Microsoft Acquires VPC from Connectix

mcqmcq
Posted:
in Mac Software edited January 2014
<a href="http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/0302/19.macbu.php"; target="_blank">http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/0302/19.macbu.php</a>;



[quote]

Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday announced that they had acquired Connectix Corp.'s Virtual PC products, including Virtual PC for Mac, Virtual PC for Windows and Virtual Server. Microsoft also hired many of the Connectix employees that worked on the products to continue development.



"What this means for Mac users is that Microsoft's Macintosh Business Unit (MacBU) will be responsible for supporting and shipping all current versions of Virtual PC and development for all future versions of the product," Tim McDonough, director of marketing and business development for the Macintosh Business Unit, told MacCentral. <hr></blockquote>
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 89
    cygsidcygsid Posts: 210member
    OMG!!

    You try to cut them loose on the browser and office front and they come back by an even bigger door: Virtual PC!!!!!!!



    So much for Apple's independence from Microsoft. Maybe it's MS's response to Safari and Keynote.
  • Reply 2 of 89
    tulkastulkas Posts: 3,757member
    This is not good news. If MS and Apple get on bad terms again, MS can strangle them with this one. Apple has been able to argue that if you need to co-exist in a Windows world, there was always Office and VPC for non-Mac version software. Well, now they control both of those.
  • Reply 3 of 89
    artman @_@artman @_@ Posts: 2,546member
    This poses a LOT of questions...I am speechless right now....One bad scenario is that M$ could cut off VPC and Office now to Apple...and that's all folks.



    Good scenario is M$ re-writing and de-bugging VPC so it'll actually would work on OSX.



    We'll have to see where this'll take Apple...
  • Reply 4 of 89
    piwozniakpiwozniak Posts: 815member
    <img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[oyvey]" />
  • Reply 5 of 89
    a@rona@ron Posts: 201member
    I suspect this is why Apple and MS were talking late last week. Anyone remember that or am I in a RDF?



    A@ron
  • Reply 6 of 89
    aquaticaquatic Posts: 5,602member
    this is either really bad or really good. Hopefully they'll update it more frequently than RDC.
  • Reply 7 of 89
    blue2kdaveblue2kdave Posts: 652member
    Wow, this could turn out to be very bad news. What if the thought of MS is that rather than produce Mac-specific apps like Office X, they would simply create a "super" VPC and tell mac users to run everyhting through VPC?



    Somehow I don't see this turning out well.
  • Reply 8 of 89
    spindlerspindler Posts: 713member
    Let's not lose our heads. If Connectix can produce Virtual PC, I'm sure Apple can do the same thing if they really need to. Giving away a free copy with every Mac would be such a gain for Apple that it would more than make up for the cost of designing it.
  • Reply 9 of 89
    fawkesfawkes Posts: 80member
    This is scary not because of the potential of killing off VPC, but rather that the MacBU could conceivably reduce its product line to 1: VPC. The threat of no more Mac-native apps from Microsoft looms large with this move.



    [ 02-19-2003: Message edited by: Fawkes ]</p>
  • Reply 10 of 89
    muahmuah Posts: 165member
    I get images of Darth Vader saying "See to it that this does not happen again." as he points his fingers at Steve. Steve grasps his throat, feeling his air being cut off.
  • Reply 11 of 89
    thegeldingthegelding Posts: 3,230member
    it is very scary, except....if microsoft buys connectix and then tries to kill VPC then it is right back to court as a abuse of monopoly power...buying a company to kill a product that further tightens a monopoly grip of 95% plus would be looked on very poorly by the courts....perhaps apple can even win a case against ms if that happens...g
  • Reply 12 of 89
    artman @_@artman @_@ Posts: 2,546member
    Wait...<a href="http://www.crn.com/sections/BreakingNews/breakingnews.asp?ArticleID=40038"; target="_blank">it's getting better</a>..."Microsoft To Buy Connectix To Enter Server Consolidation Market"



    They scooped up ALL of Connectix? :eek:
  • Reply 13 of 89
    ast3r3xast3r3x Posts: 5,012member
    [quote]Originally posted by thegelding:

    <strong>it is very scary, except....if microsoft buys connectix and then tries to kill VPC then it is right back to court as a abuse of monopoly power...buying a company to kill a product that further tightens a monopoly grip of 95% plus would be looked on very poorly by the courts....perhaps apple can even win a case against ms if that happens...g</strong><hr></blockquote>



    no no, see MS is more unstopable then the record industry, they dont lose court cases (even if they lose, they still win...ie giving free windows to schools to pay part of its debt)
  • Reply 14 of 89
    spiffsterspiffster Posts: 327member
    All of you are overracting.



    M$ just went throught how many years of anti-trust lawsuits. They'd have to be nuts to do any of the stuff your saying. Just think how bad they'd be screwed if they took away office of VPC.



    Sure, they'res aways a chance, but a bad one at that.
  • Reply 15 of 89
    flounderflounder Posts: 2,674member
    Raide your hand if you think VPC performance will get better with microsoft at the helm (as I sit with my hands quietly folded in my lap).
  • Reply 16 of 89
    satchmosatchmo Posts: 2,699member
    I guess that's what happens when you awaken the giant in hibernation during the winter.

    Apple had to see this coming or some sort of retalitory measure for Safari and the Switch campaign.

    The only way to really ever break from the grips of the goliath MS, is to start gaining marketshare back. But alas, Apple doesn't seem to serious about that. Then again, perhaps Jobs and Gates are closer than we know and are pulling one big one over everyone.
  • Reply 17 of 89
    mcqmcq Posts: 1,543member
    From C|Net's Article:



    A Microsoft executive said the company did not purchase the software to kill it, nor does Microsoft plan to stop developing its native Macintosh software, such as the Mac OS X version of Office.
  • Reply 18 of 89
    defiantdefiant Posts: 4,876member
    [quote]Originally posted by Artman @_@:

    <strong>Wait...<a href="http://www.crn.com/sections/BreakingNews/breakingnews.asp?ArticleID=40038"; target="_blank">it's getting better</a>..."Microsoft To Buy Connectix To Enter Server Consolidation Market"



    They scooped up ALL of Connectix? :eek: </strong><hr></blockquote>



    yep. they were looking for the 'virtual server software' from Connectix.
  • Reply 19 of 89
    artman @_@artman @_@ Posts: 2,546member
    [quote]Originally posted by satchmo:

    <strong>I guess that's what happens when you awaken the giant in hibernation during the winter.

    Apple had to see this coming or some sort of retalitory measure for Safari and the Switch campaign.

    The only way to really ever break from the grips of the goliath MS, is to start gaining marketshare back. But alas, Apple doesn't seem to serious about that. Then again, perhaps Jobs and Gates are closer than we know and are pulling one big one over everyone.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    I've always have that in the back of my mind. I read a Forbes (Fourtune?) interview with Jobs where he mentions that he and Gates's families having dinner together and shit...creepy. <img src="graemlins/bugeye.gif" border="0" alt="[Skeptical]" />
  • Reply 20 of 89
    satchmosatchmo Posts: 2,699member
    [quote]Originally posted by MCQ:

    <strong>From C|Net's Article:



    A Microsoft executive said the company did not purchase the software to kill it, nor does Microsoft plan to stop developing its native Macintosh software, such as the Mac OS X version of Office.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Perhaps not now...but it's their little ace in the hole. Frankly it sometimes amazes me why MS even cares what Apple does since it hardly a threat.

    Other than us folks here at AI, the world is PC centric and the topic of whether something is Mac compatible rarely is even spoken of in day to day usage.
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