Apple to Ship a Windows Mac

This editorial is not about Mac vs. PC, which is better and which is worse. Rather, it is about the myths that have surrounded the Macintosh platform that have created false perceptions that continue to hound the Mac platform today. Macs are expensive. Macs are toys. There isn't any software for the Mac. Macs are only good for graphics. Macs aren't good business computers. Macs aren't compatible with PCs. Macs don't do Windows. These are just a sampling of the many myths that have plagued the Macintosh platform for years, but should have been dismissed with the introduction of Mac OS X more than six years ago. Perhaps some of these myths have a basis in fact. In the early days, Macs may not have had the power to crunch numbers the way PCs could. It is probably true that there are many more PC-only software apps than there are Mac-only software apps, which might make it seem there is a lack of Mac software. Macs did pioneer the desktop publishing revolution and computer graphics, so it shouldn't come as a big surprise that Macs continue to be regarded as graphic computers today. Macintosh computers may not be the least expensive computers on the market, but they are certainly much more affordable than ever before. And, at some point, cheap computers must fall prey to quality control issues.

Since Apple's “Boot Camp” announcement yesterday, I've received half a dozen phone calls and visits from friends and family -- mind you, I said friends and family -- who are very excited that “Apple is going make a Mac that can run Windows.” One of my closest friends even told me that he was sure that Apple was going to ship a computer that runs only Windows, and he was excited and happy about that. AND HE THOUGHT THAT I SHOULD BE EXCITED AND HAPPY, TOO! I just had to ask him, “Paul (not his real name), why should I be excited, even if it were true, that Apple would be selling a Windows Macintosh?” That sounds so stupid. And Paul replied, “Because now you'll sell a bunch of them!” Unfortunately he may be correct.

Myth and perception... Perception and myth... For over twenty years I have done my best and tried my darnedest to help the Mac platform overcome the Macintosh myths that have forged people's perception about the Macintosh computer. Like clay pigeons, I have shot down and shattered myth after myth, and yet, the perceptions persist. I asked Paul whether or not he realized that Macs could already run Windows, and he looked at me like a confused puppy dog. I asked him if he had ever heard of Virtual PC, and he said that he had, but he wasn't sure what it was. And yet, now, he's all excited because it appears that Apple has finally embraced the Almighty Windows operating system, not to mention, the Intel processor. I think I'm going to be sick. Macs already do Windows with Virtual PC. Why isn't Virtual PC enough? Why do we have to turn our Macs into a living, breathing Windows PCs before the business world accepts them as a viable choice for enterprise? And will they even then, or will the Mac myths and perceptions endure?

People just don't get it -- even my friends and family don't get it, and it just goes to prove that perceptions are difficult obstacles to overcome, even if the perceptions are false. Although these myths are all outdated and no longer apply, rarely does a day go by that someone doesn't ask me about these myths and whether they are true. This fact really hits home when those closest to me make these same assumptions, and I realize that I haven't even been able to change their perceptions about the Mac platform.

So Apple is going to build into the next version of its operating system, Mac OS X v. 10.5 (Leopard), the ability to install and run Windows XP natively on its Intel processors. They will not sell Windows XP, and they will not support Windows XP, but it will run without the help of emulator software. It won't be an option like Virtual PC where you can run both Mac OS X and Windows at the same time, but rather an either, or option. I understand this is a logical and strategic move, and I believe in giving people choices. I also think it would be wise to release a version of the Mac OS X operating system that can be installed on PC clones, but Apple says that won't happen.

Finally Macs will be able to run Windows-only applications at speeds it has never been able to achieve before. So now is the time to slough off all of these aged myths and judge the Mac for what it is today and what it promises to become tomorrow. Apple hardware design, Intel processors and Mac OS X all coming together to form a computer unlike any the world has ever seen before. Does this make the Mac better than any other PC? Perhaps not, but it should definitely open our eyes and make us realize that any limitation we may have placed on the Mac yesterday, no longer applies today.

Hey? Have you been sleeping? Did you hear what I've been saying? What's that? Yes, it is very exciting news; Apple is going to start shipping a Windows Macintosh... sigh...