Thoughts if Apple handed out OS X to PC owners

What are your thoughts on Apple releasing Mac OS X to the whole computing market, maybe licensing it off to OEM manufacturers, selling it by retail, or both.

Do you think this would help Apple? Could it hurt them?

I personally believe that if Apple we're to release OS X, they first of all would need time. They would need tons of support and help from OEM and Peripheral manufacturers to create the drivers needed to use the Operating System.

I think this could both help and hurt Apple. Let me explain.

Most people who like the Operating System do not use it because they don't want to spend; or don't have the money to spend on a respectively expensive, decent machine. If Apple were to release OS X out, then their software market could, and I predict, would, skyrocket. This could be what Apple needs to shoot up to the big leagues with Microsoft in terms of Operating System market share.

But then again, if they release OS X, then I predict that their Hardware market would plummet. Everyone would buy the cheap, low end Dells, spend a little on some RAM upgrades, and then just buy OS X (If it didn't come with the machine). This could severely hurt Apple's hardware market.

But could the potential sale of software on PC's make up for the drop in hardware? Would it be possible? Maybe Apple would go the Dell way and offer numerous models, ranging from very low end to very high end.

What are your thoughts on this?

#478601

what you said is like the Mac clones in the mid 90`s, Apple`s failure was because of this non-Macintosh Machines running Apple`s Operating system, it would kill Apple, and Apple does not have time for putting this OS on obsolete machines, Apple just doesn`t have the time, It would kill Apple... and Apple would not even dare to spend money on making drivers and so on... Phanton lord, there`s a HUGE wall between PC land and Macintosh land in this world, and they both dont belong together. Mac OS would be infected with viruses and stuff... the only good thing about this, is that putting OSX on PCs would be a step forward for Apple to take over the PC market.

#478606

Um...never going to happen? Yea. Besides, it wouldn't be as easy as it is to get drivers because it's all considered custom hardware to the Mac.

#478607

i hope it doesn't happen ever!

#478610

what you said is like the Mac clones in the mid 90`s, Apple`s failure was because of this non-Macintosh Machines running Apple`s Operating system, it would kill Apple, and Apple does not have time for putting this OS on obsolete machines, Apple just doesn`t have the time, It would kill Apple... and Apple would not even dare to spend money on making drivers and so on... Phanton lord, there`s a HUGE wall between PC land and Macintosh land in this world, and they both dont belong together. Mac OS would be infected with viruses and stuff... the only good thing about this, is that putting OSX on PCs would be a step forward for Apple to take over the PC market.

If that's so, then how is the osx86 project existing? The only thing from making it better is Apple's approval and support, really.

And as for that wall that you really want to be there; it isn't. Apple's hardware ARE PCs; either you choose to believe it or not. They BOTH run the i386 architecture -- hell; Macs even run Windows. The only difference between Macs and PCs is OS X, and the pretty logo on the machines. That's really it.

#478616

If that's so, then how is the osx86 project existing? The only thing from making it better is Apple's approval and support, really.
And as for that wall that you really want to be there; it isn't. Apple's hardware ARE PCs; either you choose to believe it or not. They BOTH run the i386 architecture -- hell; Macs even run Windows. The only difference between Macs and PCs is OS X, and the pretty logo on the machines. That's really it.

you have to think a little bit more about Mac and PC, its not that simple. the Macintosh hardware is somewhat incompatibe with PC hardware, you cant just put a random PC part on a Mac Pro and hope for the best, you have to think a little bit more deeply...

But I do respect your ideas.

#478617

you cant just put a random PC part on a Mac Pro and hope for the best, you have to think a little bit more deeply...

Upgrade RAM? ...yep I can do that.

Upgrade Hard Drive? ....yep I can do that too.

Add a second hard drive? .....sure can.

swap out a processor? ....If I really wanted to.

Add a new extension card? .....yep.

The only REAL thing I can't swap out is the motherboard. Because then...well....It just wouldn't be a Mac!

#478621

Phantom_Lord nailed it on the head, but Mac's reference to the Clone Macs in the early 90s is also extremely valid.

Sure, Macs are basically PCs now. Its the same architecture and everything, with the only major holdback being drivers.

HOWEVER, if Apple bridged the gap and sold to any PC manufacturer, it would drastically cannibalize its own hardware sales, its bread and butter. Sure it makes money on the iPod, but Apple is significantly vested in its hardware division. It isn't worth throwing it all away on the chance of maintaining revenue stream to keep OS X upgraded AND working on a mammoth amount of platforms.

The cost of opening up OS X would be tremendous just in terms of manpower, in addition to the licensing of drivers and APIs. This, combined with the loss of hardware sales would probably put Apple under.

#478625

It would be buggy as hell, hardware compatibility would be a joke. Its a whole new ball game. Linux and Windows are the only players when it comes to supporting nearly any user platform. Apple has a niche market selling complete packages, if they decided to "truly" compete with Windows in the OS market it would be the end of them.

#478626

Upgrade RAM? ...yep I can do that.
Upgrade Hard Drive? ....yep I can do that too.
Add a second hard drive? .....sure can.
swap out a processor? ....If I really wanted to.
Add a new extension card? .....yep.
The only REAL thing I can't swap out is the motherboard. Because then...well....It just wouldn't be a Mac!

Do me a favor. Run down to your local electronics shop and pick up an X-Fi audio card, an Ageia Physx card, two 8800GTX card for SLI, and let me know how well those work in OS X for you.

And then while you're at it check out this list: http://wiki.osx86project.org/wiki/index.ph...hardware_10.4.3

And then take a trip down to Cupertino and tell them that image is no longer important. That their hardware design isn't part of what makes them successful. When people think "Apple", there are certain things they associate with the name hardware/software wise.

And then you can sit and field the support calls that would come in due to the overwhelming amount of new hardware they'd be responsible for supporting. Imagine the amount of calls MS gets due to the amount of 3rd party hardware they support in their OSes. There's a reason Dell will not support you when you call them with problems about a product you installed that didn't come with the system. They don't want to have to deal with it. There's a reason car manufacturers won't support after-market addons.

It's also no secret that we all hate Windows activation, or any DRM schemes for that matter. And everyone argues that Activation/DRM only hurts the honest consumer. Now consider that OS X has NO serial/licensing mechanism built into it. You honestly think that because Apple doesn't implement a serial/activation scheme that people will respect that and legitimately buy it? No, all you gotta do is make a copy and it works for anyone.

If Windows had NO activation/serial schemes built into it the piracy rate would skyrocket even more. OEMs would install one copy on all computers, it would be passed around to friends and family, and no one would be the wiser. Microsoft wouldn't know, and end users wouldn't know they are running illegal copies of the OS because they would have no activation/wga issues since it wasn't there.

This goes way beyond just allowing OS X to be installed on non-Apple hardware. We can all claim to be experts on something saying "they should do this/that", but in reality there ARE reasons a company makes the decisions it does.

#478631

Thanks Chris, you just saved me writing that myself.

#478640