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+--- Thread: Some more Boot Camp Discussion (/showthread.php?tid=8990)
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Some more Boot Camp Discussion - ztirffritz - 04-08-2006
I've been thinking about Boot Camp and trying to grasp the ramifications of its introduction. It seems that either Apple just wanted to let people run Windows on Macs, or else perhaps they have grander plan. Jobs has always claimed that Apple was a hardware company at its core (a claim that I think could be debated). It seems obvious that if your hardware is capable of running the most popular OS better than anyone else and look good doing it, it makes sense to provide that option. An Apple Intel PC currently bench-marks among the best available. That's 1 feather in their cap. It runs Linux, Windows, AND OS X. That's 2 feathers (maybe 4 depending on your perspective). MacBookPro and iMac are among the sleekest, most appealing computer designs around. That's 3 or maybe 5 feathers. Some may say that price is a problem, but I'd counter that a Dell that is equivalent to a MacBook is about the same price. Quietly Apple is positioning themselves to jump into the ranks with Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc. Microsoft thinks this is great because people running Windows on a Mac are required to purchase a retail copy of Windows at a higher profit margin for Microsoft than OEM versions. All the while, Apple will quietly capture market share AND hopefully expose people to OS X. To get OS X to un-seat Windows though they really need to bridge the gap between OS X Apps and Windows Apps. I'm not a programmer, but with all the virtualization and dual booting that is going around it seems that some technique to run Windows apps at or nearly at native speed within OS X can't be far off. At that point, Apple will hopefully have enough market penetration to allow people to start making the jump to OS X and suffer no consequences because their apps work just the same. Perhaps at this point Apple will release OS X for general distribution and sale for Dell and HP. This will further push their market penetration at the expense of hardware sales though. Software distribution at that scale has to be more profitable than hardware sales. Manufacturing, packaging, and shipping a CD costs nill compared to designing, building, and shipping a computer. Development costs for the OS become a concern, but if the OS market penetration is sufficient, sales of the OS will make up for the lost hardware sales. This is all speculation on my part, but I love playing what-if...
Re: Some more Boot Camp Discussion - spearmint - 04-08-2006
Sounds about right but Apple will never price match Gateway and E-Machine. Leader is too dignified. I am going to buy a core iBook when they come out but not happy with the idea.
Re: Some more Boot Camp Discussion - ztirffritz - 04-08-2006
I imagine they'll go for the high-end niche, Acer Ferarri or Alienware for example.
Re: Some more Boot Camp Discussion - threeprong - 04-08-2006
ztirffritz....
I've been thinking along these lines as well...
I'm thinking that "Universal binaries" has a hidden meaning as well as a as of yet un revealed compatibility layer with WIndows allowing for a OS switching that would , in some way have features that emphasized OS X over Windows but seemed something akin to Fast User switcing.
"Fast OS switching " anyone?
I think in less than a year we'll see a new landscape in the OS world.
3p
Re: Some more Boot Camp Discussion - modelamac - 04-08-2006
If Apple is "primarily a hardware company", why in the world should it consider licensing it's proprietary software to run on non-Apple hardware?
Re: Some more Boot Camp Discussion - Mike Johnson - 04-08-2006
This could make the MacBookPro one heckuva monster in the marketplace. Imagine what sales will be like when they're also shipping 12 and 17 inch models, and if they introduce an ultra thin model. It's not about going after Dell or Gateway, it's about Sony. Then when the iBooks are replaced with MacBooks, which college freshman wouldn't want one? Which k-12 schools wouldn't use them to stock their mobile labs? No more spectacles like the infamous Henrico iBook riot.
I think the folks at Cupertino feel they have a little breathing room, so they're giving it a shot. If they don't like what happens, or if it makes no more splash than their earlier two brain hybrids, they'll let it wither.
I'm bullish on it. You know how people keep suggesting Apple should port X to other hardware, and then put it on 30-day trial CDs to get Windows users to switch? This idea is about a million times better.
Re: Some more Boot Camp Discussion - ztirffritz - 04-08-2006
I think that the way to become filthy stinkin' rich is to sell software that is on 30-40% of all computers, more if possible. If Apple simply supplants Microsoft as the only player in the game, then they become susceptible to the same monopoly scrutiny the MS endures. If they both capture 30-40% of the market they both get filthy stinkin rich, they both retain profitability, and they both dodge the monopoly moniker. By licensing the OS they shift from being a hardware company to a software company. That is why it is such a delicate balance during the tranistion. In order to have enough momentum and income to replace the hardware business they'd need to have at least 25% of the OS business locked in(that's just a number that I pulled from...well you get the idea). The overhead required to design, plan, produce, distribute and support hardware is huge compared to selling software. There is absolutely no reason why Dell or HP or someone else couldn't create a PC that catches everyone's eye and beat Apple at their own game. Essentially Apple is riding on their reputation and their brand recognition right now. Their hardware is not that much different from a high-end Acer or Alienware, it just looks better. They have maybe 2 years at best to make a grab for market share. Now is the time for them to declare war on MS. Everyone thinks that Google has some grand plan up their sleeve, but I think that Apple is doing the best Houdini trick ever. "Hey! Look over there at Google while we steal your market share." MS is shooting themselves in the foot on a weekly basis it seems. I don't see them coming out of this year with all of their momentum intact. Their OS is delayed, Office is delayed, they're shaking up their management at the senior levels...Apple on the other hand has brand recognition, a more secure stable OS, record sales, record profits, their computer sales are growing at twice the industry growth-rate. Steve has made some incredible gambles with Apple and most of them have worked out well. I'll repeat this again, everyone should go back and watch the Macworld Boston '97 video. In about 20 minutes Steve revitalized a company that was broken and nearly bankrupt. He pointed out that people should stop thinking of MS as a competitor, but rather a parter that can help both companies be much more profitable. I think that OS X is going to do Windows better than Windows does and use MS' own monopoly against them. Again, this is all just speculation from my overly caffinated brain.
Re: Some more Boot Camp Discussion - RonT - 04-08-2006
I'm just curious - how many of you on here commenting on the logic of where Apple has gone in the last few months, i.e. - intel processors and now "bootcamp" were among the MANY rabid Mac elitists who were certain that none of this would EVER happen.
Bite your tongue!
Re: Some more Boot Camp Discussion - S.Taylor - 04-08-2006
I think it makes a Mac a much easier buy for those who have been considering switching but are either tied to a Windows only app or just aren't brave enough. It gets them over that final hurdle. After that, it's like Classic--the more you run OS X, the less appealing the old stuff gets.
Re: Some more Boot Camp Discussion - Mike Johnson - 04-09-2006
RonT, it wouldn't be that hard to search this forum and the one at dealmac if you're really curious.
One reason I hang out here is because the general consensus of the crowd seems pretty good at predicting things. One sterling example is how difficult it was for me to find examples of people on dm bashing the iPod when it was introduced. Elsewhere, it was hard to find defenders.
I think what I've heard most around here is that Apple would never sell OS X for use on non-Apple hardware. I don't recall people saying something like BootCamp would never happen. We all know Virtual PC is a fact of life for many mac users, and that if it didn't exist, Apple could very well lose some marketshare.