Miniscule market share? So what!

May 23, 2003 · Comments

Nick references Eric’s entry, which referenced mine. He wonders why Mac users are glad (gloating, even) over the fact that there are no viruses for Mac OS X. Eric and I both know that viruses aren’t impossible on OS X, they’re just not worth anyone’s time to write because of the Mac’s tiny market share.

Isn’t this ultimately a pretty short-sighted argument that is basically consigning yourself to being a bit player in the personal computing world? If you ever want to or plan on controlling a non-miniscule portion of the market, why would you be touting an advantage that exists only because you currently are?

Sorry Nick, I think you miss the point (great Survivor and American Idol recaps, btw). You make the assumption that Mac users want to be using the majority platform. Most of us know what we’re getting into when we purchase a Mac. No one held a gun to my head and I’m not looking at the greener grass on the other side. I know that for the price I’ll be paying for my next Mac this summer, I can buy a PC and replace all my software with PC versions. I’ll even go as far as to say something that many Mac users may never admit: part of the appeal of the Macintosh is the fact that it’s set apart from the rest.

Apple has used the car analogy before. How much of a market share does Porsche or Mercedes have? Do you think it matters to those that buy their cars? I was a little nervous in 1996, but not anymore. Apple, for all its 3-5% of the market is not going anywhere for the foreseeable future. Therefore, I can sit back and enjoy some of the advantages of using a pinnacle platform, one of which is the lack of viruses. Should I feel bad that one of the perks of using a Mac is that I’m not worrying about viruses? Sorry, I don’t. Here’s another analogy: Haven’t you ever been to a restaurant where the place is half empty but the food is marvelous? Maybe the parking is bad, maybe the advertising isn’t good. There could be a thousand different reasons why the place is not doing a bang-up business, the least of which could be the quality of the restaurant itself.

I’m a left-handed, Jewish woman. Going with the pack has never held that much appeal to me. :-) An advantage is an advantage, no matter what the market share behind it. I’m thrilled that no one cares enough for my computing platform to write a virus for it.

Related posts: