It’s pretty clear that my dream of cheap Dells running OS X isn’t going to happen:

After Jobs’ presentation, Apple Senior Vice President Phil Schiller addressed the issue of running Windows on Macs, saying there are no plans to sell or support Windows on an Intel-based Mac. “That doesn’t preclude someone from running it on a Mac. They probably will,” he said. “We won’t do anything to preclude that.”

However, Schiller said the company does not plan to let people run Mac OS X on other computer makers’ hardware. “We will not allow running Mac OS X on anything other than an Apple Mac,” he said.

So, damn you Apple. Damn you all to heck.

I’m on a mac small business list, one that was started to share tips and information on running a Macintosh small business (think shareware developer, etc.). The consternation being expressed there is downright amazing to me. In part, I understand where most of them are coming from. They’re small shops, usually one or two developers only, and some have spent a lot of time optimizing code using Altivec or some other PPC specific code. Others are really concerned about the perception of the boxes and the lack of a clear differentiator on a technical level than a PC. Others point to the confusion that this move will create in the marketplace until all software is shipping as universal binaries. Finally, there’s the time and cost involved in supporting two very similar but slightly different platforms. This means having access to both platforms as necessary in case of driver conflicts or other issues.

There’s also a lot of hand wringing over the difference in performance. Aside from the power consumption issues, the G5 is technically a superior chip than the Pentium 4. I can’t argue with that much, either. My G5 rocks compared to anything in the office here up to and including the monster machines in the server room. So, after all of this marketing telling us how great the G5 is, Mac users are essentially being told, well, we were wrong.

I don’t actually think this is the real message being sent, but Jobs tried so hard to put a positive spin on the Intel move that this is how it came out. Bottom line is that Apple is going to be building more machines like the Mac Mini that require lower power consumption and heat generation. When you look at what the G5 gives you, it’s a boat load of processing horsepower with a boatload of heat, too. Heck, back when I was at the G5 unveiling at WWDC, I noticed the amount of heat pouring out the fans in the back. I don’t think this is a model that Apple is going to be focusing on for growth going forward. Mark my words: we’ll have a Mac Mini style box intended for your entertainment center or TV. Or some other small factor box that I haven’t thought of a use for yet. The power consumption question is going to be much bigger on those boxes, so this move allows them to grow in ways that aren’t in their traditional markets.

It also gives them a boost in the laptop space, though I think the lack of a technical differentiator is more significant here.

I still wish they would open it up and go for it heads up with Microsoft on the PC platform. Schiller makes it clear they’re not trying to be a software company but I swear, if anyone could do it, it’s Apple. OS X is just that much better than Windows.