Mac or PC question soon to be redundent?

StevenUK

StevenUK

You've probably already heard about this, but I've been away from the forum for a bit I couldn't see if this had mentioned.

If you are thinking of getting a new machine in the near future (especially a Mac) you may wish to wait.

I was going to buy a new Mac, but a PC guy I know said I should wait until Apple go over to Intell Processors as it is 'likely' that as well as being better machines it's possible that they may have the ability to be 'booted up' to run on either OSX or Windows operating systems. Two machines for the price of one.

Just something to think about. If anyone knows anything more 'concrete' about this subject I'd be happy to hear. Apple seem to be very quiet about it (especially on their site) they probably don't want to effect current sales.
Steven
 
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The development intel based power macs (according to rumor) will boot XP, but the video is broken and funky. I would be surprised if this issue isn't resolved by the time it comes to market...apple won't let XP play on their hardware. They have always preached the concept of controlling the "whole" user experience. This is from when the user opens the box until they remove the machine from their desk and dispose of it. That and every thing inbetween. For now, the test boxes are mostly just rebranded off the shelf PC's, but I'm sure that will change. I personally don't blame them. I've watched the development of windows over the years and have often wondered how much smaller and less complex that operating system would be if they would stop supporting 30 year old daisy wheel tractor feed printers (single example). Apple is great at cutting off old technology and sticking to the latest and greatest. They have a culture of pushing the envelope with what could be. USB adoption, CD adoption, killing the floppy drive.

That being said, Apple is a hardware company and they make their money on hardware. I feel that Apple has a legitimate option to allow XP to boot and run on their hardware...let's be honest, it's great looking hardware. I see a viral marketing campaign happening with Apple selling boxes that'll run XP, but ship with OSX. The windows users will have their Apple/Windows box sitting on their desk happily with that little OSX DVD hanging out in their drawer whispering; "Drink me". More sales is a good thing, it means market share and they can erode the PC market from there. Too many people think that Apple and Microsoft are rivals...that's not true, Apple is a hardware company, Apple and Dell are rivals...Apple needs to beat them. Strangely enough, if you look at the market share numbers vs. any PC manufacturer, you'll see that Apple is quite competitive! All we are ever shown though is the OS comparisons in which Apple has ~5% Market share. About the same market share as BMW.

I never buy anything first generation in technology, I wait until other people have test driven it for me...I recommend you wait until june or july to see how the intel changeover affects your purchasing decision. Or, just take the bite now. The current crop of machines are very nice.
 
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I agree.

I've been caught out (or rather the companies I've worked for have) by first generation technology before.

I work on a new G5 at work and it's pretty good. I don't like all the bells and whistles they've put OSX (I've only just made the change from the old system).

I'm still tempted to wait, every last drop of speed is important when dealing with media files, plus I'll be able to play games on it ;)

Steven
 
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Apple aren't going to allow XP to boot up on their machines. This year there has been a lot of debate amongst large corporate users about the expense of running windows based machines, simply because they are too vunerable to viruses and therefore cost a fortune to maintain an infrastructure on.

Lots of these guys are talking about ditching their entire PC inventory and starting again with Macs, whose operating language is inherently less susceptable. With this swing in mood within the business sector Apple only really need to hold fast. To allow XP anywhere near their hardware would be suicidal.
 
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I guess you could wait, but you may be waiting forever. Just like those waiting for affordable HD instead of shooting now. It's technology. There's always something new coming.
 
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clive said:
Lots of these guys are talking about ditching their entire PC inventory and starting again with Macs, whose operating language is inherently less susceptable.
Click to expand...
Say it ain't so! The more people using the Mac OS, the more people will write viruses (viri?) for it.

Keep spreading the word: Mac's no good. PC's good!

But seriously folks....

Is the Mac OS really less susceptable? Or is it just that a virus for the Mac won't cause much of a stir because there are so few of us using it?
 
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The OS still has the weakest vulnerability of all...the user. As long as humans click on that link, virii will spread. The system is geared to be more robust, but no one uses it correctly to make it that strong. Most Mac users run as admin on their systems all the time and don't tend to think twice about typing in their password when asked.

This OS (BSD-Darwin) is built on a long history of patching holes based on peer review. It is based on one of the most secure installs out of the box of any of the unix installs. I agree that more users will write more virii, but apple has been very aggressive about offering patches and security updates. I know that my computer will be relatively safe becuase I'm paranoid about things like that, but others may not be so lucky.

Bring it on. We've been spoiled so far, let's put our money where our mouth is and see how our OS deals with the virii. I wouldn't mind getting all the good games first now that bungie is dead (long live bungie).
 
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directorik said:
Thanks, knightly.

Even though I've been a Mac user since 1987 I really don't know much about the computer or it's running system.
Click to expand...

Is that a sarcastic thanks? ;) I'm open to any questions you may have regarding the transition to intel, virii based on market share or best security practices...it's what I do for a living.

I don't feel the intel switchover can be anything other than good for the Macintosh platform. Games will be able to be ported much more easily (as will other applications). I mention games because the adoption rate of a platform is based not only upon the capabilities of the platform, but what software is available for the platform.

Most parents buy home computers based on what their kids recommend (ever play video games against an 11 year old?)...the kids recommend the platforms with the latest and greatest games. If Apple can get this one thing to change with the intel changeover, it will have been worth it, never mind the competition between Intel and AMD driving clock speeds up and power consumption down in their chips...and the customer savings based on price competition.
 
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I for one would welcome any advice you had on security for macs. My mac is my business and like many mac users I'm more interested, in the main, in the creative applications rather than the basics like security.
 
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A quick update on this subject.

Apparently, Steve Jobs (Mr Apple) says that you WILL be able to run whatever you want on the new Intel Mac. It just won't work the other way around i.e. you won't be able to run OSX on a P.C. (or at least they'll try to stop you).

It may not be straight forward, but it would be worth a it.

Duel booting here we come.

Steven
 
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I'd wait until the machines are released...I'm sure they won't intend to be used that way, but someone will figure out how. Either way it will be good for apple - They are a hardware company, they don't make much profit with software, it's there to serve the sales of hardware where they make their money. This has always been the case with apple and will continue to be so into the forseeable future. They compete with dell for market share, not microsoft.
 
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StevenUK said:
Apparently, Steve Jobs (Mr Apple) says that you WILL be able to run whatever you want on the new Intel Mac. It just won't work the other way around i.e. you won't be able to run OSX on a P.C. (or at least they'll try to stop you).
Click to expand...

Do you have a link on this subject? I checked news.com.com, and it seems like this would be HUGE story if true. I think the friend of the friend may have said it's possible to run windows on an Intel Mac, not it will be allowed and encouraged.
 
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