What if Mac OS X went to x86 platforms?

[sethypoo]

What if?

What if Mac OS X was ported over to run on Intel and AMD processors? What if HP and other PC manufacturers started installing Mac OS X on a certain number of their computers?

What if Apple licenced this to happen?

This is, of course, assuming that HP and other computer manufacturers don't have exclusive contracts with Microsoft.

What do you think? Would this be good or bad in your opinion?

[idkew]

this happened one. it was bad. cost apple a ton of money.

[sethypoo]

Originally posted by idkew
this happened one. it was bad. cost apple a ton of money.

Yeah, but it was mishandled. Apple, at the time, let it get out of hand. If they could get a deal with one or two of the top PC vendors they could in theory increase their market share.

If they did it right it could pay off big.

[Sun Baked]

Porting the Apple GUI and Cocoa framework to Linux may be worthwhile.

Would have worked well last time NeXT tried it, but Sun killed it in order to support Java instead.

[jefhatfield]

Originally posted by sethypoo
Yeah, but it was mishandled. Apple, at the time, let it get out of hand. If they could get a deal with one or two of the top PC vendors they could in theory increase their market share.

If they did it right it could pay off big.

very very true

apple inc has been known to mishandle business matters before once or twice;)

[Mav451]

whoa how long ago was this? I thought the last time it was brought up here (several months ago), i got the impression that it would never happen.

But to hear that an attempt was made in history? That truly shocks me. Still, if it was done a while back there probably was no AMD, so there wouldn't be the 2 davids (smaller CPU provider, smaller OS provider so to speak) vs. 1 goliath kind of thing going on, oh well.

[MrMacMan]

We would all die.

And the PowerPC platform would die... expect for gaming consoles....


Basically it would suck, bbiigg time.

[Rincewind42]

Originally posted by MrMacman
Basically it would suck, bbiigg time.

Agreed. Apple would basically have to completely transform it's business to make OS X/x86 work, either by licensing the OS or by making x86 hardware themselves. Current customers would be confused wondering why their software doesn't run (or runs very slowly) on their new x86 Mac and new customers would choose the cheapest hardware available - which would almost certainly not come from Apple - most of the time.

Right now, I just don't see the point. And I don't think there will be a point unless the PowerPC architecture falls REALLY far behind x86, which it is very hard to see happening right now...

[virividox]

i think pink g6 platinum powerbooks will be falling from the sky before this happens :D
hehe

[SiliconAddict]

OK how about this. Forget about the client side for a second.

What if Apple ported OS X Server over to X86. I know more then a few admins that would drool over the idea of running OS X for their web server if it wasn't for the fact that the hardware is already in place. I personally run Windows Server 2003 on my home server that is first and foremost a file server. It also moonlights as a DHCP server, RADIUS/VPN server, web server, and an SSH server. Every so often I toy with going Linux but the initial learning curve is too high. Try configing DHCP in Linux. Some of the online guides I read told me to config a file for the settings. To bad the parameters weren't in the config file.
If Apple came out with OS X Server for X86 tomorrow I would pick it up in a hot second to run on my home server.

[yamabushi]

Cetain users would love it but this would probably be suicide for Apple. Stability problems would become much more common and the brand would suffer. As the brand declined so would sales.

A better solution might be to do limited licensing on the PPC platform again. This would have to be handled very carefully in order to avoid losing sales, which is not a trivial task.

[hugemullens]

Apple on x86 = bad. I would like to see some licensing on the PPC platform in select situations. Maybe 4-way G5's with 10.3 server under the IBM brand. But apple on the mess that is pc hardware would end apple quickly.

[Adurbe]

If apple did port 10,3 server to x86 all the apps would have to be recompiled for this chipset,

Either this or the x86 version would become popular and developers would develop for this instead of ppc or the x86 would be a subclass os similar to Solaris x86

Windows NT ported to ppc, how many of you can find apps for it?

[agreenster]

Hasn't this already been settled? Isnt this subject old?

This rumor abounded last year pre-G5. After the G5 was announced, Steve Jobs admitted that they had (and still have) a version of OSX running on x86 architecture. (called marklar, named after the little aliens on South Park) Anyway, SJ said that it was a backup plan that didnt come to fruition because IBM stepped up to the plate and is now delivering better chips with a better roadmap, ala the G5.

Before that, back in the pre-Powermac era, there was (if memory serves) a two-chip macintosh, one x86 and the other was the traditional moto chip. I cant remember the details, except that it didnt do well.

Go to www.apple-history.com for some interesting info, including the Apple TV. Weird.

[Mehmet]

if it were to happen, we would have stability drop in all x86 systems os X is in.

One of the main reasons apple computers are so nice is because apple has control of the hardware, and the production of the hardware. This way they can have superb quality control and see that the hardware will work with their software in the best way possible.

PC motherboard manufacturer's can't really do this very well, since they are not designing for a specific OS, but many of them (although most of them are windows). But some motherboard manufacturers become lazy and just design for windows, so that when you try and do other things with other OS's problems start to occur.

[iMeowbot]

Originally posted by Mav451
whoa how long ago was this? I thought the last time it was brought up here (several months ago), i got the impression that it would never happen.

There are still old copies of Rhapsody for intel floating around. It would have supported pretty much everything but what became Classic; at the time, there was no Carbon.

The part that became Cocoa was supposed to follow OpenStep and be available for a variety of platforms, including Windows.

This stuff more or less happened under Jobs' watch (it was all post-NeXT), and not too much was said about why plans changed.

But to hear that an attempt was made in history? That truly shocks me. Still, if it was done a while back there probably was no AMD, so there wouldn't be the 2 davids (smaller CPU provider, smaller OS provider so to speak) vs. 1 goliath kind of thing going on, oh well.

AMD is much older than Apple, and has played in the intel -clone business (initially under license) from the early '70s.

[sethypoo]

Originally posted by yamabushi
Cetain users would love it but this would probably be suicide for Apple. Stability problems would become much more common and the brand would suffer. As the brand declined so would sales.



What stability problems? This is Mac OS X the most wonderful, stable OS in the whole wide, wide world. It would never crash, because it's Mac OS X (end sarcasm).

But seriously, I think Mac OS X would be just as stable on a x86 platform as a PPC platform.

As for "quality control", why can't Apple just do a limited licence, say to only HP. Apple can control most aspects of quality control and design if only one or two major PC vendors are licenced to use Mac OS X in their PC's.

[jadam]

Or what if... IBM or HP say started making PPC based computers that could run Mac OSX... now that would be something!

[gwangung]

But seriously, I think Mac OS X would be just as stable on a x86 platform as a PPC platform. [/B]

Really? On a platform where they not only don't control the system, from motherboard to ASICs to components [yet still are very finicky with things such as RAM], but where the suppliers very wildly across the map?

I don't think so.....

[revenuee]

Remember all those G5's that were being delivered the Microsoft and then the guy got fired for posting the picture?

What about the fact that it's going to be like 2008 before we see Longhorn ... hmm

what if Longhorn is going to be make to run on PPC ...

hahaha ... that'll be the same day that i start skiing in hell

[sethypoo]

Originally posted by gwangung
Really? On a platform where they not only don't control the system, from motherboard to ASICs to components [yet still are very finicky with things such as RAM], but where the suppliers very wildly across the map?

I don't think so.....

Okay, in my post I clearly put that "what if Apple had a limited licence" program going?

As in, only HP can make PC's with Mac OS X installed. That way Apple can more or less dictate what their OS needs, and they can keep a tight grip on quality control. HP makes good computers. They aren't too buggy.

I'm just saying "what if".

[LethalWolfe]

Originally posted by sethypoo
Okay, in my post I clearly put that "what if Apple had a limited licence" program going?

As in, only HP can make PC's with Mac OS X installed. That way Apple can more or less dictate what their OS needs, and they can keep a tight grip on quality control. HP makes good computers. They aren't too buggy.

I'm just saying "what if".


Kinda like what happend w/the iPod? HP would basically take Macs, make them HP blue, and rebrand them?


Lethal

[revenuee]

Originally posted by LethalWolfe
HP blue



is that along the lines of

Pee yellow or vomit green?:D

[themadchemist]

Originally posted by agreenster
Hasn't this already been settled? Isnt this subject old?


Yes and yes. Thank you.

[sethypoo]

Originally posted by LethalWolfe
Kinda like what happend w/the iPod? HP would basically take Macs, make them HP blue, and rebrand them?


Lethal

Yes, that's what I meant.

And I don't care if some think this has "been settled" before. As far as I'm concerned it's never been settled. No rumor is settled until it comes true!

[bousozoku]

Originally posted by sethypoo
Yes, that's what I meant.

And I don't care if some think this has "been settled" before. As far as I'm concerned it's never been settled. No rumor is settled until it comes true!

Then, it will never be settled while Steve Jobs is there. (You really think Steve Jobs is going to change that radically?)

As interesting as it might be, it's just not the kind of thing that would happen if there was any other way to keep Macintosh alive.

[KC9AIC]

Apple makes most of its money on hardware. To port Mac OS would kill that need.