John Marstall says

John Dvorak is possibly the internet's greatest troll. Apple has invested far too much R&D into its OS and software to think about abandoning it. And, pace Dvorak, Mac sales have noticeably increased as the iPod has gained traction.

As far as hardware vs. software company, you can point to statements by Apple execs that point one way or the other. The fact is they're a user experience company. They're in the business of making technology easier and more fun. That means controlling both the hardware and the software.

Jeremy Johnson says

I think the article is WAY off too. They are not just about the hardware - John (M. not D.) is right, it's about the experience.

If it was true - Apple would not be competing with Dell or HP due to the pricing/style of the hardware, if anything they would be competing with Sony.

Plus the new Macs WILL run Windows, I don't see anyone buying a Mac just for the hardware...

Rob Hulson says

Hmm, well, I for one didn't believe any of the Windows trolls when they were saying that Apple would switch from PowerPC to Intel. Did any of you guys? Then again, a dead clock is right twice a day.

However, I tend to agree with y'all. The Mac OS is what sells Apple hardware in many more circumstances than the (admittedly awesome) cases it comes in. Dvorak may be able to imagine Apple dropping the Mac OS, but that seems to go against Apple's whole reason for existence: innovation that works. Someone may say that Apple abandoned the innovation train by jumping to Intel (entirely debatable!), but Apple never actually made its microprocessors. Thus, it's not so hard to imagine jumping to another vehicle for its OS.

But to abandon its OS outright?

Tyler says

Talk about blowing smoke.

"Apple would have to suffer endless complaints about peripherals that don't work"---What?! How many times have you plugged a device into a Mac without installing the driver and it works. I've never seen Windows do that!

"there is no reason an executive software layer couldn't be fitted onto Windows to keep the Mac look and feel"---What makes a Mac feel like a Mac is the fact that it works the way it should and not like Windows.

This guy has a chip on his shoulder about Apple so he's trying to make a point. Anyone who has been on an R&D team will agree with me when I say that Mac's OS development was likely vital to the development of the iPod. Drop the OS and the innovation at large will tank and Apple knows it.

michel says

I did think PPC to Intel migration was not impossible and was logical (ibm is not producing G6 or some mobile G5 so...)

to tell apple will move from os x to windows is stupidity and lies.

Dvorak tells many things every year

sometimes it tells stupidity for ten years and one day it comes true and say "I told you so!" ...

(in fact he thought apple would use itanium, hahaha, what a moron... itanium for the mac desktop.. not some hypothetical super server... )

Phil Balchin says

@ michel

OK, we get the idea, just stop hitting the button

please. . .

Brian says

I'm thinking michel's response was an impassioned one and that multiple posts was the result of this Dvorak story striking a nerve! No biggie. I've trimmed the repeats!

At the risk of seeming a misinformed person, this is, I believe, the first time I've run across any writings by Mr. Dvorak (I don't normally investigate many (any!) Windows-centric publications). Should I encounter him again in the future I'll turn and walk away.

Steve says

I don't think this is so hard to imagine, companies are out to make money. If apple had the chance to drastically grow it's marketshare and the timing was right...

jay says

yeah right! that is completely unfounded BULLY SH¡T.. unsubtantiated rhetoric at best - FAKE!!

jason says

Keep your eye on Apple and Adobe.....could be a large purchase happening in the future.

David says

what keeps stunning me ( not really ) is the aparent hatred for windows that follows stories like this. if you dont like windows then fine but keep your immature comments to yoursevles...please.

Patrick says

As a researcher and sysadmin, there's nothing that beats OS-X. Sure, most statistical software runs on Windows first and other OSes second; there's even a hefty chunk of the market that is Windows-only. Sure, most people use Windows, whether by choice or by an accident of nature.

OS-X is the perfect blend of a GUI interface and a robust *nix-style OS. None of the clunky, junky Windows OS to bog things down and a nice, functions-as-it-ought-to GUI that is a nice change from doing it all on the command line.

By way of explanation, David, the reason dumping OS-X for Windows causes such a furor is because Windows is a clearly, demonstrably inferior OS compared to OS-X. When you get into the world of high performance computing (for research apps in my case), no one I know at any institution runs clusters of Windows machines. Everyone runs *nix clusters or Xserve clusters. There are many reasons for this and only a few of them have to do with the curmudgeonly nature of cluster admins like myself. Most of the reasons have to do with Windows being clearly inferior for the task at hand.

I don't have a visceral hatred of Windows as I once did when I worked in computer security, but it is plainly a poor alternative to OS-X.

Owen says

Like cures like... Owen