Back in February, one of the industry’s most vocal Apple haters, CNet’s Molly Wood, admitted defeat and gave up on Windows, dumping an HP notebook and Android whatever for a MacBook Air and iPhone 4S, respectively. Moreover, she’s not just a switcher but an evangelist, as well.

“And the other day, when my mom was complaining about startup times, printing and wireless networking, the words, ‘You should get a Mac’ were out of my mouth before I could stop them,” Wood wrote recently.

Turns out CNet’s Wood is part of the wholesale remaking of CBS Interactive, which owns the popular news site and is transitioning its roughly 2,500 users to the Mac, iPhone and iPad. The company’s other properties — i.e. CBS.com, CBSSports.com, Last.fm, Chow, etc. — are part of the move, too.

Moreover, Forrester Research chronicles the growing acceptance (via Wall Street Journal) of the Mac in the enterprise. Specifically, employees at 46 percent of corporations can choose an Apple-branded computer, which translates into 7 percent of all corporate desktops now being Macs.

“The use of iPads and iPhones in the workplace is creating increased awareness and consideration of Macs,” said Frank Gillett, vice president and principal analyst, Forrester.

Serious headroom

This has led to a 50.9 percent jump in Mac sales to business customers, says Needham & Company analyst Charlie Wolf. Interestingly, business sales accounted for 34.9 percent of Mac shipment growth last year and Apple has outpaced its PC competitors for six continuous years.

One of the big tech enterprises helping to power that growth is networking giant Cisco. Of the company’s 64,000-plus employees 20 to 30 percent have chosen a Mac, or about 16,000 people, rather than a Windows PC.

What’s it all mean? We are witnessing a Mac enterprise renaissance, but don’t expect the world’s corporate IT departments (let alone your employer) to suddenly come to their senses. Assuming, of course, that’s even practical.

Again, the Mac has been posting big double-digit gains for several years running and adoption in the enterprise is still just 7 percent, leaving 93 percent of the market yet to convert…

What’s your take?

Photo: Adam Curry