Sol Young – Page 9

Apple on pace for 10% market share this month

Posted on January 15, 2009 by Sol Young with Leave a comment

I described in December that Market Share for Apple would hit 9.5% at the end of December and break 10% in January. So far Apple exceeded expectations and reached 9.63% in December. That’s a 0.76% gain of the operating system market in one month!

Look for January to carry another increase and for AAPL to break 10%, probably diminishing the effect of Steve’s health-related absense a little bit.

In related news the iPhone browser share also grew. It now holds 0.44% of the market, a move from 0.37% last month and the largest single month gain for the device. Windows dropped almost a full point from 89.62% to 88.68%. Pocket IE is no longer tracked, probably now <0.01% market share. Playstation remained at 0.04%.

For more in-depth detail of market share, visit http://marketshare.hitslink.com.

Posted in Apple, iPhone, Prediction, Windows

Steven Wells on the Geekdom in Philadelphia – Quoted

Posted on January 7, 2009 by Sol Young with Leave a comment

Steven Wells gets the cover of Philadelphia Weekly with Scene But Not Nerd. For anyone curious about the tech sector and a city with a thriving and rapidly growing geek community, it’s a must read. I’m honored to be quoted, especially amongst some of the most innovative and sharp geeks in Philly.

The article covers a wide swath of the Philadelphia Geekdom as Steven describes how and why the Philadelphia geek scene is emerging as a mecca for the tech elite (and every area of geekiness). He conducted many interviews and clearly has come to understand the community, both in a historical context and how the present day networks of geeks are interacting and building a movement.

“If you know your Philly geek history, the city’s reemergence as a major geek hub isn’t that surprising. Benjamin Franklin, the city’s favorite son and top tourist-dollar whore, was the prototype tech-geek.” -Steven Wells

Check it out and look forward to what the drive and attitude of this city bring. It’s about time for another Geek Dinner, too… Details coming.

Posted in Geek Dinner, Philadelphia

Prediction: Apple breaks 10% marketshare in January 2009

Posted on December 31, 2008December 31, 2008 by Sol Young with 6 Comments

Apple

Apple’s OS X operating system base grew by 0.66% between October and November to 8.87%. If they simply maintained the prior month’s pace, they will reach 9.5% in December and 10.1% in January (assuming a continued consumption of 0.6% from other operating systems per month).

Vista being a monstrous failure is only helping, and XP is nearly a decade old. It seems almost difficult for Apple’s marketshare not to jump beyond double digits.

Take a look at Piper Jaffray’s 12 unanswered questions to see how their Q3 and Q4 sales turned out. The new MacBook and MacBook Pro have been great successes. Apple also plans to open 20-30 new stores in FY09.

UPDATE: Remember too that 10% may not seem like a lot for the operating system, but 10% of the hardware sold is absolutely huge.

Check marketshare.hitslink.com after January to see if I’m right…

Posted in Apple, Prediction

It’s faster to drive this week

Posted on December 30, 2008December 30, 2008 by Sol Young with Leave a comment

Taking the train beats driving, hands down in this city. The price is about the same even with $2 gas, but travel time is shorter and hands are free to write code and read.

This week, the week between Christmas and New Years, I’m back to driving. Traffic is nearly non-existant so one can blaze in to the city. It’s the only week in Philly where this is the case.

Posted in Driving, Economics

Being a Good Landlord – Gave Movies

Posted on December 24, 2008 by Sol Young with 2 Comments

Be Thankful

I rent out a few apartments in Philadelphia. Each year around the holidays I try and do something to show appreciation to the tenants. They could have selected other properties, but they chose mine. They have treated the apartments with respect and have made them good homes. I am grateful.

This year I went to the movie theater and picked up tickets. It’s a simple gesture. A way to say thanks. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Posted in Economics, Landlord, Movies, Philadelphia, Real Estate, Tenant