Apple's Plan to Provide the Best Darned Windows Experience Anywhere

[IJ Reilly]

Interesting observations.

Easy DOS It:
Apple's Plan to Provide the Best Darned Windows Experience Anywhere -- Even Better Than Microsoft
By Robert X. Cringely

One part of last week's column on Apple's Boot Camp that slipped past many readers was the idea that Apple would actually start shipping OEM versions of Windows Vista with at least some of its computers. I believe that will be the case and, if so, it is a big deal, and could lead to Apple becoming the biggest vendor of Windows computers to business, which I think is a hoot.

The story came to me, as many do, from a reader. He's the night auditor at a hotel, and one evening around 2AM, found across from his Front Desk seven somewhat intoxicated Microsoft engineers who wanted to order morning wakeup calls. They started talking and my reader asked if Intel Macs would ever run Windows? That's all it took to start a 20-minute presentation (obviously prepared and long-practiced) on that exact subject, how Intel Macs will run Windows Vista very well, thank you. Not only that, but the Microsoft engineers were convinced Vista would be so superior that nobody would need OS X again.

These same seven engineers must have stopped for a drink not long ago at John Dvorak's house because he's been making the same claim -- that Apple will drop OS X for Windows.

That's not at all what I think will happen. Apple isn't going to throw away its clearest point of differentiation and greatest technical advantage just to become another Windows OEM. That would make them little better than Sony and Sony can out-manufacture Apple any day.

Where Dvorak is wrong is he believes Microsoft's version of the story -- that Apple will abandon OS X, at least for business, replacing it with Windows Vista. After all, isn't that what this Boot Camp stuff is all about, enabling the choice of OSX or Windows?

Not really.

The rest.

 

[Blue Velvet]

Thanks. One of the more interesting reads linked to from MR in recent days...

Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable;
when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we
are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away;
when far away, we must make him believe we are near.

 

[Nickygoat]

Very interesting. Thanks IJ.
The only part that concerns me is this:

So Apple will at least offer the option for users to run a virtualized version of Windows Vista atop OS X, which brings with it two HUGE advantages. First, the bad guys and script kiddies will have to get through OS X security before they even have a chance at cracking Vista security

I wonder if that means a more secure version of Vista, and thus increased sales for Apple, or more serious attempts to break OSX security.
Time will tell.
And nice to see Sun Tzu quoted. Are you having a slow Easter BV?

 

[Diatribe]

Yes, very good article indeed. If that were to happen and I were Dell... I'd be scared now.

 

[greatdevourer]

Don't be surprised, either, to see that OS X 10.5 has a new kernel, finally giving up Mach and a big piece of its NeXTstep heritage. I write this for one thing -- because OS X has kernel problems and needs some help, especially with swap space. I say it also because of the departure of Avie Tevanian, Apple's chief software technology officer, and the guy who hung onto Mach for so long.

Finally! Microkernels have little advantage these days, and monolithic kernels are so much more efficient these days. As someone on this forum said about a week ago, one of the reason's you'd get a Mac to run Linux on is that compared to X, Linux screams along