Logitech and OS X's Growing Market Share

Apple's Macintosh is on a roll these days. It seems that every time Net Applications reports on the number of internet users, the Mac's portion just keeps on going and going - up and up!

Of course, this does not go unnoticed by developers, be they of the software or hardware kind. In this vein, Endgadget is reporting that Logitech, a company long known for being a PC specific based supplier of peripherals, has just announced that their newest and greatest webcam, their flagship model, will only be available as a Mac specific one! That's right PC folks, if your hankering to buy the Logitech's latest and greatest webcam, well, then you better go buy yourself a Mac, because this baby won't run on your PC or Linux machine!

Some people will naturally say that it's only a webcam, so what? What's the big deal?

Well, for one, Logitech's decision helps demonstrates that the Mac's increasing market share and influence in the world of desktop pc's is for real and not just some temporary fluke. It also is a sign that the Mac may yet be on the verge of gobbling up even more of the PC market, all at the expense of Microsoft's Windows which has been seeing a reversal of fortunes these days and especially so since Vista failed to 'wow' us as promised.

Mind you, Windows has had a good run, but increasingly it's beginning to look a little rundown these days and past it's prime. The notion that Microsoft is unstoppable is now beginning to look like a myth, and, at this point, I'm not too sure that Windows 7, (which frankly is just a reworked version of Vista) is going to able to reverse Windows slow and steady decline.

Yes, Windows 7 will attempt to 'wow' us with it's iPhone like multi-touch features, but don't let that fool you. It's still Windows underneath - it's still Vista, but just with a new name and features. The so called featureless, features of Snow Leopard are about to pounce and they show a lot more substance than anything that I have yet heard of for Windows 7. Remember too that: Snow Leopard will also have multi-touch capabilities, and that OS X is already running multi-touch - on the iPhone!

When it comes to features, nobody can pack them in like Microsoft and I expect that it won't be any different when it comes to Windows 7. The problem, sadly, with Microsoft and it's numerous features is that they tend not to work as well as advertised. Microsoft likes to over promise and under deliver. Apple, on the other hand, tends to under promise and over deliver. Microsoft is trying hard to change on that score, but,  I'm seriously beginning to think that just as its impossible for a Leopard to change it's spots, likewise, it may also be impossible for Microsoft to change it's ways at least as long as the current leadership is still in place.

Some of these great new Snow Leopard features will be Apple's inclusion of Sun's ZFS, as well as Apple's Grand Central, LLVM Compiler, CUPS printing engine, etc. These features will help make Snow Leopard so much more secure, faster and stable, that they may just leave Windows 7  scrambling in an impossible effort to keep up. But who knows, Microsoft may yet surprise us here, but, as I said, I seriously doubt it at this point.  

So, in conclusion, what's the big deal about Logitech is coming out with their next flagship webcam that is Mac specific only? 

The answer is simple: besides giving Mac users another great web cam option, it helps to validate the Mac as legitimate choice over Windows. As such, Logitech's decision not only validates the Mac, but will help to further quicken the Mac's adoption in the market place over that of Windows.

Thanks Logitech!



And that's my 2 cents 4 this Tuesday, June 24, 2008.

Image via: Endgadget

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