Mac OS on Dells?

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
Engadget reports that Apple OS X is now appearing in the driver download area of the Dell support pages. I decided to check for myself and there it is, Mac drivers for the XPS 400. When you look at the drivers, they don't appear to be for the Mac, except for a Mac specific driver for the Dell 1815dn laser printer. Of course, I would be delighted if Dell offered one of their desktop systems with Mac OS X. It's the only thing that would make me go back to Dell.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 59
    dhagan4755dhagan4755 Posts: 2,152member
    Say it ain't so!
  • Reply 2 of 59
    placeboplacebo Posts: 5,767member
    My god that is odd. Seriously though, I doubt Apple would do this. Perhaps a manufacturing deal with Dell, but not an installable-on-Dell version of Mac OS X.
  • Reply 3 of 59
    frykefryke Posts: 217member
    Well, if they have a printer which is supported on Macs, it's quite clear why they have a driver for it available, right? Nothing to do with them delivering Dells with OS X or anything. Sometimes speculation just rides the masses.
  • Reply 4 of 59
    kukitokukito Posts: 113member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Placebo

    Perhaps a manufacturing deal with Dell, but not an installable-on-Dell version of Mac OS X.



    Maybe Apple does want to cater to all the geeks who are clamoring for an upgradeable, tower-type Mac. Let Dell build the ugly-ass machines, that way the Mac's precious image would not be tarnished.
  • Reply 5 of 59
    onlookeronlooker Posts: 5,252member
    Not going to happen. I think it's going to take some serious developers to get Mac OS Leopard to run on a PC. If they can't even get Tiger running up to spec on one yet, they are not going to have much luck with Leopard.



    My 2¢
  • Reply 6 of 59
    kukitokukito Posts: 113member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by onlooker

    Not going to happen. I think it's going to take some serious developers to get Mac OS Leopard to run on a PC. If they can't even get Tiger running up to spec on one yet, they are not going to have much luck with Leopard.



    Onlooker, if Mac OS were to be installed on Dells, Apple would have to agree to it obviously.
  • Reply 7 of 59
    onlookeronlooker Posts: 5,252member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by kukito

    Onlooker, if Mac OS were to be installed on Dells, Apple would have to agree to it obviously.



    Really. I think you miss my point. Example: Explain DeCSS. It's not like if it were able to be done everyone wouldn't know about it, and do it anyway. Even though it's perfectly legal to keep a backup copy of a DVD the Motion picture industry wouldn't let you do it if they had a choice.
  • Reply 8 of 59
    icfireballicfireball Posts: 2,594member
    I think thinking...



    If apple licensed Mac OS X to dell without iLife & FrontRow pre-installed,



    they would keep the advantage of buying from Apple



    they would generate money from getting iLife sales



    and...



    they would have a more stratigic way to dethrone M$ and windows.
  • Reply 9 of 59
    If they sell OSX on PC's they arent gonna sell any hardware. Period. Only a select few will pay the extra premium for just mac hardware when they can get the same exact thing from dell for 500 bucks cheeper.
  • Reply 10 of 59
    kukitokukito Posts: 113member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by onlooker

    Really. I think you miss my point. Example: Explain DeCSS. It's not like if it were able to be done everyone wouldn't know about it, and do it anyway. Even though it's perfectly legal to keep a backup copy of a DVD the Motion picture industry wouldn't let you do it if they had a choice.



    What I'm suggesting is that a Dell would not have to hack anything to install OS X on one of their PCs. That would be illegal. Apple would have to licence OS X to Dell before they could sell a PC with OS X pre-installed. They would probably have to adopt EFI as well. Michael Dell has already stated in public that he would like to sell computers with OS X. It would be up to Apple to allow this, not Dell.
  • Reply 11 of 59
    mr. dirkmr. dirk Posts: 187member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by onlooker

    Really. I think you miss my point. Example: Explain DeCSS. It's not like if it were able to be done everyone wouldn't know about it, and do it anyway. Even though it's perfectly legal to keep a backup copy of a DVD the Motion picture industry wouldn't let you do it if they had a choice.



    As I recall, though, doesn't the license agreement for OS X limit you to one machine per license? Heck, it could even limit you to using it on a Mac made by Apple. So, unless you bought a fresh copy or a family pack, Apple actually could stop you because it would be illegal, assuming, of course, that you didn't have the rights to an additional license.



    On another note: Dell selling computers with Mac OS X gives me chills. Seriously.



    I just realized: tomorrow's TUESDAY!
  • Reply 12 of 59
    bergzbergz Posts: 1,045member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by icfireball

    I think thinking...



    If apple licensed Mac OS X to dell without iLife & FrontRow pre-installed,



    they would keep the advantage of buying from Apple



    they would generate money from getting iLife sales



    and...



    they would have a more stratigic way to dethrone M$ and windows.




    I think that without iLife, many average users would not immediately appreciate the superiority of the Mac OS experience.



    --B
  • Reply 13 of 59
    icfireballicfireball Posts: 2,594member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by bergz

    I think that without iLife, many average users would not immediately appreciate the superiority of the Mac OS experience.



    --B




    Yea...thats true --



    Would about a trial installed?
  • Reply 14 of 59
    onlookeronlooker Posts: 5,252member
    Plain, and simple. I will bet hard cash right now that Apple will not be licensing OS X on DELL. You guys are ridiculous. Apple in the next few years, having the only computers that can run Mac OS Leopard, and windows is going to be the most desired computers to own in the world. So you suddenly think Apples bout to give it to DELL? In your dreams PC fan boy.
  • Reply 15 of 59
    icfireballicfireball Posts: 2,594member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by onlooker

    Plain, and simple. I will bet hard cash right now that Apple will not be licensing OS X on DELL. You guys are ridiculous. Apple in the next few years, having the only computers that can run Mac OS Leopard, and windows is going to be the most desired computers to own in the world. So you suddenly think Apples bout to give it to DELL? In your dreams PC fan boy.



    I never said I thought Apple was going to put OS X on a dell (their not -- at least in the near or semi-near future), I never said I wanted OS X on a dell -- I was just referencing to WHY and HOW Apple might put OS X on a dell. The why is to increase OS X market share -- thats really how Windows got popular. The how is buy making the Mac hardware admirable enough over the dell to still have strong hardware sales.
  • Reply 16 of 59
    Everyone's talking about Apple not liking a deal to license to Dell, but no one brings up what MS would say. I mean, MS's license currently puts a lot of restrictions on what Dell can sell. They can't sell a clean PC, and they're facing a lot of pressure when they try to sell Linux PCs. I can only imagine the same sort of issue of a MS reaction if Dell tried to sell OS X PCs.



    MS has two big weapons:

    1) It could modify Dell's license or their contract or whatever to charge more to any PC maker who bundles a non-MS OS with a computer.

    2) If MS decides to stop stop supporting the Mac platform, Apple's in deep trouble. MS already dropped IE and WMP on the Mac, so Macs can't do IE-based internet stuff (becoming rarer and rarer, luckily) or use DRM'd WMAs/WMVs. If OS X loses Office 2007, it'd freeze the switcher plans in their tracks. Apple doesn't yet have a viable alternative (iWork has no spreadsheet, and Pages needs work) and third party solutions (NeoOffice, OpenOffice) are incomplete and slower (and I use them, so I know).



    Now, MS would likely get into a lot of hot water over this. A re-opening of monopoly allegations would not be impossible, but the current administration seems rather against that. True, MS does have a deal with Apple promising Office on OS X until 2011, but I'm sure they can weasel out of that.
  • Reply 17 of 59
    onlookeronlooker Posts: 5,252member
    icfireballs I wasn't talking to any one in particular so there is no need to single your self out here. I was just saying this discussion is a little bit ridiculous. Why discuss things that are not going to happen. But even so. If Apple did license their OS to Dell, which is essentially giving it to every PC, I think your reasoning is flawed. Apple stands to gain more in sales in the end by owning the whole package. Everybody knows the Tortoise beats the Hare every time.
  • Reply 18 of 59
    Quote:

    Originally posted by icfireball

    Yea...thats true --



    Would about a trial installed?




    That would succeed in selling lots of copies of OS X at $80ish, and lots of copies of $129 iLife to consumers. Apple would rather sell you the whole computer and make fewer sales, because one of the large issues with Windows is that is has to support every peripheral, motherboard, x86 processor, video card, networking card, etc released up to 2-3 years previous to the OS's launch.



    That's sort of what Apple would face, since Dell would chafe at the idea of Apple dictating only a narrow range of video cards and motherboards. Now Apple can obviously set some limits (like requiring SSE3 or PCI-E, and dropping a few things, like PS/2), but any Apple OS has to work with everything that comes with the computer it comes on.
  • Reply 19 of 59
    onlookeronlooker Posts: 5,252member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ZachPruckowski

    Everyone's talking about Apple not liking a deal to license to Dell, but no one brings up what MS would say. I mean, MS's license currently puts a lot of restrictions on what Dell can sell. They can't sell a clean PC, and they're facing a lot of pressure when they try to sell Linux PCs. I can only imagine the same sort of issue of a MS reaction if Dell tried to sell OS X PCs.



    MS has two big weapons:

    1) It could modify Dell's license or their contract or whatever to charge more to any PC maker who bundles a non-MS OS with a computer.

    2) If MS decides to stop stop supporting the Mac platform, Apple's in deep trouble. MS already dropped IE and WMP on the Mac, so Macs can't do IE-based internet stuff (becoming rarer and rarer, luckily) or use DRM'd WMAs/WMVs. If OS X loses Office 2007, it'd freeze the switcher plans in their tracks. Apple doesn't yet have a viable alternative (iWork has no spreadsheet, and Pages needs work) and third party solutions (NeoOffice, OpenOffice) are incomplete and slower (and I use them, so I know).



    Now, MS would likely get into a lot of hot water over this. A re-opening of monopoly allegations would not be impossible, but the current administration seems rather against that. True, MS does have a deal with Apple promising Office on OS X until 2011, but I'm sure they can weasel out of that.




    ZachPruckowski, This is all my own speculation, but I think it just seems obvious, and many people probably agree with me on this.

    Apple has obviously had their own Office Application for quite some time that they toy with, but they do not fully release it to keep good relations with MS, and to gain switchers that rely on Office that are less willing to take on a new Application no matter how easy it is.

    And, being that Microsoft just signed another new contractual agreement deal with Apple, and MS office on Mac sales I think have almost out grown PC office sales chances of them dropping it are about 1%.
  • Reply 20 of 59
    Quote:

    Originally posted by onlooker

    icfireballs I wasn't talking to any one in particular so there is no need to single your self out here. I was just saying this discussion is a little bit ridiculous. Why discuss things that are not going to happen. But even so. If Apple did license their OS to Dell, which is essentially giving it to every PC, I think your reasoning is flawed. Apple stands to gain more in sales in the end by owning the whole package. Everybody knows the Tortoise beats the Hare every time.



    Perversely, and this opinion will be unpopular, I'm going to disagree. If Apple charges (say) $90 to Dell for the OS, and only includes a demo of iLife, it could possibly sell iLife to 1/4-1/2 the Dell customers at $129. If it sold Tiger/Leopard standalone at $129 with $129 for iLife, and people bought both, Apple probably has a higher margin than it gets on an iMac, and certainly a higher margin than it gets on a Mini or MacBook. Apple only loses on the high end, since only MBP or Mac Pro margins would beat the margins on OS X and iLife.



    Additionally, I maintain that people might still buy Macs from Apple, because a Dell with all the Apple bells and whistles (iSight, BT, etc) plus the cost of iLife is probably going to be as expensive as a Mac. Macs aren't expensive, they just don't offer options without features like iSight or Bluetooth or Front Row that not everyone needs.



    That said, I doubt Apple will do it, and I think it is too risky. But it could work out well for them, maybe.
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