Mac on Intel Compatibility
My point isn't that standard PC hardware couldn't work with Mac OS X for Intel, but that it likely won't with much hardware out of the box. I remember all too well the RAM fiasco we had moving from Mac OS 9 to X because the installer decided the old RAM wasn't good enough for the upgrade. I also had a legacy printer, scanner, ADB to USB adapters, and the like that still don't work, so I've had to replace the hardware that I continue to need. My Saitek joystick only works, somewhat, because of a third party app I recently acquired.
So, assuming Apple could even make any money out of this scenario, what's the ordinary user who's looked at MacOS X in a store, and heard all the kudos about its ease of use to think when he rushes home, reformats his hard drive, and installs it, only to find that some critical piece of hardware for him no longer works? How's that contribute to Apple's ease of use legend? At that moment, MacOS X simply becomes another OS product, with the same issues of every OS, except on the Windows side the issues have been dealt with. Yes, he can contact the vendor. (My experience here is that the vendor simply tells me to buy their newest hardware. What possible incentive do they have to write drivers for legacy hardware just for Apple to reap the profits?)
So, I guess I don't basically disagree with you, but I do believe the devil would be in the details...the specific and huge range of hardware currently in use in the PC world. I also believe this would be a catastrophe for Apple. Apple would basically be setting up the clones scenario all over again, only this time it would be with every PC vendor in the world. Apple's hardware would certainly not be able to compete at cost against a barebones PC setup. While that might seem a plus to some, Apple has to pay for all that R&D and industrial design that other vendors don't. How would Apple survive? And finally, would Microsoft just sit on the sidelines and allow another OS compete on its proprietary turf? I think not.