67% of Mac users would like to try Windows 7 (sort of)
Proving that statistics can be manipulated to present pretty much ANY picture you’d like, a recent study from Retrevo, a consumer electronics shopping site, found that 67% of Mac users would be very interested in installing Windows 7 on their Macs. Sort of.
On a lark, the study asked respondents whose primary computer was a Mac … if Microsoft (hypothetically) provided a free copy to Mac OS users would they install and try Windows 7, we were amazed to see 67% say they would. Installing an OS is a non-trivial, time consuming process, and yet there is lot of interest among Mac users. Maybe Microsoft’s Marketing department should be thinking hard about such an offer!
The slightly more realistic response from Mac users appeared when asked if they would ever consider switching from the Mac OS to Windows 7 if they actually had to PAY for it.
The resounding response was a big “no way,” with over 97% saying “no!”
I’m not really sure why Retrevo would be shocked to find people would say “yes” to receiving a free piece of software valued at $300. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in running this site, it’s that people are cheap bastards, and they love free stuff (which reminds me, I really should give something away again soon…). Quite frankly if Retrevo asked me if I wanted a free $300 Corby 7700 Pants Press I would say “Hell yes!”
Above: That’s a nice looking pants press…
In fact, while the study is meant to show high demand and anticipation for Windows 7 across users of all platforms, I kind of think the response from Windows users is somewhat lukewarm.
A very large percentage, over 60%, of the respondents indicated they were considering an upgrade to Windows 7.
Ok, sounds good…
Almost 12% said they would upgrade right away, while another 48% said they were going to wait and see what reviewers and other users had to say before they make the final decision.
See, to me that graph would be somewhat scary if I were Microsoft. Given the bad publicity Windows Vista has earned over the years, I’m surprised that more people aren’t looking to upgrade immediately, no matter what. Since most Windows users are running Windows XP or OLDER right now, I would think the knowledge that they are running an operating system that is 5-10 years old would be enough to make them think now might be a good time to upgrade. I mean, 18% of Mac users have already upgraded to Mac OS X Snow Leopard, and it more or less has no new features over Leopard (which unlike Vista was a highly-regarded operating system with no major issues) and it only can be installed on the newest Mac hardware. Granted it cost about 1/4th to 1/9th what Windows 7 will cost, but it is still somewhat shocking that Windows 7 is not a no-brainer upgrade at this point.
But then of course, I am an Apple fanboy, manipulating the numbers as I see fit.
Microsoft should consider giving free copies of Windows 7 to Mac users, but they won’t. If they do, it will be time-limited or crippled in some way, which will make it totally unattractive and/or unusable.
“Installing an OS is a non-trivial, time consuming process, and yet there is lot of interest among Mac users.”
Really? Non-trivial? With Boot Camp, installing Windows is incredibly easy. The Windows installer shouldn’t be that hard (XP was fairly trivial, and I’m assuming it should be just as if not more simple in Vista & 7). Finding drivers for a Mac is a breeze since Boot Camp burns a driver CD with every driver you need, and offers a full installation program to set everything up for you.
If anything, learning to use another OS is the most non-trivial, and with the proliferation of Windows in every corner of business, I think it’d be awefully hard to find a computer user who hasn’t used Windows before.
The reason is simple; to take a Macenstein-centric viewpoint (read Apple fanboy) of this, Mac users are often willing to try things out on their computer. Almost every Mac user becomes somewhat of a Mac fanatic, so every chance they get to experiment with their computer (even if it means delving into the black art that is Windows) is worth it. Most Windows users tend to just be users, and are very content staying inside of the box. I’d bet a poll of the number of Mac users who stay with Safari or experiment with other browsers vs. the number of Windows users who stay with IE or experiment with other browsers would confirm this.
see even if it were free I would never install it. When I used windows I was fine with it til I switched to a mac and now I hate it.
Sorry Jonro Microsoft already did this. They let people download and install the final Beta release and use it with no restrictions for 12 months. It’s not crippled and it’s 12 months. come on when has anyone gotten an Fully working OS from the manufacturer and get to use it for 12 months for FREE. Vista was a horrid OS just like Windows Me. Mac OS have not all been steller… OS 10, 10.1 8.6 there is a list.
i installed windows 7 RC1 on a VMWARE MACHINE in about 8 minutes.
non trivial? time consuming? … ummm, no.
but hell fucking yeah i’d take a free copy of windows 7. for all those times when some stupid proprietary microsoft baloney comes around that forces people to use windows and there’s no work-around in OS X, i’d be covered.
I have to “try” Windows every day at work. Man do I hate it. It’s so antediluvian when you used to know the OS X workflow – most people doesn’t know it better. To bad, but voluntarily switching – NO WAY!
Tried Windows 7 … I think it a good thing and it will replace the XP …. much better then other Windows OS but still Mac OS – better.
Oddly enough, I was given a free Corby 7700 Pants Press (or Trouser Press as they’re called here). Got it from Freecycle: http://www.freecycle.org/
Because Apple refuses to offer a netbook — I don’t want a tablet, I want a netbook with keyboard — I am mostly settled on getting a Windows 7 netbook once Win 7 comes out.
Of course, I’ll wait till 1st Quarter 2010 to see what the Mac tablet looks like, but I really don’t like the idea of typing on glass, with the keyboard taking up half the glass screen. But if Apple’s tablet is anything like what’s being predicted on rumor sites, I’ll get a Win 7 netbook ahead of some tablet that forces me to type on a glass screen. Seriously, I cannot see myself writing for hours, on work documents, typing on a tablet. Sure, that’s not the purpose of a tablet. But there is a need for a highly portable notebook that is sufficiently powerful to run Office software. The PC World has that, but Apple refuses to meet those needs of their users.
Apple does not take its role as monopolizer of OSX seriously. Because they’re the only ones that make OSX hardware, they need to meet the broad needs of their users. They can’t say, if it’s not going to make us mountains of money, then we won’t do it. Where does that leave people like me who need an ultra portable netbook for serious office work that I need to take when travelling.
If Win7 is as good as they say it is, I’m getting a Win7 netbook once it comes out.
I’m an Apple fanboy — but I do need a netbook-sized computer.
With Dropbox software on the Win7 netbook, it would seamlessly integrate with my Mac’s.