[X4U] Apple's move to Intel chips

[Judi Sohn]

On 6/7/05, Brett Conlon <brett_conlon at sonymusic.com.au> wrote:

> *Existing* Mac user base remains relatively same as they like OSX and can't
> use it elsewhere. 
> PC users learn that they can buy the beautiful, reliable and fast Macs and
> still be able to run their existing software on it. 
> Apple's hardware sales increase. 
> PC users have their first play on OSX coz it came bundled with the Mac....
> and like it!!! 
>

Yes, but don't expect Apple to try and compete with Dell and Compaq on
price. Apple hardware will still have a lot of power where Steve &
gang feel it matters, and it will be underpowered where they don't.
Ooooh, maybe the new Intel Mac will splurge and give us 4 USB ports
(not counting the keyboard) now that Dell and everyone else offers at
least 6? The Apple computer will of course be much better made.

Personally, I'm more than happy to pay more for a high-end box that I
can dual boot in Windows (or even better use a shell or fast user
switching to avoid rebooting). Not everyone will be interested in
running both operating systems, just as Windows machines have had the
ability to dual boot Linux/Windows XP for quite some time and I can
count on one hand the number of folks I know who actually do it.

In other words, this will help Apple. But don't expect it to do much
damage to Dell.
  
> Of course if Microsoft feel threatened they can always revise their future
> Windows upgrades to rely on a hardware setup/chip/whatever that the Mac
> doesn't have in order to run. 
>  

Why should Microsoft feel threatened? They haven't been really
threatened by anything Apple has done before with their 3% give or
take market share. Microsoft is a software company and they would be
wise to consider Apple just another hardware company that they have a
relationship with. I wouldn't be surprised if Apple sells their Intel
boxes with a Windows option. It's the hardware companies that are
threatened by this...Microsoft just gets a chance to expand their user
base.

And Apple when all is said and done is a hardware company. The
software is the hook that drives hardware sales. The make iTunes to
sell more iPods, they don't sell iPods to get more folks downloading
iTunes. The OS X experience is a big reason why people buy Macs at
all, and that's what Apple is counting on sustaining them through this
transition.

> I was also thinking that Virtual PC could be a thing of the past but the one
> thing Virtual PC does offer that "dual boot" doesn't is the ability to have
> both platforms running simultaneously, without having to boot in and out of
> different OS's. 
>  

Agreed. This is vital for me. If have to reboot to move between
operating systems I might as well keep going with two computers on my
desk like I have now.

> Now, if Apple can get OSX to be able to run Windows based apps natively in
> OSX then that will really be SOMETHING! 
>

They probably won't, but this is where Virtual PC will shine because
you get the interface without the performance hit.

-- 
Judi Sohn, judi at momathome.com
Mom at Home Design, http://www.momathome.com
AIM: JudiS217