The idea that Microsoft would ditch its own OS for the key underlying technology that powers Apple’s flagship operating system came to me in a most auspicious e-mail from a dear friend of mine, Dr. Arnold E. Handy, a well-regarded professor of gynecology who wrote me convinced the process had already begun. After laughing my head off for a solid 5 minutes and barely catching my breath I finally whimpered “Dude, you’re outta of your f—in’ mind”.
I’ve since slept on it and mulled over various coincidences. I’m now convinced he’s unequivocally right. Handy made the following 4 observations:
– The first was that the Microsoft Switch ad campaign was over. Despite desperate measures to get consumers to switch, nobody did.
– Microsoft is obviously tired of getting hurt by Open Source as evidenced by its half-decade-long steadily declining market share. Rather than fight the wave of innovation and dependable computing, it’s now ready to embrace it.
– OS X is based on BSD. Microsoft’s original TCP/IP stack included many components coming from open-source BSD code.
– Microsoft has been getting a lot of help from Apple to facilitate the migration.
Props to Nick for the Googling, and his perspective.
Update: See also this Funny Cartoon by Joy of Tech. (tip: Rob )
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