing strategy: slap together a box with 256 MB of RAM and Windows XP, advertise in flyers showing said system along side a 15" LCD for $499, profit!!

The scenario goes down something like this. Customer receives Dell, is confounded by how slow it is, and is pissed that they received a CRT, not the flat panel pictured (a la asterisk "for just $179 more..."). Customer calls me, I come out and explain that 256 MB of RAM is no way to run Windows XP, show them the task manager with pagefile usage of 415 MB, they do the math (415 MB > 256 MB). Customer pays me $75/hr to install marked up RAM and a flat panel monitor since they won't talk to Dell anymore.

Michael Dell, we salute you!

PS - Posted from my 20" iMac.

Re:Slashdot OS X Typo award winner!

[Anonymous Coward]

I bet the ladies just love you at parties!

Re:Analyze this!

[Anonymous Coward]

For solo-work, my most productive times involve just me, my machine, and a good cup of coffee. No Internet

For solo-work, my most productive times involve just me, my machine, and the internet

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:Certified A.S.S.

[freakmn]

A high school friend of mine was once working at a pizza place, and was the assistant manager. He made himself a name tag that said Ass. Man.

Re:Analyze this!

[mibus]

Kalc? Konqueror? Alsa? Lirc, jelo, toast, x-this, g-that, k-something-or-other...
Excel? Access? Exchange? Visual Studio? Windows? Outlook? PowerPoint? Visio? Xbox? .NET?

You forgot...

[Anonymous Coward]

OSuX

Re:iTunes, not iPod

[mr100percent]

Can you imagine if Microsoft had tried to make a program like iTunes?

They did, and called it Windows Media Player. It sucks.

Re:Dell vs Apple pricing

[mmeister]

I am a dyed-in-the-wool Sun guy who just got his first XP tablet/laptop last night (I use '98 on my desktop... hey, at least it's the devil I know). It has a half a gig of RAM, and swaps constantly, even after turning off all the eye candy. It's worse than Solaris 9!!!

I've seen my laptop paging out with 1GB of RAM, AT STARTUP

My experience has been that Windows likes to save the "real" memory, in case it needs it for the future. So it immediately starts swapping out memory at boot time. Wouldn't want that to accidently fill up the actual available memory, that might slow you down!!

I'm confused?

[bradleyland]

You've got to be kidding me. I ripped them off by upgrading their computer to a point where they can actually use it? You certainly don't have enough information about me to make judgments about my character. Most of my residential clients are sufficiently wealthy individuals who are very happy with my service and fully understand my income model. Most are happy to have someone who will actually explain to them why 256 MB isn't suitable for running the applications they use, rather than trying to get in and out in under 10 minutes.

Furthermore, I donate my time and money to recondition my wealthy customer's old systems for families who cannot afford a system. The last three systems I gave away were faster than 1 GHz and all went out with 512 MB of RAM or more. I sleep just fine at night.