Buzz Building On Secret Features In Leopard

the more interesting variation on this theme is WHICH version of windows would be 'embded' in (x86) leoaprd - vista or XP?! ...

yes, apple could become an official volume reseller of vista (at $35 oem prices; or maybe a special deal from microsoft, say $20, given the "best friends forever" performance at D's recent BillandStevefest hosted by WSJ). This would be based on VM technology - but it puts vista on par with leopard and locks in a decade of future upgrade revenue for redmond.

or, apple could ship leoapard with XP instead of vista - ie provide switchers some comfort during the transition. Two key aspects to this business model:

* first, XP will be EOL by redmond within 2 years (which is same time-frame as leopard's successor);

* second, apple might not even need to pay redmond any licensing fees (volume or otherwise) - because the prior settlement of apple's intellectual property claims against microsoft is believed to have included a grant of use of legacy windows API's (win32/activex (maybe dotNet?) ... so leopard may not see a VM for windows, but rather an emulator approach that will run legacy windows apps (ie switchers will not have spend $500 to buy a retail copy of Windows and Office; this is the true, 'hidden' cost for switchers that appple needs to eliminate in order to attract switchers who shy away from the total costs of the VM approach).

While the savings from emulation approach might not represent alot of money in absolute terms ($200M/Y in oem license fees is no longer a big deal to apple), it is alot of money in relative terms compared to the much smaller cost of building an emulation service in-house).

But the kicker for the emulator approach is that the decision to NOT be an micrsoft oem represents a subversive & strategic attack on the windows brand itself which is worth far more the 'buy or build' aspect of the decision ...

for many people, the benefits of vista are just not a compelling story: XP is considered to be 'good enough' (especially in the enterprise). If os/x is positioned as satisfing existing demand for windows (XP), and if leopard satisfies future demand ("it just works") -- then apple would be an in a position capture alot of momentum away from microsoft (in the same way that windows95 underscored how vulnerable apple was in the 90's until Jobs returned).

The value-proposition from apple would be clear: Why chase vista when XP+Leopard gives you everything you have now & everything you want in the future?

In other words, if apple is going to offer a built-in windows experience for leopard, then the most cunning way to target the switchers is by tilting the playing field in its favor by embedding a windows service that constantly reminds new os/x users of microsoft's chronic mediocrity ... a security blanket + a magic carpet.

The big message: you dont need redmond to give you windows anymore.

There is an entire advert campaign - "who says leopard's can't change their spots?!" - that can communicate this idea simply, effectively & with deadly effect.

It will NEVER happen!
"Politically" offering ANY Windows preinstalled or "OEM" would just not be acceptible for Apple - even though possibly convenient for a FEW.
I also don't see Apple setting up OSX to run Windows apps natively without Windows. I just suspect there would be too many issues - maintenance wise, legal wise, customer service wise and OTHER wise. Especially when there are so many very effective solutions out there now that Apple would have no responsibility for handling. Apple doesn't offer Adobe apps preinstalled, after all, and it wouldn't make much sense for them to do so. I just see NO benefit to Apple in this proposal.

What I DO see as a distinct and sensible possibility for both Apple and Microsoft is to offer Windows and MS apps in all variants at a discount with purchase of a new Mac. Say 1/2 price.
Both companies would benefit from the sale. Apple would have no maintenance or legal issues and MS would have the ongoing updates noted above.

Actually it's even less hypothetical than you posit. Codeweaver's Crossover product does it today -- no booting Windows, no copy of Windows, no paying Microsoft anything -- and works with most Windows programs. Check out http://www.codeweavers.com/

If Windows is integrated into OSX, a major issue to resolve is how to encourage Mac OSX development. Recall history for the past 10 or so years. Mac's market share becomes smaller and smaller. It's not cost effective for developers to address Macs directly. If something is ported to the Mac at all, they often first develop for Windows, then just port to Mac. Problem is, there's all these great Mac technologies like Quartz, built in PDF.. multimedia advantages, etc..etc.. When they port from Windows to Mac, they just want to get it running on the Mac.

Now, with a resurgent Apple, there's more sense for them to address Macs. And, Macs are offering more and more programming technologies than Windows has. With Bootcamp, if something is popular enough for Mac, then there's still incentive to port it directly to OSX. Since they are doing a port anyhow, they are encouraged to look at and take advantage of the OSX technologies. With the Windows API in OSX, is that still true? Or, will people just sell the Windows version, we end up with a bunch of Windows apps on the Mac, and therefore less Mac difference?

This Windows thing just isn't likely. People have too much wishful thinking on some kind of holy grail of operating systems.

I have a feeling Leopard will be a bit of a disappointment. Much like Tiger was. Panther was revolutionary to me, but all of the excitement of Tiger was hot air.

BTW, I've been using Macs for 20 years and can use Windows XP just fine at work.

I think this blog has a clear and far reaching understanding of what apple is up to. People would not want Vista as included when bying a new machine if they could run osx and XP application when bying a mac for just about the same money in the mid and premium segment computing.The bonus would be less virus prone XP applications if not run under windows. You need this mid/Premuim computer power to run full vista anyways so why not choose the better alternative of the real next generation operating system combined with legacy XP applications and with time phasing out XP application alltogether as they explore leopard applications and it's advantages over both vista and XP applications. But all this on the customers own choice and in it's own good time. Bying Vista or full vista is a customer choice with versioning and prices making it less the value packed for customers.Not to mention the compatibility issues.

If running XP applications in leopard without windows will be possible, the world will see some action on MS part closing their systems even more and certainly not offer more choice and better prices - or they go dumping prizes and take the hit now but keep their marketshare short term..

Either way leopard will make an imense impact in the computer based world which we have yet to see the full consequenses of.

This is what killed OS/2.

It had great support for Windows applications, so no-one ever wrote OS/2 applications.

Definitely would kick the other PC Windows-only manufacturers.

For heaven's sake, if you want Windows buy a Windows box. There's enough Mac software to cover everything but the nerdiest Windows applications and if you want that then you belong in Windows.

I like this rumor. This is a niiiice rumor. I find it hard to believe that Apple will get this good enough to be taken seriously by people. But what do I know? This emulation stuff has been going gangbusters lately.

I'm not sure Apple has the resources to pull this off as they work on iPhone, roll out appleTV and significantly alter Itunes for DRM-free stuff. They're not that big a company.

>Posted by: Neil Anderson at June 2, 2007 05:30 PM

>For heaven's sake, if you want Windows buy a >Windows box. There's enough Mac software to cover >everything but the nerdiest Windows applications >and if you want that then you belong in Windows.

I'm as big a Machead as the next guy but Mac financial software SUCKS, including the latest version of Quicken, compared to their PC counterparts, so much so that I've taken to running Windows XP on a seperate computer just for this purpose...

To clarify coherence mode combined with some software drivers is a trick aimed at making the windows mac os experience seam as integrated as possible. The darwine project based of wine for linux has the frame work for making a truly seamless environment possible, yet I don't even see that mentioned here. I would be really surprised if Apple backhanded so much of the quality innovation and development for an internal product that has a slim chance of performing better than any of the reasonably priced 3rd party products available.