Online Computer Tips Home
Home All Tips OCT Newsletter Free Tutorials Tech News Resources

Monday, January 12, 2009

Will Windows 7 stymie Mac OS X's growth?

As of December, Apple's Mac OS X commanded 9.63% of the OS market, according to Net Applications, while Microsoft still led the way, accounting for more than 88% of the operating system market. There are numerous reasons why Mac OS X has become so popular over the past few years. Part of it can be attributed to Apple's success and its status in the industry as the most renowned and respected company to consumers. And most assuredly, part of the reason for Mac OS X's success is Windows Vista.

Even though it's only in beta testing, Windows 7 is easily one of the best operating systems MS has made. Driver support is outstanding, and performing basic tasks is very fast. But there's another key factor to consider: Windows 7 is optimized for netbooks. And although the market is currently still in its infancy, the netbook space is one of the fastest-growing in the industry, and most analysts believe that the mini devices are the future.

Besides the world of netbooks, Windows 7 is still an extremely compelling offering for the enterprise and consumers alike. But the real success for Windows 7 will come from vendors and the enterprise. Hewlett-Packard and Dell will be happy with Windows 7 because their customers will be happy. And the enterprise will be absolutely delighted with Windows 7 because it's not the resource hog Vista is, and believe it or not, it does more in fewer steps, creating an extremely simplified experience--something I've been enjoying on Mac OS X for years now.

In the process, Mac converts who moved to Mac OS X out of sheer hatred for Vista might start making their way back to the Windows world, after they hear great things about Microsoft's latest operating system.

Full Story

No comments: