Leopard is Good (but it ain't no threat to Microsoft): Page 2

Not into games? Well, what about kitting out your PC out with peripherals? There’s all manner of treasures and trash for Windows-based PCs, from printers to USB missile launchers. If you’re into hooking up a multitude of gadgets and gear to your computer, taking the Apple route means having to live with less (which, from a stability and performance point of view, is probably not a bad thing).

What about Macs in the business environment? Is Leopard going to encourage businesses to throw out their boring beige PCs and replace them with Macs? Unlikely. It’s true that businesses are quite interested in Mac, and the MacBook and MacBook Pro systems have been a popular choice in some circles. Yet widespread adoption based on Leopard’s performance is unlikely because of price and issues relating to integrating Mac systems into a Windows ecosystem.

Another issue is Leopard’s focus. Businesses have been critical of Vista’s heavy emphasis on consumer computing, but Leopard is far further down the consumer road than Vista is. While I disagree with Microsoft’s decision to come out with as many different versions of Vista as it did, Leopard’s “one size fits all” is equally flawed.

I don’t want to leave you with the impression that leopard isn’t great, because it is, and I’ve no doubt that it will be Apple’s best selling OS to date. But it’s important to keep things in perspective. The idea that Leopard will see double digit growth in market share over the next couple of years --- and that this will put Microsoft on the back foot -- is baloney.