Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, OS, Steve Jobs
Dell Would Sell OS X
David Kirkpatrick reporting for Fortune, notes that in email correspondence, Michael Dell said, "If Apple decides to open the Mac OS to others, we would be happy to offer it to our customers."Although, neither Apple nor Steve Jobs have indicated that they have any interest in opening OS X up to non-Apple-branded hardware, this admission by Dell is a rather huge boon for Apple. Up until this point, no large player in the PC world has gone on record saying that they would run OS X on their boxes if Apple opened up the platform. Considering that Dell is such a large player in the personal computing arena, if Steve Jobs were to decide to allow for this, most likely other PC manufacturers would follow suit, and there *could* be a chance of Apple challenging the Microsoft-dominated world of personal PCs.
Then again, if Apple were to do this, it would be a rather huge gamble and running OS X on multiple slightly different pieces of hardware would entail a lot of driver compatibility, which in my opinion is one of the many difficulties and weak spots with Windows XP. OS X running on more varied systems means more software support for drivers for different PC devices and could quite quickly become a big point of instability in what until now has remained a rather tightly reigned and controlled operating system.
What do you think? Should Steve and Michael sit down and have a talk?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Rawktavio said 1:26PM on 6-16-2005
i share the same concern over what if apple ran on any machine as well. Driver issues and popularity might bring down os x in this case. Only scenario i can think of in my head that apple might win is if they work closely with dell and any other partners to create drivers and customaizations that make it stable to run on others machines and not selling the os on the shelf. This could give the public the impression that os x should only run on dells and apple computers. In any case i think steve is after microsoft and these are interesting times.
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KissTheRing said 1:28PM on 6-16-2005
I'd love to see OS X on Dell's. The only thing I wonder is if Apple one day gains market dominance like Microsoft has now would they have that same drive to be better than everyone else?
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DoubleWah said 1:30PM on 6-16-2005
I think the interesting question is whether this would have an impact on sales of Macs. That is, how much of what makes us buy a Mac is to do with the OS and how much is to do with the design/build etc.?
If Macs will be able to run Windows, and PCs are able to run OS X, then it's like Apple become two companies: a PC manufacturer competing with Dell, HP and so on, and a software-for-PCs company competing directly with Microsoft.
S
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Joakim said 1:36PM on 6-16-2005
No way! Stay away from Dell (or IBM, Compaq or any other manufacturer)!
Mac OS X is for Macs! Keep it that way!
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David Chartier said 1:35PM on 6-16-2005
I pray to every god there is that this never happens. OS X would most likely to become far more buggy - like other crummy OS's out there - and then everyone would wonder what all the hooplah was about.
This is a horrible idea perpetrated by people who just don't understand why Apple does what they do or why a Mac is a Mac.
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Porchland said 1:43PM on 6-16-2005
Well ain't that the $31 billion (Apple's current value) question; Steve Jobs has had about 20 years to mull over the answer.
If you view the move to Intel as a move to a more mainstream processor, the answer is yes: OSX will soon be available for other PC manufacturers. If you vew the move to Intel as a move to a processor manufacturer with more potential for power and speed -- as Apple described it -- the answer is maybe/maybe not.
Does Apple want to be a pureplay hardware/OS manufacturer with 5, maybe 10 percent of the PC market, or does it want to be a dual player with potentially much more of both? Both make a lot of sense depending on where you're standing. Personally, I'd rather see Apple grow OSX at its own pace and on its own hardware; the beauty of Apple is how well the design and hardware go with the OS. If you break that up and release your OS into the wild, it's going to be MUCH harder to have that tight integreation and consistency.
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Henry said 1:48PM on 6-16-2005
I think this is a good idea. If someone wants great hardware-software integration then they get mac hardware. If price is more important and how the computer looks means nothing you can get a p.c. If ?10% of Dells came with OS X (or XI) then the amount of Mac Users would skyrocket. As a result the amount of Mac software (Games!!!!!) would incresase dramatically. There could be one more boon to Apple gaining significant marketshare: Windoze might improve to be as good as OS X! With real competition both companies would begin making better products with lower prices. If done properly this could be very good for existing mac users and future switchers.
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Reefdog said 1:51PM on 6-16-2005
No, Apple shouldn't open to Dell this early in the game. The world still doesn't understand the the simple incompatibility between the Mac and Windows, and so adding another layer of complexity -- imagine trying to explain that "this network card will work in your Windows Dell but not your Mac Dell" -- would be hellish and terrible for consumers.
Better to keep the Mac OS tied to Apple's hardware in the buying public's eye; it will reduce confusion and tech support nightmares. Leave the cross-platform hackery to those of us who know what we're doing. "Mac" or "Windows" is as much as John Q. Public needs to know.
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christine said 2:00PM on 6-16-2005
ABSOLUTELY NOT. keep apple away from dell and all those other companies. the last thing we want is for os x to turn into some POS operating system like windows.
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Tom Edwards said 2:12PM on 6-16-2005
If Apple did want to move their OS to new makes, then they would use Sony and HP - not Dell.
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MikeInAZ said 2:18PM on 6-16-2005
Damn, some of you fanboys are so closed-minded. I thought most Apple buyers are more creative? Think different for a change. And if someone calls DELL a DULL, I will lose it here.
This coming from a recent switcher...I love my Powerbook!
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xVariable said 2:17PM on 6-16-2005
Regarding the accompanying image: Funniest photoshop evar (OK, in the last couple of days anyway...)
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_victor said 2:20PM on 6-16-2005
You never know. If Dell got together with Apple to create an education-based Mactel only, well maybe that'd be cool.
But for the masses, for now, that's a bad idea.
Porchland hits the idea on the head-- don't cut off your nose to spite your face.
Ultimately this is the Ace in Jobs' sleeve. If MS can't deliver with Longhorn (for whatever reason), Apple could just stand and wait until MS's market share declines over the next 5 years.
Then, when the tipping point is just right: OS X for everybody!
If it were me, at 10.9 I'd release it free and sell services and other software (iLife, etc.). And the best hardware of course...
If hardware becomes so simple that things "just work" (haha, like DH-DVD and BluRay) then maybe this will happen sooner. But that makes Apple a lot like Sony, and we know how that song goes...
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Geneffects said 2:24PM on 6-16-2005
Would it be just OS X liscensed, or would iLife also be included? A large incentive for purchasing Macs is the iLife suite, and I believe iLife is so very cheap because the loss is recouped when macs are purchased. Because of this, I doubt PC versions of iLife will be packaged with OS X on non-Mac boxes.
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Sk8rCai said 2:44PM on 6-16-2005
EN-OH!
NO!
Dammit.....this is the third sign of the comming of the Cyber Apocalypse.......
gak!
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Bif Bunson said 5:30PM on 6-17-2005
Jobs obviously sees the handwriting on the wall and knows in order to compete, he needs to be playing in the same arena, the only thing holding up Apple is the Ipod NOT thier "designer box" or thier OS and with Errikson planning on selling 70 million MP3 player phones next year... well I see it as the ultimate demise of APPLE. Lets be real, and leave the emotions out of it(i know it's difficult for you mac biatchs)the best thing that could happen to the MAC OS is if Dell or Hpac started selling it. Hardware is all the same, a scsi drive is a scsi drive is a scsi drive, memory is memory, monitors are monitors,(and all of it made in Asia) the OS is where the money is.
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Pedro said 2:47PM on 6-16-2005
isnt that kinda like saying... i wouldnt turn down a million dollars if you were giving it away. Dell would love the oportunity to sell anything that will make it money... OSX included.
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j. said 2:56PM on 6-16-2005
I'm thinking that Apple licensing out the OS to Dell would be a bad move all around. We saw what happened when Apple tried that last time (RE: The Dark Days of the Early 90's) and only by bringing 'ol Jobsie boy back did they get by.
Basically, Apple should focus on their own hardware at the moment. We see a transition away from Windows, right now, unlike any major OS switch since Windows 95 was introduced. There's no reason for Apple to break their own wave by splitting their assets. A Dell with an Apple OS on it wouldn't make them close to as much money per unit as an Apple machine, plus it would be costly to ensure driver compatibility will Dell's customization.
Victor mentioned a Dell/Apple education computer. I think it would be a better move for Apple to push the eMac harder - which was developed specifically for education - and work on taking away from Dell's market saturation. An update to that model line would do nothing but good things. Another option might be for Apple to manufacture a computer, and allow Dell to rebrand it, however that would take away from Apple's image - something they work very hard to maintain.
It's the image thing that really gets me. Apple, in recent years, has worked VERY hard to make itself the "cool" computer company, and aligning with Dell won't help that.
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perry said 4:00PM on 6-16-2005
Hello Mr. Jobs,
Welcome to the wonderful world of pirated software. I'm going to laugh when i see the first Mac OS shared on the gnutella network. The chinese are really going to enjoy it.
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Robert Knight said 4:38PM on 6-16-2005
Absolutely never...
for the precise reasons you stated in the post. OSX would become bloatware, chokes with third party drivers and junk.
Besides, it seems much more reasonable to wait and see how the move to x86 affects Mac sales. Apple may get a huge boost just from the new chips being inside. I wouldn't open the OS to any machine right off.
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