Dell Speaks About Mac OS X

In case there was any doubt before, hell has indeed frozen over. Seeing Intel reps giddy to be working with Apple was one thing, but Michael Dell openly stated:

If Apple decides to open the Mac OS to others, we would be happy to offer it to our customers.

Now, the significance here is not so much that he is willing to bundle Mac OS X, but that he's willing to talk about it publicly.

Interestingly, the article also notes a reader suggestion on how to handle some of the more blunt the user experience issues of Mac OS X running on generic x86 hardware:

Apple should license the next version of its operating system, known as Leopard, but only to PC vendors who agree to put it on systems with certain specifications. He also speculates that Apple would, in such a scenario, insist on a minimum system price.

As of yesterday, I just couldn't see Mac OS X licensing working any time soon. But you know, this just might work. It's still ways out there, and this adds another dimension to managing revenue, but it's at least conceivable.

The industry's most basic problem is user experience. The consumer thinks they are buying a single product, a computer. In reality, they're buying software from one company and hardware from another.

Technology companies are really comfortable with the idea of separation between hardware and software, perhaps because this is the Microsoft model. The problem is that Microsoft wasn't successful just because they chose this model, and this model is not necessarily the best thing for the user.

To make a truly easy-to-use product, I really believe you need hardware that is designed for the software and vice-versa. This is why game consoles are so wildly successful. No one wants to muck around with hardware, operating systems, drivers, and so on just to run games.

Releasing a version of Mac OS X for generic x86 boxes would be counterproductive. It would reinforce the design mentality that is driving consumers crazy. They just want the thing to work. A standardized hardware platform is at least a suggestion that can be discussed.

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