Numbers, numbers everywhere and not a drop to drink. You’ve probably heard by now that web statistics trackers WebSideStory and Net Applications have announced that the portion of people surfing the web on a Mac has reputedly doubled over the past eight months, from 3% to 6%. Among other things, this was a great opportunity for some choice soundbites from analysts.
“Mac has almost doubled,” [WebSideStory Analyst Geoff] Johnston said, “so you know they’re selling a butt load.”In case you’re wondering: that’s a metric butt load, which is somewhat smaller than the conventional Imperial butt load.
The increase does roughly correlate with the introduction of Intel-based Macs, suggesting one possible factor for the increase. Meanwhile, PowerPC-based Macs seem to have maintained a steady share. But while Johnston proclaims that Macs are eroding Microsoft’s base, Net Applications is more cautious, noting that Microsoft’s share has held steady at around 90%.
Of course, these numbers have also prompted assertions that the Mac platform will soon be exposed to a correspondingly larger amount of viruses and other malware. Let me the first to predict that the number of viruses in the wild on the Mac will double by this time next year. (What’s two times zero again?)
[via MacSurfer]
