BUY Apple!

Thank you Steve Jobs is this pans out!

Haven't they been talking about this for a few years now?

Haven't they been talking about this for a few years now?

Yea, since Darwin!  But if this is for real..........Bill Gates is going to be pooping in his pants!

lets hope this is real and not another red herring!

http://www.flexbeta.net/main/articles.php?action=show&id=92
Dual-boot, WindowsXP/OS-X? hmmm.....

Hah! Good luck! I reckon they're in for a world of pain when they realise the diveristy of hardware they're going to have to deal with.

Unless it's only going to be a limited No of (approved) HW platforms or even their own (but what's the point in that case?).

Also, look carefully at the web page... it's some sort of article writing 'contest' ?!? Can it be taken seriously?

I have heard this for years. Even if it is true, it will take years to get going.

OK, lets calm down here. All it says is that Apple is talking to Intel. From there to releasing OSX for the PC is a far stretch. They may be examining the possibility of using Intel chips in their computers, but even if that's the case, the Apple OS would still be running under very specific hardware, and it would most probably would not support the multitude of drivers available for the PC.

Oh great. Apples will be running Pentium 4 chips soon. They SHOULD be talking with AMD.

Yeah, I read the article on C|net...as far as I understood it, Apple is looking at Intel to replace it's IBM PowerPC chips...doesn't mean it's gonna run on x86 code base...Intel does make other chips besides x86. It's not Microsoft who's pooping in their pants...it's pool old IBM...

Yeah, I read the article on C|net...as far as I understood it, Apple is looking at Intel to replace it's IBM PowerPC chips...doesn't mean it's gonna run on x86 code base...Intel does make other chips besides x86. It's not Microsoft who's pooping in their pants...it's pool old IBM...

yep true or Apple may just want to use a specific component: network or memory controler, some part of an Intel's mobo's NorthBridge/ SouthBridge, or ask Intel to design a whole new product, like a Mac-specific processor. Or Intel's excellent Pentium-M Dothan (or Sanoma)! (that choice would personally impress me)

http://www.flexbeta.net/main/articles.php?action=show&id=92 Dual-boot, WindowsXP/OS-X? hmmm.....

Sweeet!

Hah! Good luck! I reckon they're in for a world of pain when they realise the diveristy of hardware they're going to have to deal with. Unless it's only going to be a limited No of (approved) HW platforms or even their own (but what's the point in that case?). Also, look carefully at the web page... it's some sort of article writing 'contest' ?!? Can it be taken seriously?

I got mine off of Cnet.  I trust them pretty much for the straight poop.  And as for HW, hey, Microsoft does it, so I expect Apple to as well.

I have heard this for years. Even if it is true, it will take years to get going.

I think they could do it within a year if they are serious.  They already beta testted OSX on Intel (Darwin), so it is just a matter of updating the code.

OK, lets calm down here. All it says is that Apple is talking to Intel. From there to releasing OSX for the PC is a far stretch. They may be examining the possibility of using Intel chips in their computers, but even if that's the case, the Apple OS would still be running under very specific hardware, and it would most probably would not support the multitude of drivers available for the PC.

Very true.  But even buying an apple approved PC, one could then load Windows so that instead of 2 machines, you only had one.

I have been yelling at Apple for this since the Mid 90s when they licensed their OS to clone makers.  That was a mmis-step.  If they had ported it, they would have a lot more than 5% of the market right now.

But yes, your calm rationale is correct.  Talk is cheap, and is not a shipping product.  Still, at least they are talking.

Oh great. Apples will be running Pentium 4 chips soon. They SHOULD be talking with AMD.

6 of 1, half dozen of the other.  Once ported, it is a baby step from Intel to AMD.

Yeah, I read the article on C|net...as far as I understood it, Apple is looking at Intel to replace it's IBM PowerPC chips...doesn't mean it's gonna run on x86 code base...Intel does make other chips besides x86. It's not Microsoft who's pooping in their pants...it's pool old IBM...

Them too (IBM).  But if they dont port to the x86 architecture, that would be like catching a pass for a touchdown, and stopping on the 1 yard line for a tea break!

yep true or Apple may just want to use a specific component: network or memory controler, some part of an Intel's mobo's NorthBridge/ SouthBridge, or ask Intel to design a whole new product, like a Mac-specific processor. Or Intel's excellent Pentium-M Dothan (or Sanoma)! (that choice would personally impress me)

I dont think they would be talking about a whole new chip since that would take years to develop.  But you are right.  We dont know why they are talking at this point.  Guess we will have to wait for news at 11.

The thing you have to keep in mind is that Apple is a hardware company, not a software company. The OS and iLife/iWork etc are all applications meant to support/drive the sale of their (overpriced) hardware. If they port OSX to the PC side of life, it will bring about an end to a large part of their business. So despite the Intel conversion, I seriously doubt you'll ever be able to buy a Dell and load up OS X on it.

Now, that doesn't rule out the ability to install Windows on a Macintosh, considering the core parts are all generic. Windows supports a HUGE list of hardware, whereas Mac supports only the specific items in their boxes. So in the future you may be able to get a dual-boot box, but it'll almost definitely still be an Apple Computer.

The thing you have to keep in mind is that Apple is a hardware company, not a software company. The OS and iLife/iWork etc are all applications meant to support/drive the sale of their (overpriced) hardware. If they port OSX to the PC side of life, it will bring about an end to a large part of their business. So despite the Intel conversion, I seriously doubt you'll ever be able to buy a Dell and load up OS X on it.

You see that is where I have a difference with Steve Jobs.  Apple is not a hardware company.  That is why Microsoft and Dell are skunking them.  If they would just remember that they are a software company, they could make a killing.

And controlling the Hardware, even on an INtel platform will not kill them.  As you state, they will maintain control of the machines, but since Windows would work on any intel platform, a true dual boot machine becomes a reality.

Apple is not a hardware company

They have always been a hardware company. They started as one with the Apple, they continued with the Macintosh up to today... are you trying to say they should BECOME a software company? That's a completely different issue... one I think Apple would lose hands-down.

Look at the market penetration of Linux on the desktop... or the old BeOS. On the PC Platform at home, Windows rules supreme and no one has been able to make a dent. Apple creates its own market by owning the software and the hardware. I think they would be able to survive allowing Windows to install to their hardware... but trying to make OS X their flagship product installable on the standard PC would kill them.

They have always been a hardware company. They started as one with the Apple, they continued with the Macintosh up to today... are you trying to say they should BECOME a software company?

Ok,. technically, they are a hardware company.  But they should not be.  Their strength is in their software.  That is what I am saying.

Look at the market penetration of Linux on the desktop... or the old BeOS. On the PC Platform at home, Windows rules supreme and no one has been able to make a dent. Apple creates its own market by owning the software and the hardware. I think they would be able to survive allowing Windows to install to their hardware... but trying to make OS X their flagship product installable on the standard PC would kill them.

See, that is where I disagree.  It might kill their hardware side (I kind of doubt that), but look at Microsoft?  They dont sell any hardware (FOrget xbox), and are one of the largest corps in the world!

Apple could easily take 25% of the market, because unlike BEOS and Linux, it is a superior product.  BEOS and Linux suffer from geekdom, but Apple has always owned the ease of use category.

If Apple did release OSX on x86 hardware, their software sales would sky-rocket. Apple is one of the hottest companies in the WORLD today, and they could use that leverage for an x86 OS. If they did do that however, their sales of iMac's and PowerMac's and their notebooks would virtually disappear. There would be no point, as x86 hardware is a lot faster in terms of processing power and the like. It's much, much, much cheaper. And there would be compatibility problems with the current Mac hardware vs. x86 hardware. So Apple would have to basically gut their machine, scrap all the work they've done with their hardware and start over with x86 parts. Then you got to think about all the products and companies who develop for the Mac...everything they've done is out the window...bye bye, so sorry...

Would Apple make more money with software sales than it would with the hardware losses? Would they make a big enough dent in the OS market to cover their hardware losses? What if their product flops...and Microsoft still has 97%..? To Apple, it's probably not worth the risk...

Would Apple make more money with software sales than it would with the hardware losses? Would they make a big enough dent in the OS market to cover their hardware losses? What if their product flops...and Microsoft still has 97%..? To Apple, it's probably not worth the risk...

Apple, Microsoft and Dell did not get big by playing it safe.  Sure, everything has a risk, but their margin on the hardware is probably a lot less than on the software.  So increasing their market share 10 fold (latest stats show they are selling just 1.5% of new computers) is a risk worth taking.

All of this is great for a pie in the sky discussion.  In the end, it will come down to Steve Jobs. Guess we will all have to wait and see.

Check out http://robbushway.blogspot.com/2005/05/apple-tablet-pc-sightings.html and http://engadget.com/entry/1234000310044375/

It appears that Apple is specifically interested in Intel's Sonoma technology. The rumors DON'T point to a complete switchover (that would be economically and technologically stupid- retool your entire line that you own rights to just to use inferior processors?). Does look like they're interested in portable technologies, however.

Rumors of video iPods are constantly quelled by anonymous Apple sources who instead say "look bigger", and the rumors of the Apple multimedia/PDA/Tablet would certainly be consistent with this.

I dare say that as long as Steve Jobs is at the helm of Apple they will not release their OS to the seething PC masses, simply because Steve wouldn't be able to control the hardware as he has done with Apple. That's one of the reasons OSX works so well is that it's inextricably tied to the hardware it's designed for.

It appears that Apple is specifically interested in Intel's Sonoma technology. The rumors DON'T point to a complete switchover (that would be economically and technologically stupid- retool your entire line that you own rights to just to use inferior processors?). Does look like they're interested in portable technologies, however.

Sanoma processors are not inferior processors, especially on the high end.