You know, way back at the dawn of creation, we never thought we'd look at computer sales figures and see anything but dry, dull statistics. That was, of course, before Apple's sales figures turned first into a cliffhanger deathwatch, as market share spiralled away like so much bathwater down the drain, and then became the underdog feel-good story of the century, with the iMac cast as the Little Computer That Could. Perhaps these days the numbers aren't quite so thrilling, but they're still important-- and they indicate whether or not Apple continues to gain ground in its fight for the heart, minds, and dollars of the public. (Okay, so it ain't Rudy; it's still interesting.)

So we're glad that MacNN is still keeping an eye on Apple's position in PC Data's monthly stats. In January of 2000, Apple captured 10.9% of the retail and mail order market, for a fourth-place standing, behind Compaq (34%), Hewlett-Packard (32.1%), and eMachines (12.9%). Scary? A little, sure; seeing Compaq and HP mopping up two-thirds of the market all by their lonesome gives us the heebie-jeebies. And seeing eMachines beating out Apple again, well, that's just plain icky. Still, a fourth-place finish is nothing to sneeze at, considering Apple was considered all but dead a few years back. Heck, we remember being ecstatic when Apple's share increased to 5.9%...

And beyond that glass-half-full look at a 10.9% market share, there's other good news, too. Take, for example, the fact that the average price of computers has been on the rise for the past four months straight. Why is that good news? Because the average selling price is still only $873-- well below the price of Apple's least expensive system, the $999 iMac. So consumers are apparently becoming more and more willing to pay extra for a nicer product, which bodes well for Apple's overall sales strategy. And even more importantly, as of last month, Apple's unit sales grew another 17% over the previous year-- whereas the Wintel market grew only 7.7%. It's only a matter of time, folks-- a slow victory, but a victory nonetheless.