Analysis: If 'Leopard' will run Windows XP natively, will Linux be next?
by Neo (Jack Purcher) Contributing editor, Macsimum News © 2004 Macsimum News
The buzz surrounding Apple’s Boot Camp (the graphic is courtesy of Apple
Computer) is hot not only within the Mac community but in the analyst co
mmunity
as well. Shaw Wu, an analyst with American Technology
Research, said it best by stating that “A key reason why Apple hasn’t gotten
more ‘switchers’ is likely due to a lack of strong Windows compatibility,” and
that “We believe this is a big deal and potentially could be a significant
game-changer.” Yet Roger Kay, president of Endpoint Technologies
Associates Inc. saw it completely different when he stated that “They’ve filled
a hole here, but it’s more of an experimental thing. I don’t think it’ll
change the game that much.” Ahhh, the political games have already begun, but be
rest assured that Apple’s strategic moves have only begun!
Will Apple open the Linux door?
Apple’s next iteration of OS X, code named “Leopard,” will be front and center at this year’s Apple World Wide developer conference in August. Even so, Apple has already strategically reserved one of their future OS iteration brands to be none other than “Lynx.” At first glance, it’s simply Apple carrying through with yet another cat themed brand in a long list of them including Tiger, Cheetah and so forth. However, if you parse ‘Lynx’ just a little differently, you get Lyn-X. Yes, all of sudden, a simple trademark can be seen in a whole new light, especially because “Leopard” is now known to be gunning for Window XP users who are fed up waiting for Vista (or Bull: Longhorn). Yes Apple, seize the moment! Secondly, Apple may very well have to parse ‘Lynx’ to something like Lyn-X because LynxOS already exists with the very same theme in mind: Lynx for Linux.
So is it really that much of a stretch to think of Apple’s “Lynx” opening the door to run Linux natively? I don’t think so – due in part to the fact that Apple’s Safari browser derived from a Linux project. Secondly, back in 2003 the German sueddeutshche.de reported that the exiting CEO of SuSE Linux Richard Seibts stated that he “could imagine well that the comfortable operating surface of the Apple computers becomes thereby the standard of all Linux systems.” Forgive the Google translation (of that time), but you get the gist of it. SuSE Linux’s CEO didn’t pull that idea out of a magician’s hat.
And for context, it was revealed only months later that in early 2004 the KDE Project had released a significant update to its K Desktop Environment software that included refinements to the Konqueror Web browser derived from collaboration with Apple’s Safari browser team. So if anything, the existing CEO let something out the bag that he shouldn’t have, being that it was never picked up by the press in North America.
So why would Apple even want to venture into supporting Linux on OS X “Lynx?’” Well, you only have to look back to a few reports that surfaced in December 2005 to put this into focus. The first report by NewsForge stated that the Japanese government was considering providing official development assistance to Vietnam for the popularization of open source software as a spin-off from a recently formed pact between Japan, China, and South Korea to promote greater use of Linux and other open source software. And the second report surfaced on Computerworld which presented the following:
“More and more countries are embracing the collaborative model of open source on a national level to fend off caged IT models. The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore’s (IDA) Technology Group has positioned Linux as a medium term technology bet, which means one to three years to mass adoption.
An alliance dedicated to accelerating the growth and adoption of commercially supported open source systems in Singapore, the Singapore Open Source Alliance (SOSA), has also been formed. SOSA is a consortium of leading global and local IT vendors, with founding members like Apple, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel, Novell, Oracle, Red Hat, Resolvo Systems and Sun Microsystems.”
Now do you get the picture? Yes, of course. Apple is a founding member of a group that is the strongest supporters of Linux – and Apple has a master plan to address the coming mass adoption of Linux outside of North America over the next 2 to 3 years.
Hmm,
Apple’s Fast User Switching could come in
handy here as well now couldn’t it? For IT administrators, the Fast User
Switching cube could be marketed to enable them to quickly switch from OS X to
UNIX, Windows or Linux as required with ease. Although only time will tell if
that feature tweak will every come to market, the move to Support Linux
natively on OS X, is definitely on Apple’s roadmap.
Safari for Windows
In a recent Macsimum News report titled “Apple, AJAX and ‘Share with .Mac’” for small business,’ I pointed to the fact that Steve Jobs began a new kind of count at this year’s MacWorld: A Dashboard Widget count. The reason that I call it a new kind of count is because there’s a history behind Apple’s strategic accounting methodology. It began with both Steve Jobs and Frank Casanova strategically promoting their QuickTime count years ago that extended right through a series of Keynote updates which ended last year when QuickTime reached the one billion user mark. I think it’s safe to say that Apple was gunning for a few Window users, right? Yes of course.
The question becomes very simple. Why is Apple starting a Dashboard Widget count, of all things? Well it’s very simple really. Apple’s strategy, in my view, is to take Dashboard and eventually merge it with their Safari browser to create an internet platform that won’t only run widgets but Internet web services like iTunes and eventually all manner of web-centric applications like iPhoto for consumers and iWork-like applications for the enterprise. If you’re thinking that this is far fetched, then think again. In my February report I presented the following:
Yes, and then we have collaborative real-time Dashboards like the one from NetSuite that provide users with business intelligence across all areas of their company, from accounting and sales, to fulfillment and support. NetSuite’s Dashboard is AJAX-powered. In 2004, NetSuite, Inc. became the first application service provider to offer native Apple Safari Web browser support. Yes, real-time dashboards can run a lot more than just little widgets that we’re seeing today.
A little further on I pointed to an Apple patent that presented the fact that “A problem with the Internet is that the whole page needs to be resent from the server to the client with the changed or new data. This is slow and cumbersome.”
So
to get a better idea of what this could actually look like in the real world,
you could take a look at OpenLaszlo’s dashboard video
presentation that discusses the features of their real-time dashboard –
which anyone could understand.
You could then take a look at OpenLaszlo’s web page listing demos for widget/apps for weather, a world clock, calendar and Amazon Store – and easily identify that Apple’s Dashboard and Expose cover the very same territory. The one exception today of course, is that both Dashboard and Expose are geared and restricted to Apple’s Desktop OS. But that won’t always be the case. Apple could easily incorporate these features into Safari and power it via Xserves, just as Apple does today with iTunes serving Window users.
Everything that OpenLaszlo’s dashboard demo presents today could easily be applied to a future version of Apple’s Dashboard and Expose on the next iteration of the Safari browser. Who knows, perhaps this is one of the many surprises in store for the market upon Leopard’s arrival. When you think of it, OpenLaszlo’s limited listing for widget/apps is already dwarfed beside that of Apple’s offerings.
For the record, a note in OpenLaszlo’s FAQ states that the OpenLaszlo platform consists of three main components and that you could “Deploy from any browser in SOLO mode, or deploy them from any J2EE application server or Java servlet container running under Linux, UNIX, Windows or Mac OS X.
So whether it’s the little OpenLaszlo startup or Google “Schmoogle” getting all of the attention for their great strides in creating an internet productivity platform – it’s Apple that will strike hard and lead this pack because no one, and I mean no one, has the depth of iApplications nor the level of cool integration that Apple could offer consumers and the enterprise.
This isn’t an afterthought of Apple’s like it was for Microsoft who thinks they’ve seen the light about AJAX. No, no, no. Apple boldly forecasted this back in January 2001 when Steve Jobs stated that “We’ve all been blinded into thinking that the browser controls the Internet,” he added. “But that’s not true. We believe that the next wave of the Internet will be client applications that work intimately with the Internet, but not necessarily with a Web browser. You can think of iTunes the same way, allowing access to Internet content through a specialized interface rather than a browser.
So although we see Apple’s Safari as just a web browser today, it won’t be limited to that of just browsing. Psychologically users are used to the browser experience, and that’s the Trojan horse. When it’s time for Apple to strike – Apple will execute their plans for the Next Wave of the Internet, via Safari for Windows. Apple has already proven itself to the market that the Next Wave of the Internet has arrived, and that the leader of that Next Wave is none other than Apple. Taking Safari to the next level – is a no-brainer folks. Apple forecasted what they’d create “client applications that [would] work intimately with the Internet,” and they’re not about to stop at iTunes!
The bottom line
So the bottom line to all of this is that if Wall Street and the media thought that yesterday’s announcement of Boot Camp was “game changing,’” then baby—You Ain’t Seen Nothing yet!’” as the Bachman Turner Overdrive song goes (now available on iTunes!).
If there was ever a time for Apple to strike the market with a vengeance, then it’s now, this year, while Microsoft is stumbling shamelessly with their Vista OS release. Not only could Apple surprise us with releasing Leopard on Conroe based iMacs, but they could also strike a mighty blow with a free downloadable version of their next iteration of Safari for Window users, delivering the world’s first true internet platform for the masses.
With that in mind, Apple’s future moves to support Linux natively on OS X via “Lynx” will drive this revolution even farther than the eye could see – and all indications point to this eventuality.
Yes, now that Apple’s switch to Intel is quickly falling into place, Apple could now begin to resume their leadership in this revolution called The Next Wave of the Internet – and show the market what game-changing really means!
Cheers!
Neo at macsimumnews.com
