This indicates that 98% of the PC's out there are running a windows based system. So if you were a developer and wanted to get a large share of the market, who would you write for, what system would you study if you were in school?
I'm really, really trying to avoid the Mac vs PC debate, but the above information really is not helpful to someone making the decision for their home use.
Rather than
infer that there isn't SW available due to those questionable market share stats, why not address the question directly? What software might the user need that they can't get readily on the Mac?
I've seen some very different market share numbers recently anyhow. And how many of those Windows machines are point-of-sale, or kiosk, or industrial or office use, where consumer type apps would not be sold for them anyhow? It seems pretty irrelevant to me. What
is relevant is what software would the OP want to use, and is a quality version available at a fair price? Most of what is needed for home use is included in the iLife suite on a Mac.
Or consider this, 30% of students at Harvard are on Macs, 35% of incoming freshman. Other schools are reporting similar stats. Now, do you really think these bright kids that rely on their computers to get their assignments completed, and for fun, are going to risk that high cost education over a computer that doesn't have the software they need? Why? Just because it matches their iPod? Does not add up for me.
FAS Computer Services | 2006-2007 Undergraduate Computing Survey (FAS Computer Services (HASCS))
My kid has had his iBook on the computer network for 3.5 years now, no virus protection at all. zip. No virus/spyware/mallware problems. Don't know a single Mac user that has had a problem like that. A friend of mine that is very anti-Mac was commenting that his virus protection has worked to keep him safe (well, unless the kids download some junk....) - then he complained about all the CPU cycles the protection software was eating up, and how it slows down start up and shutdown times checking for update. So, maybe a 2GHz Mac IS faster than a 2GHz Windows machine?
I don't care what the OP ends up buying, but he asked for input. It should be an informed decision.
Also, OSX being UNIX based (and now POSIX certified), might be a very good thing to learn about in school.
-ERD50