(How many times do I have to tell you -- it's not
my real name!)
LET'S TALK STRATEGY.
The reason a crappy OS like Windoze has become the
de facto standard in the computing world is that during
most of its life, it has had no competition whatsoever
in the dirt-cheap Intel camp.
Lately Linux has emerged as a worthy competitor, and no doubt
Linux is far, far better than NT; but Linux is obviously not
for "the rest of us". Witness the fact that even I, with almost
fifteen years of computing experience under my belt, have not
yet succeeded in figuring out which MkLinux files I need
to download off the 'Net.
Let's face it: Linux is complex. Not like
the MacOS.
And let's also face it: until the Mac has a much larger share
of the market, developers aren't going to rush to develop apps
for it. At least not as willingly as they do for Windows. (Why
do you imagine there isn't a single Online Backup software package
yet available for the Mac, while plenty of them are free for
the PC?)
But I can see all you knowledgeable guys
jumping up and down for joy: Herrrrrrrre's MacOS X!
MacOS X is Unix to the core. As such, it can run
on just about any hardware platform -- or to be more accurate,
it can be made to run on just about any hardware platform.
The question is, though, should Apple make a version
of MacOS X available for Intel? After all, it makes all
its other software available for Intel machines, including QuickTime,
Apple Works, and LaserWriter software. Should it not do the
same with its key software package, its pride and joy, its Latest
and Greatest Operating System?
There are lots of opinions on this, and I'm sure
many of you will disagree with me; but if anyone were to ask
me, I'd say go for it.
My reasoning is simple. Given a choice, who would use
Windows when they could use the MacOS?
Better
still, let's make it possible to load both OSes -- MacOS X
and Windoze -- on the same "Intel Inside" piece of junk, and
switch from one to the other with a simple ctrl-tab shortcut.
A head-to-head comparo will quickly persuade the user to ditch
the Redmond offering -- it'd be a no-brainer.
(Heck, even I run both OSes at my home, as do most other Mac
mavens I know; but which one do you imagine I use most of the
time? I only run Windows 95 when I have to, like for some software
or games not yet available for the Mac.)
The strongest objection to my suggestion has been
up till now, Why would anyone then go out and buy a Mac,
if they could run the MacOS on their cheap PCs? Wouldn't
Mac hardware sales go down the toilet?
I'd argue, no, they wouldn't. Running MacOS X on an Intel
PC would be a bit like installing a Porsche engine in your father's
Oldsmobile. It won't turn the Oldsmobile into a Porsche, even
though it certainly will make it a better Olds, especially
if both engine and chassis are suitably modified to enable them
to work well together.
But if you want a real Porsche, you'll have to shell
out for a real Porsche. In the words of Patrick Stewart in
the Porsche TV ads, There Is No Substitute.
And if you want a real Mac, a PC running the MacOS, although
far, far better than a PC running Win2000, would be no substitute
either.
Think of the advantages for Apple. The MacOS on
millions of PCs will encourage developers to port their software
to the Mac, and even write software specifically for the Mac.
After all, the bank balances of half a billion PC users, many
if not most of whom would be happy to run the MacOS and Mac
apps if they could, are not to be sneezed at.
And when they get used to the MacOS, why will PC users
put up with all the shenanigans their crappy hardware will
inevitably throw up? Their next computer will be, not the
NeXT computer, but its once and future parent and offspring:
the Mac.
... (not his real name -- but you figured that out already,
right?) ... calls himself a "Thinker", especially about the
future. He thinks that's where he'll be spending the rest
of his life (but who's he kidding, eh? Doesn't he realize
it's always going to be now?)
Most people say to him "You can't be serious" -- and they're
right, he can't. (But then, who can be serious about
the future, seeing as how anything can happen in it, and usually
does ... er, will?)
His best book -- indeed his only book -- is entitled The
Seventh Generation, and its shareware version in Adobe
Acrobat format is available for download from his alter-ego's
web site (under construction right now) at http://cpu2308.adsl.bellglobal.com.
It's all about the next 150 years or so, and where technology
might take us in that amount of time. (Just $5.00 -- cheap!
And well worth it, though he says so himself). Check it out.
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