Dvorak's Next Piece of Advice for Apple

I have an amazing amount of stuff to talk about today, so let's just get right to it. I'm going to reveal a bias of mine right now: I've agreed with/liked very few John Dvorak articles in my time, and I used to subscribe to PC Magazine (before I realized it wasn't that good and Popular Science was a better use of time and money). I like him slightly more when I listen to him on TWiT, but I still think he's a nutjob (not a stupid one, but a nut nonetheless). You'll probably remember that not too long ago, he suggested that Apple would be switching to Windows for its OS needs. Now, he thinks that they should make Mac OS X an open source project. What's funny is how reasonable his editorial sounds until the last paragraph. I couldn't agree more that Boot Camp is just "test marketing" than anything else, and I think I've mentioned that in passing before. He's not the first to suggest that Apple should try putting OS X on a PC (as I posted about last week), and while I personally don't think that's going to happen any time soon, I agree that it's going to be the best way for them to eat at Microsoft's market share. However, therein lies the problem. How do you take on the 500-lb gorilla? Dvorak's school of thought would suggest that they should open up Mac OS X, let it duke it out with Linux, and subsequently pull the rug from right under Windows with the spotlight on OS X. I can't see how this would possibly help their situation. I think he's failing to see the claw-like grip Microsoft holds on the testicles of America's computers, and the sheer number of those people who don't know what Linux is much less what open source is or even care. I can't imagine any amount of press convincing people that this would make OS X any more viable for them, and so I don't see how Dvorak can endorse such a strategy. The challenge is to show people who believe that everything they use won't function without Windows can work in OS X, not to let them in on a battle with Linux (which also sounds inane, by the way).

Things aren't going all that well for Apple right now in actuality, with another lawsuit being brought against them from Burst for patent infringement. The also have sued Microsoft and settled for $60 million, but Apple seems to think the they've done nothing wrong, and this is probably going to hurt their current plans since there's speculation of a lot going on there. We do know that we'll get to take a look at Leopard in August at WWDC though, and one rumor that has already come through the pipe is built-in virtualization. The new rumor is that they may be abandoning the MACH microkernel, which I think may be a little too radical for their taste. I haven't taken OS yet so I'm not sure about this, but wouldn't switching to a monolithic kernel render all MACH-O executables useless? There's some good news for Apple: Tech Report is reporting that the Core Duo is quite impressive and has the best performance per watt of any PC chip on the market right now. That should give Mac users something to be proud of. Microsoft isn't lying down on the job either though, and CoolTechZone thinks that they're poised for a big leap. I don't know if I agree with that assessment, but they're really giving it their all with Office 12 and Live at least. TechCrunch has a little roundup of the big mapping sites out there, and gives its endorsement to Yahoo Maps. I see their points, but I think it's a matter of personal preference, and I actually like Google Maps best because it's the fastest and most reliable (usually). Lastly, if you've ever wanted to scan in documents using your phone, then you'll want to check this out.

Reviews are already in for the first HD-DVDs to hit the market, and it sounds like the video quality is amazing, but that's about it. Of course, they reviewed them on 1080p-enabled televisions, which are rare, and television broadcasts aren't even in such a high format as this blogger points out. Remember that bootleg Silent Hill clip I had last week? Well, the real version is now on Yahoo Movies, and the release of the movie itself is just a couple of days away. I only hope I can manage to see it Friday or Saturday night. There are minor rumblings that Julia Roberts may be back in Ocean's 13, but nothing has been announced yet and I'm guessing that most of you won't care until we get a script review. If you want a little more information on Lex Luthor in Superman Returns, then you can read this IGN article about his style. Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise now have a child they're calling Suri, and I'm guessing that she'll grow up to be pretty hot. I'm not going to spoil it, but last night's 24 was off the hook, and I have a mixed reaction to Kiefer Sutherland's revelation of a movie script being in the works. I really hope it isn't a gimmicky, campy kind of movie. If you're a Kiefer fan, then be sure to pick up the latest Rolling Stone for a very interesting interview. My last item is actually an interview, and it's a humorous one with Rob Corddry of the Daily Show and now of an indie flick called Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story (I don't like that they imitated the Anchorman title, even if it was on purpose).

Now for the Ten on Tuesday meme:

10 Favorite Singers/Bands
10. Aerosmith
9. Rilo Kiley
8. Common
7. Incubus
6. Boyz II Men
5. The Roots
4. Kanye West
3. Audioslave
2. Coldplay
1. Red Hot Chili Peppers