On 09.08.2006 dc wrote:
And even if it isn't, why couldn't the OS itself be profitable if it could compete and compare favorably with other OS's?
Well, because their current market share is rather small compared to Windows. Their development effort is at least as big as MS's, if not a lot bigger.
Isn't this discussion going into a rather strange direction? As far as I can see all Darcy was trying to work out was whether the current MacPros are priced comparably to a similar Windows machine.
What would be rather interesting is whether someone can find a source for buying a similar PC, with similar components for less than what Dell is offering.
It is true that the Mac Pros cannot be configured similarly to a mid-range PC. Whether we would like to see such mid-range MacIntels is a completely different question. I am sure Apple has enough market analysts employed to make that decision for themselves, whether we like the result or not. They are a company, they try to make money, and if a mid-range tower, with a single Core Duo 2 promises to generate more money for Apple we will undoubtedly see those quite soon.
Making the MacOS available for any Windows PC is a step which so far Apple is unwilling to take. I think it is quite clear that they fear the loss of their hardware department, simply because in that kind of competition it will be hard to sell any machines. Apple makes most of their money with hardware, not software, so the loss of hardware sales does count more than the potential increase in software sales.
Their hope, quite obviously, is to attract Windows users to Dual Boot machines, which, at least officially, only Apple can make. They have the monopoly, and as long as they do it makes no sense for them to let others have even a tiny bite of that market.
Johannes -- http://www.musikmanufaktur.com http://www.camerata-berolinensis.de _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale