Jump to content

Big Time Rumor: Apple to Give PC Users the Green OS X Light

gazzanova

By gazzanova,
in Reader News and Reviews

 Share
64 posts in this topic

Recommended Posts

gazzanova
gazzanova
Posted
Posted

Source: Softpedia

 

Recent changes occurring with Apple's Dot Mac collection of online services (the recent discovery of the Me.com dubbing), the nature of Mac OS X 10.6 (rumored to skip PPC) and some WWDC '08 spy shots that show OS X without the 'Mac' have given birth to quite a rumor – Apple is making OS X a platform-neutral OS.

 

MacRumors notes that Apple might just have "generic PCs" in mind this time around, pointing out not to one, but to five recent rumors that could potentially indicate Mac OS X is going to work with standard PC parts, under guidance from Apple:

 

- Changing .Mac to Me.com (hinting at a neutral platform)

 

- OS X Leopard (not 'Mac' OS X Leopard)

 

- 10.6 to be Intel only (implies dropping PowerPC)

 

- "No new features" in 10.6 could be due to resources devoted to just making 10.6 "PC compatible."

 

theAppleBlog mentions John Gruber of Daring Fireball who thinks Apple is simply bringing the iPhone OS and Mac OS closer to each other – that includes dubbing –, making this the simplest and most logical explanation to everything mentioned above.

 

As you may have noticed, only four of the rumors are posted above. The fifth clue both sources invoke as a potential indication to Apple's expanding the usability of the Mac OS is Psystar. That's right, the Mac clone maker that Apple hasn't done anything about is the last (but very probable) indication that the Cupertino-based computer and software manufacturer is planning to let folks run OS X on non-proprietary machines.

 

Softpedia take: It is also known that Steve Jobs once took a decade-long break to stop and think: How the heck am I going to convince this God-forsaken civilization of ours that Mac is the way to go? When he came back from his 'vacation', he told Apple they needed to make some changes. But, in order to make people accept those changes, Steve told them they also needed to trick users into thinking they were merely upgrading to a better OS that sported all the features they already knew and loved to use. And what do you know, Mac OS X suddenly became more attractive and has been so ever since. It's a long-shot, but removing Mac from the OS' dubbing could indeed indicate that Steve is trying to 'dupe' the world again (in a good way, of course).

 

:):D:D

Link to comment
Share on other sites
tipnmo
tipnmo
Posted
Posted

Its possible, and a lot has changed within apple already. The success of itunes, safari, ipod and iphone on both platforms; people are ready for the full experience, and os x could do quite well. and well enough to make up for any loss in hardware sales, although i doubt hardware sales would suffer in the least, if anything they would sell more computers. anyhow we will see

Link to comment
Share on other sites
FabricioGS
FabricioGS
Posted
Posted

Actually, now that I pay attention to the details it starts to make some sense...

 

Apple wouldn't just drop PPC support without a good reason, after all they have a big PPC installed base.

 

But, it's only a rumor... for now. Time will tell.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
adrock42
adrock42
Posted
Posted

hmmm, wonder why Psystar hasn't been shut down yet?!?!? I'm more mad for netkas then for apple. I hope they don't go to 2 versions when it happens. My forecast: Snow Leo is gonna be cheaper or free for mac hardware owners, $129 for osx86ers.

 

If apple drops ppc I'll have a bunch or really expensive paper weights

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Poco
Poco
Posted
Posted

I know someone who is in the ADC and I was talking to him the week of WWDC about Snow Leopard and he said to me if they think that by releasing OS X for pcs will help them gain they will do it. If they think that the loss that they will take from selling less hardware from allowing pcs to run OS X can be filled by selling more of OS X they will do it.

 

The chance of Apple allowing it is very small and even if they did it would cause many problems with instability on certain systems. Company's would be forced to develop drivers for OS X or they would lose out to those who took the time to make drivers for OS X.

 

iPoco

Link to comment
Share on other sites
adrock42
adrock42
Posted
Posted
.. it would cause many problems with instability on certain systems. Company's would be forced to develop drivers for OS X or they would lose out to those who took the time to make drivers for OS X.

 

Vista has problems with instability on certain systems. My favorite is "In the unlikly event that your computer is unable to start....."

 

Isn't this community making the drivers? BSD is open source and apple took that. What about the open source print drivers that apple includes with it's software. I don't think apple has any problem with using open source drivers for anything. The whole Vista certified thing could work the same way for OS X.

Not everyone fits into the tight box that apple makes.

 

For example: I have had three mac laptops. Two of them have died from impact because the aluminum and titanium isn't the best material when dropped. It dents. What can I say, I'm a klutz. Now if i could install OS X on a toughbook (maybe with a little more power) I would be a happy camper. Have you ever tried getting apple to fix a dropped powerbook?!?!?

 

Example 2: A big difference between my G5 and the one that came out a month later is that my G5 is not liquid cooled. It runs at about 148f all the time. If I could hook the thing up with the badass zalman liquid cooler, or even the stock one, I would be a happy camper.

 

Example 3: my hac has a e4600. When i get some cash I'm gonna stick at q6600 in it, or whatever. can't do that with a mac.

 

I can totally see apple still selling a lot of iMacs and macbooks. They really do make great hardware. I love the iMac's simplicity. I mean, it's just a thick monitor. In the case of the pro boxes, Psystar shows us the same thing can be done for cheaper. Who needs a giant cheese grader. If Snow Leopard had .Net and MSSQL and was open to install on certified system components.... I would be a happy camper icon1.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Headrush69
Headrush69
Posted
Posted
OK OK will you guys stop with this {censored}. It's NOT gonna happen.

Agreed.

 

My reasoning:

What does Apple have to gain? (Increased OS X sales)

What does Apple have to lose? (Lost hardware sales)

 

Is the gain worth it? Everyone seems to think that OS X sales would explode if made for PCs outright and offset loses from hardware sales, but my guess is that even though sales would increase, (mostly from OEM inclusion), you would see an explosion of pirated copies of OS X.

 

Now if OS X had a larger market share in business markets it might be worth it, but for the most part OS X is still a home OS.

 

Not saying it won't happen or never will, but based on the reasoning noted in the articles in the first post, seems like a big reach.

If apple drops ppc I'll have a bunch or really expensive paper weights.

Why, is 10.5 somehow unproductive? :wacko:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
macmaniac
macmaniac
Posted
Posted

Apple Computer Inc. was a hardware company that sold computers.

 

Apple Inc. is a company that that sells hardware.

 

Be that as it may, given the success of the iPod, and the (I believe) impending success of the the iPhone, it is quite possible that Apple may be rethinking their computer hardware strategy. Maybe they don't have to rely on computer sales alone. They have diversified their hardware and can take a gamble on canibalizing computer sales for an overall greater OS footprint. The greater OS footprint might, in turn, leverage further sales of hardware, including hardware not yet developed.

 

But I doubt it. Then again, I doubted that they would ever switch to Intel. :P

I am so glad they did. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Headrush69
Headrush69
Posted
Posted

I think you have the right word macmaniac, gamble.

 

MS is still a taunting foe with 90+% marketshare and pinning the companies future on ipod and iphones sales seems dangerous.

Most other phone/media player manufacturers have a large and more diverse product line and don't survive on just those products.

 

IMO if Apple ever decides to go this route they need to establish a better business placement strategy before letting the hardware go.

Until then MS still has several huge advantages over OS X.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
royco
royco
Posted
Posted

If this rumor were true, then apple will likely go to PC makers like dell and hp. Apple would want some controlled and standard hardware to work with. Maybe a new Dell/HP line just for Apple OS X. They would probably drop the price of macs just to stay a tad above the rest for the fanatics. hehehehe... dream on my friends!

 

One more reason not listed in the article to prove that OS X is going to the PC is that Microsoft recently beefed up its MAC software division by a hiring frenzy. They dont want to miss the band wagon.... :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites
macmaniac
macmaniac
Posted
Posted
I think you have the right word macmaniac, gamble.

 

MS is still a taunting foe with 90+% marketshare and pinning the companies future on ipod and iphones sales seems dangerous.

Most other phone/media player manufacturers have a large and more diverse product line and don't survive on just those products.

 

IMO if Apple ever decides to go this route they need to establish a better business placement strategy before letting the hardware go.

Until then MS still has several huge advantages over OS X.

 

There are some people that think Apple will make a lot of money. Computers could play a much less significant part of their future hardware product line. A rich company with a huge "war chest" can afford a risk here and there.

 

But why gamble? They don't have to. It just that us and the rumor-mongers that want them to. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...