“It seems that the company that makes Parallels is working on an upgrade to the software that will let Windows users theoretically run Mac OS X side-by-side with Windows on their cheapo Dell boxes, which Dell would be happy to do. Heresy! The only problem with that, as the article and others are more than happy to point out, is that Steve Jobs likes that idea about as much as Bill Gates likes the idea of open-sourcing Windows code,” Mathew Ingram writes for WebProNews.
Ingram writes, “Obviously… part of the Mac OS experience comes from the fact that software and hardware are all one harmonious whole, working flawlessly together, etc., etc. But why not let people who can’t afford those gleaming white boxes get a taste of the Mac magic?”
Full article here.
Because a Mac that doesn’t work harmoniously isn’t magic.
Why give people a potentially bad taste of something when Apple already offers the great taste of Mac?
Our advice to HP, Dell, etc. owners: eBay, craigslist, etc. Or, if you can afford it, put the thing out of its misery in an environmentally safe manner and spare the next guy the trouble: The Apple Recycling Program. allows for you to purchase any qualifying Apple computer or monitor and receive free recycling of your old computer and monitor — regardless of manufacturer. Then get a Mac. If you’re on a budget, Apple Certified Refurbished Macs often offer good bargains – keep looking, the deals change often. So, no biggie, you made a mistake that’s easily fixed. You can thank us later as untold numbers of Windows to Mac switchers already have.
Related articles:
Windows Vista disappointment drives longtime ‘Microsoft apologist’ to Apple’s Mac OS X – January 17, 2007
InformationWeek Review: Apple’s Mac OS X shines in comparison with Microsoft’s Windows Vista – January 06, 2007
NY Times’ Pogue reviews Microsoft’s Windows Vista: ‘Looks, Locks, Lacks’ – December 14, 2006
Forbes: Microsoft Windows Vista boss suffers from Mac envy – December 12, 2006
Unlike Microsoft’s Windows Vista, Apple’s Mac OS X Leopard will create no new jobs – December 12, 2006
15-year Windows vet tries Apple Mac: ‘My God! This is amazing!’ – December 04, 2006
Microsoft’s Windows Vista: obsolete on arrival? – December 04, 2006
InformationWeek: Now that Vista is the past, let’s look at the future: Apple’s Mac OS X Leopard – December 02, 2006
Microsoft’s Windows Vista and Office 2007 releases generate yawns – December 02, 2006
Dave Winer: ‘Microsoft isn’t an innovator, and never was – they are always playing catch-up’ – December 01, 2006
Harvard Medical School CIO picks Mac OS X over Linux and Windows – November 30, 2006
Microsoft’s Windows Vista vulnerable to malware from 2004 – November 30, 2006
Microsoft Windows Vista developers used Apple Macs for inspiration – November 27, 2006
A Windows expert opts for a Mac life – November 06, 2006
Microsoft’s Windows Vista is basically Microsoft’s version of Mac OS 9.3 – October 11, 2006
Embrace and Extinguish in action: TechIQ’s ‘The VAR Guy’ dumps Windows, switches to Mac OS X – September 25, 2006
Top Windows developer dumps Microsoft’s ‘pile of crap’ for Apple’s Mac OS X – September 12, 2006
$399 for Windows Vista Ultimate?! (Hint: Get a Mac) – August 29, 2006
Microsoft Windows Vista: If you can’t innovate… try to impersonate Apple’s Mac OS X – August 10, 2006
Analyst: Apple’s new Mac OS X Leopard sets new bar, leaves Microsoft’s Vista in the dust – August 08, 2006
Microsoft botches another copy job: Windows Vista Flip3D vs. Apple Mac OS X Exposé – June 26, 2006
Sydney Morning Herald Tech columnist dumps Microsoft Windows, switches to Apple Mac – June 13, 2006
Windows Vista rips-off Mac OS X at great hardware cost (and Apple gains in the end) – June 13, 2006
Computerworld: Microsoft Windows Vista a distant second-best to Apple Mac OS X – June 02, 2006
Thurrott: Microsoft going to get eaten alive over Windows Vista’s resemblance to Apple’s Mac OS X – March 09, 2006
NY Times’ Pogue on Gates’ CES demo: Most of Vista features unadulterated ripoffs from Apple Mac OS X – January 05, 2006
Analyst: Windows Vista may still impress many consumers because they have not seen Apple’s Mac OS X – January 05, 2006
Apple’s talent and innovation vs. Microsoft’s hype – October 25, 2005
Microsoft’s Windows Vista strives to deliver what Apple’s Mac OS X already offers – October 10, 2005
Thurrott: many of Windows Vista’s upcoming features appeared first in Apple’s Mac OS X – September 26, 2005
Microsoft’s Ballmer: It’s true, some of Windows Vista’s features are ‘kissing cousins’ to Mac OS X – September 18, 2005
PC World: Microsoft innovation – an oxymoron – September 14, 2005
As usual, Apple leads, Microsoft tries to follow – June 02, 2005
Bye-Bye Bill: another columnist dumps Windows for Apple Macintosh – January 20, 2005
Orlando Sentinel writer dumps Windows for Mac and writes ‘God bless Apple’ – January 16, 2005
IBM Fellow dumps Microsoft Windows XP, switches to Apple’s Mac OS X – September 02, 2004
“…people who can’t afford those gleaming white boxes?”
Macs cost the same as PC’s. “Macs cost more” is just an old myth.
You can get a Mac mini for $599, and even less if you but a refurbished unit off of Apple’s site.
Oh, and they all come with valuable software like OS X & iLife at no extra cost.
@Think Smart (?!) and Doesn’t Work
If you actually chose to use a Mac and iLife you would know very well that they do work. They work fantastically well and better than many so called PRO apps under Windows.
I don’t have a problem with Jobs licensing MacOS X Jaguar to Dell and other PC hardware OEMs. It’ll keep Mac hardware users years ahead. Also, much like the Boot Camp carrot, Jaguar could introduce many users (including companies and other enterprise users) to the MacOS platform so that when it does come time to update, they can do so by buying brand spanking new Apple computers with MacOS X Leopard installed.
OMG, not the “…Apple’s are just too expensive for regular people to afford…” Horse shite.
Apple makes computers that are as financially accessible to everyone who wants to try one, as Dell or HP or et. al. Dell makes computers that cost more than some of Apple’s computers, and Apple makes some of its computers that cost less than Dell’s. Its even possible to “build” (give me a break) a Dell that cost more than some of Apple’s most expensive computers.
Can you buy a new $299.00 Dell or HP? Yes. Can you actually do anything with it without spending another $299? No. And even if you go ahead and face that reality and buy a Dell for $600 from the get-go, how long will it be before you have to upgrade it, or even more likely, replace it with another Dell? Statisitics are good for some things, and this is one: Its been shown time and again that hardware made to run Windows gets replaced almost twice as often as Apple hardware. So over five and ten years, who’s computer costs less, and who’s costs more?
As a final testimony, I worked on a mobile tv production crew for several years, and six of seven of us had Windows-running pcs, (I of course had the Mac). Over the course of three years not one of the six had a laptop (mostly HPs) that lasted six months – not one, I kid you not. I bought my iBook in the fall of 2001 from a CompUsa in Utah, and it was still going strong when it was stolen from my hotel room in Witchita, KS in 2005. Their laptops were purely for personal use, my iBook got dragged to and from the production truck where it was used to manage 96 digital audio channels, occassional video editing, and was also used for my personal Quicken finances, games, email.
If you think cost is what’s stopping you from buying a Macintosh, you’re being lied to, or you’re lying to yourself. Have a great day.
You never know, who had thought just two years ago that all MAcs were running on Intel. OS X Leopard for the Mac and OX X Tiger for the rest ..
It saddens me to see authors like this guy continue to perpetuate the myth that Macs are more expensive than PCs.
“. But why not let people who can’t afford those gleaming white boxes get a taste of the Mac magic?”
I hate to break this to the author, but the white boxes that come from Apple are not expensive, high-end professional gear. They are very close in price
to Dull boxes.
How about Apple designs a PC for Dell or HP that dual boots OSX and Vista, can be assembled at Dell or HP’s excellent assembly plants (it’s what they are really good at) protects Apple’s profit margins, and is marketed by the big PC manufacturers side by side with their Windows only PC’s… I think it would be a very attractive choice on Dell’s website and would really get OSX some great exposure without totally undermining Mac sales.
Total Cost of Ownership. Macs are cheaper in the long run.
We have a Mac mini at work that happily processes 100,000 emails a day.
Think smart, you are not thinking smart. Noone wants to hear about a competitively priced machine, as Apple offers a competitively priced machine, competitive with a ton of software and features. Dell loses money on its low end machines and makes up for it on its high priced, pretend to be high end machines. It is a good monetary move, as it gets them volume of sales and market share, but it comes with a price of a ton of headaches supporting the problem conglomeration of 3rd party hardware and then installed with Win$in.
The price myth bandwagon has already passed…you missed it, Think unsmart. Could you think smart and think long-term cost of ownership and include the price of all your hassles you have with your PC.
Why are you here on this forum anyway? Most of us here have already thought smart, so you are the one who needs to shut up. Is Zune Tang your little buddy? Seems like it.
People don’t shop Dell for OSX. They want VISTA, and they want it now! Welcome to the social.
I wouldn’t mind Apple licensing OS X especially if it had limited functionality or was a version or two behind. Real Mac lovers would never buy a generic PC running OS X. Businesses might, but would you rather work on a Dell running OS X or a Dell running Windows Vista? Luckily I work on a PowerMac at home and work. But if I had to use a PC, I would want OS X.
And why do people always bitch abut price. Macs aren’t that expensive, especially if you are a professional. If you can’t recoup the money fairly quickly then you ought to find a new line of work. I upgrade every 3-4 years for roughly $1500 (after selling my previous Mac). That’s only $500/year. What do you spend on your cell phone calling plan per year?
The same people that complain about price think computers AND software should be FREE. Give me a break. It takes millions of dollars in R&D to make great products and I am more than happy to pay for it. I actually hope software companies continue to crack down on illegal copies — if everyone paid the cost would be much lower!
I love the stat that says Mac users comprise approx 5% of the PC market but buy 25% of all software. I don’t know a single PC user that EVER buys any of their software. That $1500 Mac will seem oftly cheap once you plop down $1000 for CS3 and another $350 for Office. Get real!!!!!
I love my Mac and have no intention of going back to a Win/PC. I would like to see the PC manufacturers get together and create an OS for thier machines. They could licence it to smaller manufacturers and they all could quit crying about Microsoft’s quality. Oh, I just got back up off the floor. I forgot they would have to work together and then support the product. Could you imagine calling Gateway and NOT get sent to Microsoft? What was I thinking?
This is like having a hot sister and finding out she’s dating a homeless thug. It’s gross, and you want to talk her out of it, but at the same time, it might not be entirely possible.
People shop Dell because they are mindless IT trolls that don’t know any better. They are afraid of the unknown and love sticking with what they know even if that means blue screens of death, viruses and a second-rate OS.
To those losers like Zune Tang I say stick with Vista. You don’t deserve the best!!
NO, don’t release Mac OS X to the great unwashed. Most of them won’t purchase it anyhow, they’ll just pirate it and use it unlicensed (ahem, like they are currently doing). Make em buy Apple hardware like the rest of us. It’s bad enough that we have to deal with their developers’ ignorant questions and fugly ported apps, as it is.
MDN word: effort
PS – attack of the clones nearly killed Apple in the 90’s. Think it couldn’t happen again?!!
MDN word: further
“…Apple’s are just too expensive for regular people to afford…”
OMG…I need to eat more fibre because apparently I am irregular.
hey Zune Tang…I’m not kiddiing. I got wood and is that your Zune sitting o the ground? Pick it up and show me your Vista………..
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Let Apple sell 10.2 or 10.3 for $50.00 for windows pc’s. Stick on the box the cpu, ram and video card requirements. Put on there that it will be unsupported by Apple, or will have paid support. But make them buy a new mac to get the new version of the os.
Let them get a taste of the candy before you sell it to them…
If Mac OS X 10.4.8 will run on Pc. Then Apple must support all 3rd party hardware and have the drivers ready. Also they should make pc companies not put it on Junk hardware like Celeron cpus, 256Mb ram and generic motherboard for $20 special. They should make Pc vendors put it on High Quality hardware like Intel core 2 duo cpu with High Quality Motherboard. Bye
HP, IBM and Intel forming aliance to push Linux. Dell cannot be far behind to join the bandwagon. May be licensing OSX is best course for Apple to defend against Linux. My understanding is Parallel is working closely with Apple to implement their virtual machine on Macs, so they probably won’t be implementing a virtual machine to run OSX on generic PC, unless they have blessing from Apple (I could be wrong). Will Apple license OSX, I say not likely, but as Mac_IP_Atty pointed out Apple has done well by doing what I don’t expect them to do.
Don’t say never.
No OSX will not work or ever be released for the regular PC. Apple Inc. still is building developing and selling Macintosh Computers and as long as they do there will be no generic PC version of OSX period!
If Apple teamed up with anyone it would likely be with HP, or no one (i.e. open architecture market or after the fact installs on HP’s dell etc..)
OSX on a Dell? THATS CRAP-TASTIC!
If Parallels DOES release something that allows OSX to run on a Windows crapbox I’ll be getting Parallels off and VMWare on pretty quickly. Frankly, I’d rather they used their R&D resources making USB and iSight work properly than fooling around with a Windows version that runs OSX.
$240 for a G4 that will run OS X 10.4 at megamacs.com.
If you can’t afford that then don’t wste my time.