And now for something completely different: Apple Computer, Mac OS, and PC's

  You know, if Apple Computer (AAPL) wanted to completely rule the world, it could. And it would be easy. How, do you say?  Mac OS runs on Intel processors common in all PC's. Indeed, there has been a convergence in recent years in hardware standards and equipment, such that there really isn't much difference between a run-of-the-mill PC and a run-of-the-mill Macintosh. An interesting article that I recently found revealed that a Macintosh is actually the best, most stable platform for running Windows! (Link here and the original article here.)
   For the sake of fairness, I need to disclose that I have several Dell computers (an Optiplex 780, Inspiron E1505, and an XPS 600) all running Windows 7, as well as a 2008 Mac Mini that runs the current Mac OS on one partition and Windows 7 via both Virtual PC and Boot Camp. I don't use the Mac much, it's really not much more than an experiment and a toy, as my software base of the last 10+ years is PC.  (I abandoned Classic Macs around 1999 because of the death throes Apple was in and the reinvestment I would have had to make in PPC software.)  I also own some shares of Apple Computer... but that's more a sign of stupidity on my part as I have ridden the roller-coaster down about 30% in recent months. I intend to hold this position long-term, though. 

   The biggest distinction between PC and classic Mac hardware, except for the price tag, had long been the Apple toolbox embedded in Mac ROM's. Built into the Mac were routines that are simply 'there' when the machine boots up... the 'Happy Mac' when the boot is successful, the 'chimes of death' when not, how to draw windows, how to access HFS drives, what files to access in what order from the System Folder, BIOS routines, etc. But in recent years, this has not been the case, so much. Mac ROMs are much lighter, and many routines are now built into the OS that loads at boot time. You could not boot Mac OS onto a PC because it lacked a significant portion of the proprietary 'brains' that made Macs so unique and special.

   I know I can't be the first person to think of this, but... if Mac OS is presently not dependent on routines being built into the computer it runs on, then why not tweak Mac OS to run on any PC? Get that? ANY PC. There are, according to one source, ONE BILLION PC's currently in use world wide. There are, by contrast, only about 75 millions Macs out there as of 2009... another more recent source says 15%, so I am going to guess that there are between 100 and 200 million Macs in use in the world.  By doing this, Apple would be opening itself to an installed base of several hundred million machines and more than 355,000,000 new builds each and every year.

    Software sales is a rather high-margin operation... just ask Microsoft. Yes, Apple has always priced in a premium for its hardware and, let's face it, they tend to make good stuff and people out there will buy it for the Apple quality. But they've always seemed to do their software as simply a maintenance item to keep their hardware sales going.  Intrestingly, this is the business model for iPads and iPhones and non-Apple portable devices. In this age where more than a few analysts are declaring the "death of the PC" (and by extension the business model of making revenue off of major software upgrades every couple of years), might it be time for Apple, already equipped to run by this new model, to reconsider its role in the PC market and beat Microsoft at its own game?  Imagine if Apple focused its energies away from their own hardware (they could always do their own boutique hardware business on the side, which would include premium features, performance, and profit margins) and ramped up the number of Mac OS boxes shipping out of the factory every year?  I would love to have the option between buying Windows or Mac OS on my new PC box. Why would I do that? Has anyone seen Windows 8? Case closed.
   Now Microsoft still has the undisputed champion, Microsoft Office, in its stable. If MS wanted to declare war on a newly-liberated Mac OS, it suppose it could by 'breaking' or ''crippling' Office running under Mac OS... some would say that that's already the case anyway. I don't see any of the Apple integrated software as a reasonable or likely competitor in this arena. Perhaps by re-committing to a Mac version of Office back when Apple was about dead in the early 2000's, there was some agreement, formal or otherwise, that Apple would forever stay out of Microsoft's turf in the OS game for PC's? I don't know.  Office 'locked' to Windows would be the only think keeping people onboard with future releases of Windows... intrestingly, that doesn't seem to be the model Microsoft is taking, as they are becoming more and more "cloud" based.
   In addition to the raw sales of Mac OS licenses, this would be an on-ramp for their other iProducts... the iPhone, iPad, iPod, and iWhatever-is-next, all serviced through iTunes. When I saw the elegance of the Mac Mini running Mac OS, that was part of what inspired me to go with the iPhone later on that year. Once with a Mac Mini and an iPhone, in comes the iPad and my Apple TV, and so on. I have a rather significant investment in music and software on my iDevices, so they have me as a customer. Imagine a couple hundred million more PC refugees getting hooked on the iExperience?
   I don't want to get into a shooting match as far as which interface is better... there's a lot of polish on both Windows and on Mac GUIs, and each user will like how some things are done and not others on their own preferred platforms. I don't have time for the Mac vs. PC, or for that matter the Kirk vs. Picard debates.  I'm now a grown-up consumer who has used both and wants inexpensive desktop/laptop computing that simply works.  The bottom line is that, if Apple were to losen is grip on its proprietary hardware ways, it could gain a much wider installed base, increase its revenues from unbelievable (now) to insane (future), and send Microsoft the direction of AOL, Atari, and WordPerfect. As a result Apple would indeed rule the world.
   If Tim Cook thinks this is good advice for how to get Apple out of its recent doledrums and become again an unstoppable industry leader, I would be happy to accept a few hundred shares of AAPL for my advice and counsel.  Even better, he could make a 1,000 share donation to my parish for taking the time out of my schedule to become a computer industry analyst for the last half hour... that would be about enough to get us out of debt (once AAPL goes back up again) and assure we'd never have to buy another Windows license again.