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Artie MacStrawman and the Wii Effect

Some silly punditry and a look at Mac market share.

The Macalope
Born of the earth, forged in fire, the Macalope was branded "nonstandard" and "proprietary" by the IT world and considered a freak of nature. Part man, part Mac, and part antelope, the Macalope set forth on a quest to save his beloved platform. Long-eclipsed by his more prodigious cousin, the jackalope (they breed like rabbits, you know), the Macalope's time has come. Apple news and rumormonger extraordinaire, the Macalope provides a uniquely polymorphic approach. Disclosure.
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The Macalope
2 min read

PAGING ARTIE MACSTRAWMAN. ARTIE MACSTRAWMAN, PLEASE COME TO THE WHITE COURTESY PHONE. YOU HAVE A CALL FROM A MR. KINGSLEY-HUGHES.

What could/should Apple do to take sales and profits to the next level? Simple. Release an Apple branded Windows-based PC. I know, I know, this kind of talk is bound to upset the hardened Apple fanatic...

MR. MACSTRAWMAN, PLEASE MEET YOUR PARTY BY THE BAGGAGE CLAIM CAROUSEL ON LEVEL 4.

Sure, a few lunatics at the fringes who'd be upset, but that's only to be expected.

PAGING ARTIE MACSTRAWMAN. YOUR PARTY IS NOW AT THE SECURITY DESK ON THE PROMENADE.

Apple's a lot easier to understand when you stop looking at it as a religion and instead see it for what it is - a multi-billion dollar consumer electronics company.

LAST CALL FOR ARTIE MACSTRAWMAN. ARTIE MACSTRAWMAN, PLEASE COME TO THE NEAREST CUSTOMER SERVICE COUNTER.

Frankly, the Macalope could really give a rat's ass if Apple started selling Windows pre-installed. It's more that he doesn't think it would help that much and he that the last thing that fits into Apple's product mix is a me-too PC clone (albeit the most stylish me-too PC clone around). The horny one doubts Apple wants to get into OEM contract negotiations with Microsoft, but if they decided to do it his reaction would be "Meh."

And he's got a Mac for a head.

Kingsley-Hughes links to a piece by Tom Krazit who believes there's more to booming Mac sales than just an "iPod halo effect".

I will throw this out there: I think more people are buying Macs because there is no longer a penalty for switching to a Mac. After all, you can run Windows on a Mac, open and edit Word documents in Mac OS, and you probably spend most of your time on one Web page or another that doesn't care what operating system is in control.

This is undoubtedly true and lowers the barrier to entry into the Mac world. The Macalope's been mulling another reason which he calls "the Wii effect".

Take a look at the anecdotal evidence for a substantial increase (tip o' the antlers to Daring Fireball) in Mac market share on college campuses. Increasingly, consoles are the platform of choice for gaming which has traditionally been a killer feature for PC ownership among youngsters. But if you already do your gaming on a Wii or an Xbox, why not make your laptop a Mac?

And, yes, "Artie MacStrawman and the Wii Effect" would make a great name for a band.