Is Apple Proprietary?
Ross Snowden and I have been interacting online for a while. He emailed me again last night:
I watched a video (or perhaps it was the live feed on your site) a couple of evenings ago. You were reading a letter you received from someone who mentioned they might consider switching to the Mac operating system, and you were impressed that he considered the possibility and wasn’t strictly against the idea.
I believe the video is forthcoming, so you must have watched it as we recorded it live.
I, myself, would also not be opposed to using the Mac OS, but the only thing keeping me from doing so is that the Mac uses proprietary hardware, if I’m not mistaken. You made it sound as though the Apple used the same hardware as the PC, but isn’t that just for some of the components? If that was true, I would be able to install Leopard without any problem on my machine, no? I will try it out when, and if (and that’s a big if), Apple decides to release an operating system that installs on regular PC hardware. I would consider it, though.
ATI is proprietary? NVIDIA is proprietary? Intel is proprietary? EFI is proprietary? You, and millions of others, are sadly mistaken. Apple’s Intel computers will run a full-blown installation of Windows (just as easily as they can run a copy of Mac OS X). Moreover, it’s not really Apple’s own hardware – it’s Apple’s computer, comprised largely of countless components from third-party vendors.
It’s not the hardware itself that’s proprietary, nor is it necessarily the software itself (the OS). It’s Apple’s choice to restrict the types of machines that its operating system can run on – as it’s been proven that Mac OS X can indeed run on non-Apple hardware. It’s a proprietary cocktail, but not because of raw hardware or software limitations.
Apple controls the entire “ecosystem,” and you need to think long and hard about why that’s not so horrible for consumers. I’ve written (and talked) about this several times in the past.
Until then, I’ll stick with Vista, which, for the record, has not crashed or given me any BSOD whatsoever. In fact, for me, on my new hardware, this has been the most stable version of Windows I have ever used, and I’m using the 64 bit version!
Good for you (seriously). I’ll also stick with Vista… in a VMware virtual machine on my Mac OS X desktop.
8 Comments
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June 2nd, 2008
at 12:19am
shut, tightly integrated ecosystem. And yet many of us, myself included, regularly deride Microsoft, not Apple, for being proprietary … Source:The Open Road Share This Share This
edavidburg
January 31st, 2008
at 4:03pm
Apple only has one chip in the computer which could be considered “proprietary.” There’s a “Trusted Platform Module” on the motherboard whose presence is necessary for OSX to allow itself to install.
foxtrot_MGS
January 31st, 2008
at 4:51pm
I’ve thought about this as well. The idea of having OSX on a PC gets me excited. I’ve heard about friends doing it, according to him you need some specific hard ware and a dual core processor. I don’t think apple would ever officially release a OS for windows though. Just think about how many Mac computers can’t easily be opened for hard ware upgrading by the owner. Apple doesn’t want you using all these different hard ware parts, that’s not how Steve Jobs “rolls.” Apple wants you to use their stuff, their apps and, their products.
eidorian
January 31st, 2008
at 5:31pm
For the love of god, people have to realize that Apple’s controlled ecosystem (development of hardware and software) offers a richness unseen on the Windows platform. Apple machines are now value packed and more flexible than Windows-based machines.
Freeman
February 1st, 2008
at 10:57pm
remember some parts of a apple computer are made and manufactured by apple. yes there are som parts that are made by other campanies but some are custum made to the apple computer. I.E. the macbook Air is the only subnotebook to have a intel core 2 cpu the size of a nickle. and also the hardware of the mac is best utilised for mac OSX.
Apple posts - The Open Road - The Business and Politics of Open Source by Matt Asay - CNET News.com
June 8th, 2008
at 8:58pm
[...] Let’s face it: Apple is every bit as proprietary as Microsoft. More so, in fact. Apple takes secrecy to new levels. It prefers to build everything itself and maintains a closed, tightly integrated ecosystem. [...]
Justin L
January 20th, 2009
at 11:07am
what’s good for the goose is good for the gander: it’s inherently fallacious to suggest that proprietary designs are a horrible act of anti-competitive consumer shackling when it’s anyone but apple, and a wonderful feat of ensured compatibility when it’s apple.
the slogan that eliminating competition reduces the risk of compatibility issues would work everywhere. microsoft’s efforts to keep competitors out of its “ecosystem” are just as speciously pro-user in that it keeps out potentially incompatible third party components.
what it really boils down to is that apple wants computer sales, and they tie as many products to their computers (often indirectly via osx) as possible. it is exactly the same as microsoft’s efforts to shackle functionality to windows whenever possible, except that windows users tend to acknowledge the problem, rather than distorting the truth.
jiMMy
January 29th, 2009
at 11:03am
before buying mac, consider this. today, it is possible to install a full-blown windows os on a mac via bootcamp. however, you must realize that your videocard/keyboard/mouse are not the same as those on a generic pc.
if they are, how come you can’t download/install off-the-shelf drivers directly from nvidia/ati site on your freshly-installed windows os. instead you have to rely on apple to provide drivers for them which may be several releases behind those from nvidia/ati site.
what guarantee do we have that apple will continue to provide frequent driver releases for their rival’s os to fix bugs in the latest games?
will apple continue to support these drivers should a future service-pack break certain driver compatibility?
will apple continue to show interest in supporting osx/windows or is it a marketing ploy to get users to buy their hardware?
will linux install as easily?
what guarantee do we have that apple will continue to provide drivers for their rival’s future windows releases like windows 7?
or do you need to buy a newer apple hardware to get newer version of osx/bootcamp/drivers to install newer window releases?
with generic pc, your slightly older hardware will always have an upgrade path if you are short on $.
in short, anytime apple decides to pull the plug on supporting their rival’s os for whatever reasons, you will end up with an expensive paperweight because your favourite apps/games on windows won’t run because of newer service-pack/drivers combination.
if you wanna buy mac, buy it solely to enjoy the beautiful osx and be content with using it for daily surfing, listening to music & watching video. just don’t buy it thinking you purchased a generic hardware like a pc to play games casually. it may never last, those good times. only future will tell…