How many linux disto’s will survive under Apple’s model?
Apple only needs one, as far as I can tell. Hobbyists might support another. But 'hey, it was free!' isn't going to make me any friends with my clients when it fails. Know what I mean?
How does an “open source” OS dictate the hardware it’s going to run on?
It seems to me that open source is, necessarily on the bleeding edge. ^Open source distros^ have to conform to the market, not vice-versa.
Apple charges a premium for working *every single time, right out of the box*. See my previous posts for more detail.
Do you think destroying MS and that OS/hardware model in the marketplace is not going to have any unintended consequences, or that any collateral damage is not of any particular consequence because it doesn’t affect you?
I think MS is arrogant and foolish. I've read plenty about Gates and his smug minions who thought the war was over in the mid 90s.
To the extent I care at all, I want a reliable and reasonably priced OS that functions next-to-invisibly and lets me be productive.
I'm not foolish enough and certainly Apple is not foolish enough to believe that there isn't some app-killer over the horizon that's going to change everything. There is, and it will be here soon enough
You seem to be a person who's hung up on some sort of need for regulation of all this. That view concerns me more than the market forces driving Apple
The exact opposite view of yours is what drew me to this site, more than 10 years ago.
Think on it, and if it bothers you, don't buy a mac.
Cheers.
That might be a good thing for you and your customers in the short term.
I'm not sure that's going to be a good thing for everyone in the long term, (but it doesn't bother me as long as I don't think about it).