We live in a world that is dominated by Windows, and I'm sure there's not a Mac user out there who hasn't wanted to use some piece of Windows software at some point, be it productivity software, or the latest, greatest PC game. When Rhapsody was announced, I for one thought the Intel version had great promise. I would have loved to be able to run Mac OS and Windows/DOS applications side by side. It would have been great for me, but not for Apple. As more and more Mac users made the switch to Rhapsody for Intel and used Windows more and more, less and less Mac/Rhapsody apps would have been developed, and so I and the other Rhapsody for Intel users would have spent less and less time in the Rhapsody environment. And Apple would have been screwed. And all the Rhapsody for Intel users would have unwittingly become Wintel converts.
How Orwell-esque. Anyway, Rhapsody (or Mac OS X servers) importance is being played down by Apple, and version 1.0 will be the last version, barring bug fixes. But, I hear you say, we can just as easily run PC software under emulation. True, and with the new G4s we will be able to run PC software at quite acceptable speeds. But then we will buy fewer Mac apps and wind up in the same situation.
One cross-platform compatability solution that has received a lot of coverage is Java. Java is a powerful, next-generation, object-orientated operating system which can run on many different types of computers. But the 'operating-system' part is relevant. It is essentially a competing system to Mac OS and Window 95, and while Apple supports it, it, like Microsoft, certainly doesn't want it to succeed. Microsoft has taken some steps to stop it from succeeding,simply by hijacking its main feature - the ability to run on numerous different platforms.
So what is the best way for Apple to get those great PC programs onto the Mac. Aside from just selling tons of iMacs and increasing market share, there is one thing Apple could do. They should get a really solid cross-platform framework out there. They tried to do this with Symantec in a project code-named Bedrock, but the project fell through the roof. It was perfectly feasible however. Writing a system which lets developers re-use most of their code would make many more release their programs on the Mac soon after their release on the PC, and Apple can do these things well, as is evidenced in Carbon.
