Dvorak: Will Apple ditch Mac OS X for Microsoft’s Windows?
Thursday, February 16, 2006 - 01:13 AM EST"The idea that Apple would ditch its own OS for Microsoft Windows came to me from Yakov Epstein, a professor of psychology at Rutgers University, who wrote to me convinced that the process had already begun. I was amused, but after mulling over various coincidences, I'm convinced he may be right. This would be the most phenomenal turnabout in the history of desktop computing," John C. Dvorak writes for PC Magazine. "Epstein made four observations. The first was that the Apple Switch ad campaign was over, and nobody switched. The second was that the iPod lost its FireWire connector because the PC world was the new target audience. Also, although the iPod was designed to get people to move to the Mac, this didn't happen. And, of course, that Apple had switched to the Intel microprocessor."
MacDailyNews Question: If nobody switched, then why are Mac unit sales and market share rising?
Dvorak continues, "Apple has always said it was a hardware company, not a software company. Now with the cash cow iPod line, it can afford to drop expensive OS development and just make jazzy, high-margin Windows computers to finally get beyond that five-percent market share and compete directly with Dell, HP, and the stodgy Chinese makers. To preserve the Mac's slick cachet, there is no reason an executive software layer couldn't be fitted onto Windows to keep the Mac look and feel. Various tweaks could even improve the OS itself. From the Mac to the iPod, it's the GUI that makes Apple software distinctive. Apple popularized the modern GUI. Why not specialize in it and leave the grunt work to Microsoft? It would help the bottom line and put Apple on the fast track to real growth."
"The only fly in the ointment will be the strategic difficulty of breaking the news to the fanatical users. Most were not initially pleased by the switch to Intel's architecture, and this will make them crazy," Dvorak writes. "Luckily, Apple has a master showman, Steve Jobs. He'll announce that now everything can run on a Mac. He'll say that the switch to Windows gives Apple the best of both worlds. He'll say this is not your daddy's Windows. He'll cajole and cajole, and still hear a few boos. But those will be the last boos he'll hear, for then the Mac will be mainstream. We will welcome the once-isolated Apple mavens, finally."
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Oh, come on, how the hell are we supposed to write a "Take" for this one?
Oh, alright, here: A few boos wouldn't be the only thing Uncle Steve would hear if he ambled onstage somewhere and announced Apple was dropping Mac OS X for Windows, even if it was "Windows with a Mac face." Forget about wearing full body armor and having metal detectors at the auditorium's entrance; he'd have to announce such a thing via satellite from an undisclosed location; like from high earth orbit or, better yet, from the moon. And he'd better plan on staying there.
We guess Dvorak's saying that Apple would lose the 16% of the world's personal computer users who used to have a perfect security record. But, really, where could we go? Eventually, we'd have to go with some Linux distribution or right back to Apple's Windows (Macdows? Wintosh? WindeX?), we guess, right? And Apple would supposedly gain some sort of improved shot at the 80% of the rest of the market with this "Wacintosh?" By the way, Apple's Mac sales are already quite profitable.
Oh, forget it. You guys and gals can tackle this one in the feedback. We can't get drunk enough to understand Dvorak's mindset, much less dissect it properly. We have had a few already, so we will leave it to you with this last bit: Doesn't Apple have so many other much less crazy options to try out before unleashing such a nightmare? Options like releasing a shrink-wrapped Mac OS X for x86 or licensing Mac OS X to HP, Dell, Toshiba, Lenovo, Sony, Gateway, etc. or making Darwine (running Windows apps without Windows) a working feature of Mac OS X Leopard or giving a free iPod away with every Mac purchase or vice versa or, God forbid, actually attempting to advertise and explain the Mac properly to the world first?
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Related MacDailyNews articles:
Dvorak: Steve Jobs eventually intends for Apple's Mac OS X to run on any x86 PC - August 08, 2005
Dvorak: Mac OS X is already better than Windows, Vista may be end of line for Microsoft's dominance - July 26, 2005
Dvorak: Microsoft should shutter the company - July 13, 2004
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April fool's day has come early this year.
The guy is on crack. How many times does Steve Jobs say that what's unique about Apple is they control the whole widget?