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April 19, 2006 Digg | del.icio.us | Facebook | newsvine | Reddit
Multiple OSs on a Mac
The recent announcement that Apple Computer will allow drive partitioning on the Mac (via a software download called Boot Camp), as well as the more seamless, higher-performing virtual machine solution offered by Parallels.com, will go a long way towards helping Apple regain its long-lost market share in personal computing, and especially in the laptop market. Finally, users can put Microsoft Windows - and Windows-based applications - on a Mac.

For far too long, switching to an Apple was a bit like buying a used Mercedes: the real cost came in the money you had to spend after the initial purchase. With a Mercedes, you might spend a few thousand dollars to buy an old but extremely well-taken-care-of vehicle, thinking you've just got a great bargain. Only afterwards do you realize how much money you must spend on upkeep.

Making the switch from an Intel-based Windows machine to a PowerPC-enabled Macintosh meant not only buying the more expensive Apple computer, but buying all new software to replace the Intel-based apps that ran on the Windows machine - a task that could potentially cost thousands of dollars, depending on the user. This made the price of switching to a Mac too prohibitive for most consumers.

With the 2005 introduction of Intel-based Macs, in addition to the new software from Parallels, the price of "making the switch" has just been reduced significantly, and as time goes by, this should help Apple increase its market share.

More and more, users are appreciative of a well-designed, high-quality machine, and are willing to spend more money for this "luxury." Think of your own needs: if you're buying a computer that will last you four to five years, are you willing to spend an extra $1000 to get better performance and fewer headaches? Many of us would, especially with the ever-increasing sophistication of our computing.

The bottom line: as more Windows applications run on Apple machines, more users will buy Apple Computers. And the more this happens, the easier it will be for Apple to attract consumers to Apple's software products.