But Asus' computers are gaining fast on Macs in Rescuecom's fourth annual report

Sources: IDC, Rescuecom

For the third year in a row, Apple (AAPL) has come in first in an annual survey of computer reliability conducted by Rescuecom, a national tech support company based in Syracuse, N.Y.

Rescuecom measures reliability by dividing each manufacturer's U.S. market share, as measured by IDC, by the percentage of calls requesting Rescuecom's service on each maker's machines.

Although Apple had the highest score in Rescuecom's 2010 report, its lead over its nearest competitor shrank from more than 200 points in 2008 to just 60 points this year.

In a press release issued Monday, Rescuecom president Josh Kaplan singled out Apple, Asus and, in a negative way, Dell (DELL):

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