Will Apple drop OS X in favour of Windows?

[Thank The Cheese]

Article:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1925239,00.asp

I kind of get annoyed when people post stuff they've just seen on Digg or Slashdot, but I simply had to post this article here to get everyone's opinion.

The article basically explains one person's opionion that Apple is slowly its way towards dropping OS X as we know it, in favour of developing hardware and software only for the Windows platform. It cites things like the iPod dropping firewire, and the Intel switch as proof of this.

I'm far from convinced, but I did get a little knot in my chest thinking about it.

If anything, I think Apple woul dbe more likely to in the future offer Windows users more, like more Windows-compatible hardware. Or maybe Apple do have a secret plan to adopt windows, but not as a replacement to MacOS, but rather an accompanyment, through dual booting.

[Satcomer]

It is Dvorak putting his foot in his mouth to generate traffic so he will not loose clickers for his advertisers. He is quickly becoming unimportant and he needs the article that Mac users are going to pounce on. He is then going to go to his advertisers and justify the skewed numbers as popularity for his site. This is old hat for him, so don't fret anything.

[Thank The Cheese]

I didn't even notice that it was written by John Dvorak. Boy does he irritate me.

[Mikuro]

I didn't read the article, and I don't intend to. Dvorak's not worth reading. But it's not impossible.

Ever since the iPod came out, Apple's focus has been shifting. I like to think there's just no way, but really, Apple could be very successful as a 'fashion' PC maker. Most people already look at Apple as a fashion company with the iPod. And Apple doesn't seem to mind, that's for sure.

What happens when Vista comes out, and people want to buy fashionable Macs to install it on? (Which, from what I've heard so far, is perfectly doable.) Is Apple going to ignore that large market when there are no technical barriers for them? So let's say they do start supporting Windows officially, for a piece of the PC pie. Then what happens when more people are buying 'Macs' for Vista than OS X? How much money does Apple really make from the Mac OS? Not a whole lot, I imagine. Right now, they need it because it sells their hardware. If the time comes when they don't need it to sell their hardware.......

I'm not panicking, but it's possible.

[Lt Major Burns]

i read the article. it's ridiculous, and not because i like apple. apparently, with the switch campaign over, and unsuccessful (was it?), and the ipod campaign not winning anyone over to the mac (isn't it?), and the switch to intel processors, and the fact that bill gates was in the keynote audience at macworld 1997....

this guy is an idiot...

[limike28]

Is it possible? In the computer industry, anything is possible. The points made in the article are somewhat questionable.

Microsoft and Apple have always had coopetition. (they work together on some things and compete in other areas. all computer comapnies do it.)

His IBM analogy is interesting. Yes, IBM dropped OS/2. It was dead when they dropped it. No, they never dropped AIX for linux. They market both. They market z/OS too. All for different platforms, etc.

USB v firewire for the iPod. When the iPods first came out the choice was firewire or usb 1.1. It was a no brainer to go with Firewire. When the iPod dropped firewire all Macs have built in USB 2.0. So do the PCs sold. While you can argue the merits of firewire, the specs were "close enough".

as for the Intel processor debate... to the general non-techy end user, who cares? Why do I use a Mac? Why did I switch to Mac? I didn't go ga-ga over the specs of the G3 chip in my first iBook? No. It was the fact that it worked well. The whole system worked well, and looked good.

Will a move to Windows in the future.. .it could... ya never know.

[ergo proxy]

You're right, this is the computer industry were talking about. Where
are all those anti-Intel Mac users now? swearing to stick with their
Beige G3 PowerMacs till the year 3000? I doubt it. they are
probably drooling over those nice Mac book pro like most of us if
they haven't placed an order yet.

Windows on my Mac? it could be the other way round, where the dell
inspiron at work would come pre-installed with OS X or OS XI. Maybe
Apple will ditch the hardware business and microsoft will make ipods.

[RacerX]

Ask yourself what is the first thing that Apple does when it buys another software company...

It discontinues the Windows versions of the products.

No a single high end application that Apple sells is for Windows.


The iPod and the iTunes Music Store aren't part of Apple's computer business, and should be taken as such. More importantly, had Apple not opened up to the Windows market they could never have reach 80% market share in them.

In the beginning the iPod was a cute Mac-only music player... but they saw that tons of people were willing to buy it and it didn't hurt them to have them work with Windows.

In the beginning the iTunes Music Store was both an experiment with the Recording Industry and a way to show off the abilities of WebObjects. Again, they saw that their was a market for it and no reason to not open it up to Windows.

Apple may only have 3-5% market share, but they have close to 17% installed user base... that is massive. And while PC users may have gotten used to replacing their PCs every year, Mac users look to Apple for quality. If Apple was a PC maker, their would be nothing to stop people from buying something else.

Mac users use Macs for the Mac environment. No Mac environment, no real reason to buy an Apple Computer over a Dell.


Don't think this is the case?

Look at me. I have a PowerBook 3400c that can run Rhapsody 5.6. I also have a ThinkPad 760ED that can run Rhapsody 5.1. The 3400c is faster than the 760ED, it runs more apps... and it is an Apple Computer. So I would naturally use the 3400c for Rhapsody over the ThinkPad, right?

Wrong. Rhapsody stayed on the 3400c for less than a week. Why? Because I was more productive on the ThinkPad because it has a 1024x768 display where as the 3400c only has a 800x600 display.

Now consider that both of these systems were out at about the same time (and Apple didn't have a 1024x768 PowerBook until the Wallstreet). If you removed the choice of operating system from the picture... I'd be an IBM customer back then. The only real reason for me to buy a PowerBook over some other PC laptop was the Mac OS. When the playing field was leveled buy having the same OS on all the systems... I didn't pick an Apple system.

That is why Apple will not sell computers with Windows. That is why Apple will not sell Mac OS X for PCs. Their hardware business suffers in both cases.

And even today, Apple makes most of it's money on hardware sales.