Techmate: Google vs. Apple = open vs. closed

• 140 million copies of Vista sold. How does Leopard compare?

  Apple has no numbers to compare with the 140 million copies of Vista that Bill Gates says Microsoft (MSFT) has sold since the latest version of Windows started shipping in late 2006. (link)

  Literally, no numbers. The last time Apple (AAPL) released a Leopard sales figure was Oct. 30, 2007, when the company said that it had sold more than 2 million copies of Leopard in one long weekend (see here). MORE

  Philip Elmer-DeWitt - May 8, 2008 4:33 PM ET
  Posted in: Apple, Bill Gates, Leopard, Microsoft, Vista

• What's wrong with a $399 Mac?

  It's been almost a decade since Steve Jobs drove the last of the licensed Mac clones out of business, but that hasn't stopped bargain hunting users from trying to get the Mac experience without feeding Apple's hefty profit margins.

  Persuading a generic PC to run OS X isn't that hard to do. Ever since Apple (AAPL) switched from PowerPC to Intel, hackers in the OSx86 movement have been playing cat-and-mouse with MORE

  Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Apr 14, 2008 7:39 AM ET
  Posted in: Apple, Clone, Leopard, Mac mini, Macintosh

• Rush Limbaugh gets special treatment from Apple

  Here's one way to get moved to the head of the genius line: complain about your problem on a radio show carried by 650 stations across the U.S.

  On Feb. 12, Rush Limbaugh, a self-proclaimed "big Mac guy," talked about two problems he was having with his computers after upgrading to Leopard -- one with how his mail was getting backed up in Time Machine and the other with seeing his MORE

  Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Mar 12, 2008 9:16 AM ET
  Posted in: Apple, Leopard, Steve Jobs

• Apple 2007 top 10 lists

  With 2008 only a day away, most of the 2007 year's-best lists have come in, and Apple (AAPL) placed at or near the top of more than its share. Among the prizes its products took home this year:

  Amazon Most Loved Computer: Apple MacBookPro
  Amazon Most-Gifted Computer: Apple MacBook
  Amazon Most-Wished-For Electronics: Apple 4 GB iPod nano
  Amazon Most-Gifted Electronics: Apple 4 GB iPod nano
  Amazon Most-Loved Software: OS X 10.5 Leopard
  NY Times "Pogies": iPhone's visual MORE

  Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Dec 29, 2007 8:21 AM ET
  Posted in: AirPort Extreme, Apple, iPhone, iPod, iPod nano, iWork '08, Leopard, MacBook, MacBook Pro

• Apple Mac hits record 6.81% market share in Net Applications survey

  After taking a brief October dip in advance of Leopard's release, Apple's (AAPL) share of the operating system market grew 3.34% in November to hit a record 6.81%, according to the results of a Net Applications survey issued today.

  Microsoft's (MSFT) Windows in its various flavors continues to dominate with a 92.42% share, as measured by the Web metrics firm. Among the operating systems gathered in the "other" category are Linux MORE

  Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Dec 1, 2007 10:21 AM ET
  Posted in: Apple, iPhone, Leopard, Mac OS X, Market Share, Microsoft, Net Applications, Playstation, SunOS

• Briefs: Beatles '08, Leopard update, new get-a-Mac ads

  A few bits of Apple (AAPL) news worth noting:

  Paul McCartney: "It's all happening soon," he told Billboard.com. "Most of us are all sort of ready. The whole thing is primed, ready to go -- there's just maybe one little sticking point left, and I think it's being cleared up as we speak, so it shouldn't be too long. It's down to fine-tuning. I'm pretty sure it'll be happening next MORE

  Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Nov 16, 2007 8:32 AM ET
  Posted in: Apple, Beatles, Fake Steve Jobs, Get-a-Mac Ads, iMac, Leopard, Paul McCartney

• After Leopard: Apple's Parting Gift to Tiger Users

  This is interesting.

  Nearly three weeks after Apple (AAPL) started shipping Leopard, the sixth version of its flagship operating system, and urged Mac users around the world to step up to OS X 10.5, it has just released the largest software update in memory for its previous two versions, Tiger and Panther.

  The major improvement in OS 10.4.11, besides a slew of scary sounding security patches, is that it gives Tiger users MORE

  Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Nov 15, 2007 7:50 AM ET
  Posted in: Apple, Leopard, Macintosh, Panther, Software Update, Tiger

• Leopard Reaches 9% of Mac Users in 4 Days

  How did Leopard sell?

  Very well indeed. In a press release issued this morning, Apple (AAPL) announced that it had sold or delivered more than 2 million copies of OS X 10.5 in its first weekend on the market. OS X Tiger, by comparison, took nearly six weeks to reach the 2 million mark. That makes the launch of Leopard the most successful OS release in Apple's history.

  "These numbers show the MORE

  Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Oct 30, 2007 12:13 PM ET
  Posted in: Apple, Leopard, Macintosh, Microsoft, Sales, Vista

• Leopard: The Definitive Review

  Most consumers thinking about buying Apple's (AAPL) new Leopard operating system will learn what they need to know from the first wave of reviews -- the ones written by journalists who were given pre-loaded, pre-release copies of OS X 10.5 and had a week to play with it.

  But the review that programmers were waiting for was the one by fellow developer John Siracusa, the Ars Technica columnist who wrote the MORE

  Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Oct 29, 2007 8:27 AM ET
  Posted in: Apple, Ars Technica, John Siracusa, Leopard, OS X, Review