[X4U] Re: Apple's move to Intel chips

[Stroller]

On Jun 9, 2005, at 8:14 am, Timothy Luoma wrote:
>
>> Perhaps VPC on Apptel will work better than currently, and those that 
>> need to run the occasional Windows app on their Powerbook will 
>> benefit, but .... I'll bet the best bet will still be a £200 or £300 
>> PC & VNC.
>>
>
> Indeed.... as long as they are on a network... and a fast one.
>
> I use VNC at the office ... but when I'm at home (dialup) or... 
> (shock!) offline, say, on an  airplane, it's less useful.

There was a reason I mentioned the Powerbook in my first sentence!  ;)

It would be nice if the switch to Intel improved emulation of Windows 
apps, but the problem is that emulation will always be an overhead, and 
I don't believe it will ever be 100% reliable.

There are estate agents & financial consultants I would LOVE to switch 
off Windows, but who rely on a single proprietary app for managing 
their properties or calculating mortgages - I cannot recommend 
Macintosh & VPC to them. Even if a hypothetical WINE-on-Mac were to 
work perfectly for this app today, what is to say that an upgrade won't 
break it? The suppliers of the proprietary software won't support it, 
and if it's a paid-for enhancement like VPC it increases the initial 
cost of the switch. You & I know that the cost of the switch will be 
paid for by maintenance & upgrade savings, but  short-term cost can be 
extremely off-putting to customers.

Had Macintosh 50% of the market, then I'm sure we'd see reliable 
emulators on both sides, and fantastic peer-support. But I _personally_ 
don't see the Macintel improving the situation to the point where we 
can throw away our PCs (unless you consider dual-booting a Mac to 
Windows acceptable).

Stroller.