"Overall, Windows OS's took 92.52 per cent of the market for October, with the Mac taking 5.27 per cent, and Linux on 0.96 per cent."
These figures are from internet capable machines. Arguably, the numbers would skew more towards Windows if non-internet capable machines were added to the mix. Interestingly but not surprisingly, the iPhone has as much penetration as Linux at almost 1% of the market.
@squishyalt:
Gawkers commenting system is bugged in regards to older comments currently. It's the same on Kotaku. Annoying as hell because I can't check my replies. #macvspc
I would like to point out that using the abbreviations PC when asking "do you use a mac ora a PC as your personal home computer?" is redundant since PC means Personal Computer, it doesn't mean Windows, it doesn't mean Macintosh, it doesn't mean *nix.... it means Personal Computer.... so technically this poll should be 100% on PC, or PC should be renamed to Windows. I'm really not sure when PC started to mean Windows, but it's quite a false assumption, of course since the PC market is dominated by Windows computers, maybe that was the thought behind it, or someone was trying to make computers less personal, hell if I know... #macvspc
@Enzer Milliard: That may be kind of true today, but you're overlooking decades of history. There was a time when "PC" meant a specific kind of computer, distinct from all others, back when the IBM PC and Apple Macintosh were not the only players around.
Each system had its own unique hardware and OS. When IBM licensed their technology to other hardware manufacturers, the PC-compatibles, or clones, proliferated, which helped the PC class of computers to overtake the rest of the field, as people could buy or build their own PC-compatible systems for much less money than the competing systems, which required you to buy everything, from the computer itself, to all the peripherals, from the same brand (Apple, Atari, Tandy, Commodore, etc.).
What remains is the legacy of the old IBM PC, and it is this style of computer that we continue to mean when we say PC, even though new Apple Macs use the Intel architecture instead of Motorola, and so now the only real distinction comes from the OS...so Windows (and Linux to some extent) vs. OS X. #macvspc
@UnderLoK: I mentioned the x86 architecture when I was first typing up my comment, but then I remembered that Cyrix and AMD introduced their own chips that weren't x86, but still led to IBM PC-compatible computers, so I dropped it because I didn't want to muddy the waters. #macvspc
I am pretty sure that Macs were always known as PCs. It is just their marketing campaign has infected our language, making us think that the Mac is more than just a PC. #macvspc
Gizmodo is the National Enquirer of tech news sites.
Asking readers which OS they use for reading Gizmodo is assinine when Gizmodo could actually get the stats themselves from their server with a tiny script.
Gizmodo is to the National Enquirer of websites as you are to the Rush Limbaugh of commentary.
"Asking readers which OS they use for reading Gizmodo is assinine"
Reading. Is. Fundamental.
Gizmodo did not ask that poll question. The actual poll question is,
"Do You Use a Mac Or a PC As Your Personal Home Computer?"
A script on the Giz server would not reveal this answer, as many people read Gizmodo at work. Given the penetration of PCs in the workplace, the results of such a script would likely demonstrate a heavy PC-bias.
Hey, waddaya know, just like the script results Gizmodo published!
Instead, they asked a question to which they couldn't deduce the answer from a script.
Also you dont give room for MULTIPLE computers. I have 3 computers, 2 running windows 7 and one running linux (file server and for playing with ubuntu!)...oh also a dead windows laptop with XP. I would love to get a mac mini though #macvspc
I wonder how many PC owners didn't respond because you didn't give an option for Windows and Linux together. I know I didn't. I did just go an add a vote for PC since it technically means both and I've been using my shiny new Windows 7 install more lately rather than booting into Ubuntu.
I was going to vote for PC, since that's what I'm using, but you see, the Left 4 Dead demo was just released.
Now since we know this only affects PC users (Mac users are much too snobby to boot into windows, even to play games), then we must account for the readers who were too busy to vote.
So I think there is an error with the data.
(of course, in a more legitimate statistical note, there is most likely (as in any online poll) a responder bias. ) #macvspc
Does it really frigging matter what hardware you use, so long as you come to Giz? Do my ad dollars mean less or more that I am PC? HOW you get here is less important than actually getting here. #macvspc
@dfp3050: Actually, since I am a woman, and we only earn 61 cents on the average dollar of men, and since men are the most frequesnt readers of Giz, you are right. My ad dollars DO mean less. ;) #macvspc
@Curves: how the fuck did you turn a "what computer do you use" servey into a feminist soapbox? If you don't see how the joke I made had nothing to do with your anti-male agenda, then I'm not sorry for your 61 cents. #macvspc
@maven2k: I was actually joking back at your jibe about just "my" ad dollars meaning less. In my thoughtquest of how my money might be worth less than yours, my mind happened on that formula. Sorry you didnt see the humor in it. #macvspc
so most users run Macs, yet the automatic tracking data suggests that that 61.4% of users run Windows XP, 5.9% run Windows Vista, 6.1% run Windows NT, 2.3% run Windows 2000, .9% run Windows Server 2003, and for some reason .1% run Windows 98, yet only 20.7% run Mac OS X and .1% run System 7 - 9. Very very interesting.. #macvspc
@LEGO - My eggo!: I'd say this is more indicative of the presence of Windows in the workplace. I myself would be contributing to XP because I have no choice but to use it at work, which is where I do most of my Giz surfing :P #macvspc
Another incredibly useless piece of "reporting" that pretends to report some surprising statistical data, but that is so flawed that it is amazingly embarrassing at the very least and intentionally disingenuous (and most likely pushing a private agenda) at the worst.
First, let's give it the reality test - recent STATISTICALLY VALID polls show that Macs are in 12% of households, but that only 2% of those households ONLY have a Mac. 98% of those households also have a PC in the house. Thus, less than 1% of households in America ONLY have a Mac.
So Giz readers defy that by 1.5 orders of magnitude? Please. That isn't even the case for readers of the Apple forums on Apple's own website.
Hmm? So how could a self-selecting poll with almost no technical control get biased? Gosh, how indeed?
Okay, we already know it's garbage...but let's play along. Look at the questions...and consider these issues:
1) The story title is "More Giz Readers Own Macs Than PCs" yet the question relates to what people USE...not OWN. The question also focuses on personal use (as opposed to business use...small business, SOHO, and otherwise)...yet the story headline makes no such qualification.
2) The valid responses in no way accommodate people who use more than one type of personal computer. There is no option for the person who uses a Mac 60% of the time, but also spends 40% of their time gaming on a PC. Given that 98% of Mac users also have a PC in their house...that is a MAJOR flaw here.
3) Linux is an option...yet there is only one aggregate option for "I own a Mac and a PC"...and no such aggregate options for Linux.
4) Speaking of that aggregate response option, it mentions OWN...not USE. The question states USE while the response and the headline say OWN. JC on a pony. Given that 98% of Mac users own both, one would assume that the small minority of valid (not ballot-stuffed) respondents who chose just the Mac option chose the wrong response based on the poorly worded questions.
5) What the hell is a Mac...and what is a PC? What about folks who use boot camp...and can only have a Mac because they have a PC as well? Which option should they have selected? Windows will run on a Mac...and with some software from a range of sources, the Mac OS will run on a "PC".
Seriously, even their own user-agent tracking graph pretty much states "this poll and the associated story are garbage"...yet they wrote it anyway...with a big headline...and that headline will be scanned by ten times more folks than people who actually read the associated story.
When you are being that reckless, how about at least posting a headline that does something good - e.g., SCIENCE SHOWS THAT PEOPLE WHO DONATE TO CHARITY LIVE 20 YEARS LONGER #macvspc
@ScubaSteve: You might have a valid point, but you are taking this waaaaaaaaayy too seriously. It's ok man, just accept the fact that the general Giz reader/editor loves Apple. I've accepted it... The point is that this is still a great site to get gadget news and be entertained by awesome comments. I can put up with a big imbalance of stories favoring Apple as long as there's other stories to keep me busy. It's very easy to just not click on them.
Xeno promoted this comment
Edited by PurpleMonkeyDishwasher: at 10/30/09 4:21 PM
PurpleMonkeyDishwasher: was starred
PurpleMonkeyDishwasher: was unstarred
Correct me if I am wrong (I probably am), but this poll shows that on Gizmodo the home Mac users slightly outnumber the home Windows users. Were you really surprised by this result, Sean? Really? Heck, that is the reason many of us hang out here. The only surprising thing to me is that the home Windows users were even close in the polling.
What is interesting is the web browsing poll that shows 75% of your visitors are Windows users. You assume the difference there is because people are on their "work" computer, and that seems like a strong part of the reason. Another possibility is Mac users who are running in Windows on their machine. A less likely but nevertheless possible answer is that the dual hardware individuals are using their Windows machines more often. #macvspc
11/02/09
"Overall, Windows OS's took 92.52 per cent of the market for October, with the Mac taking 5.27 per cent, and Linux on 0.96 per cent."
These figures are from internet capable machines. Arguably, the numbers would skew more towards Windows if non-internet capable machines were added to the mix. Interestingly but not surprisingly, the iPhone has as much penetration as Linux at almost 1% of the market.
Source: [www.channelregister.co.uk]
11/01/09
It seems that the comments get wiped clean now - especially when they are negatively slanted towards a giz article. #macvspc
11/01/09
Gawkers commenting system is bugged in regards to older comments currently. It's the same on Kotaku. Annoying as hell because I can't check my replies. #macvspc
11/02/09
10/31/09
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Each system had its own unique hardware and OS. When IBM licensed their technology to other hardware manufacturers, the PC-compatibles, or clones, proliferated, which helped the PC class of computers to overtake the rest of the field, as people could buy or build their own PC-compatible systems for much less money than the competing systems, which required you to buy everything, from the computer itself, to all the peripherals, from the same brand (Apple, Atari, Tandy, Commodore, etc.).
What remains is the legacy of the old IBM PC, and it is this style of computer that we continue to mean when we say PC, even though new Apple Macs use the Intel architecture instead of Motorola, and so now the only real distinction comes from the OS...so Windows (and Linux to some extent) vs. OS X. #macvspc
10/31/09
10/31/09
11/01/09
I am pretty sure that Macs were always known as PCs. It is just their marketing campaign has infected our language, making us think that the Mac is more than just a PC. #macvspc
10/30/09
Come on. Speak up. I'm dying to know. #macvspc
10/30/09
Asking readers which OS they use for reading Gizmodo is assinine when Gizmodo could actually get the stats themselves from their server with a tiny script.
What assclowns... #macvspc
10/30/09
Gizmodo is to the National Enquirer of websites as you are to the Rush Limbaugh of commentary.
"Asking readers which OS they use for reading Gizmodo is assinine"
Reading. Is. Fundamental.
Gizmodo did not ask that poll question. The actual poll question is,
"Do You Use a Mac Or a PC As Your Personal Home Computer?"
A script on the Giz server would not reveal this answer, as many people read Gizmodo at work. Given the penetration of PCs in the workplace, the results of such a script would likely demonstrate a heavy PC-bias.
Hey, waddaya know, just like the script results Gizmodo published!
Instead, they asked a question to which they couldn't deduce the answer from a script.
You go, squishyalt. #macvspc
10/30/09
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I was going to vote for PC, since that's what I'm using, but you see, the Left 4 Dead demo was just released.
Now since we know this only affects PC users (Mac users are much too snobby to boot into windows, even to play games), then we must account for the readers who were too busy to vote.
So I think there is an error with the data.
(of course, in a more legitimate statistical note, there is most likely (as in any online poll) a responder bias. ) #macvspc
10/30/09
10/30/09
IMPOSSIBLE! #macvspc
10/30/09
Does it really frigging matter what hardware you use, so long as you come to Giz? Do my ad dollars mean less or more that I am PC? HOW you get here is less important than actually getting here. #macvspc
10/30/09
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For @maven2k: Awww, I love you guys too. xo #macvspc
10/30/09
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First, let's give it the reality test - recent STATISTICALLY VALID polls show that Macs are in 12% of households, but that only 2% of those households ONLY have a Mac. 98% of those households also have a PC in the house. Thus, less than 1% of households in America ONLY have a Mac.
So Giz readers defy that by 1.5 orders of magnitude? Please. That isn't even the case for readers of the Apple forums on Apple's own website.
Hmm? So how could a self-selecting poll with almost no technical control get biased? Gosh, how indeed?
Okay, we already know it's garbage...but let's play along. Look at the questions...and consider these issues:
1) The story title is "More Giz Readers Own Macs Than PCs" yet the question relates to what people USE...not OWN. The question also focuses on personal use (as opposed to business use...small business, SOHO, and otherwise)...yet the story headline makes no such qualification.
2) The valid responses in no way accommodate people who use more than one type of personal computer. There is no option for the person who uses a Mac 60% of the time, but also spends 40% of their time gaming on a PC. Given that 98% of Mac users also have a PC in their house...that is a MAJOR flaw here.
3) Linux is an option...yet there is only one aggregate option for "I own a Mac and a PC"...and no such aggregate options for Linux.
4) Speaking of that aggregate response option, it mentions OWN...not USE. The question states USE while the response and the headline say OWN. JC on a pony. Given that 98% of Mac users own both, one would assume that the small minority of valid (not ballot-stuffed) respondents who chose just the Mac option chose the wrong response based on the poorly worded questions.
5) What the hell is a Mac...and what is a PC? What about folks who use boot camp...and can only have a Mac because they have a PC as well? Which option should they have selected? Windows will run on a Mac...and with some software from a range of sources, the Mac OS will run on a "PC".
Seriously, even their own user-agent tracking graph pretty much states "this poll and the associated story are garbage"...yet they wrote it anyway...with a big headline...and that headline will be scanned by ten times more folks than people who actually read the associated story.
When you are being that reckless, how about at least posting a headline that does something good - e.g., SCIENCE SHOWS THAT PEOPLE WHO DONATE TO CHARITY LIVE 20 YEARS LONGER #macvspc
10/30/09
@ScubaSteve: #macvspc
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10/30/09
Of course. #macvspc
10/30/09
10/30/09
What is interesting is the web browsing poll that shows 75% of your visitors are Windows users. You assume the difference there is because people are on their "work" computer, and that seems like a strong part of the reason. Another possibility is Mac users who are running in Windows on their machine. A less likely but nevertheless possible answer is that the dual hardware individuals are using their Windows machines more often. #macvspc