Apple's Phil Schiller: 'Win 7 upgrade hassle - why not just buy a Mac?'
Apple’s feeling the opportunity in Microsoft’s Vista-replacement, Windows 7
As Business Week (and, later, MacRumors, informs), Apple plans to begin its own ad-attack when Win 7 climbs out of the trenches on October 22. And Apple VP Phil Schiller thinks Microsoft’s handing Apple an advantage in the desktop OS game...
The ads will extol Mac OS X’s real virtues - lack of viruses, happy connections with iPods and iPhones and its simple upgrade process....after all, Windows XP users (still a big slice of Microsoft’s user base) are expected to jump through hoops and engage in mystical mantras if they want to upgrade to WIn 7. Well, OK, not quite that, but they are expected to:
1/ Back-up everything to an external drive.
2/ Reformat their PC.
3/ Reinstall all their old applications.
4/ Replace all their personal files.
5/ Live through all those steps while retaining sanity.
Far easier to switch to the Mac, Apple surmises. Particularly as those friendly staff at the Apple Store will swap all your personal files across for you.
"Any user that reads all those steps is probably going to freak out. If you have to go through all that, why not just buy a Mac?" Schiller helpfully points out to BusinessWeek.
Sure, we all expect Win 7 will boost PC sales slightly, it’s well-known that the market failure of Vista has served to depress the PC industry, while Apple market share grows.
Indeed, just 20 percent of Windows users have shifted to Vista, while over 70 per cent of Mac users migrated to Snow Leopard
With Snow Leopard available at a reasonable price, Schiller’s next statement could be prophetic: "We've been through these transitions before, and no matter how you look at it - it's still Windows. When all is said and done, the Mac picks up share a bit at a time."
Will Phil Schilller one day refer to Windows marketshare as a “rounding error”?
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Comments (33)
Truth is, He is right on all his points. But ,Win 7 has received pretty high praise, So, if MS is smart, it will come up with an 'easy install' conversion for it's user base. Opps, this is MS, THAT wont happen!
Go take a look at the reviews of Vista before it came out. Nothing by "stellar" "solid" and "amazing."
As far as I'm concerned, any review of Windows 7 is worthless. There is NO way that any major problems associated with Windows 7 will be revealed during a testing phase. That's what happened with Vista. It appeared all nice and cozy at first but then when it had its full release and suddenly was being used by many more people all the issues came to life.
Kinda like with Snow Leopard? :-p
With any sort of huge scale software release like Mac OS or Windows, a problem that even affects 1% of 1% of the users can affect a lot of people and create a lot of negative PR.
The big issue with Vista was not Vista but the hardware (and associated premature drivers) that manufacturers shipped it on. This time around 7 uses the same drivers as Vista for the most part, so there are plenty of mature and stable drivers out there for a lot of hardware.
"The big issue with Vista was not Vista but the hardware (and associated premature drivers) "
Thats what I call a cold comfort!!! So VISTA runs great but not on any computers..
Forgive me if i am wrong but I believe the reason for the non easy update is because of the registry. IMO the registry makes a lot of problems with windows.
this is a typical process i used to upgrade from Tiger to leo and will use from leo to snowy.
I've always done clean installs of all my OSs also. But with Snow Leopard, it is recommended to upgrade in place, and I agree. When you upgrade in place, it will identify the most popular apps that need upgrading to be supported for you. This is a tremendous help rather than having to check each and every one of them for compatibility yourself.
This is the same thing on Mac, either you upgrade your OS (which keeps everything on there) or you install it fresh. It's always wise to do a fresh install which Mac is not immune to.
Get off your high horse Apple, you're scared that you can't use the same tactics to attack Windows as you could before.
Carl said:
"This is the same thing on Mac, either you upgrade your OS (which keeps everything on there) or you install it fresh."
The problem, for Windows XP users, which is the majority, is that the install program only backs-up files, not programs. This means that you lose all your security updates.
What Phil Schiller was saying is that upgrading is a great pain for XP users, not only in getting their computer back in shape, but also in the learning curve which they will experience with System Seven. Apple can help with that.
Any Windows upgrade forces the users to a decision point. In the process of deciding on the various costs in time and money to upgrade, many people will look at alternatives. Apple always benefits from that. Mr. Schiller is asking, "Why not use this decision point to move to a more secure and better handling system?" Why not?
"Get off your high horse Apple, you're scared that you can't use the same tactics to attack Windows as you could before."
Sure, we don't have Vista to kick around any more. But, System Seven is still an insecure stand alone disk system. Its flaws will catch up with it. It's malware problems have been papered over, but they won't go away.
http://www.rixstep.com/2/20090601,00.shtml
Why would we need to reformat the drive to install a new OS? In fact, Snow Leopard did not even allow a fresh install of the OS.
I installed SnowLeopard on my MacBookPro in about an hour with no problems at all. It even pointed me to anything I needed to do. All this while I was on a conference call and I didn't miss a thing.
I would never try that windows. Ever.
Well, what the 10.6 "upgrade" actually does is that it:
1. Backs up all your stuff
2. Wipes 10.5 completely
3. Installs 10.6
4. Puts your stuff back where it belongs
So no matter what you do, you always have a clean install, you just don't know about it when you do the reccomended "update". What is more, as someone already pointed out, if you do the update, you can take advantage of the automatic app compatibility check.
Yeah, except OS X does that FOR you, and with the XP to Win7 thing, you have to do it yourself. Try it and see what a pain in the ass it is. Have some people done that with Mac? There's nothing to stop you, but you shouldn't need to. What you do for ultimate safety: connect an external HD for Time Machine, walk away. Come back, start the SL upgrade, walk away. No separate steps for wipe and Win instal, and most importantly no re-installing every... single... app.
For Apple to have any credibility, then it should be easy to run the Mac OS on existing PC's.
Every time this argument is presented I lose a little more hair. The ENTIRE MAC BUSINESS MODEL is based on designing fully integrated systems. Meaning the software is designed specifically for the hardware and vice versa. The whole reason why macs are so much more stable than PCs is because the entire system is controlled. Unlike PCs which have any number of 3rd party components piled up in the cheapest configuration possible causing potential conflicts or compatibility issues. Apple will never create a Mac OS for a PC...and that's where every ounce of their credibility comes from. And if they ever did, I'd be the first one to arrive at the funeral.
Every time this argument is presented I lose a little more hair. The ENTIRE MAC BUSINESS MODEL is based on designing fully integrated systems. Meaning the software is designed specifically for the hardware and vice versa. The whole reason why macs are so much more stable than PCs is because the entire system is controlled. Unlike PCs which have any number of 3rd party components piled up in the cheapest configuration possible causing potential conflicts or compatibility issues. Apple will never create a Mac OS for a PC...and that's where every ounce of their credibility comes from.
and I agree again
Right, Apple works well because it doesn't work with everything. Woop di do. That is hardly a claim of its success or of its quality.
To work with everything, and work well, should be its goal. Apple doesn't even work well with other people, much less other software and hardware.
Today it is too busy selling movies and songs and crappy little iPhone apps to make itself a serious contender long term in computers.
Sad, but true. Apple's business model gets worse and worse as the years go by.
OS X would have difficulties with the millions of combinations of hardware out there, just like all other O/S's that run on PCs. That would be Windows, Linux, BSD, Solaris ... if your hardware is not supported, you are left out in the wind.
They are trying to make a good system, not just a good O/S. That was how it used to be, when companies like IBM, Solaris, and SGI made the workstation and the software.
The best thing about OS X is it doesn't have a registry to get filled with hijacks and crap that you never authorized but were added without your knowledge. Can't comment on Vista, never used it.
Microsoft has been promising the best computing experience for twenty-five years now. And people like you continually doubt their word. You are constantly trying to put the Mac OS on PCs. Microsoft will not thank you for it, you heretic. You are off the plantation.
It is not in Apple's interest to allow the Mac OS on PCs. They would never make up for the loss in hardware sales.
Nor is it in the Mac users interest for Apple to do so, since this would deprive Apple of R & D money to improve the Mac OS.
The only people who would benefit are the penny pinchers who don't value a quality performance. Why should Apple pay any attention to you?
This would be far more exciting if Apple would release the long rumored new iMacs. I promise I'll buy it, and everything!
I expect MS to make an ad touting the fact that at least Windows 7 won't delete your data if you log on as a guest. Apple needs to be careful here - I like them but if they provoke an MS return fire ad they are living in a glass house.
Do you know how many computers I have worked on that lost all their data due to Windows BSOD bull shit. Windows is the KING of losing data dude!
Heh even though OSX isnt supposed to run on anything other than Apple specified hardware, it runs on so many configurations of PCs, that should show just HOW flexible this system is.
Love my macbook, but also love to tinker the OSX86 ;)
The article mentions 70% of Mac users upgraded from Leopard to Snow Leopard, and that only 20% of people upgraded to Vista from XP. ...I wouldn't compare upgrading from Leopard to Snow Leopard to upgrading from XP to Windows 7, like comparing apples to oranges. I have a Mac myself and Snow Leopard is a relatively minor upgrade from Leopard. It was just a tweak upgrade...not an OS upgrade, just an OS update, IMO. And Mac users shouldn't even have to pay $30 to get it. Cuz looking back, SP2 for Vista was a HUGE upgrade to the Vista OS. The Vista SP2 made Vista from a terrible OS to a very robust and stable OS...literally overnight with just a download. And users didn't have to pay a single dime. On the otherhand, upgradng from XP to Windows 7 will be a HUGE change cuz Windows 7 is an entirely different and new OS from XP. Snow Leopard is just an updated Leopard. So yeah, that part of the article is very misleading.
"Snow Leopard is a relatively minor upgrade from Leopard. It was just a tweak upgrade...not an OS upgrade,"
I'm really tired of hearing this otal, unadulterated BS.
Snow Leopard involved rewriting over 90% of the core functions of Mac OS X. They completely rebuilt the interior plumbing:
Grand Central
OpenCL
Quicktime
Finder
are all completely rewritten to eliminate all the old junk.
Just because Apple doesn't change the UI every time you turn around doesn't mean it's not new.
Meanwhile, what's Windows 7? It's Vista - the way it should have been done. What core functionality has been changed in Vista?
The article mentions 70% of Mac users upgraded from Leopard to Snow Leopard, and that only 20% of people upgraded to Vista from XP. ...I wouldn't compare upgrading from Leopard to Snow Leopard to upgrading from XP to Windows 7, like comparing apples to oranges. I have a Mac myself and Snow Leopard is a relatively minor upgrade from Leopard. It was just a tweak upgrade...not an OS upgrade, just an OS update, IMO. And Mac users shouldn't even have to pay $30 to get it. Cuz looking back, SP2 for Vista was a HUGE upgrade to the Vista OS. The Vista SP2 made Vista from a terrible OS to a very robust and stable OS...literally overnight with just a download. And users didn't have to pay a single dime. On the otherhand, upgradng from XP to Windows 7 will be a HUGE change cuz Windows 7 is an entirely different and new OS from XP. Snow Leopard is just an updated Leopard. So yeah, that part of the article is very misleading.
Apple rebuilt the OS but left it looking the same.
Basically like rebuilding your house and putting back the same looking furniture and decorations but with secret door ways and passages included. You don't know where the secret doors and passages are yet, it's a secret!
Far easier to switch to the Mac, Apple surmises. Particularly as those friendly staff at the Apple Store will swap all your personal files across for you.
Great!! But what about the programs??
For Win 7 the user would just have to reinstall his apps and the majority will work just fine.
Switch to a mac and you can kiss your old programs goodbye! (Well unless you dual boot or use a VM)
But, wait... the Apple Genius Bar can help here as well. That's if you don't mind re-buying all that software.
I've been using Win 7 RC1 since it came out and it's goooood.
It's really worth the hassle when upgrading from XP.
why spend 30 dollars on an upgrade (or free if you bought your pc recently) or spend a bare minimum of 600 dollars on a mac. makes sense.