So, since you guys are all, or many of you are, Apple guys....what do you think about the changes from IBM to Intel chips? Being a non-Apple person, I don't think it will make much difference, and I guess the preview cases look pretty much like the current G5's.

To me, it's a sign that the best is getting better.

I don't think it will have any difference in Apple's market share. Computer users have long since demonstrated a preference for inferior technology, in both hardware and software. Regardless of Apple's technological superiority, the Macintosh will continue to be a niche market. In fact, I'll even go so far as to predict that when Steve Jobs dies (as we all will someday), so will Apple.

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Apple may have leverage to do more as well.

The intel move has most people confused - the explicit reasons don't seem that strong. Curiously Microsoft started using the exact chips for the game box as Apple stopped using them.

The opening question really is how will Windows/Apps run on the Mac intel hardware? If so the Macs may significantly spread and then the OS behind it. How many adware/spyware/viri incidents do you need? Some are proposing there will be a virus sent out that will nuke 80% of the machines out there someday....

As for Apple surviving Jobs' passing.... interesting question....

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While I continue to struggle with access to the internet at least my work has managed to get me a new intel-based Mac (have to keep abreast of new things so as tech support can prepare and anticipate obstacles.) And right after that Apple came out with Boot Camp which yes sure enough manages to run Windows XP just fine thanks!

How's *that* for a development!

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Hey it's great to see you here. Hope your problems are solved soon, we really miss you.

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I don't think it will solve much, really. Mac has had several opportunities to share the market and have turned them down. So the number of new mac users is still declining and the number of new windows users is still increasing. The new chip will allow macs to run windows, but that sort of defeats the whole purpose. I'm well trained cross platform, the training for mac coming directly from Macintosh, and I STILL think that when it comes to high end graphics and sound, Mac can't be beat. When it comes to everything else, Mac can't hold a candle. If they continue to shun the general market, they would probably do best to just specialize, because those graphics and sound applications could become even better.

The new multiprocessor chips that are being designed by both intel and amd for pc's will most likely cut even more heavily into the mac market share, because they are even more powerful than RISC processing, and mac hasn't really don't much with that technology. They've had it now for many years, and could be WAY out in front of the pack, especialy in the field of virtual reality, but they've concentrated on other things instead. I really would have loved to see what a merger of Mac technology and Windows technology would have been...the user would have benefitted the most, but neither Mac nor MS would have been as happy. Better for me, worse for them...isn't that the way it really should be?

I don't think you are correct in either absolute numbers or in terms of percentages. Significant increases are found in universities.


The internet is alive with argument about this. Points are to be had on both sides. Some note that the Macs will benefit from a side-by-side comparison on the same hardware. These Macs have already been shown to compare very favorably with otherwise equivolent (at least by Ghz in CPUs) machines nominally coming with Windows. Whether support for Windows on a Mac will reach the point it's widespread or not may not be the point. There has been a persistent limitation of browser access from the Mac side and now there is something of a solution for those that simply must run Windows for certain applications. Of course secondary booting isn't the best answer - but virtualization is already available if not for free.

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