Posted on 08/22/2005 10:57:42 AM PDT by Panerai
MacBidouille reported late last week that Apple Legal has taken action against the information floating around the web demonstrating successful use of Mac OS X on 3rd party PC hardware.
This is exactly what Apple Legal has started to do last night (Central Europe time) by sending us an amazingly aggressive email asking for the immediate removal of all links to the videos showing OSX x86 booting from non-Apple certified SDK PC.
MacBidiuille notes that Apple will have a difficult time keeping these efforts under check... especially once Mac OS X for Intel becomes publicly available. At present, it appears Apple is pursuing legal action to suppress the information.
SO9
I am guessing that if anyone is showing it, they are doing so illegally. To get a legal copy of the software, you must sign an NDA. It is within Apple's rights to restrict images and information regarding this software.
Apple is so stupid. They should want to sell their OS on other hardware.
Nah. Apple is primarily a hardware company. If you start selling their OS on commodity hardware, they'll go out of business.
Good point.
Another good point to you too.
Apple could certainly do what it did before and force these people to give up those who broke their NDAs. But I think repressing the video is questionable. Whoever took the video owns the copyright of the video, so there's no infringement. I don't see how they could claim trade secrets since there is nothing secret about OS X running on Intel.
What really gets me is the apparently aggressive and threatening tone of the letter. It doesn't need to be that way. I got an email once for something I posted online (purely out of good intentions to help others), and it was a very nice, almost apologetic letter. I of course removed the content immediately.
I wish Apple could divorce itself from the idea that a Macintosh is a hardware and software combination. Splitting the brand into distinct products would immediately open the company to a much larger customer base than it could ever acquire in its current form.
There would be the MacOS for x86 product, of course. It could be sold at a premium. People would stand in line for an alternative to Windows. There could be Macintosh desktop machines, artsy design, quality components, wrapped up in a small footprint and sold at premium. After market add-ons like keyboards and mice, displays, printers, etc. And DiY components, like designer chassis kits, AirPort boards, and whatever other internal widgets of Apple brand.
I'd like to think the only reason Apple hasn't done this is for fear of Annihilation XP. But... no, I'm pretty sure the company is just terminally brain-damaged.
As for the platform switch, I've heard rumors ...
Since no one would have to buy a Mac to run the software. They make more money on the hardware than on the software.
As I said, Apple is primarily a hardware company. That is where most of their money comes from. However, I do like John Robinson's suggestion of splitting the company into two units. While I'm not familiar with Apple or their products, it's possible that they can sell enough copies of the OS to get them through the initial rough spots of the transition.
I'd buy a Mac, but I'm not gay.
There's no reason why Apple shouldn't sell MacOS at a significant premium. Sell the MacOS Retail box at whatever margin they expect for the hardware bundle. Let's say $899. It isn't going to be price competitive (neither is a a Lexus.)
They could continue to build hardware and sell that at a premium, bundled with MacOS just like they do now.
If they can't control the hardware, Apple's reputation as "crash-proof, virus-proof, and bug-free" would go out the window pretty quickly. I don't expect we'll ever see a generic OS/X that is intended to run on any Intel hardware platform the way Windows and Linux do. The mystique constitutes a good portion of their brand value. ;
A unix based OS, with a reliable graphical front end, and applications that are compatable with the file formats of many Microsoft and industry leading products?????
No way that would ever fly (/SARCASM)
I swear that Apple is just destined to repeat the late 80s all over again... They just can't seem to learn.
Hardware IS a commodity, and there is no lack of desire for a reliable alternative to MS Windows on the OS.
Actually, I think potentially, it would be Microsoft that would eventually go out of business if Apple sold their OS on the open market.
Hmm. I wouldn't bet on it. The way MS has done business in the past, they wouldn't go without some nasty fights along the way.
Agreed, when they open the box, they will have to support far more hardware, which will lead to more conflicts...
However this is no different than what X86 UNIX flavors have been dealing with for years... if you want to run BSDI or FREEBSD you accept that you may find drivers for certain hardware.. but those hardware are really not recommended configurations.
Apple can sell the hardware/software bundle of its "CERTIFIED" configuration... and let hackers do whatever they like with the rest of the world... Hell.. seems to me, they do that, they can get their driver DB growing by leaps and bounds as every geek with time on his hands will decide to write drivers for whatever hardware they want... Then those various drivers can go through qa process and eventually get "certified" as well.
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