you cant really compare profit between the two companies. microsofts sales figures for windows only takes into account itsoperating systems, however, apples figures are missleading since they include hardware (their computer) into their sales figures aswell.

and saying that microsoft is aiming for the low budget people while mac is aiming for the richer people is a faulsity. last i checked i spent a good deal of money building my last PC, and i still get triple the performance out of it then i would a mac.

mac computers are underperforming overpriced pieces of shite.

Apple is far worse than Microsoft. Remember Microsoft only really does the OS and Office (and there are alternatives for Office). Apple controls not only the OS, which only needs to run on a very small fraction of hardware unlike Windows, but the hardware and most software on the computer as well. Not only does Apple destroy competition between different computer makers, which if they become to large will increase prices, but they only use certain brands of hardware in their machines. This further destroys competition of component makers which increases prices and reduces the need to excel as much in research and development.

I think vole should hire apple design team for its win 7 pakaging.

Who did the terrible job of using the same design as vista, May I ask?

Apple is not gunning for the same market. So why compare them? Windows is trying to get eveybody and apple the people with money. Everybody is happy. Dont like Apple? go Windows. Dont like Windows? go Apple. Problem solved.
And Inq please stop with these silly articles and give us something with meat.

Apple holds dominance in the high priced products. This isn't questioned. But, as far as Apple goes, Windows 7 is not a challenging effort. Windows 7 is just Vista with some interface changes and a few performance improvements that give it a 5% increase over Vista--resulting in a performance boost unnoticeable to the average person.

As far as Apple goes, they aren't going to be influenced. The interface changes are not significant enough. The structure of Win7 is still to complex for the average person to fathom--options are non-descript, hidden or confusing to locate, or just not obvious in their nature.

There are some nice features. There are also some that are underlying that increased spyware from Microsoft. The hardware demand is still pretty high and the new features really aren't big enough to be noticeable. The cost of Win7 is far higher than the latest update to Apple's OS (Snow Leopard). The number of driver issues and the number of software issues with Win7 are still quite high--(e.g., X-Fi drivers, HP drivers, regular programs conflicting with the security or just not working properly, even when getting updates. Their update catalog is confusing and hard to put to use.)

Apple has had their problems as well. Realistically though, we'll see quite a bit of fall out from Win7 as people begin to discover that Microsoft is pulling the wool over their eyes just the same as they did with Vista.

I've had the Win7 RC for some time. I have had it installed since it was made publicly available. I also have an official signature edition of Win7, which is installed on new hardware. I also own and operate a small computer repair shop.

And what market, pray tell, does Apple dominate? The market for the technologically vapid? Pretty toys for gay fruity fanbois?

Reuters, like all Euro-peons, has its head up its arse so far all it can see is its own sh(t.

Its like the special ed students trying to keep up with the rest of the school. You have to admire their effort. That is until they start coping a 'tud and start kicking you in the foot. You tell them to stop but they continue anyways. Its time MS punched the retard in the face, no matter what it makes them look like. Apple's "dominance" (Is that like Miller's piss water dominance?) is based purely on "we aren't MS so there" *sticks out their tongue* Well guess what. Windows 7 isn't Windows 9x or Windows XP, and thank god it isn't Windows Vista.

This is a whole new ballgame for Apple and they are about to get a line drive right into their crown jewels. The ONLY thing MS has to contend with is Apple and their subservient user's FUD drive. Both in word of mouth and their retarded TV ads. MS started to successfully counter this with a few of their own ads. They need to continue this drive. Personally I would focus on Apple craptastic warranty. The turn around time just to get my optical drive replaced in my MBP (That I no longer have, I recovered.) was somewhere in the range of 3 day. Meanwhile the rest of the industry has either user replaceable drives or send techs out to you for repair. And a three year warranty with no accidental coverage, something that the rest of the industry has, is insane.

Nick's Bias

Can someone please tell me how much the Almighty Vole is paying Nick, or is he just blinded by such hate for Apple that he distorts everything.

hahah, I love watching apple users lash out in frustration all the time. Hey pal, what are you complaining about? your apple computers come in your choice of color. what more could you want than that? hahaha.

What is it with the Inq and Apple? Or this Nick guy.
Just stick to the facts and give us some good reading. Making a story out of nothing to enrage the apple fan boys is not why I read the Inq articles.

Not only is this article trash. But the inquirer is now deleting posts that are critical of it. You guys are really becoming a quality rag.

What dominance?

It is becoming increasingly clear that a prerequisite for Apple OS adoption/migration is an inherent receptiveness to Apple scented smoke (applied anally). "Daaahling, Apple is where it's at. Anything else is so last Tuesday". Pardon me while I wretch.

The word "dominance" probably popped into Nicks head after he read this:

"In June, on a dollar basis, Apple accounted for an eye-popping 91 per cent of PCs that cost more than $US1000 and were sold at retail in the United States, according to research group NPD."

But then he promptly forgot what he was thinking about and started to get all worked up.

The correct title of the article this fellow refers to is "Windows 7 may test Apple's winning streak"

Get it? "MAY test Apple's WINNING STREAk"

Furthermore, the word "dominance" is not mentioned even once in the article!

Your neurons are misfiring. Get a grip.

I haven't visited the inq in, well I lost count. many many months.

It's really gone to shit. And we have some cheerleader for the current public utility OS. Might as well get cheerleaders for the state energy and communication companies. "we're monopolies, we got you by the balls, and you love us!!! and if you don't love us, we'll hire lame little shits like Nic, to pump up our name!!!" Fuck apple, fuck microsoft and fuck Nik.

That means If Apple had 80% Market share then its turnover would be $259 Billion wow

Don't think it will affect Apple much as they aim for the high end market consumer with money.

Windows 7 PC buyers are the cheaper consumer with a budget too different markets.

Think Apple is doing very well with 5% Market Share nearly $37 Billion per year turnover and $5.2 Billion profit and nearly $30 Billion in cash.

Microsoft has 80% Market-share $60 Billion turnover and $9 billion profit and about $20 billion cash

So Microsoft is not doing that well if you compare Marketshare to Profit

I have been reading this site daily for pretty much as long as it has been around which is why I am taking to the time to post this (It is the first time that I have posted). I feel that I owe it to you to explain why I feel I can no longer support you and have gone back to reading the register. I can no longer handle the aggressive bias against apple are Microsoft paying you as this is the only one that you are helping. You may prefer if they switched to Linux (My primary OS but not what I happen to be writing this from) but by claiming that Mac OS is the worst thing in the world (when it is quite good) that they are way too expensive (when they are about the same price as a similar pc HP envy) all that you are doing is stopping people from trying a something different. And in reality all that does is reinforce the monoculture in the os market (microsoft) and this helps nobody(except microsoft). If you really want to help people to move to move to alternate free operating systems then you should write balanced well researched pieces some people may move to OSX but once you have tried something different something other than windows people will realize there are other options and be more willing to try them. Anyway Good by I will check back in 3 months to see if anything has improved.

You Mac fantatics REALLY need to get a life.

PS: MacOS has about a 8.5% of the US market. And a little less than 5% globally.

Apple has about 10% of US market. Marginally better than Linux? LOL

@ posthoc

Why do you think that "the best" must necessarily be the most popular? In most markets, "the best" usually costs more and thus has a more exclusive clientele.

BTW, I use many platforms and describing one as "best" for everyone and every task is impossible since it depends on what your requirements are.

READ the actual article. At no point is it implied that Apple is "dominant". The writer was referring to Apple's GAINS. Once again, Nick has selectively, and intelletually dishonestly, misrepresented the material. Every time he does this, it makes a stir, but lowers the standards and reputation of the Enquirer

The only people hurting Apple, are Apple themselves. The fan bois are just the icing on the already over cooked Mac cake, prepaired by some anal marketing department. It reminds me of another episode of Dilbert :)

AND Nick, stop being like that LOUD GUY and repeating rubbish.. ;)

@some jerk

If Mac Os X is so great, why does it command barely more marketshare than the "Oh so complicated and hard" linux?

It's heartening to listen to the pathetic whining of the Mactards when reality smacks them in the face.

way to go !!!!!!

Quote: "Mac OS X is only marginally more popular than the much better and free Linux operating system."

You known what, here's a question for all the Linux fanbois (mainly the author of this article): If Linux is so darn great, why doesn't it have a bit of a larger chunk of the usage pie like Firefox has versus IE? I mean, you see FF and it's got like 26% vs 64% for IE (these numbers are rough guesstimates, but somewhat close) but you've got Windows with 90+% and OSX 5%. Anyone prepared to give me a serious answer?

So in all fairness Apple has pretty much doubled their market share over the last couple years so you could say they were on a winning streak. Now then if you consider the fact that that's mainly due to the piss poor sales of Vista and the fact the Intel Mac's run XP it's kind of a half hearted victory. Personally I'd rather see linux succeed.

I've given up on reading IT articles printed in our media here in Oz including the Age and Herald Sun. They are completely biased to apple and PS3. The articles are a joke. But to general tech illiterate public...they will take this verbatim. shame really

Um, Nick...

The word "dominance" (or "dominant") doesn't even APPEAR in the article that you are referencing. If it's anyone that's having a head problem it's YOU.

Why put "Windows 7 might hurt Apple's dominance" if no such quote appears in the referred article?

My bet is the INQ will stop working with Nick because biased Apple consumers flame him for being anti-Apple, just as the INQ stopped working with Charlie because biased NVIDIA consumers flamed him for being anti-NVIDIA.

The biased noobs always screwing up the INQ for the rest, I guess.

One way or the other, I stand by Drashek's opinion. Where is he?

...but it is still the pot calling the kettle black.

OMG. Not a DAY can go by around here without Nick the Ferret posting more Apple-hating dribble. I can't BELIEVE he gets paid to do this!!!

I wish I had a job where 90% of my posts consist of bias and trash talk about a company that I hate.

WHY hasn't the Ferret been FIRED yet!??!!?

I switched to a black Mac Book about 2 1/2 years ago after giving Vista 6 months and giving up with it. Moving to a Mac was a revelation in comparison. When I turned it on it booted quickly, when I put it to sleep it woke up quickly. It was and still is nice to use and reliable.

HOWEVER..... recently I have been using Window7 RTM/OEM on a HTPC I have built and whilst its primary use is as HTPC machine it also gets used for web browsing, games, newsgroups and most of the other day to day uses a PC gets used for.

The main thing I will say about using Windows 7 is that if Vista had been (and should have been) what Windows 7 is then I probably wouldn't have changed to a Mac.

It works, it is quick, it boots quickly, it wakes up quickly and it has some really nice UI features. It reminds me of how I felt about my Mac when I first got it!

that Windows 7 will put the squeeze on Apple in so much as Vista drove Windows users to it. The prodigal sons and daughters returning home so to speak, and now there being not such a great reason to leave home in the first place. It seems the author of this article over-analyzes the Reuters piece through the filter of his own discontent.

"Mac OS X is only marginally more popular than the much better and free Linux operating system."

*Marginally* more popular? I assume that for the five per cent statistic you were looking at Net Applications' data, in which case you should surely have noticed that Linux usage share is less than 1%. Mac OS X is about five times more popular than Linux. Indeed, in these statistics, Mac OS has gained a higher percentage than that over the last twelve months. Windows 7, which hasn't even been released to the consumer market yet, has a higher usage share.

assumptions, good writer there. One has to empty one's mind to read Reuters correctly and thereby avoiding the bonkers syndrome widely affecting the populations of the world in these trepib times. Those quotes do not imply the effects of the Jobs' alternative reality field in themselves. Only when you mix them with some personal context and select to interpret them as qualitative statements concerning the markets on the whole, they become the declarations of market dominance of the entity formerly know as Apple Computer.

It will never happen but would be interesting if when I bought a new pc I could have Os x Windows 7 Windows xp or Ubuntu or other Linux and Os's.
That would be a better idea of what people really want.

Another diatribe from Nick.

Linux is "much better" than OS X? Since when? That's not what my dad said last time he tried to get his nvidia drivers to actually display a desktop after an equally daunting trip to the terminal to get them installed in the first place.

A problem fixed subsequently by installing "pain free" XP.

Not a OS X fanboi by any stretch, but I (and anyone else who thinks resorting to terminal sessions to fix stuff is a step in the wrong "useability" direction) will have OS X over linux at home any day of the week, ta very much. Hell, even the OS X servers are less pain too.

Reuters are only beginning a roll out of a 'new' Windows XP desktop. How can a company this far behind the IT times then how can they possibly comment on Mac's??

Funniest thing I've heard all week, but some younger readers may not get the second half of the joke (to wit, decades ago Reuters actually WAS a news agency and not a PR firm).

While Apple has surely gained a bit of the market over the years, it would be a stretch to say they are a"dominant player". However, as MS, Apple, and Linux continue to improve, all of us benefit with better quality software. Competition is good!

Can someone please tell me how much the Almighty Vole is paying Nick, or is he just blinded by such hate for Apple that he distorts everything.

Because the story came from Reuters wire service, if you wait a bit you'll see hundreds of rip-and-read news services repeat the story verbatim.

Don't be too hard on little Apple. Mac OS X has 5.12 of the world computer OS market. iPhone has 13% of the Smartphone market.

Somebody's gotta stir up the sleeping Vole and give it some competition. Otherwise Vole will sleep all day and not innovate. When Vole wakes up, it chases Apple in whatever direction Apple goes.

All Vole competitors are welcome here.