My fellow
good blogger Rohan Jayasekera comments on
why Macs are more popular now. He's spot on: in industries that have no particular tie to a platform (mainly web and other tech), one is free to use the best platform available. That is why you'll find most tech-oriented people using either a Macintosh or Linux machine to do their day-to-day work. As a system administrator and programmer, I've exclusively used a Linux box at work since 2000, and at home since some time in 2003 (I think).
There are other reasons for the surge in popularity, though. For one, it's just a really good platform. The stability, usability, and security are top notch. I remember using OS 8 and OS 9 systems a long time ago, and while fun, they never really impressed me enough to even think about switching to the Mac. If I had not already been on Linux when OS X started getting good traction, I probably would have gone that direction.
Mac's just work. Their support in the third-party component world has historically been good, but now it's fantastic. You can buy pretty much any piece of hardware and expect it to work on the Mac. And work well, with minimal muss and fuss. Support on the software side is quite good as well.
And for those occasions when you
really need Windows Parallels Virtual Machine provides a virtual environment in which Windows runs at nearly native speed.
All this adds up to traction. When the only feasible alternative out there is Windows CloudedVista*, Mac is set to reap some real rewards. It's a system that is fun to use, and easy to learn.
No wonder they are growing in market share.
*Linux is nice, and works well. But it's not always the best choice for a home user.
