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Keep dreaming "dude"!

There's no way that other computer makers would make nice enough boxes for OS X. Think different would be Think cheap.

Those who are serious about software should build their own hardware...

First?

People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware.

No, not first... Ufff...

Geez Ozz, I should at least be able to quote myself!

Is this the same Michael Dell that said Apple should close their doors, liquidate assets and give the proceeds to the stockholders? Now he's dying to sell Macs, that after his iPod killer got killed.

Hell no. Screw 'em. They put all their stock into MS and MS can no longer deliver, so boo hoo. Dell should close up shop or come up with their own software. As long as Apple can keep building Macs fast enough then they will keep selling them and continne to grow their market.

-c

MW: 'record' (earnings still aren't proof enough)

Want to see OSX running on more than 5% of the computers in this country and move up from half that market share world wide?

This is how you do it.

BTW, MDN has ignored news that Apple's position in computer sales has dropped into 5th place. There's nothing more bothersome to MDN than the frustration over the impossibility of Steve's Macintosh gaining market share.

It's never going to grow as long as Lord Jobs insists on keeping it to himself. Since he doesn't care, why does MDN?

I'm not fond of the licensing idea, it would likely cannibalize Mac hardware sales. However, if SJ were to do it the very last company to get a license should be Dell.

License it for a year or something, then pull the plug. People who don't like OS X enough to then switch when they next upgrade are no loss.

Jeff:

Right on! The rest of us would love it if Mikey Dell just went out of business, dried up, and blew away, leaving nothing but bad memories (of the unsentimental kind).

Hey Mike, yea you, Mike Dell....

Might as well sell DELL's oustanding shares, give the money back to the stockholders, and lock the door.

You know it's going to happen. I know it's going to happen. I am Nostradamus.

Those statements you directed towards Apple Computer Inc. (now Apple Inc.) in 1997 WILL come back to haunt you.

Just ask your CFO.

P.S. Have a nice day!

LISCENSE IT FOR 2 YEARS... GET EVERYBODY HOOOKED... AND THEN STOP LISCENSING IT. YOU HAVE JUST QUADRUPLED YOUR MAC OSX CUSTOMERS, AND THEY ARE ALL GONNA WANT NEW COMPUTERS SOON.

Anything's possible... Steve killed the Newton, but the iPhone seems it's heir.

I doubt it, and I hope not. Steve once famously called the licensees "leeches", and it will be the same again.

Why would "Joe Six-Pack" buy a $1500 Mac when you can get Mac OS X on a $500 Wal-Mart POS?

I think this is Dell realizing that M$ has screwed them over, and grasping at straws. Michael Dell never was much of a visionary (back to the shareholders?), so he's trying to clutch Jobs' coattails.

Apple needs to make OS X so that it can't run on a PC. All new Mac's should have a custom chip with part of the OS X software in it. The OS X software will be missing that part of code. So it will never never work on any PC with or without VMware or other such software.

Ewww what a thought! Just imagine the people who will be dragging Dell's into Applestores...."please can you fix my Dell, the problem is OSX.."

Please don't Apple.

Of course Dell wants OS X. If his company's y/y growth rates continue as they are now then he's buggered.

For as long as Apple's current Mac growth rates are maintained then why would Jobs want to license OS X?

db. Why are you shouting that you can't spell 'license'?

The moment that Apple can make more money thru licensing than they do by producing hardware, that's when it will happen.

This latest quarter does not bode well for Mac hardware manufacture and as much as I hate it Vista is going to grab a lot of new computer sales.

Microsoft is really pushing the limit price wise for their new OS, if they succeed at pushing the retail price for the OS higher then the window for Apple to license OS-X opens a bit farther.

Only time will tell but I want a new 8-core MacPro NOW!

Good Idea: Mac Sales were up 30% year over year, and thus gained market share since last year, but Mac sales were flat from the previous quarter (back to school season). This allowed them to barely slip back into 5th, although they have a larger market share than last year. Overall they are outgrowing the rest of the PC industry on a yearly basis.

So would the Intel virtualization technology be able to sufficiently ape PRAM and other components that Apple needs to work?

How much to license?

MS apparently sells Windows to OEMs in the $40 - $60 range, PC makers also get some subsidies for promoting software like anti-malware which they wouldn't get on Mac OS X sales. Would PC makers pay Apple $100 given lower support costs?

I reckon Apple really needs more than 10% annual marketshare before risking licensing again but the main point of the article was the question will the marketplace force Apple's hand?

So I think Apple should let it ride, if people can install Mac OS X if they buy it all well and good. If piracy becomes a problem then it's a different situation and licensing may become a more desirable path.

Michael Dell wants...
BWAAAAA-HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! AAHH-HAHAHAHAHAAAAA!

dweeb.

I think Apple can do things fine without Dell's help, thank you very much. And that snarky comment Michael Dell made about selling off Apple and giving the money back to the shareholders continues to haunt him to this day. I'd have it no other way!

We have Mac OS X running on a Dell 520 at work. The 520 isn't much of a machine, however, OS X absolutely SCREAMS on this machine - and not for mercy, but because of the speed. Would be interesting. But, I don't want to lose reliability in the OS due to too many hardware vendors in the mix a-la Windows.

Driver Nightmare!!!

Apple would be so busy vetting drivers for other OEM's hardware that they wouldn't have time to innovate. If you want to run OS X, buy a Mac.

The only way that licensing should be done with Mac OS is if they only license one generation behind the current OS on Apple products. It would still definitely sell, because Windows is just now getting similar features that have already been in Mac OS for years. (e.g. indexed searches and "gadgets") That way, customers who are detracted from Apple because they can't afford the hardware (I have quite a few friends in this boat) can get a good Mac OS that will run smoothly (since it is an older version on current PC hardware) and then when they are ready to step up to the next level, they would surely buy the best Mac OS running on the best hardware, Apple.

Let me know what you think.

Let me explain this once.

Software can be copied.
Hardware and software built by the same company can't.

Once Apple has successfully made the switch to a Consumer Electronic company, in 5 years or so, they'll probably try to licensing avenue. By then, Apple will be a 40B company and Mac OS X will be light years ahead of Vista. The risks will be lower and the market should be ready

With the introduction of the iPhone and AppleTV, not to overlook the game changing iPod and iTunes, there are now viable products that expand Apple beyond the personal computer. We can all shout from the rooftops about how much we enjoy our Macs but the reality is the PC market is about nickles and dimes. Margins are incredibly thin. While owning a superiorly designed and assembled product is important to many of us, the majority of people only see the PC as a commodity; something you pay the least amount to own. Until the value proposition paradigm, it is hard to see where Apple will be able to expand beyond the 5-10% market share it currently owns. Licensing, however, offers an opportunity to expand the current install base provided it is done in terms that preserve the Mac franchise. I have every confidence that the Cupertino crew have/will crack the code on this.

A lot of people are sick of the MS operating software (and not afraid to tell anyone who will listen about it) but, and this is the important part, they are also unwilling to invest in better products. Unless/until there is a significant groundswell of people moving with their wallets towards better products, MS and existing PC manufacturers have no motivation to improve things. Assuming Apple doesn't desire to hop on the diminishing margins train that has served Dell, HP, Gateway and others so well, the only alternative would be to find a way to license the OS and start getting those wallets moving.

Perhaps the way for Apple to go is to create a 'DellMac' or 'HPMac' for business? No don't laugh, hear me out...

If what businesses want is the nondescript, even ugly boxes for a smaller price, why don't they do it themselves. Make a new line of 'commodity Mac' for businesses that would otherwise run Dell. Use cheaper components, make them bigger, heavier and generally less like pieces of art and more suitable for an accountants office, or in a steelworks etc.

They can call the new line the "Mac4BC".

what does BC stand for...



...bean counters.

I could see Apple licensing the OS again in the future, but not to a bottom-of-the-barrell outfit like Dell. I'd love to offer mil-spec Macs to my customers, for one thing.

-jcr

No thanks. I've had enough of their shoddy garbage and poor customer service. Their laptops are particularly bad.

It is especially problematic since their laptops have such highly variable quality from model to model that even their own insiders say that some of them are junk.

Couple this with their 'screw you' service attitude, would make for a very bad experience indeed.

How many of Dell's customers could even separate the OS X experience from the Dell experience?

I would hate to see the OS X experience degraded by the Dell experience.

Ron, why do you speak in broken sentences and not puncuate correctly?

"The pressures are building in Steve Jobs."

That's a Jobs for Beano.

I can see it now...a Dell branded version of OS X with all the stupid Dell interpretations of software tacked on.
Michael Smell can't figure out that Apple makes its money on hardware and a complete hardware/software solution. It would be butchery of everything that Apple has worked hard to do, even if it made a few million.
Long-term, it would be a disaster. Michael Smell should be worried about those 1,600,000 Macs sold last quarter
and rising. It is smart and secure to keep OS X and the iPod, and yes, the iPhone system closed, no matter what anyone says, as Apple is GROWING SLOWLY, not too quickly. Their boat must always be able to turn in the water
when an iceberg comes its way, and slow growth is the only way to do this. Just look at the conglomeration of loose ends M$ has, regardless of how much money they have in the bank. Compare Apple's morning agenda list to M$'s morning agenda list...which one would inspire you to come to work?? Come in and change the world or come in and attempt to fix all the problems?

If Apple (aka Steve Jobs) ever decided to license OSX to Dell, AAPL stocks will drop about 50% overnight!

Michael should petition MS to license the Zune Marketplace since the Dell Digital Jukebox series didn't fare very well with PlayedForSure.

Miscrosoft Outlook DOES work on the mac.

There is a mac version - I have been using it for years, so this guy talks out of his ass.

Next time ACTUALLY use a mac before fleming it.

God, what a wanker!

Ok.. Think iPhone...

Entire OS is inside that little tiny portable device....

Stick the OS on a circuit board, plug that into a slot on a PC...

Apple gets to license the OS to Mikey Dell and anyone else on a card... still software.. and the hardware distribution allows Apple to seriously control the software license.

Apple remains a "hardware" vendor and gets the profits from this, sells the iLife apps etc as retailable products.

Ok, here's my .02....

I think Apple should do this. And I believe that if they did they would make gobs of money and sell more Macs. Here is why.

If Apple would let a company like Dell sell OS X all other computer companies would want to do the same. So now you would have OS X available everywhere. This in turn would mainstream the OS and draw a very sharp contrast with Windows. OS X would become far more acceptable and a seed change in people's thinking would follow.

Apple makes the nicest and most beautiful computers bar none. No other computer maker comes close. So, once the OS barrier is completely removed Apple would sell even more computers on style alone.

Almost overnight, Microsoft would be marginalized, their market share would plummet, and the company would be forced to break up and spin off their OS division in order to compete.

It would be a win win for everyone. Apple would reap the financial beneifts by selling even more computers and licensing, customers would benefit by having more choice, and OS technology would benefit because Microsoft would be forced to fix whatever is wrong with their company and really innovate their product to compete, which in turn benefits the consumer.

But, it will never happen. So ignore everything I just said.

I think the ONLY way that SJ would consider this is if the Apple Stores were not bringing in new ex-windblowz using customers who are buying macs.

At the moment Apple Retail strategy is one of the most successful in the history of retailing - so IT AINT GONNA HAPPEN DELL!

Apple makes most of its profit selling hardware, not software. Most of its software efforts are aimed at selling hardware. Therefore, licensing Mac OS X to the competition to make it easier for them to sell desktops and laptops at the expense of Mac sales does not make sense.

As for it becoming inevitable due to virtualization, that is nonsense. It would be illegal. "Big companies" and Parallels would not be "in talks" about making it happen unless Apple made such a practice legal. More likely, they are "in talks" about buying Macs and using Parallels to run necessary Windows programs.

I'm sure with some hacking, Mac OS X can be made to run on non-Apple hardware. Afterall, it runs on a mobile phone architecture. But until Apple makes it legal and easy, most Windows users are not going to bother with the technical issues involved. Most Windows users don't even bother with installing Firefox to use instead of IE. This is a non-issue for Apple. If Apple decides to license in the future, it will be Apple's decision, not a decision that is forced on Apple.

if they did this, it would really, really eat into their hardware sales alot. And thats where Apple makes their money. If they licensel it to Dell, theyll be making peanuts on oem verions of os x.
if Apple did this however, it would be incredibly interesting to see what would happen, It might be an idea to do it for 2 years with a very good contract in hand, and tell Dell to go to town for two years. Long term though no way, it's not a good idea.

Pssst, Mike, dump Windows and get Linux.

It would be a big mistake to license OS X. The whole point of using a MAC is the whole experience. From the pleasing design to proper monitors, to the software itself. Everything just works. The only way for Apple to maintain this MAC experience in licensing would be to put strict guidelines on how a MAC should be built. Why should they do all the R&D;to let people like DELL and HP make copies and cannibalize APPLE hardware sales. If the licensee's don't maintain the standards, it is APPLE who would get blamed. Not all of the problems with Windows are software problems. I've seen my share of crappy hardware in them causing problems.
Allowing it to be used with VM would be a smart move. VM has it limitations so users would know they are getting a limited taste of the MAC OS. Once they've tried it they would be more inclined to buy an Apple when they purchase a new computer and get the whole experience.

Michael Dell would like to license Apple's OS because he sees himself losing market share to Apple. Apple won't be doing this because Jobs won't license the OS. He stated that quite emphatically when he killed off the Clone market.
My first "Mac" was a clone. I purchased a Power Tower 180 from Power Computing. And they were all set -- just before Apple pulled the plug -- to release a laptop that was faster than any Apple laptop back then. They were outcompeting Apple in the speed wars and were seriously undercutting Apple in price.
Apple won't go back to those days of having every Tom, Dick and Harriet manufacturing clones. Jobs was pretty absolutist in his statement when he shut down the clones. It was also the last time the Mac Expo was ever held in Boston. Of course, Jobs didn't like the near-riot happening with the clone makers encouraging their customers to lobby the Apple booth for more clones and Jobs especially didn't like being booed while on stage when he did a video linkup with Bill Gates.

GET REAL... Apple's market share will never get beyond may 6~8% unless it starts licensing its operating system.

Having a larger OS X installed base for a variety of different suppliers lowers cost and increases inovation.

If Apple is truly the innovative company it proposes to be, surely it can maintain and even increase its market share while licensing OS X to other suppliers.

I believe Jobs is cheating Apples shareholders by being such a control freak... a brilliant guy indeed, but definately not a business man on the level of a Bill Gates.

If Apple had kept Power Computing in the mix, and ultimately untied the OS from Hardware I doubt they'd be around now. They would've become a software only company and that would've spelled the end. As long as they focus on making their hardware and their software function together then they'll do fine. They don't have to be focused on world domination (remind you of anyone) in order to be a success. Jobs is clearly in it for the long haul not the quick buck. Amelio and Sculley were all about the almighty $$, remember how they ran Apple into the ground back then?