45% of computers purchased at Princeton this year were Macs

Agreed, just today i used an iBook G4 in science, in which we also use iMac G4 desktops. In my graphics design classes, we use 17'' Core Duo iMacs and Tower g4's and there are a couple of g3 towers, eMacs, and intel mac minis in the media center. Macs are becoming commonplace. I see them more then i see Dells.

When I started at the Stockholm University three years ago, only I and one more in my class were running Macs. When I count today the two users has become eight. I also see a lot more of Macs at the campus.

The interesting thing I've noticed at the school where I work (IT dept), is that a good 80+% of the laptops at any given meeting are Macs, but that .. very few of those people have a Mac on their desktop. I'm still trying to figure out why the Mac seems so popular for their laptops but *not* for their desktops.

I go to a Canadian university and there is definitely an upward trend. My school doesn't really push or not push Macs, except, theoretically, our ResNet doesn't support Macs (but I've never heard of someone have any trouble with it). In most of my classes I'd say something like 3/8 of laptops are Macs, and a lot of people I talk to either have a Mac or want a Mac. It's definitely a good sign. Even a few big computer nerds I know, normally so gaming obsessed as to shun Macs completely, are considering them.

Heheheh...resistance IS futile...

Just like Toyota and Honda, who went after the younger demographic, captured them, and kept selling them pricier product as they got older and wealthier.

I'm buying some more AAPL when the market opens.

#10 - That's because Apple has given away computers for free to studios making a movie - Apple gets free advertising, studios get free computers. They've been doing this for years, I remember first hearing about them doing it in Jurassic Park. Other companies are finally starting to catch on, I noticed HP being displayed quite prominently in The Office this season.

I go to the University of Oregon (and the School of Journalism and Communication)....lemme tell you, Macs reign supreme here. I think the UofO actually has over 50% Macs, although I'd be hard pressed to find an actual statistic. Most of the UofO's administrative computers are Macs, and the UofO was going to be the first school to utilize GMail as its email system. We turned them down, however, citing useability concerns, which I think had to do with the fact that at the time GMail didn't work as well with Macs as PCs, and it would be stupid for a mainly Mac campus to embrace something not-so-Mac (at least then).

In response to the trend of the media utilizing Apple on TV shows and movies, it has always been this way even in the dark ages of Apple in the 90's. And in relation to the article I attend the now infamous Florida International University and I would say its at a quarter this year overall. Its actually sort of funny since it seems in the library to be at a quarter but if you go to the on campus starbucks its near or over 50 %. Now if people drinking starbucks and having their Apple out to surf the free wifi I dont know what trendy is. I think its sort of funny with people trashing how everyone has an Apple and its becoming "trendy." I considered myself trendy since the begining on my superior Mac OS 7.6 back when I was six on my Color Classic. Apple has always been about setting trends and finally more people as of lately seem to be catching on. Apple fans have you not considered yourselves trendy since the first time you stepped foot into the Apple realm and experienced superior computing?

Tim:

I work at Princeton University as an Oracle Database Administrator and I can tell you that they do NOT push Macs at all. If anything you could say it is the opposite. Dell has a very heavy presence at Princeton, and of course so do the associated Microsoft technologies.

If Princeton is anything like Indiana, one big reason is almost certainly because they really, really push Macs. Our computer stores have huge "why buy a Mac" signs out all over, and nothing about PCs. I know at a lot of schools they do this - not only because the computers are cool and it makes the stores look cool, but also because it really eases the workload for the support staff, who have many less calls about Macs. My undergrad school's network was even brought to its knees multiple times by horrible viruses that didn't affect Macs. (Nor did it affect patched PCs, but every Mac bought is one person you don't have to worry about reminding to patch every couple of months.)