Will 2010 be the "Year of the Mac?" Does it Matter?

Will 2010 be the "Year of the Mac?" Galen Gruman asked this question in an article on InfoWorld. Apparently, every year since the mid '80s has seen predictions that the next year would, in fact, be the year that Macs finally become mainstream computers.

"It's almost a pathetic assertion: This year, the Mac will break out of its ghetto and become a mainstream computer for individuals and businesses alike. That unfulfilled desire is foretold every year and has been since the mid-1980s, when Apple's then-groundbreaking computer was quickly sidelined by the IBM PC and, later, Microsoft Windows."

But I thought Macs were already "mainstream." Maybe PCs still outsell Macs, but they are still far from obscure. Most businesses, schools, and universities already have at least some Macs in use. Macs are hardly "ghetto." Actually, I'm not sure any computer could be described as "ghetto."

I was going to make a point by showing the high percentage of Mac users to visit this blog, but Google Analytics shows that only about 20% of my visitors over the last month have visited using a Macintosh OS. But still. That's 1/5 of the visitors.

Despite the economic recession, MacBook sales have grown in 2009, and we all know those don't come cheap. During 2009, Apple's revenue rose 12%. For the quarter ending September 30th, Apple's net profit was $1.67 billion (source).

Anyway, according to the "2010: Year of the Mac?" article, one reason to suspect that Macs will become the mainstream computer in the coming year is the fact that Apple switched to the Intel chip (like four years ago!), which allows windows applications to more easily run on Macs. If that were the case, I'd guess that 2007 would have been The Year for Mac.

Other reasons include the fact that the MacBook Pro is becoming the first choice of professionals, people are increasingly able to choose their own computers for work, and that Macs are less expensive to support than PCs.

I don't know why Mac users are so obsessed with the idea of their computer of choice becoming #1. I use a Mac, and I would prefer that less people use them. I'm not trying to be elitist, I just don't want more people to start programing viruses for Macs. The fact that there are less Mac viruses out there was one of the main selling points in my decision to get a Mac when I wanted a new laptop a few years ago. I'm switching to Linux as my main OS as soon Macs get popular enough for computer viruses to be a major threat. I'm not going back to Windows unless Microsoft comes out with something truly awesome.

Besides, a lot of Mac users do act like elitist snobs when it comes to their computers. You'd think that they would still want PCs to be the choice of "normal" people. If everyone had a Mac, they wouldn't be able to turn their nose up at the majority of computer users who aren't part of their little Apple cult. Once something becomes common place, you don't get to act as arrogant about it.

I do like to start Mac vs. PC fights, though, just to get reactions (I really don't care what kind of computer you use). It's not as much fun online as in real life though, since you don't get to see the frustration on the other person's face. People get so defensive about their OS. There are a lot more important things to argue about... like which video game console is best.

And now for one of my favorite videos on the subject: