ON GETTING CLOSER TO A MAC TIPPING POINT

WISH LISTS

While most Apple fans continue to eagerly anticipate Apple long-rumored iPod phone, and larger video versions of it's iPods, I continue to be excited about Apple on the computer and laptop side.

It's interesting to see another friend, Fred Wilson, switch full-time to Apple's Mac computers (a MacBook Pro laptop in this case).  I've seen a fair bit of this anecdotally over the last few months.

I've been an avid Mac and Windows user for a long time, but have noticed myself using the Macs a bit more of late.  The combination of Mac software and hardware, continue to make it a more interesting platform at the margin.

We're likely to see more of this in general in coming months, and I'm not sure Apple even needs to run it's Windows vs. Mac ads to make it happen (although it probably helps).

The tipping point for several friends I've talked to has been the ability to run Windows apps on Macs using either Apple's Bootcamp software, or the virtualization package from Parallels.  Both were introduced independently, and reviewed by Walter Mossberg earlier this year.

Apple's next iteration of Mac OS X, Leopard, due next Spring, will include an upgraded version of Bootcamp, making it easier for mainstream users to install and run Windows and Windows apps on a Mac.

This feature was something I'd abstractly wished for in August post last year, partly titled "Apple Ascending":

"...here is what Apple could do when they finally launch new Macs on Intel-based PCs.  It involves two steps, both taken simultaneously.

1.  They could offer a Mac desktop and/or laptop that has TWO hard drives in it.  One has the latest and greatest Mac OS on it.  And the second has Windows XP/Windows Vista on it, which of course, the customer pays for.

This makes it VERY easy for the user then to boot up into EITHER operating system, and have both Windows and Mac applications (and their own related files), on the same machine.  They'd just be on two different drives on the same machine.

The customer then gets a machine directly from Apple that supports BOTH operating systems, provides the best of both worlds in terms of application software, AND...

has special Apple-enhanced, cool software that makes working with both operating systems seamless and easy.  In effect, it encourages the customer to "SWITCH" operating systems AFTER buying and using the PC, rather than forcing them to commit to one or the other operating system today.

Very simple...Apple thus becomes a Windows reseller, which benefits Microsoft in the near-term.

But longer-term, it gets customers to try a Mac while buying a Windows PC...a no-lose proposition."

With Bootcamp and Parallels, we're almost there.  Admittedly, Apple got a little help from third-party vendor Parallels to achieve the "seamless" switching part.

But there are a few minor, additional things on my wish list:

1.  Dual hard-drives:  Even though both Bootcamp and Parallels can work on the same hard drive holding both the Mac and Windows operating systems, it can get pretty crowded in there once you start adding applications and data in both environments.

So Apple needs to introduce both desktop and laptop models with the ability to have TWO hard drives in them, even if the second one is a micro-drive (30 or 60 GB) like the one used in a video iPod.  (I know the micro-drives are not robust enough to use as every-day PC drives, but make the suggestion since Apple probably wants to keep their notebooks as thin as possible).

Dual drives would allow users to have enough room for lots of Mac and Windows apps on a single machine.  Today, even on the MacBook Pro, one has to devote a quarter or more of the 80GB or 100 GB drive to Windows.

2.  Two-button mice on notebooks:  Apple and Steve Jobs need to bite the bullet and introduce two-button clicking capability on it's laptops.  They did this after a longer than necessary period on it's desktops by finally offering a two-button  "Mighty Mouse" recently.  They can even make it look like a one-button mouse for their design aesthetics if they want.  But two-mouse buttons are now a necessity for mainstream users of both the Mac and Windows computers.

3.  Wireless Broadband modems:  Built-in wireless broadband modems in Mac notebooks like the ones now available on Windows notebooks by Dell, Sony, Lenovo and other vendors.  Most of the big wireless carriers are now aggressively rolling out their wireless broadband networks, lead by Verizon Wireless and Sprint now, and Cingular and T-Mobile with their GPRS networks.  (The just announced Verizon Wireless V640 EVDO ExpressCard, is a step in the right direction, but is not a built-in option).

Cingular soon rolls out it's next-gen worldwide 3G data network, which will make it the only carrier to offer a worldwide service. 

The modems from all the carriers should be available as options on Mac notebooks.

That's it for me.  The last two features simply bring Mac notebooks on par with current Windows offering.  The first one allows mainstream users to have more of their cake and eat it too.

Do you have other features on your wish list before you're at the tipping point?

Comments

[brian]

only a few will bother to pay for full retail versions of Windows OS just to use it on a Mac.