undefined | Better HN

0 pointsasveikau5y ago0 comments

You seem to be really angry at people who make choices different from yours. So much sarcasm and contempt for others here.

Anyway, if you want to get into it... Microsoft dominated the consumer market in the 1990s. The same people you say who were not nerds and didn't care ... Didn't care to get an Apple machine either, they got whatever everybody else got, which were Wintel PCs. Most didn't care if something else had a nicer design or UI or was friendlier or more efficient. It was Win9x almost everywhere.

I think this negates your "Microsoft went after businesses" hypothesis somewhat. They had total domination everywhere, and maybe got a little lazy or complacent and the lead eroded, at the same time Apple got Jobs back and grew as a consumer brand due to iPod etc. But Microsoft is still a major force outside of techie circles.

0 comments

2 comments · 2 top-level

ogre_codes5y ago

> Microsoft dominated the consumer market in the 1990s.

Microsoft dominated everything in the 1990s. Apple more or less lost it all.

> Most didn't care if something else had a nicer design or UI or was friendlier or more efficient.

Macs weren't very good in the 90s. They weren't fast, they weren't pretty, and they were quite expensive. The original iMac changed that in a fairly big way. It was more affordable and a lot more approachable than pretty much any other PC on the market and non-business consumers loved it.

Every successive generation of the Mac has shaved of just a little bit more of the consumer end of the PC market. Then the iPad came along and completely crushed the low end Netbooks. So now Apple has much of the mid-low end consumer space with the iPad and the upper end of consumer space (and a big chunk of professionals who have the choice) with the Mac.

Microsoft still truly owns corporate PCs and gamer space though.

scarface745y ago

Microsoft is definitely not a major force outside of tech circles.

Apple alone sells about the same amount of phones+tablets than all of the personal computers sold in the world (https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2020-01-1...) and it only has 13% market share.

The PC market is tiny compared to the mobile market.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse