“Dual-boot machines are still clunky, but portend an interesting future in which virtualization frees applications from operating systems. Now that Apple has rescinded its past distaste of all things Windows and is allowing the Macintosh to share space (albeit a walled-off one) with Windows, shouldn’t the company just go all the way? All the way would be licensing Dell, HP and Lenovo to run OS X on the Windows systems leaving their factories,” Eric Lundquist writes for eWeek. “The dual-boot system is really interesting more for what it portends than for what it is today.”
“And a lot of that portending is built around the idea of virtualization. Virtualization is a topic we have reported on quite a bit, including coverage of Dell’s chief technology officer talking about client virtualization and new products aimed at a more elegant solution to working with the Mac and Windows (and Linux, et al.) such as Parallels,” Lundquist writes. “In a truly virtualized computing environment, the application will rule. If an application requires extra-strength security or a specific operating system, the application will call for the operating system without regard to where the OS resides… In the virtual operating system world, users can work with the system that best fits them and their corporate needs rather than being handcuffed to a proprietary environment. And that is the most important message that Apple’s Boot Camp dual-operating system software delivers.”
Full article here.
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Related articles:
Video of Parallels running Windows XP on Mac OS X – April 07, 2006
Cringely predicts Apple Boot Camp for non-Apple PCs to allow Mac OS X to run on generic x86 boxes – April 07, 2006
Ed Bott on Apple’s new Boot Camp: virtualization would be better – April 06, 2006
Parallels releases first virtualization solution for Intel-powered Apple Intel-based Macs – April 06, 2006
Will Apple CEO Steve Jobs license Mac OS X? – June 24, 2005
Michael Dell say’s he’d be happy to sell Apple’s Mac OS X if Steve Jobs decides to license – June 16, 2005
Fortune: PC makers realize Mac OS X is superior to Windows, they’re wooing Steve Jobs for licenses – May 26, 2005
Mike,
I think Microsoft being happy about Boot Camp is completely untrue. You don’t really believe their press release do you. I think the release of Boot Camp is the OS equivalent of declaring full scale war on MS. No more hiding in the shadows and being quiet, we’re going after your userbase now. True, MS will sell a few more licenses short term, but they are going to lose customers long term in a big way. They know what a broadside attack this is by Apple, remember they perfected the “embrace and extend” philosophy? Well even they can see “embrace, entice, and defect” strategy that Apple is using against potential switchers.
Remember that Boot Camp is targeted to potential switchers or current Mac users that may have an occasional use for a Windows only app. Hard core Windows lovers aren’t going to care about Boot Camp at all. Boot Camp/Parallels removes obstacles for switchers and MS does not want anyone to compare the two OS’s. Remember they constantly copy OS X, so they are well aware of how good it is.
Ahh, the fishing is good today.
Both the Mac zealots and the windozers are wound up!
Great time to be an antagonist.
Apple and Microsoft are making it too easy this week with the current Press releases.
I’m NOT MacDude,
I’m NOT MacDude,
I’m NOT MacDude,
NOT!
NOT!
NOT!
Licensing OS X wouldn’t hurt Apple one bit. All it would mean is that people without lots of discretionary income could afford the pleasure of the operating system too. Mac sales would still be significant.
Here’s a thought (how good it is I leave to you to decide): Suppose the computer makers decide to sell you a machine with Parallels Work Station or VMware installed and you buy the additional OSes you want to work with, either from them or some other source?
OS X will show up on Dell boxes anyway, one way or another. Might as well get some control while the getting is good. Just like with Boot Camp.
GWM:
Licensing the Mac OS to the Mac clone OEM’s in the mid-nineties is what nearly made Apple bankrupt..
The first thing Steve Jobs did when he returned as CEO was take back control of the Mac OS and vowed to never license it again..
Licensing OSX would hurt Apple by killing the complete end-to-end user experience that is the very thing that makes Apple so unique.
Apple now has the competitive advantage over every hardware vendor in the world.. The offer the only hardware that can run both OSX and Windows.
Do you really think they would give up the benefit of selling a $1200 dual boot Mac for the abilitiy to sell a $129 OS? Think again.
Apple should work with CodeWeavers and others to bring DarWine up to commercial standard. WINE’s reverse engineering of M$ APIs is no different than AMD’s reverse engineering of x86 chips back in the day.
Licensing OS X would hurt Apple a LOT!! The foolish herds will buy based on price point, and they will buy cheap commodity boxes instead of Apple hardware. Apple hardware sales fall through the floor.
c’mon now, let’s think about this.
Truth hurts is MacDude is ozzy cross is Mike is insecure troll is me.
Folks, don’t forget that OSX takes a while to get used to for many long time Windows user. Will a Windows user have enough patience to get used to OSX on a dual boot machine or simply go back to familiar Windows?
We OSX users love it and think its easy to use – but I’ve seen many long time Windows users try to use a Mac for the first time and are totally confused (mainly because its simple and different).
iDon’t
A Windows switcher is not going to buy a Mac just because they are pretty.. They are going to buy a Mac because they’ve heard about OSX and are interested in learning more about it.. Boot Camp is there as a psychological safety net or for a Windows only app that they may use.. If they are willing to go as far as buying a Mac, I’m sure they will spend some time learning how things work..
Why is this always the question. NO APPLE IS A HARDWARE COMPANY.
Who cares about M$ right now apple is gunning for dell’s market share, why by a computer that can run just windows when you can get a mac that runs windows as well if not better and MacOS also.
The Jobs plan here is to get MacOS in the house in a Duel boot enviroment, eventually people will just stop booting back to Windows. And MS is down too, but this is a long way off, Dell who this Boot Camp will hurt the most.
Apple tried licensing their OS before, and almost went out of business. That would be a little like Microsoft making Windows free and open source, and trying to make a living by selling mice and keyboards…
It’s just plains stupid. (Hint: Steve Jobs is smart.)
maybe apple should release it for the business/office market,apple doesnt have much presence here anyway,it would be a good way to gain market share.os x pc edition multiple booting $279.99 it would sell.
p.s no need to release it for the consumer market
Yeah, Mike. I understand.
Steve Jobs says a lot of things .. but he does what he needs to do, regardless as to what he may have said. I trust him and if he did it .. I’d support his decision. If he never did, that’s cool too. But I won’t preclude it just because he swore never to let it happen again. The world has changed a lot since the mid nineties. So has Apple. It’s a different game now. For everybody.
Simple answer: no.
OS X is just not ready for corporate use or its users. Cisco NAC on OS X anyone? That’s just one example… . The mac is ready to do everything, the OS is good but not good enough to fully replace everything.
Put your computer to sleep while you have a network share open at work, come home and then that share is not available anymore… . What happens on the current release of OS X is finder crashing and locking up your whole system, where windows gives an error message and be done with it.
Don’t get me wrong, I love OS X and in fact I do hate Windows a lot, but this is an annoying yet crucial part where it sure needs improvement. Hopefully this will be fixed by ditching the finder. Though I don’t really believe in more stability with the initial releases… .
Mac for anyone: yes!
OS X for anyone: i’d love to say yes, but it’s a no for now… . (for consumers it’s a big YES!)
no. if we were to let OS X into the hands of Dell, it would certainly signal the beginning of the end of everything.
Obviously we get that being a closed platform makes it nice and tight.. that’s why it works.. like the iTunes model…
There’s no indication here that .. oh.. i guess we may as well open up..
No, Apple wants to be the sole provider..
UNLESS, Dell really really wants OS X and is willing to build some ‘closed’ boxes of its own (which may sound like a contradiction of terms)
why would pc users want to use a limited os?
I’m sure Apple will sell a version of OS X for generic PCs eventually. Why? Because they said they wouldn’t. Just like they said they wouldn’t release a Video iPod. Just like they said they wouldn’t use Intel chips. Just like they said they wouldn’t do anything to help customers dual-boot XP on Macs. Just like they said they wouldn’t release a low cost headless Mac.
When Microsoft says they will do something, it means they won’t. When Apple says they won’t do something, it means they will.
hahah good point Jooop, I think we (mac and pc users) are all being taken for a ride by Intel, … they’ve cornered the market on Home computers…
all of us are going to have the same sh-t just a different package…
If M$ block Macs from running Windows cos they fear losing to OS X in the long term, it will be a clear case of monopolism.
the only monopolism i see in the near future is intels….
Hell NO!
hd,
Couldn’t agree more about the Finder. I love Mac OS X and HATE Windows with a passion, but credit where credit is due.
In Explorer, you simply receive an error message if something is unavailable and it doesn’t lock up the entire Explorer application whilst it’s thinking about it.
In Finder, at best it locks up until the process ends and releases control back to the user – great (not) if you want to do something else in another finder window. At worst, it’ll completely lock up and even a forced relaunch won’t work.
Each Finder task needs to be a discrete process.
I really hope Apple addresses this and other issues connecting to servers with 10.5.
iDon’t said:
“Folks, don’t forget that OSX takes a while to get used to…”
Yeah, it took this former Windows user minutes to figure it out, and two friends who aren’t as computer savvy a few hours of use (i.e. excited exploring) before they were reasonably comfortable.
“I’ve seen many long time Windows users try to use a Mac for the first time and are totally confused (mainly because its simple and different).”
Spot on – the key to remember is it’s not Windows so don’t look for the hard way or convoluted way to do anything in OS X.