Net stats place Mac user share at 7.3 percent in December

[AppleInsider]

Apple's share of web users has topped 7 percent for the first time at the expense of Windows, according to the latest statistics from web researchers at Net Applications.

Having already reached an all-time high of 6.8 percent in November, the number of Mac visitors to Net Applications' 40,000 tracked websites has jumped substantially to 7.31 percent -- a relative increase of 7.5 percent in one month.

Researchers also pointed out that traffic surged in the final two days of the year: on December 30th and 31st, Mac share edged slightly past 8 percent. Neither these nor the primary figures include Mac users visiting the pages using Windows in Boot Camp or a virtual machine, suggesting that the number of Mac owners included in the study is slightly higher.

"These numbers actually understate the market share for the Mac," Net Applications says. "We have no way of telling by how much, however."

Although it doesn't attempt to explain the spike in user share, the firm observes that Windows share has dropped during the same period. Where Microsoft's OS share accounted for 92.4 percent in November, it stands at 91.8 percent in the final month of 2007. A small portion of this may be attributable to Linux, which is the second-largest OS included in the results and which grew less than a tenth of a percentage point in the two-month interval.

The surprise contribution to the shift in balance is the iPhone, Net Applications adds. While small, the iPhone's web share shows "spectacular" growth from 0.09 percent to 0.12 percent of all visits. This gain is the largest since the Internet analysts began tracking statistics for the Apple cellphone in July.

As with the Mac, iPhone user demographics climbed sharply at the very end of December. At 0.17 percent, the handset's share on the 30th and 31st represents little of the overall share but an exceptional 89 percent gain over the November figures.

Windows Mobile and other portable operating systems did not register statistics high enough to be included in the report.

[internetworld7]

The age of an Apple dynasty is upon us and a double digit Market Share is a certainty in 2008!

[HyteProsector]

wait... its still tuesday. what the frig?

[echosonic]

Originally Posted by internetworld7

The age of an Apple dynasty is upon us and a double digit Market Share is a certainty in 2008!

and still a bargain at $199 a share. Get in while you still can.

[MacTel]

Originally Posted by internetworld7

The age of an Apple dynasty is upon us and a double digit Market Share is a certainty in 2008!

Bring on the subnotebooks to make it happen Apple!

I bought a new Macbook this year to make my contribution and get Leopard.

If Vista's SP1 is a yawner then Apple's rise is guaranteed.

My only real complaint with Leopard is with Safari 3.0. I'd like a GUI way to add tabs like in Firefox and IE. There needs to be more preferences for links to come-up automatically as a new tab. I'm not interested in key and mouse click combinations. Safari 3.0 comes-up short on tab management.

[Zweben]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

Although it doesn't attempt to explain the spike in user share... A small portion of this may be attributable to Linux, which is the second-largest OS included in the results and which grew less than a tenth of a percentage point in the two-month interval.

Second largest? You mean third, unless you're talking about something other than market share.

[solsun]

Originally Posted by MacTel

My only real complaint with Leopard is with Safari 3.0. I'd like a GUI way to add tabs like in Firefox and IE. There needs to be more preferences for links to come-up automatically as a new tab. I'm not interested in key and mouse click combinations. Safari 3.0 comes-up short on tab management.

1. File menu > New Tab

OR

2. Command + T

Simple Enough.

[gkorsgard]

Great job Apple!! We need more of you in the Seattle area. Vista crashed last night and the fireworks came to an end. MS rebooted 2008 two times!

[internetworld7]

Originally Posted by solsun

1. File menu > New Tab

OR

2. Command + T

Simple Enough.

Umm...no. Tab browsing in both Firefox and Opera is awesome, the same cannot be said about Safari 3. I was using Camino exclusively until I came across the Saft plugin for Safari 3 which gives me the functionality in tab browsing that I'm looking for in Safari.

I hated the fact that in Safari I would have dozens of windows open. Unfortunately Safari does not give you the simple option of just opening links that open in a new window to be opened in a new tab instead. And please, lets not get stupid here and talk about command clicking or middle clicking on a mouse. You often do not know if a link is going to open in a new window or not, plus this should be taken care of automatically in Safari as it is done in Camino, Firefox, Opera, Shiira, Flock, Seamonkey, etc.

Fortunately the Saft plugin takes care of this. Now it's "Simple Enough."

[halhiker]

NOT! Now what will the security through obscurity set have to say?

I also have to wonder how many of the users of Windows were business users? I use Windows at work because I HAVE to. I work in a hotel and we have tons of computers all running Windows. Whenever I have to look up information to help a guest or co-worker it's always on IE. At home I wouldn't consider it. EVER.

One thing I have noticed is a LOT of our guests are carrying Apple laptops (especially younger users). Just a few years ago I NEVER saw any.

[djames42]

Originally Posted by internetworld7

You often do not know if a link is going to open in a new window or not

Actually, you do. It says on the status line, "Open *link* in a new window" shows up in my Safari. I admit that I like Firefox's ability to open new windows as a new tab instead, but middle clicking is fine for me (since most of my surfing is done with my macbook pro using a bluetooth iogear wheel-mouse).

I'm not arguing that your point is valid, just that it's not entirely accurate.

[djames42]

I find it cute entertaining that "Windows Mobile and other portable operating systems did not register statistics high enough to be included in the report."

To anyone who has used a Windows Mobile device, my sympathies go out to you. I had a smartphone and a windows-mobile based GPS/PDA combo. Ironically, the PDA running an old version of Windows Mobile is the only stable Windows device I have ever used (it never once crashed on me), but my smartphone had to be rebooted daily to prevent it from freezing (generally at an inopportune moment like when I was receiving a call). On top of being the most unreliable phone I've ever had, the Windows Mobile interface is God-awful (although I admit that what HTC has done with their touch-interface is nice, but once you enter an app, you're stuck with the clunky controls).

[internetworld7]

Originally Posted by djames42

Actually, you do. It says on the status line, "Open *link* in a new window" shows up in my Safari. I admit that I like Firefox's ability to open new windows as a new tab instead, but middle clicking is fine for me (since most of my surfing is done with my macbook pro using a bluetooth iogear wheel-mouse).

I'm not arguing that your point is valid, just that it's not entirely accurate.

Two things: First, it's called a "Status Bar", not a status line and two, the status bar is not enabled by default. Ah, what the heck I might as well give you three. And three, looking down at the status bar each and every time you click is neither natural nor sensible.

"I'm not arguing that your point is valid, just that it's not entirely accurate."

[Leto]

Originally Posted by internetworld7

Two things: First, it's called a "Status Bar", not a status line and two, the status bar is not enabled by default. Ah, what the heck I might as well give you three. And three, looking down at the status bar each and every time you click is neither natural nor sensible.

"I'm not arguing that your point is valid, just that it's not entirely accurate."

I'd argue that looking at the status bar every time you click a link is more than sensible, it's a safety concern. Of course, this is less so when using a Mac, but nonetheless.

[auxio]

Originally Posted by internetworld7

I hated the fact that in Safari I would have dozens of windows open. Unfortunately Safari does not give you the simple option of just opening links that open in a new window to be opened in a new tab instead. And please, lets not get stupid here and talk about command clicking or middle clicking on a mouse. You often do not know if a link is going to open in a new window or not, plus this should be taken care of automatically in Safari as it is done in Camino, Firefox, Opera, Shiira, Flock, Seamonkey, etc.

Right-clicking a link and selecting "Open Link in New Tab" seems pretty easy to me.

And don't tell me you only use a single-button mouse because of some fading Apple UI religion from the 80s which stated, "thou shalt only ever need one mouse button". If you're installing Saft and configuring your browser, you're a sufficiently advanced user to handle more than one mouse button.

Even if you're using the trackpad on a laptop, you can simply turn on the right-click gesture in the preferences.

[monstrosity]

Originally Posted by internetworld7

Umm...no. Tab browsing in both Firefox and Opera is awesome, the same cannot be said about Safari 3. I was using Camino exclusively until I came across the Saft plugin for Safari 3 which gives me the functionality in tab browsing that I'm looking for in Safari.

I hated the fact that in Safari I would have dozens of windows open. Unfortunately Safari does not give you the simple option of just opening links that open in a new window to be opened in a new tab instead. And please, lets not get stupid here and talk about command clicking or middle clicking on a mouse. You often do not know if a link is going to open in a new window or not, plus this should be taken care of automatically in Safari as it is done in Camino, Firefox, Opera, Shiira, Flock, Seamonkey, etc.

Fortunately the Saft plugin takes care of this. Now it's "Simple Enough."

Whats wrong with Command + click?!
I dont understand the issue. "You often do not know if a link is going to open in a new window or not" opens in a tab whenever i wish it to open in a tab! I could not ask for it to be any better in that respect.

[bsenka]

Safari opens every link that I want opened in a tab, in a tab, every time. It's brilliantly simple: click if you want a new window, command-click if you want a tab.

[nmcphers]

Originally Posted by Leto

I'd argue that looking at the status bar every time you click a link is more than sensible, it's a safety concern. Of course, this is less so when using a Mac, but nonetheless.

Yep, yep. It's how you detect the true URL before clicking on a link to a spoof website. I don't check it for every link I click, but for every link I'm suspicious of.

[Walter Slocombe]

the only time safari wont open a link is... den den deeeenn!!! WHEN ITS BROKEN.

[digitalclips]

The inability to track Macs while in Boot Camp or as I understand it Parallels or VMware is an interesting issue. My wife is an example of a Mac user who has always had to have a PC for a stupid Real Estate system called MLS which (in our area at least) simply refuses to be web compliant and runs only on IE and Windows. The second the Intel mac came out we placed the PC in the trash can and rejoiced.

So she is using a Mac day and night with IE and Windows for her work but doesn't even register in these statistics. There must be many similar users out there. She does, I should add use the Mac OS for everything else of course.

[digitalclips]

Originally Posted by halhiker

NOT! Now what will the security through obscurity set have to say?

I also have to wonder how many of the users of Windows were business users? I use Windows at work because I HAVE to. I work in a hotel and we have tons of computers all running Windows. Whenever I have to look up information to help a guest or co-worker it's always on IE. At home I wouldn't consider it. EVER.

One thing I have noticed is a LOT of our guests are carrying Apple laptops (especially younger users). Just a few years ago I NEVER saw any.

The last point is so true, they are springing up like mushrooms

On the Hotel side, this illustrates a huge market that Apple should address. Wouldn't iMacs look so much cooler in all these work situations. So Apple should be courting these markets by talking to the software developers of these type of systems. Most at the end of the day are databases and mail servers. An all Apple set up would be far better and safer.

I remember all too well as the owner of an Apple dealership in the late 1970'sand early 80's how we were putting such systems in to many businesses. We even had fiber optic networking from a company called Symbiotic (Hi Rodney Cox and Terry Hood But we were crushed by PCs in the following years simply due to software availability. It is time for the tide to change!

[melgross]

Originally Posted by Zweben

Second largest? You mean third, unless you're talking about something other than market share.

As they were talking about OS X share, I think they mean second largest after that.

[rehmbo]

I think its real simple, folks. People weren't at work.

It may change in the future, but today, its a well known fact that Mac penetration into the home market is much higher than the "enterprise".

Its also likely that a bunch of Macs were acquired over Christmas and used during this time-period, but I bet the no-work issue dominates. Lets wait and look at January figures. I'd wager they flatten out a bit.

[polar315]

Put me down as a December addition to the Mac numbers. Rec'd a 24" iMac for Christmas and could not be happier.

[maxmann]

Originally Posted by monstrosity

Whats wrong with Command + click?!
I dont understand the issue. "You often do not know if a link is going to open in a new window or not" opens in a tab whenever i wish it to open in a tab! I could not ask for it to be any better in that respect.

I'm new to "click" .. and even though i might be using it right now - please tell me what CLICK is?

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by rehmbo

I think its real simple, folks. People weren't at work.

It may change in the future, but today, its a well known fact that Mac penetration into the home market is much higher than the "enterprise".

Its also likely that a bunch of Macs were acquired over Christmas and used during this time-period, but I bet the no-work issue dominates. Lets wait and look at January figures. I'd wager they flatten out a bit.

Excellent point to consider, rehmbo. Welcome to AI.

[kmoch]

I'd be interested in knowing where the "well known fact" of higher Mac penetration into homes is documented. I've mentioned this to several people to whom I've recommended Macs but having a real source (survey, whatever) would certainly be helpful.

Originally Posted by rehmbo

I think its real simple, folks. People weren't at work.

It may change in the future, but today, its a well known fact that Mac penetration into the home market is much higher than the "enterprise".

Its also likely that a bunch of Macs were acquired over Christmas and used during this time-period, but I bet the no-work issue dominates. Lets wait and look at January figures. I'd wager they flatten out a bit.

[internetworld7]

Originally Posted by monstrosity

Whats wrong with Command + click?!
I dont understand the issue. "You often do not know if a link is going to open in a new window or not" opens in a tab whenever i wish it to open in a tab! I could not ask for it to be any better in that respect.

What's wrong with just clicking on the link and it automatically opening in a new tab like Firefox, Camino, Opera, Shiira, Seamonkey, Flock, etc.? Command clicking is just another unnecessary step when this can be easily handled automatically. Unless you have the status bar enabled, which it's not by default, you don't know if a link is going to open in a new tab. With Safari you end up with multiple windows open rather than multiple tabs open in a single window.

Command clicking, middle button clicking? Umm...no. Browsing has advanced. For whatever reason neither IE7 nor Safari automatically open new windows in tabs instead.

[rehmbo]

Originally Posted by kmoch

I'd be interested in knowing where the "well known fact" of higher Mac penetration into homes is documented. I've mentioned this to several people to whom I've recommended Macs but having a real source (survey, whatever) would certainly be helpful.

Point well taken- its a bit irresponsible of me to state something is a fact without showing data and source.

This is one of those situations where I "know" it to be true based on reading countless news articles on the subject, but when I try to go find the data to support it, well... aside from spending $2500 on a IDC or Gartner research report, I don't have much to show you.

I did find this article at Roughly Drafted that notes a significant difference between education, retail, and total market shares. Since most corporations don't buy their PCs at retail (no, I don't have data to support this assertion either), it would seem to follow that Mac market share is higher for the home market than the overall market.

[djames42]

Originally Posted by internetworld7

First, it's called a "Status Bar", not a status line

[melgross]

Originally Posted by kmoch

I'd be interested in knowing where the "well known fact" of higher Mac penetration into homes is documented. I've mentioned this to several people to whom I've recommended Macs but having a real source (survey, whatever) would certainly be helpful.

I'll tell you one thing, I know a lot of people who have been switching over the past few years.

One friend, who was in charge of Windows engineering workstation purchases for the MTA, bought a Powerbook three years ago, he's now buying an iMac, and may upgrade to a MacBook Pro.

Another friend, as he was leaving for home from my holiday party this year, said that he was going to buy an iMac shortly after MacWorld. He's in charge of the Controllers Office audit department here in NYC, and has never used a Mac before.

If people like this are moving over, it bodes well.

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by melgross

I'll tell you one thing, I know a lot of people who have been switching over the past few years.

One friend, who was in charge of Windows engineering workstation purchases for the MTA, bought a Powerbook three years ago, he's now buying an iMac, and may upgrade to a MacBook Pro.

Another friend, as he was leaving for home from my holiday party this year, said that he was going to buy an iMac shortly after MacWorld. He's in charge of the Controllers Office audit department here in NYC, and has never used a Mac before.

If people like this are moving over, it bodes well.

I have many similar stories and know of many people will be buying Macs as their next machine after trying mine, trying them in the Apple Stores, and because I've stated that will no longer help them with their OC if they don't buy a Mac next. I also know people who love their iPhone so much that they will be getting a Mac as their next machine.

2008 will be anther good year for Apple!

[Booga]

I have a theory about this statistic. It showed a huge spike for Macs in December, especially between Christmas and New Year's. Well, in what way does the typical person's computer use change during that time? My answer: they're not at work.

I think they just measured the difference between at-work web browsing market share and home computer web browsing market share. They're showing that Apple is north of 8% of home computers, but much less than that of office computers. It will be interesting to see if the numbers plummet in January.

[doh123]

well if you accidently do click a link and it opens in a new window, at least in Safari 3 you can move the tab back into the previous window without reloading anything... but it would be nice to have an option to force all of those type of links to only go to a new tab.

[internetworld7]

Originally Posted by doh123

well if you accidently do click a link and it opens in a new window, at least in Safari 3 you can move the tab back into the previous window without reloading anything... but it would be nice to have an option to force all of those type of links to only go to a new tab.

The Saft plugin is the only thing that takes care of this that I know of. Saft has made Safari 3 very enjoyable and my default browser. Tab browsing is just the way I want it.

[internetworld7]

Originally Posted by djames42

Lets just rename things and call them what we want.

[melgross]

Originally Posted by Booga

I have a theory about this statistic. It showed a huge spike for Macs in December, especially between Christmas and New Year's. Well, in what way does the typical person's computer use change during that time? My answer: they're not at work.

I think they just measured the difference between at-work web browsing market share and home computer web browsing market share. They're showing that Apple is north of 8% of home computers, but much less than that of office computers. It will be interesting to see if the numbers plummet in January.

Yeah, that was brought up already. I'm not sure it's true though, because people using PC's and Linux machines also get vacations, believe it or not, and people who use Mac's at work will go home and use Mac's again during vacation. Some of those actually use PC's when at home.

I don't think that would change the numbers by more than a couple tenths at most. But, the numbers that are being quoted for new Mac sales this quarter are from 2.2 million, up to 2.4 million That would change the numbers.

[Beachin]

Originally Posted by rehmbo

I think its real simple, folks. People weren't at work.

It may change in the future, but today, its a well known fact that Mac penetration into the home market is much higher than the "enterprise".

Its also likely that a bunch of Macs were acquired over Christmas and used during this time-period, but I bet the no-work issue dominates. Lets wait and look at January figures. I'd wager they flatten out a bit.

A good point to consider. It would be helpful to see market share stats on normal weekends to do an apples to apples comparison.

Researchers also pointed out that traffic surged in the final two days of the year: on December 30th and 31st, Mac share edged slightly past 8 percent.

The 30th was a Sunday. Most people do not work on Sundays even when there's not a holiday. The reporter either did not look at market share on normal weekends, determined that it wasn't relevant, or did not do a very thorough job reporting the stats. I'd like to see a comparison of Sundays in November and early December to the Sunday at the end.

I suspect that a large part of the jump is due to new macs and iphones being given as Christmas presents. That would explain why the jump took place after Christmas and was not reported to have occurred on weekend days earlier in the month.

[Booga]

Ah, I didn't see rehmbo's post, although he apparently had the same idea as me.

Even if you count the "new Macs for Christmas" effect, though, it would have been drowned out on a typical business weekday. Most people I know with Macs at home use Windows at work. No one I know goes the other way. Heck, I'm logged in to AppleInsider from work right now on my Windows XP box... I'll bet the folks here at AppleInsider could look at their logs and tell us how true it is.

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

The surprise contribution to the shift in balance is the iPhone, Net Applications adds. While small, the iPhone's web share shows "spectacular" growth from 0.09 percent to 0.12 percent of all visits. This gain is the largest since the Internet analysts began tracking statistics for the Apple cellphone in July.

Sorry - if the iPhone OS is being factored into the equation then the analysis is flawed. Is the iTouch included and well as anything else that uses web browsing? The prior analysis did not include iPhones so the "jump" is skewed. Are all cellphones included? This is the kind of "analysis" that Sony has been reporting on for years.