history of OS "popularity" over time, video graphic

[Alan Browne]

https://youtu.be/B7fVOW-zNQI

--
“If you torture the data long enough, it will confess to anything."
-Ronald Coase

[Alan Browne]

On 2023-09-10 19:40, Fishrrman wrote:
> On 9/10/23 4:47 PM, Alan Browne wrote:
>>
>> https://youtu.be/B7fVOW-zNQI
>>
> Looks like with the past 3 years or so, Mac OS has enjoyed it greatest
> popularity ever.

A big surge for Mac OS (then OS X) was around the years where they moved
to the x66 coupled to the iPhone intro, aka halo effect.

This might not show well in the video above, but in terms of raw sales
it certainly picked up. In % terms they went from 2.5% to 5% over 5
years, but in numbers terms it was somewhat more than 2X as many units.

Personally dumped Windows for Mac in late 2007 as the Windows options
for a new machine were dismally bad.
Experiments with Linux over the course of a month or so were not
encouraging (due to apps, not the OS, simply unworkable in my
professional space).

[Alan Browne]

On 2023-09-11 13:46, Georgemoody wrote:
>
> Good to see it honestly, windows has been way too dominent, especially
> in the gaming scene. wish linux and macOS could chip even more at their
> market share.

Anything to thin the world of Windows is a good thing, but they are very
well entrenched, esp. in business.

As to gaming on Linux, there are compatibility products (one is Valve's
Proton) - but I really know very little about it.

On Mac OS, esp. in the Mx world, Apple are making strong signals to get
game co's onboard for both native apps and to provide conversion (if
that's the right term) tools for it. (Again, not my area of interest).
Article:
https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/7/23752164/apple-mac-gaming-game-porting-toolkit-windows-games-macos

[Alan]

Exactly.

The surge was the introduction of Windows 8 and Windows 10, which were
both so different from what came before that a lot of people said "Why
not try macOS?"

[Alan Browne]

I don't care about changes to the OS per se[1].

The issue was with Windows Vista which was introduced in 2007 a lot of
hardware (esp. new h/w like in the new PC's I was looking at)
unsupported by drivers and/or poorly implemented.

Phoned up the local Apple store in the morning to see if they had a
specific config. in stock. They did. Picked it up over lunch.

They even delivered it to me by the back door (at a mall) so I wouldn't
have to lug it around.

[1] Having said that, most Windows "changes" are cosmetic and deck chair
shuffling w/o really improving the OS at all.... (Run Win 10 at work for
accounting, regrettably).

[Alan]

I'll respectfully disagree. OS UI matters almost more than anything to
people.

Microsoft decided that "one UI for everything" was a good idea, and it
alienated a lot of users. They were suddenly struggling to use the OS.

Case in point, my aunt, aged about 70 at the time, struck out on her own
to buy her second computer when her original second hand XP system
needed replacement.

She went to the big box stores, and she was confronted by computers
running Windows 8, and basically immediately called me to say she'd like
to try a Mac because of it; if it was all going to be such a change.

[Alan Browne]

"Most" people don't care. Their whole computer world is through their
browser. The OS UI doesn't matter much at all.

>
> Microsoft decided that "one UI for everything" was a good idea, and it
> alienated a lot of users. They were suddenly struggling to use the OS.
>
> Case in point, my aunt, aged about 70 at the time, struck out on her own
> to buy her second computer when her original second hand XP system
> needed replacement.
>
> She went to the big box stores, and she was confronted by computers
> running Windows 8, and basically immediately called me to say she'd like
> to try a Mac because of it; if it was all going to be such a change.

What the hell was it that stats 101 instructor kept mumbling about
sample size ...

[Alan]

I'm sorry, but you're wrong about that.

My job is supporting all kinds of people, and:

1. It is far from all in the browser.

2. They ARE very concerned when the UI changes drastically.

Think of the outcry when Apple change the UI for Mac OS X.

>
>>
>> Microsoft decided that "one UI for everything" was a good idea, and it
>> alienated a lot of users. They were suddenly struggling to use the OS.
>>
>> Case in point, my aunt, aged about 70 at the time, struck out on her
>> own to buy her second computer when her original second hand XP system
>> needed replacement.
>>
>> She went to the big box stores, and she was confronted by computers
>> running Windows 8, and basically immediately called me to say she'd
>> like to try a Mac because of it; if it was all going to be such a change.
>
> What the hell was it that stats 101 instructor kept mumbling about
> sample size ...

I didn't present it as proof, but merely as a concrete example of what
I'm talking about.

[Alan Browne]

For home casual use, it mostly is. Because people are on social medial
(primarily) or other hosted (web) "applications".

IAC few home users (and office users) spend a lot of time with the OS
UI. They are in an app (whether on that computer or web hosted).

>
> 2. They ARE very concerned when the UI changes drastically.

People who use computers don't do their work in the OS desktop much. It
is either in a purpose app (Excel, Word, accounting, custom, etc.).
They may need to access files using Finder (or other OS equivalnets),
but a UI change isn't going to make that all that difficult.

I have to train employees and customers - sometimes people who don't use
computers very much. Never have much issue with such - other than
folder navigation - but that's the same problem no matter what OS is
being used (thus: low experience users tend to keep everything in one
folder and are lousy at coming up with file names).

>
> Think of the outcry when Apple change the UI for Mac OS X.

Dinosaurs screaming get noticed. Others cool with it don't get noticed.

>
>>
>>>
>>> Microsoft decided that "one UI for everything" was a good idea, and
>>> it alienated a lot of users. They were suddenly struggling to use the
>>> OS.
>>>
>>> Case in point, my aunt, aged about 70 at the time, struck out on her
>>> own to buy her second computer when her original second hand XP
>>> system needed replacement.
>>>
>>> She went to the big box stores, and she was confronted by computers
>>> running Windows 8, and basically immediately called me to say she'd
>>> like to try a Mac because of it; if it was all going to be such a
>>> change.
>>
>> What the hell was it that stats 101 instructor kept mumbling about
>> sample size ...
>

> I didn't present it as proof, but merely as a RAAC example of what
> I'm talking about.

FTFY.