Windows on Apple

Here is a response to Jean-Paul’s article on Apple’s support for Windows on it’s new MacBooks.

One thing though, it’s going to be easy to give something but to take it back, it will be harder. In this case I mean support for Windows. I don’t they’ll [Apple] ever discontinue support for Windows.

I mean JP is right, it will certainly increase Apple’s share of the market with the most difference being made to those who are switchers by giving them the flexibility to choose what OS to run.

I think what we really want to see in this industry is a reasonable division of the market share. I’m not saying (at least for the time being) that Microsoft will totally die like in the next 10 years, but instead that a good 35-40% market share be achieved and maintained because let’s face it, competition encourages growth and increases the quality of the service or product.

All along we’ve been seeing Microsoft dominating the market and as a result the company has had some awful business practices in the past few years, blame greed if you will, it’s only saviour being it’s $50 billion cash in the bank to get it past all those lawsuits.

So, like many things I believe this is part of the same strategy that spawned the Ipod and the Mac Mini. Let me elaborate the Ipod certainly got Apple the attention it deserved by combining new music technology with the legendary Apple brand. The same with the Mac Mini, many people (including myself, after only just having bought another computer 2 months prior ( to join the band because it was a) cheaper b) a small package that plays with the psychology of humans and easily convinces us and c) if you’re kind of into computers you would see this Apple tidal wave coming in and you’d want be there.

Let me summarize: The new system is good for swtichers.
It will encourage people to compare side-by-side Windows and Mac OS X.
The new system will seduce people in using Mac OS X but will it really foster growth, such as in the area of games, i.e. people will still run Windows for games?
You can’t support Windows today (do you think Apple really wants to) and not support it the next year – you will have some very angry customers.

Well anyway even those points are subject to change and everything is in fact a matter of time and what happens in the next 6 months.