As reported by [url=http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=196701683&cid=RSSfeed_IWK_All]InformationWeek[/url], the IBD/TIPP Home Computer Purchase Outlook index, which uses a 0-100 scoring system to measure buyer intent, jumped 17 percent to 23 in December from November. Only July's 23.4 had a higher mark in the last three years, Investor's Business Daily said.

An associated random telephone poll of over 1,000 Americans said that 27 percent were planning to buy a new home computer in the next six months. That was up from November's 22 percent. Although Dell (at 43 percent) and Hewlett-Packard (13 percent) were voted the top-two brands among likely buyers in December, Apple's 12 percent was the highest since IBD began tracking it in mid-2003, notes InformationWeek. On notebooks only, Apple tied HP at 15 percent; Dell remained the top draw there as well, accounting for 47 percent of the votes.