Mac360 has always been about Mac reviews and commentary, not just regurgitated news. We review Mac software, some hardware (what we can afford), and comment on anything Mac or Windows, Apple or Microsoft, or whatever we’re thinking. I’m thinking, “do Windows users read Mac360?”
Late last night I’m on Skype with Ron and our whooping cough laden, anti-diminutive blonde leader, and we’re talking about a growing trend. Windows users reading Mac360.
Something has changed in the past year for those of you who read Mac360. Safari was once the dominant browser for visiting to our boutique web site, with nearly 70-percent using the standard for Macs.
In the past year, that percentage has dropped to barely 45-percent, while total visitors to the site have more than doubled (daily averages). What’s next? Firefox, Mac and Windows, at over 25-percent, and Internet Explorer, Windows only, at over 20-percent.
I know what you’re thinking: “Alex, you silly dolt. The reason Windows users read Mac360 is because they use Windows PCs at work, and Macs at home, right?” Maybe.
Except that Windows usage in the past two years as tripled, doubling in the last year alone. Have Mac users using Windows at work suddenly increased in number? Perhaps. Switchers. Those poor folks who have seen the light, get to see it again by reading Mac360.
Gawd. I crack me up. Too much coffee, too late at night. All seriousness aside, how do you account for the dramatic growth of readers using Windows?
Linux seems to be a long way from putting a dent in Mcirosoft’s control over the desktop, as less than 1-percent of our readers show up at the site using a Linux PC
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Why the steady increase in Windows users reading Mac360? Mac users account for barely 65-percent of our daily readers, while Windows users are nearing 35-percent. That trend is steadily growing.
It’s not that we mind. The advertisements look the same to both Mac and Windows readers. Maybe they’re attracted to our delightful techno prose. Well, maybe. If we actually had any techno prose.
No, we assume that many Mac users read Mac360 at work, and most of them (you) use Windows PCs at work. That would account for a percentage, but the numbers are growing steadily.
Without any hard evidence to the contrary, I’m convinced that Apple’s market share growth, which includes a substantial number of former Windows users, is accounting for the increase in Mac360’s readers.
My question of the day, an informal survey, if you will, is, well, there’s no easy way to put this—where did you come from? Are you a long time Mac360 reader and a long time Mac user?
Have you recently switched from Windows to a Mac and are checking out all the cool new software that you can find on Macs? Or, are you merely attracted to our techno prose, diminished though it may be?
So, where’d you come from and why and what browser and OS are you using?
Have you taken a compared operating system use to local time? It’s true that not all people work 9-5 jobs, but it would probably give a clearer picture of this. If the growth is coming during traditional work times, it may just be the work/home OS disconnect. However, if this is after-hours Windows user browsing, it could signal genuine interest in the platform.
Having said that, I wonder if some part of it might be due to Boot Camp, whether we are talking about switchers or just Mac users trying out the Dark Side at home. After all, when you are running Boot Camp (or Parallels or Virtual PC, for that matter) on your Mac, where are you going to head to find a community that will comfort you in your time of trepidation and tears?
I’ve been a switcher for a year and a half now, but I was one of those windows users stopping by to read up on all things mac. I was using Firefox since IE was terrible on either platform. Mac360 was a major part of my decision to finally take the plunge. The more I read the more I wanted to leave Windows behind forever. Money was the only issue, but when Apple opened a new store in Pittsburgh I made the trek and bought it on opening day. So thanks everyone, everything you said was true.
I’m a switcher from Windows. I used Macs in school when I was younger but went to Windows and never looked back. I began thinking about getting a Mac when OS X hit the streets and hung out on Mac sites like Mac 360, back when Tera was still writing. What a treat. There’s nothing like the Mac family web sites in the Windows world. Mac 360 was instrumental in my decision to switch over to a Mac and I’m more than happy with the choice. There’s a bit of smugness that can be seen among Mac users but not arrogance, more like someone who has finally seen the light and feels good about it, while everyone else remains in darkness.
Perhaps the apparent growth of Windows users visiting Mac 360 has to do with people just like me, checking out the water before making the plunge. Whatever it is, keep up the good work.
Well I am a switcher from 4 years ago…but I sometimes check MAc360 @ work (Windows/Firefox), but I have only been reading MAc360 intermittently over the past 12-18 months
Have you taken a compared operating system use to local time? It’s true that not all people work 9-5 jobs, but it would probably give a clearer picture of this. If the growth is coming during traditional work times, it may just be the work/home OS disconnect. However, if this is after-hours Windows user browsing, it could signal genuine interest in the platform.
Ron watches the stats daily, and multiple times during the day, and has related many times over the past year that the trend in Windows usage is up and continues to grow. I’ll have to ask what he knows of the hourly trends, but I suspect it’s the same as always; little usage, Mac or Windows from Midnight to 7:00 AM, heavy use before Noon, then a steady trail downward as the day goes on, with a little surge after dinner. That’s pretty standard for the industry.
We expect some Boot Camp users on Macs will browse the site, but would that account for a 100-percent increase over the past year or so? Probably not. There are more Mac users on Windows via Intel Macs, sure, but we haven’t seen a dramatic surge, just a steady growth.
Having said that, I wonder if some part of it might be due to Boot Camp, whether we are talking about switchers or just Mac users trying out the Dark Side at home. After all, when you are running Boot Camp (or Parallels or Virtual PC, for that matter) on your Mac, where are you going to head to find a community that will comfort you in your time of trepidation and tears?
I’m thinking switchers or wannabe switchers. We get more email these days from Windows users and newbies than ever before, which would indicate ready-to-become switchers, and recent switchers.
I’d summarize that by saying that Apple’s switch to Intel, then Apple allowing Windows to be run on new Macs, has actually increased the cracks in the dam—more people are curious about Macs, more people are making the switch, and those numbers are growing.
We have some definite proof in just the numbers of Windows users and recent switchers visting Mac360.
Hello, this is my first post on your website, I just wanted to give you an insight on how I stumbled upon mac360.com.
I purchased my MBP in December, this was my first Mac, so I did a lot of research before I purchased it. And that is how
I found myself on mac360 while using my windows pc, after I made the purchase I started visiting this website regularly
from my mac and from my windows pc at work. So I do belive that the recent rise in Windows users viewing your website
is because of people like me.
Hello, this is my first post on your website, I just wanted to give you an insight on how I stumbled upon mac360.com.
Paul, please accept our welcome to the Mac and to Mac360. Since the increase in both switchers and Windows visitors is unmistakable, could you tell us what got you to switch? Which Mac web sites did you visit and why? What was it about the Mac that was so attractive to enable you to make the switch?
I can’t be sure what’s happening. I can claim responsibility for only two,but both of them are Mac users. One was a recent switcher I met in a coffee shop as he struggled to learn the Mac way, and the other was a long-time Mac user I, well, met in another coffee shop (Hey! I live in Seattle, OK? No, neither was a Starbucks.)
I do, however, have a plan. My apologies to everyone in advance.
Something has changed in the past year for those of you who read Mac360. Safari was once the dominant browser for visiting to our boutique web site, with nearly 70-percent using the standard for Macs.
In the past year, that percentage has dropped to barely 45-percent, while total visitors to the site have more than doubled (daily averages). What’s next? Firefox, Mac and Windows, at over 25-percent, and Internet Explorer, Windows only, at over 20-percent.
This was picked up by the new blog run by Rob Enderle, Paul Thurott, Michael Dell and Eric Willard
Apparently, Alexis is drinking the kool-aid, because the surging Internet Explorer and plummeting Safari numbers point to only one thing: The launch of Vista is the ultimate Mac-killer, with thousands abandoning Macs to adopt “more appropriate” technology, because most people use Windows in the real world. Worse yet, of the 3 or 4 remaining Mac users, nearly half are dumping Safari for Firefox, undoubtedly as a transitional plan before they can make the jump to Windows.
So yes, Alexis, switchers are visiting Mac360, but they are the Mac-to-Windows switchers. The numbers clearly prove it. Apple is doomed. Their only hope is to license FairPlay, put Windows Mobile on the iPhone, and sell the rest of the company and give the money back to the investors.
Greg
Bonus points for the first to correctly identify why all 4 bloggers are dufuses.
Double bonus points for the first person to actually register i.maduf.us and start an actual parody blog.
In our dreams. What a fun site that would be. Stupidity and money, all rolled into one domain name.
Apparently, Alexis is drinking the kool-aid, because the surging Internet Explorer and plummeting Safari numbers point to only one thing: The launch of Vista is the ultimate Mac-killer, with thousands abandoning Macs to adopt “more appropriate” technology, because most people use Windows in the real world. Worse yet, of the 3 or 4 remaining Mac users, nearly half are dumping Safari for Firefox, undoubtedly as a transitional plan before they can make the jump to Windows.
So, there’s a conspiracy among Mac users to sloooooowly migrate to Windows by using Firefox on the Mac first, then switching to Windows while still using Firefox, only to finish up the plan by a full 100% switch over to MSIE 7.x on Vista?
How devious of Mac users.
So yes, Alexis, switchers are visiting Mac360, but they are the Mac-to-Windows switchers. The numbers clearly prove it. Apple is doomed. Their only hope is to license FairPlay, put Windows Mobile on the iPhone, and sell the rest of the company and give the money back to the investors.
That’s Steve Jobs’ line for Michael Dell. It’s already reserved.
Bonus points for the first to correctly identify why all 4 bloggers are dufuses.
Double bonus points for the first person to actually register i.maduf.us and start an actual parody blog.
Enderle, Thurott are such because of what they write and for being on the Microsoft payroll. Michael Dell earned his stripes for pissing on Apple and Steve Jobs (only piss on the horse after it’s buried, otherwise, reanimation will come back to haunt you). Eric Willard is the dippy school guy who claimed Windows PCs were more “appropriate technology.”
Why can’t people be serious when they talk about plumetting Mac and Safari numbers? I really want someone to be serious so I can have fun with this piece.
Why can’t people be serious when they talk about plumetting Mac and Safari numbers…
Therein is the problem. Lies, damned lies, and statistics.
Only the percentages are dropping. The actual numbers have increased because Mac360s total readership is well over double the numbers from last spring. Safari users as a percentage has dropped, though total numbers have increased. Windows user numbers and percentages have increased markedly. Ditto for Firefox, though more so on Windows.
The growth in Windows users, both total numbers and percentage, is remarkable over the past year. We’ve always had Windows users hit the Mac360 site, and we assumed they were captive users; Mac users at home, stuck at work using Windows during the day. The recent trend suggests something more than that.
Paul, please accept our welcome to the Mac and to Mac360. Since the increase in both switchers and Windows visitors is unmistakable, could you tell us what got you to switch? Which Mac web sites did you visit and why? What was it about the Mac that was so attractive to enable you to make the switch?
I’d be more then happy to. I’ve been using PC’s since I was 12, which was 14 years ago. When I started highschool, I had a few friends that were using Macs, and I’ve always been intrigued by them. But back in those days I was mostly into games, so a mac just wasn’t an option for me. After highschool I haven’t seen a mac for a long time, until they started selling them at the College computer store, that’s when I saw the iMac, and I was really impressed by the look of the machine, but the obvious excuse back then is that I was a poor student, and just couldn’t afford the “expensive” beutiful mac.
Well many years went by, I forgot all about the macs. And then I started noticing the “I’m a Mac” adds, and once again I was intrigued, so I went on the mac website to see how the machines looked like now and how the operating system changed. Yes I admit, the look of the computers is what made me want to buy one, that is until I saw all the features of the OS, and then I learned that I can run Windows on it! That was pretty much the selling point for me, and the fact that I had to format my PC twice in one month because of corrupted files. But I never jump into a purchase with out doing some really extensive research, so that’s when I stumbled upon your website and macosxhints.com and a few others. My main reason for the research was to see if Mac’s are actually virus free, and as stable as people claim them to be, and from the research I did, I found out that they aren’t perfect, but get pretty close to it.
So my next step was to convince my wife, It actually wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. The only thing is that I wanted the 20” iMac, but she said that the only way we’ll buy a mac is if it’s a laptop, because she didn’t want to throw away our PC, especially since we just bought a new LCD monitor for it. Since I wanted to have similar specs as the iMac, the Macbook Pro was the only way to go. Unfortunately the Apple stores in Canada don’t have financing we had to go to a big box store to make the purchase.
It’s been a few months now since I had my MBP, and every time I come home and power it on, I still get that warm fuzzy feeling feeling. My transition wasn’t too bad, if I ever got stuck on something, I found my answer on the net or through the os x help. I got so used to the Expose, that when I get to work I catch myself moving my mouse to the bottom left corner whenever I want to select a certain window, I also started using iMovie to edit my wedding video. I did install Windows XP through bootcamp at the beginning, but that partition had a life span of about 3 weeks.
Wow, sorry for such a lengthy reply, and this is after I edited out some stuff. Whenever I talk about my mac experience I get all excited. I have a lot more to say, but maybe next time.
Oh, and by the way you might find this ironic, my last name is Wozniak.
1) All questions used on Mac360 are painstakingly researched, although the answers are not. Forum members who are sticklers for the truth should get their own blog.
2) Persons employed by the International House of Mac360 or its mirror sites are lucky to have a blog let alone wasting bandwidth tying up the web site trying to win a contest. Forum members who have won recently should sit on their hands and let someone else have a chance for a change.
3) All opinions on this thread are well reasoned and insightful. Needless to say they are not the opinions of the International House of Mac360, its mirror sites or lackeys. Anyone who says otherwise is itching for a fight.
So I guess you disqualified, Alexis. Sorry.
However, I will give you, or the first person who beats you to it, *triple* bonus for identifying the above literary allusion.
It actually wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. The only thing is that I wanted the 20” iMac, but she said that the only way we’ll buy a mac is if it’s a laptop, because she didn’t want to throw away our PC, especially since we just bought a new LCD monitor for it. Since I wanted to have similar specs as the iMac, the Macbook Pro was the only way to go. Unfortunately the Apple stores in Canada don’t have financing we had to go to a big box store to make the purchase.
