“What could/should Apple do to take sales and profits to the next level? Simple. Release an Apple branded Windows-based PC. I know, I know, this kind of talk is bound to upset the hardened Apple fanatic, but it makes perfect sense. One of the things that’s undoubtedly helped boost Mac sales is Boot Camp. Now there’s no punishment for switching platforms because you can take your old platform with you, but just as some people got tired of paying the Microsoft tax when they wanted a PC to run Linux on it, people who want Apple hardware in order to run Windows on it will eventually see the Mac OS as an Apple tax. Why doesn’t Jobs and the crew at Cupertino just skip that whole Apple tax step and offer customers a choice of operating systems. Since Windows is the dominant OS at present, that’s a good place to start, but if Apple really wants to offer the customer real choice, Linux would also be great,” Adrian Kingsley-Hughes blogs for ZDNet.
“If Apple really wants to rock investors and take profits to the next level, it should start offering Windows-based Macs. Profits would skyrocket, Apple would enter an existing market and shake it up, investors would be happy because Apple’s market share would explode and everyone would be happy,” Kingsley-Hughes writes.
Full article here.
Why doesn’t BMW just start offering vehicles with 3-cylinder Suzuki engines? Kingsley-Hughes obviously doesn’t get it: Windows tries to be an upside-down and ass-backwards fake Mac; and an older Mac, at that. Based on history, one would imagine that Apple CEO Steve Jobs thinks Windoze is a bad rip-off of his own company’s OS, perpetrated and inflicted upon the world by Bill Gates. The very last thing that an Apple headed by Steve Jobs would ever do would be to execute Kingsley-Hughes’ dopey, wrong-headed lunacy.
The world made a mistake with Windows. They must be educated; and, slowly, they are learning. Windows is junk compared to Mac OS X. Frustrating, uninspiring, derivative junk. Offering junk when you have a vastly superior product is not a recipe for success.
Boot Camp exists to provide a “Windows Insecurity Blanket” for the ignorant masses. It is an educational tool. It embraces junk in order to ultimately extinguish it. Boot Camp entices the Windows-only sufferers and quickly teaches them via simple comparison that, contrary to their belief, they do not need Windows and that they greatly prefer Macintosh.
“Reaches up butt, pulls out an idea.”
Isn’t that also on Ballmer’s to-do list? Except that I imagine he has assistants do the reaching.
Apple doesn’t want to juice its stock value. It wants to build a sustainable expanding business. It’s a long-term goal… I know, a foreign concept to Wall Street.
I want some of what Zune is smoking
With IBM selling on the PC business and Hitachi exiting the business today, I’m thinking…Windows is a sinking ship?
Apple would have to ramp up support for Windows users, put up with the poor performance and incompatibilty with Vista.
Apple would have to release a new low cost Mac Pro platform, because PC users will want the options of changing graphics cards, sound cards, hard drives…blah blah blech.
And…every article I’ve read and comments posted from PC users, sing the song of, the Mac is too expensive.
Let the Windows ship sink…
Absolutely Not! The centerpiece of Apple’s entire strategy is its operating system. As Steve Jobs said at the recent technology conference, Apple is really a software company that understands the supreme importance of deisgn and interface. Why the hell would Apple possibly want to cannabilize its entire strategy by embracing Windows? People either use Macs or switch to Macs to avoid the incompetence, abuse, and failure that is Windows (check out http://www.roughlydrafted.com for some great articles about how vile and incompetent Microsoft (and Windows) is). Apple has succeeded so well the last few years because it offers a superior—way superior—operating system, interface, user experience, and mindset to Windows. It’s incomprehensible to me why would Apple would destroy all its worked for.
What Apple needs to do is exactly what it’s been doing: Hammer away at Microsoft and continue to educate people on how OSX, and the Macintosh in general, will make their lives more fun and more productive, with way fewer hassles and problems (and incompetence) than they were used to with Windows.
Apple would have to be f*#cking crazy and stupid to serve itself to Microsoft on a platter like that.
I think that he’s partially right — one of the things fuelling Apple switching is the idea that if you don’t like it, you can just put Windows on it, and if you really want a Mac but need occasional Windows applications, you can run Parallels or VMWare. I know several people who have tried Macs because of the Windows fallback, and I know several people whose employers allowed them to get MacBooks or MacBookPros, not because the employee actually needed Windows, but because the boss *thought* the employee needed Windows and was reassured by Parallels.
That said, I don’t think offering an Apple-branded WIndows machine is a good idea *or* something Jobs is likely to do — he doesn’t want to have the most market share, he wants to win ideologically.
Solution:
1. Buy a Mac with Parallels
2. Use Transporter to transfer your XP licence & apps to the Mac
3. There is no step 3!
In 3 months, delete the Windows partition.
Sounds a lot like a cry for help from the far side…
or at least a magazine writer worried about there future at one of the PC magazine!
That has to be one of the daftest ideas I have read in a long time.
How hard does it have to be to load boot camp and install Windows?
If you can’t manage that, you should slowly put the computer back in the box and find a pencil and some paper because you are TOO STUPID!
Why the hell would Apple possibly want to cannabilize its entire strategy by embracing Windows?
Apple ALREADY HAS embraced Windows on their hardware by offering Bootcamp
Apple allowed Windows a foot on their hardware, so might as well go all the way now.
The problem is the complicated installing process which would most likely be solved in 10.5.
By Apple offering a choice at purchase, a Windows or Linux loser will feel comforatble with what they know as they boot up and play with Mac OS X.
Then if they decide to free up disk space and toss Mac OS X they can, or switch.
Either case Apple makes a hardware sale.
Because offering Windows has worked out so well for someone else.
Agree that selling Macs with Windows software only is a bad idea, but I disagree with the Take “Boot Camp exists to provide a “Windows Insecurity Blanket” for the ignorant masses.” My quad Pro w/ x1900XT makes a smokin’ Vista gaming rig, and that’s all I use the Vista partition for. When they start making more games for Mac I’ll stop using Boot Camp. But when the Vista version of Quake 4 is $18 and the Mac version is $50, what choice would you make?
First of all, MDN needs to calm down. Did you just call many of the people that just started switching over to Macs for the first time ignorant? Because they still need windows? Let me tell you something, Intuit does not make a quickbooks that runs better on a Mac yet. They just don’t, and it sucks, because it’s the best software for the job.
Quickbooks 2007 on Windows is much better than it’s Mac counterpart, and it pisses me off, because I hate having to run windows for that one program, but I must. So therefore I do.
There are probably a very small handful of companies that have yet to realize that if they make a better product for the Mac (or at least just as good), then they will be better off. But they don’t. So windows in some cases (such as Quickbooks) is a necessity.
I don’t use Windoze as a security blanket, I use it as an IT Guy because sometimes stupid companies like Linksys make their products only function on IE and Windows (which REALLY pisses me off).
So, MDN, on your comment of the article, I would remove the reference where you call people switching over and using windows as a security blanket “ignorant”. Isn’t the whole purpose of having Windows really to entice new people to come over and be able to use windows and then to accidently experience OS X, and realize it truly is a better Operating System?
That’s all I am saying.
As for the article, Apple SHOULD build Windows machines…They can merge Windows and Mac and call it a WHACK! (haha).
No but really, Apple should offer windows preinstalled and set up and ready to go on a machine and sell it…then, it just so happens that OS X is also installed on a different partition and people happen to accidently discover it and realize how great it is.
Basically, sell the mac they have now, but have bootcamp and windows pre-installed and have Windows the default boot. Set it up in their apple stores. Windows fans will come and won’t believe how much faster windows runs on an apple machine than their POS Dell. Then they buy it and…OOPS, they find OS X fall in love, and send Microsoft a “Dear John” letter. (That or just hang a big picture of Steve Ballmer next to a windows box and people will stay away from it thinking it is a scary monster, after all, he is an ugly bastard).
Probably the most stupid idea I’ve heard all year. I love it when pundits who have obviously discovered Apple recently, think they understand all about it.
Can you imagine how this would destroy Apple’s well deserved, great, customer service reputation?
Zune Tang… That’s your best one yet dude.
Who needs to go to comedy clubs to see stand ups to get their laughs when we have our very own clown Zune Tang on MDN.
Long may you give us reason to chuckle friend!!!
Ridiculous article! Why would Apple undermine their own efforts at an OS? We all know Mac is the best platform because of the unique combination of hardware, software, and support but more importantly the “software experience” of Mac OS X. Second, Windows users already complain about lack of choice and the high price of Apple computers…
Ask any Apple genius and i’d bet most users aren’t having problems with the hardware.. the majority of questions are software-related. Apple would have to create a whole tech-support ecosystem just to support that M$ junk. What is Apple going to do, refer people to M$ for tech support? That makes zero sense.
Again the unique combination of hardware, software, support system (retail stores) creates Apple, not just the hardware (although it is the hardware that ultimately supports them).
More proof that, despite Apple’s stellar success based on their stellar OS X, there are still plenty of people in the tech business that are *still* utterly blinded by the sense that Microsoft is the only choice. They’re wrong.
(and all they gotta do is watch the Leopard preview!)
Well, I wouldn’t buy one. I bet this guy is about to pony up for a new license of Vista too…
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/10/23/1255235&from=rss
I think the idea makes sense. Sure Mac OS is far superior, but many people can’t or won’t use it: 1) because they just like Windows better (remember 1/3rd of Americans are said to suffer from a psychiatric disorder), 2) because they’re too lazy or afraid or just not willing to take the time to learn a new operating system, and 3) because their proprietary office software is Windows-based (yes, I know they could use Boot Camp or Parallels but Boot Camp is too much trouble and Parallels is too slow, especially on older or memory-limited computers).These combinations add up to a lot of prospective customers. Apple’s hardware is price competitive and much more beautiful.They would sell many computers, especially in the business world where proprietary software often locks out Mac OS. Apple’s more attractive and durable hardware would be a business plus. Finally, having all those Macs out there in Windoze land would lead many to try MacOS and soon find themselves donning their own cult robes. I know the thought of selling Macs loaded with Windows upsets MDN and the Lunatic Fringe of iCultists that read this blog and have long ago drunk the Apple Kool-Aid, but it makes a lot of sense from a business perspective.
NEVER….NEVER…NEVER
That’s really a smart suggestion. I mean consider the computer companies that started offering Windows-based solution and lost their pride in their own OS. They made it big now, like:
– SGI, Windows NT instead of IRIX. Bye-bye SGI
– IBM. Windows instead of OS/2. Bye-bye IBM PC division
– Palm. We like Palm OS, or maybe linux or maybe Windows Mobile?
Eff NO, that would be the worst thing apple could ever do!!!!!!!
No; Apple should not sell computers without Mac OS X. . .
“remember 1/3rd of Americans are said to suffer from a psychiatric disorder”
It’s closer to half and it’s called the Republican Party.