Linked by Thom Holwerda on Fri 28th Aug 2009 22:05 UTC
The week isn't even over yet, and we already have another instalment in the Apple-Psystar soap opera. Psystar has filed a new lawsuit in the Florida Southern District Court in Miami, asking for an injunction and damages because of Apple's "anticompetitive attempts to tie Mac OS X Snow Leopard to its Macintosh line of computers".
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Member since:
2005-06-29
Your inflammatory language notwithstanding, you are correct: Windows is "good enough" for the masses, especially now that Windows 7 is out. It's not really cheaper though, unless you are talking about the total cost of the computer (hardware and software), and even there one could argue perceived value. As I've said before, it all comes down to money. Apple firmly believes they will lose more on hardware sales than they will gain in OS sales, especially when you figure in losses due to rising support costs.
After reading the exhausting but quite comprehensive review of Snow Leopard at Ars Technica, I'm inclined to believe that Apple is also quite proud of their achievements and are wary of seeing their baby on unsupported hardware. After all, most of the improvements in SL are geared towards developers whose projects are tied to the popularity of the Mac ecosystem. If OS X becomes just another OS then why not jump ship to Windows or even Linux?
I think that's another big issue; the Mac has always been and always will be a niche product. Apple likes it that way. They are a brand, a fashion statement, a social club where the price of admittance is the iMac on your desk or the MacBook in your lap.
I'm a poor man by most standards; I struggle to pay my mortgage and car payment and I work for the local government. Yet I have owned several Macs in my life and when the time comes I'll own another one (I no longer count the Performa 460 up in the attic). The thing is, I don't like Apple as much for the glamour as I do for the technical aspects of their OS. I'd love to be able to run OS X without a hitch on this machine, but it's an AMD box with very little OS X-friendly hardware. In the past it's been worth the extra money to buy a refurb Mac to get OS X; now that SL is only $30 perhaps even I can afford to build a "clone" of my own and for once have the best of both worlds.
Edited 2009-09-02 17:02 UTC