Drunk on Vista
Cringely hears from a friend who heard from Microsoft engineers that IntelMacs will run Windows Vista so fast that there will be no need for OS X. Here’s the scoop:
The story came to me, as many do, from a reader. He’s the night auditor at a hotel, and one evening around 2AM, found across from his Front Desk seven somewhat intoxicated Microsoft engineers who wanted to order morning wakeup calls. They started talking and my reader asked if Intel Macs would ever run Windows? That’s all it took to start a 20-minute presentation (obviously prepared and long-practiced) on that exact subject, how Intel Macs will run Windows Vista very well, thank you. Not only that, but the Microsoft engineers were convinced Vista would be so superior that nobody would need OS X again.
Notice that these dudes were drunk. There is no way Apple would abandon OS X. They will make it sleeker, faster, more secure, easier to program and better UI design before Windows Vista arrives in 2007.
Why would I also want to pay for all new apps? Look at the pro apps make makes: Final Cut Pro, Aperture. Have these been ported to Windows yet? Does windows offer the same functionality as OS X? Can windows offer the same types of programming styles that OS X? Tiger was marketed as Longhorn before Longhorn has arrived. Look at the iLife suite. Besides iTunes, are there ports of GarageBand, iMovie, iPhoto even iWeb coming soon? So if, Apple abandons OS X to be these great (and free at time of purchase) apps must be replaced or you the consumer is taking a step back in functionality.
Cringely has lately been believing that Apple is going to be the next greatest Windows OEM vendor. Why sell shit? OS X will not be dead in a long while. Plus, do you know how many developers that would just piss off?
