Notebook computer market share, Q1 2008

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re: Notebook computer market share, Q1 2008

subzerohitman721 — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:37:04 GMT

@Lindy

Yeah make sure you collage supports your OS or not....

compserv.physics.harvard.edu/vista

Um, if you read that completely, Harvard is taking advice from Gartner?

Hasn't Paul pretty much made clear that Gartner's claims can get pretty clear off their rocker? How many times has their speculation stretched into the realm of hyperbolie? Also, this stuff is so out of date with Vista SP1 thats its not relevant.

If Harvard is still taking advice from Gartner for their IT decisions, no wonder Bill Gates dropped out and created one of the world's greatest personal fortunes.

I get your point about checking with the college. I just don't understand why Harvard would listen to Gartner. They've been debunked about their speculation and it doesn't make them credible in my opinion.

re: Notebook computer market share, Q1 2008

Waethorn — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:12:14 GMT

@DOC:

If you have an option for Intel TurboMemory, take it. Instead of the sad little 16MB cache that most notebook hard drives have (or sometimes even 8MB's), TurboMemory is often available as a full 1GB. It makes a big difference on drive speed and power efficiency.

re: Notebook computer market share, Q1 2008

DRWAM — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 23:53:20 GMT

thanks for helping guys. My brother [and nephew] appreciate it. And Dipsh, I will definitely go for a 7200 RPM HD. I always recommend them to my friends when asked. For us, we can write off the purchase, so an extra $100 is about $60 after taxes.

re: Notebook computer market share, Q1 2008

Dipsh t Admin — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 20:09:27 GMT

John, if you are looking for an argument for Apple owning the laptop market, look one post above this one to Avro. While everyone can say what they want about how that is really not what Avro is saying, blah, blah, blah, that is the essence of his argument. True, no one has said that they "own" the laptop market, but enough people carve out enough of a niche to prove such an argument.

If you were wondering about the basis for which Paul makes such generalizations, we don't really need to look too far, now do we?

Kelly, also remember that Dell coupons are a dime a dozen. You don't need to look very far at all to find them, and with the right combination, you can save big bucks. Dell also has very aggressive education discounts, so don't forget to go to http://www.delluniversity.com/, the official portal for Dell higher education deals. Lenovo also offers education discounts, and will also allow the stacking of coupons and deals.

re: Notebook computer market share, Q1 2008

Avro — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 18:35:59 GMT

I think one point that everybody has missed is that about 70% or so of laptops go to Enterprise and hardly any of these are Macs. When you discount the

Enterprise laptops, the Mac share looks extremely impressive.

Very often Enterprise has some pretty undemanding needs but the price point is all important. So Dell being able to shave a £1 or a $2 off a competing HP gets them the deal.

Consumers are different though. They buy what they want/need/desire and while price is a consideration, it is often only one of several aspects that come into the buying decision.

What we are seeing increasingly are consumers opting to buy Mac laptops and this is especially true amongst the college crowd. Once they have a Mac there may be no going back so it may bode a big change in the laptop market. Not so much now but in 4 or 5 years when they are in the workforce.

re: Notebook computer market share, Q1 2008

Dipsh t Admin — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 17:53:46 GMT

"This guy is the amalgam of all the most hyperbolic statements of the more partisan mac users from across the internet. "

Many of which come here, and I'm sure many of them also e-mail him directly (in reference to the .mac address owners, for which we don't know what they say to him). I don't think anyone can deny that many vocal Apple or nothing people visit this blog and comment on a very regular basis. So to say that he is making a strawman argument is really not true. His experience is based on what he sees, and he sees this exact discussion a lot.

Additionally, I don't think we need to speak about Enderle. He is a total hack, much like I don't read Mossy anymore. However, I don't think that they need to rot in hell.

re: Notebook computer market share, Q1 2008

johnpapola — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:49:50 GMT

As for a MS Strawman, we can look no further than Rob Enderle. He is the stupidest commentator on Apple in the world. Of course, he sees iPhone 2.0 as a miss:

www.technewsworld.com/.../Apple-Sizzling-Release-Microsofts-Warm-and-Fuzzy-Fest-HPs-Big-Bang-The-Summer-Heats-Up-63405.html

Then he proceeds to write this:

"The first, MobileMe, is a blatant and limited copy of Microsoft Live Mesh, which is currently in early beta (Apple will beat the product to market but only because they aren't going to beta test it)."

HAHAHAHAHHA..... What a stupid tool. He makes no mension of the fact that MobileMe is .mac and than .mac has existed for years with all of these features (except push sync OTA to the iphone).

This guy blows. Paul is fair. Rob can rot in hell.

re: Notebook computer market share, Q1 2008

johnpapola — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:45:15 GMT

"So much for the "Apple owns the notebook market" baloney."

I believe, this is what you'd call a classic "strawman" approach to discussion. Setup some hyperbolic statement without attribution and insinuate that it is a broadly accepted notion by a group. lame.

I think more often than not, Paul's posts like this are aimed at this strawman construct in his head. This guy is the amalgam of all the most hyperbolic statements of the more partisan mac users from across the internet.

Of course, there's no way to link to mr Mac Strawman. He is all of us and none of us. He is a pure construct and, frankly, a pretty weird motivation for writing.

re: Notebook computer market share, Q1 2008

Waethorn — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:11:13 GMT

"I've gone through two Acers and a Lenovo. All three were utter crap as far as reliability (the Acers more so than the Lenovo)."

"I've had a number of ThinkPads come through here. Not a single problem. They are arguably the "best" notebooks out there."

Remember that "Lenovo" !== "Thinkpad".

Lenovo's "regular" notebooks are just overpriced budget junk. The Thinkpads are still based on IBM's old designs.

....which are also overpriced (but not "junk" IMHO).

re: Notebook computer market share, Q1 2008

Waethorn — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:08:38 GMT

@DOC

It's too bad "The Ultimate Steal" program is over - Office Ultimate 2007 for ~$50 for students only (I forget the EXACT price, but that's about what it was)!

Microsoft recommends going here for student discount purchase information:

www.microsoft.com/.../howtobuystudents.mspx

Don't forget that colleges often still recommend/require certain software for the workload, even if it's not a technology course. Usually the IT department head organizes that with the other dept. heads. The software requirements are based on how assignments are handed in, or presented.

If they're still using Novell (blech!) for their network, I'd recommend a 32-bit version of Windows Vista for compatibility issues with Novell's client software. If they offer wireless access, the new wireless security options in Windows Vista are a MUST! Too many people abuse school networks because there's oodles of bandwidth, and usually their IT security sucks. He might be required to utilize some kind of wireless gateway protocol software or a mandatory school antivirus program too. Again, this is where the 64-bit compatibility might become an issue, so the 32-bit version should be the preferred option.

Word of advice here: If he has an option to purchase Software Assurance through the school purchase program (if he buys his computer from the school), it might be a worthwhile add-on. With Software Assurance for a Windows client license (for Business or Ultimate), he'd get Windows Vista Enterprise, which adds support for 4 licensed Windows client virtual machines. You might be thinking: "what the hell does he need virtual machines for??". The answer is simple. He'll get options for running Windows XP Pro or Windows 2000 in a virtual machine if he needs it for compatibility reasons, but his main host OS can be Windows Vista. This gives him the most recent OS (and the security to go along with it), as well as the previous one to run as a "guest" inside the host OS, in the event that he needs to run older software on it. He should inquire about that with the school software store BEFORE purchasing the computer so that he knows how he can purchase it. It allows him to run both OS's but without paying the full cost of a second Windows license. Downgrade rights only allow you to run 1 client Windows license, meaning that if you downgrade, you're stuck with XP until you choose to upgrade back to Windows Vista. It is a single-boot scenario. Windows Vista Enterprise allows you to run up to 4 virtual machines of either the current license, or any downgraded license version (XP, 2000, NT, etc.), and any combination thereof.

Software Assurance can also be purchased for other Microsoft software, such as Office.

....of course, during the term of Software Assurance, you also get Upgrade Rights to the newest version of that software available (Office "2009", Windows "7", etc.) - assuming that they release it within that contract period. There's also training options available, among many other benefits.

Stick with 2GB of RAM if it's an option. 3GB isn't much of an upgrade, and because of 32-bit OS limitations, 4GB is just a waste. At least make sure it's dual-channel though (2 sticks of 1GB).

If he doesn't require all of the programs in Office, you can still get an educational discount on lesser versions of Office (Standard, Small Business, or even Home & Student). Why pay $300+ for Office Pro/Ent/Ult EDU when you can get Home & Student for ~$140? You have to look at the applications offered and choose the right version. Getting the highest version of Office will probably result in wasting additional money.

Compare educational prices of what the school store sells vs. what you'd pay for OEM bundled software prices. If all he needs is Office Home & Student (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote), and the school only sells Office Pro and higher, buying H&S as an OEM package WITH the computer might be cheaper. Keep lots of notes on pricing so that you can save the most money.

I hope that helps.

re: Notebook computer market share, Q1 2008

Dipsh t Admin — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:51:27 GMT

DRWAM, ThinkPad's definitely offer EDU discounts. You may have to look around, but if you contact your educational institution, I'm sure they can help.

In July and September, Lenovo will be upgrading the bulk of their model lines, which can get you some really good deals on leftover T61s. I'd say you can get a T61 for about 1K with a 3 year warranty, maybe a little less. Look for the TopSeller program. 2GB is more than fine for Vista. Personally if you were going to spend extra money, I'd spring for the 7200 RPM hard drives.

re: Notebook computer market share, Q1 2008

Dude1313 — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:42:09 GMT

Yawn. Right, is it time to grind on about Apple's market share worldwide again?

Check back next quarter, Paul "Only I tell the truth" Thurrott will be back to explain how once again Apple and their minuscule market share means nothing.

For the life of me I can't understand how a company with such a small market share isn't out of business yet. (Note : sarcasm).

re: Notebook computer market share, Q1 2008

Avro — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 08:24:44 GMT

@kellmjones

These things always come down to an evaluation. I was on the point last year of buying a Dell (good machine) pre-loaded with Ubuntu last July and then came across a 2nd Gen MacBook being cleared for $880. Since I have loads of Mac software (5 user licences) it was an easy decision and upgrading the RAM to 2 Gigs and HD to 160 Gigs cost another $120 and this wasn't bad either. Any of the top brand laptops are pretty good these days. I hope she enjoys it.

My 13 year old is on the look out for the new MacBook. Hopefully no early adopter blues this time ;-).

re: Notebook computer market share, Q1 2008

DRWAM — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 00:23:16 GMT

Thanks Paul. I will do some price shipping for my nephew. Maybe Thinkpads have an edu discount.

Doc