14 DAY TRIAL // At the moment, the global IT market is PC-dominated, and probably will stay this way a long time from now. However, Apple has made substantial progress by providing customers with high-quality hardware and software products that challenge quite a bit the competition.
However, numbers are a huge draw-back for the Cupertino-based company. Macs are only about 4 percent of the desktop market and the situation is not likely to change very soon. Though many admit the Mac OS X is a better (as in easy to use, intuitive, safe) operating system, they will not let go of their PC with Windows.
People are so familiar with Windows that they see no reason to switch to another operating system, as long as the one they already have does its job. And this is (almost) completely understandable.
Tom Yager at InfoWorld is a person with good intentions that will not stand by and watch how people use the disappointing Windows on their PCs. He is one who believes that once you've had the Mac experience, you'll never go back.
"By my calculations, based on Steve Jobs' claim that half of all Macs are sold to first-time buyers, roughly 9,000 people switch to the Mac every day", says Yager. He is impressed by the courage of so many people to abandon their familiar IT environment in search of a superior user experience.
Yager has also been in contact with a "hardcore non-switcher" and launched an experiment. She (the non-switcher) witnessed while he was operating his Mac Pro and admitted it seemed very easy to use. So Mr. Yager virtualized her system on a MacBook and enabled her to work with Windows on a Mac machine. "Will she resist? Or will she make the switch?"
Well, we've only got to wait and see. Few have this opportunity to experiment on a Mac. Most PC users don't, and many of those who do will not switch to Mac, especially professionals. Why fix it if it's not broken?
I'll sum up by saying that no matter what Apple comes up with, it will not reach Microsoft any time soon. While the Cupertino-based company can change the face of IT, it cannot change people. And people have the final word in the prolonged monopoly of Microsoft over the IT desktop market.