Thoughts on Apple and Microsoft

There's a good movie that you should see. Pirates of Silicon Valley. It does have some offensive content, but the plot is quite enjoyable. It's the story of Apple's and Microsoft's beginnings in the late '70s and early '80s. After watching it, I realized that Apple actually fits my personality more because I like to break conformity, innovate with change, and push beyond what everyone knows. However, I like the power that traditional x86 systems (Windows) give. Terminology will get so hard when the Mattels are released. It hasn't been "Mac vs. PC" for several years because both platforms are PCs ("personal computer"), "Mac vs. IBM" really never applied after computers stopped being called "IBM-compatible" and it was further undefined when Apple switched to IBM for the G5 CPUs, I hear many people refer to it as "Mac vs. Intel" but that obviously won't apply after Mattels are sold, and with the hardware trends and Linux popularity, you really can't even say "Mac vs. Windows" anymore in reference to a system's hardware configuration. Didn't I make this prediction a couple years ago? That Mac OS would run on traditional "Windows" hardware, and that the PC of the future would have three OS choices: Windows, OS X, or Linux (any of it's several dozen distributions). Steve Jobs claims Apple to be in the hardware business, but I can see them someday splitting just like Microsoft is doing right now. Apple will perhaps have three divisions:

• Software—Mac OS, iLife, iWork, their Photoshop competition-wannabe (Aperture), Final Cut Pro, etc.
• Entertainment hardware—iPods, the ROKR phone, and their many future entertainment products. I can see Apple buying Griffin to accomplish this
• PC hardware—Mac PCs, Airport networking, and dozens of "iStuffs"

Windows-based systems have the sticker, "Designed for Windows XP." Can't you see multiple manufacturers releasing systems with a new sticker, "Designed for Mac OS"? Apple has the edge on entertainment. Jobs owns Pixar, Apple made the yet-unbeaten iPod, they have iTunes for both OS platforms, and Jobs also owns Industrial Light & Magic (the leading 3D animation studio). Apple has a reputation for making cool products, and the price always reflects that. Apple is like the Jaguar of cars—they are mostly about the appearance and experience. They are the innovators in the market. The Windows world, however, is about power—from all aspects. Gates wants power, and he has that by controlling the huge majority of the international PC market. If you want power over your own computer, you're a better fit for a Windows-based system because users can customize almost anything about the hardware or software. Windows is like the Chevy, Honda, or Ford of cars—reliable, durable, trustworthy, and easy to maintain. I have many thoughts about the new iMac and the direction of iTunes that I'll share later. (WOW! A whole iTunes version number leap in just a few weeks! Do they think that we're stupid? Answer: one-button mouse—they do.) An avid Mac fan and my colleague Rod Martin has some interesting thoughts and a video clip regarding the new, which "wasn't supposed to be!" Later, I'll do my own post on this with some video. Before anyone from either camp starts to shoot me, I'll say in no uncertain terms that I am now 100% 50% for both sides. But I still haven't had time to play in the Linux world.