JamieG Analysis

More and more every day, Mac OSX is showing itself to be the operating system of choice for everyone, except the enterprise. Any technology person I respect, are either using a Mac, or wanting to use a Mac. (I am one of them). However, the main reson I am not using a Mac right now is..

A white Box 4 core system costs, at the local cheap computer store: $1200

Apple Mac Pro equivalent: $4300

(These are Australian prices)

I agree the apple hardware is better, but not 3.5 times better!

I would agree that in the 8 core capable systems, the Mac Pro is an good price. But how many general users need a 8 core?

If we look at the iMacs, these are nice, but they do not suite many users. Especially the users who own more then one computer. (I own over 15 (2 or which are Macs (No intel yet)) but then again I am a uber geek) Considering this, people ask my advice on purchasing systems. These days I say, “Macs are great” but they look over my sholder and see all my NON-macs.

If we look at why OSX has become the OS of choice is simply because Microsoft has completely dropped the ball. As a developer, near everything Microsoft has done of late is below average. Vista is a step backwards while OSX is moving forward at break neck speed. (And if you are on Vista, I highly advise going back to XP until Vista-SP1 is out and we hear if its actually made Vista usable)

Back to the topic. Never has there been a better time for Apple to become more domenint player in this industry then now. All Steve needs to do is release OSX for general Intel platform. And to tell the truth, the delay in OSX 10.5 could be a telling point. I would also like to note here that OSX, which is the OLD NextStep OS with a new interface, was sold as a run on any Intel platform before it was discontinued. As such, its not a lot of work to make it so again.

Lets have a quick look at a few issues regarding this.

1. A big selling point of the Mac hardware and stability is that, because its all made by the same company, its that more reliable. There is a degree of truth here, but as a business owner with a lot of knowledge in embeded systems, Apple could easily release OSX with a broad support of different motherboard chipsets and graphics cards. As Microsoft had a system certification policy to obtain the Vista compatable sticker, so could OSX.
2. Is apple a computer company or a consumer electronics company? Well of late, from what I hear its a consumer electronics company. It is well known that computers are a commodity item. There is not a lot of profit in them in general. This is why I can purchase a 4 core system for $1200 at the corner computer store. Apple will never grown into a dominant OS unless it can compete on the same play field. Restricting itself to the premium self made hardware restricts its growth substantially.
3. How much money does apple make selling a Computer compared to selling a copy of the OS, then a copy of iLife, Final Cut Pro Studio etc. What are the overheads of selling software? Here is where we should take a feather out of Bill Gates Hat. (He is the richest man in the world for a reason.) Selling something that weights nothing and you can reproduce at no cost. Its all profit. (Note here, selling Computers and selling consumer electronics are very different businesses)

If apple goes open platform with OSX, they could grow there market share by 3 times in 2 years. This is my guess. The profit alown from software sales would dwalf the Computer hardware side. And who is to say they don’t keep doing computer hardware. If their hardware is good enough to compete with an open OS market, great. Otherwise, let it go and let those who do it better run with it. Using OSX as a crutch to keep ahead is not a good business decision.

LONG LIVE OSX!