Ludovic's weblog

and I think it's bad for the Mac ecosystem - but since apple, is not Apple computers anymore, it might not be an issue with them anymore. So why do I think Apple is bad with numbers ? Well it's because it's very difficult for ISV to figure out, how the apple ecosystem is, and those figures and numbers are important for the product management process. So what numbers should apple give to at least it's developers :

• Intel-PowerPC ratio


• OS repartition, from update dowloads


• OS support roadmap with clear end-of-support dates

Both of those last numbers are almost always available from vendors be they microsoft, be they Linux vendors. But Apple does not give any numbers. And I don't even want real numbers I would be satisfied with a pie chart saying 10% of Apple users still run Mac OS X 10.1.5. The same goes for the Intel/PPC ratio.
The support roadmap is just a matter of publishing internal decision - But I really believe this would help product management discussion like this one.
As for the numbers that can be gathered for instance on the AdiumX users base, I believe these are biased. I believe normal end ussers use iChat and not Adium - so to me Adium's numbers represent some of the geek space in Apple's users but not the majority who uses the tools provided by Apple. Apple please do something to make your ISV's life easier - it benefits the mac ecosystem - meaning you are the main benefactor of it.