AT&T Tech Support 360July 12, 2002 2:05 PM PDT
Are Mac users smarter?
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Apple's 'Real People' ad seeks PC crowd
June 9, 2002
The study also said Mac users tend to be more Web savvy, with more than half having been online for at least five years. And the Mac faithful are 58 percent more likely than the overall online population to build their own Web page and also slightly more likely to buy goods online, according to the report.
"With above-average household income and education levels, the Mac population presents a very attractive target for marketers, both online and offline," the research group said.
TS Kelly, director and principal analyst at NetRatings, said that his company decided to publish the study after noticing the differences between the demographics of Mac owners compared with overall PC owners. Kelly said Apple Computer is a client, but he said Apple did not commission the study nor was it made aware of the results prior to the report's publication.
Kelly said the greater affluence and education level of those who surf using a Mac is attributable in part to the company's comparatively pricier machines, as well as to their perception as a status symbol and their greater market share among those in the publishing and design industries.
"Any time you lower a price point you always see a broadening of the audience that is probable to buy it," Kelly said.
"Apple customers may be educated, but our customers are smart enough to have chosen Gateway, which offers the best value," said Brad Williams, a spokesman for the PC maker.
Apple has been aggressively targeting PC owners in its latest ad campaign.
Although Apple sales typically represent less than 5 percent of the overall U.S. personal computer market, 8.2 percent of Americans who surf the Web at home do so using a Mac, according to the study. Nearly all the rest of those who go online--89.4 percent--do so using a Windows-based PC.
Nielsen/NetRatings said that 70.2 percent of Mac users online have a college degree, compared with 54.2 percent of all Web surfers. That, combined with their longer surfing histories and their greater willingness to buy products via the Web, makes Mac consumers a prime catch for marketers, Kelly said.
"In many cases that is a market advertisers are looking at when they are promoting new products or upscale products," Kelly said.
A representative for PC maker Dell noted that it doesn't seem to be lacking for customers and that half of those customers buy their PCs over the Web--a sign that Windows users are also adept online.
The study notes that although there are clear benefits to marketing to Mac owners, it can be tough to target them specifically.
Once upon a time, marketers could target personal computer users as a whole to reach a more-educated, higher-income base, however the demographics of those with a personal computer have become more similar to the demographics of the overall population as personal computer penetration has grown. Kelly said advertisers can still reach upscale crowds in other ways, such as targeting those who have a broadband connection.
"Nielsen/NetRatings said that 70.2 percent of Mac users online have a college degree, compared with 54.2 percent of all Web surfers."
Out of 100 people, 54 of them have college degrees. And of that 54, 3 are Mac users (70.2% of 8.2% of 54.2%). 51 college graduates use PCs (Windows or UNIX-variant) vs. 3 Mac users.
intelligent than others is just plain insulting. With results such as
these, how can they say that Mac did not pay this publication?
Here is a question for you: how many Mac users know what's in
their mac? how many mac users built their machines from
scratch? How many mac users know how t decide on different
components?
mac is tailored, quite simply, for metrosexual idiots and college
students who don't know any better. They are simple,
sttraightforward, block out a lot of power user features, and will
automatically fit themselves to what they think is best for you.
They don't leave a lot of choice, the models are few and limited,
and the hardware is comparable to a mid-range PC, but for twice
the price. So far, i don't see anything that makes mac users
smarter, just more gullible.
totally flattering, I'm in agreement with you other folks that it's
bullcrap. There isn't any doubt that the different comps are used
by different subgroups though. Personal experience; PC is the
default computer people buy, just because it's cheaper, the guy
at the counter is more likely to sell it to you, and it's hard to
make the transition from windows to osx because of all the little
niggling differences (it was extremely hard for me, and now that
I've switched over, I find myself a bit lost on windows). You can
see the different mac/pc clientelle just by visiting college
campuses. In a liberal arts setting with a majority of creative
artsy folks; video, music, art, that kind of stuff, macs are
extremely popular. Damn, but macs are nice for editing audio
and new media. You don't need to know much about the inner
workings of the computer to create amazing things, and the
whole interface gorgeous, with a great batch of programs. for
example, in our film program, 20 out of 22 have macs. I visited
MIT, and kind of expected macs to be big too, (assuming it was
a college thing). Nope. All pcs and Linux. These guys are SMART,
and they are techies. No doubt they find mac too pre-packaged,
and they clobber together these souped up machines from the
bottom up. really neat stuff that is totally beyond me. Finally,
when you visit a school that isn't polarized towards computer
hackers or avant-garde geeks, you find the normal ratio of pcs
and macs. So this whole "mac users are smarter" is reaallly an
absurd headline. But then, it might be easier to market whatever
their products are to liberal arts folks than programmer folks, so
I guess I see why they did the "survey".
-http://www.macfixit.com here you can find thousands of people having problems with: logging on, drag and dropping, Keys not working in lower case. if every thing works there would be no need for a tech support.
2. You can make amazing stuff.
-Yes you can make amazing stuff on a Mac with Adobe Photoshop and Macromedia products, but these programs are also available for the PC as well. Mac portraits these things as if they are not available for the PC.
3. Everything-ready.
-If you buy a PC from Dell you get the same damn thing you are going to get if you bought a Mac, its not like Dell if going to make you install everything when you get it. Yes if you build your own PC you have to but big deal. if you install the programs you will learn how to do it YOURSELF witch would make your brain have to work. If you know how it works, odds are you will know how to fix it.
4. 114,000 viruses? Not on a Mac.
-No one is going to make a virus for an operating system that no one uses. this only applies to Mac OS X users not to XP or Vista users. but, if every one gets a Mac, hackers are going to start making more viruses for Macs.
5. Still the most advanced OS.
- Windows has Vista duh, yes right now Vista sucks but when OS X first came out there were holes in the program too. This goes for every thing that uses technology. What about X-Box, X-box 360, PS2, PS3, the Wii. all of these had problems first starting out, they got better. not so much for the PS3 but that b/c it is $600.
6. The latest Intel chips.
-Intel makes chips for Windows at the same rate for Macs. and Intel isn't the only chip for computers AMD makes are very nice chip. Mac uses Intel for a reason. People who don't know jack about computers will not know about AMD. AMD chips are used in the X-Box 360.
7. No hunting for drivers.
-it is not that hard to find a driver. when you buy a pice of hardwear %99.99 of the time the hard wear will come with a driver. if you lose the disk go to there web site and you can find it there.
Design
8. Design that turns heads.
-Apple has built there Mac's like a piece of art. WOW look its sooo........ white, MACS ONLY COME IN ONE COLOR! Oh wait there were the old iMac's that had the computer in the monitor but those very pricey. the fact is your not going to show off a white cube. People who have built there own PC's have Glass/Silicon cases with LED's in them with fans that change color, they look like a computer not a piece of art.
9. Instant video chats.
-....if i am going to talk to some one that i would want to look at i would call them up and say "Hey man wanna go see a movie?" not talk to them using a camera. now if it is a business call i could understand, but most business would have a secure line they would use, or they would meet in person.
10. More fun with photos.
-If you need a program to organize your photos then you don't know how to create a new folder.
11. Hollywood-style movies.
-Lie. iMovie will NOT produse a movie that will compare to any movie that comes out of holly wood, maybe a porno but not a movie like 300 or MI-3. there are programs that you can get that do much more then iMovie can.
12. One-click websites.
-if you could make a website in one click, why did i have to take a 2 year class to learn how to. it is not that easy and if it is you website will look like crap and will lack originality. And again, there a programs to fix this Dreamweaver is one of them.
13. Amazing podcasts.
-www.youtube.com free iTunes podcast $$$$$$$$$
14. Rock star tunemaking.
-the reason why Mac's are so easy to use and favor musicians and artiest are because they don't have the intellect to use PC's thats why their professions are so basic.
15. Awesome out of the box.
-really? will all the games and 3rd party programs and want to use be already installed.... no. Apple is sugar coting this you still have to install all of you 3rd party programs. but you can just take the Mac right out of the box and plug it in then your set. The speakers on the Mac's are not the best. i would never want a computer with a built in camera to many hackers.
On top of all of this Mac are a pain in the @$$ to upgrade your hardware inside. you have to take it some were for the warranty not to be voided.
So stop with the saying Mac's are better and PC's are for boring people. Mac = n00bs PC = 1337!!!1one
For people who dont under stand what i just said
Mac = People who dont understand what is going on around them but think they know alot, but they dont know what they are talking about. PC = People who know about computers and will have more fun than Mac users.
Thank you http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/
away my PC. I have both which must make me a super genious!!!
Reading this and the responses to it have made me feel really
good. Seriously, for what I use a computer for, I like the mac better.
If this makes me smarter, thats good too.
windows provides a system that is FAST, leaving organization to WETWARE(user brain), and is compatible with multiple types of hardware
thus, the REASON for the monopoly. Windows is like a POLYMATH, speaking multiple languages
it is thus inherently more INTELLIGENT because is has built in CAPABILITIES to interact with infinitely more hardware situations (and software situations, because the generality and cheapness(often pirated) of it engenders more SOFTWARE development for it)
the mac os is MORE SPECIALIZED and LIMITED. its users have to show more variety to offer quality information because the machine is LESS INTELLIGENT.
The purpose of a computer is to provide QUALITY INFORMATION. how the LOAD is BALANCED in this task is up to the ratio between USER and MACHINE CONTRIBUTIONS.
Thus, mac users might be smarter than windows users, in the default situation.
the hope for pc users? DUMB DOWN YOUR MACHINE. SPECIALIZE IT.
also, if lazy windows users were able to elevate the quality of their own output to that of Mac users (be more intelligent) then they would be at an advantage because their machines are more POWERFUL
BUT most people aren't interested in being more intelligent (THINKING).
that is why, to own an Apple is to said to be to THINK DIFFERENT, in the default situation.
folks do for the same setup.
They upgrade constantly (true mac fans) for the same computer
with faster memory and 200mhz faster for the chip. Once again
its cheaper then purchasing a more powerful processor.
They use an OS that is based on unix that can do tricks that
linux can do for free. But its Apple and I'm surpriesed Cnet is
even asking this, they should just do apple and sony stuff and
screw everything else.
Having always built my own pc through my first install of XP, I am not what most would call the stereotypical "mac fanboy". I have used and managed Windows extensively (2000 certification) as well as various flavors of Linux and Solaris. Believing Macs to be one trick ponies that excelled at graphics design but lagged behind elsewhere, I bought my first Mac as part of a "digital darkroom" a few years ago. That little underpowered mini was so much easier to use and so much more advanced in its rich feature set than my Windows computer that it soon replaced all but gaming. Once I bought a Mac Pro (quad core, tons of memory, excellent gpu) my Windows box was no longer necessary. I've been thrilled with the performance on everything from graphics and movies to daily internet related tasks to online gaming.
Does this make me smarter? Of course not. These statistics probably say nothing at all actually in my opinion. A statistical coincidence does not necessarily prove a causal relationship.
A statistic I've personally seen, however, that is somewhat significant is everyone I know who has tried a Mac has realized very quickly for a variety of reasons that the platform is far superior. Every time.
From a marketing standpoint, a statistic that is interesting is Macs do tend to be used more. Mac based internet traffic is a higher percentage of overall use than the Mac share of the computer market.
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by moonmica
September 18, 2008 2:21 PM PDT
- The biggest error that I am seeing here, disregarding the statistics as I do not feel qualified to evaluate them, is the equating of educated and intelligent/smarter. With the erroneous exception of the title, this article states, correctly or not, that Mac users are more educated. It does not say that they are more intelligent. Intelligence does not imply education, nor does education imply intelligence. Now if a study was done by comparing IQ numbers with OS preferences, maybe that argument could be made. Assuming that everyone agreed on the IQ tests as being accurate. Which they are not based on use versus design purpose, but that is another argument. This study was based simply on what degrees a person held and what computer was used.
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