
Apple is reportedly putting Mac development on the back burner - martin_henk
https://www.engadget.com/2016/12/20/apple-mac-development-on-the-back-burner/
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tmikaeld
I've long said that if Apple would allow MacOS to be installed on desktop
computers made by anyone, but being certified - then it would boost their
market share exponentially and in turn boost iPhone and iPad sales even more.

It would attract more developers and in turn better quality software and more
software means more customers.

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actsasbuffoon
Apple allowed other companies to produce computers running the Macintosh OS
from 1995-1997. Steve Jobs ended the program when he returned with Apple's
acquisition of NeXT.

The program was generally not well received:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh_clone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh_clone)

~~~
tzs
Those weren't really so much clones as Macs in non-Apple cases and assembled
in non-Apple factories. The licensed clone makers had to use Apple-approved
motherboard designs, and Apple would not approve designs other than those that
were very similar to Apple's.

Power Computing demonstrated prototypes that would take the Mac into new
markets that Apple's designs didn't fit well in, and publicly begged Apple to
allow them to sell them, but Apple refused.

The result was that the pseudo-clones competed directly for the same customers
Apple was going for, and so of course the program was a failure. A successful
authorized clone program needs to grow the market, not merely redistribute it.

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reustle
As a long time fan of my Macbooks, I'm really excited about this. This could
finally kick one of the other manufacturers hard enough (Lenovo, Dell, HP) to
make a seriously good device. The MS Surface Pro series is already pretty
solid, but Windows is just not there yet. I don't think it will be Ubuntu
taking the cake, but with some better software, I'd happily switch away from
macOS.

