I will admit that I am jealous of my coworkers Mac with VMWare Fusion. He has a dual boot system, but can load XP via Fusion and get DX9 support. Very Convenient. When using the PC version of VMWare there is no DX support or booting an OS from another partition (only the image files).
Unfortunately, I use a tablet PC, so only the ModBook would be available to me (at a premium over Apple's premium price)!
From what I see, this article really touts Apple's integrated solution - from personal computer to digital multimedia to cellular phone platforms. There are three reasons why Apple can succeed at this rather than any company related to Windows computers: first, they are a single company controlling both hardware and software; second, their products' market image and design is 'hip' and 'sexy'; and third, their minor market share.
The only company that could hope to do what Apple is doing would be Microsoft. However, what would consumer reactions be to such an attempt? First, they would have to partner with multiple hardware vendors to present a unified line of products. Second, their products would not have the same market image - think of iPod competitors and how these devices are often characterized as "ugly". Third, "M$" (as they are often unlovingly called) is immediately labeled as an evil monopolistic corporation motivated solely by greed.
Thus, when Apple does they are called "innovative" and "visionary" - but when Microsoft does there are implications of coercion of others and attempts to monopolize your digital life. Microsoft is not trying to present an integrated solution to make your life easier (such as standardizing windows layouts so users of a new program know where to find common features).
The point? Image and perception is everything - and Apple knows how to build image.
Of course, this image is shaped by strictly controlling hardware and software. This means less customization, longer cycles to bring innovative hardware to market, and less software available. When Apple says a product works, you pay a premium for the product. Compare this to the Vista Compatible/Capable fiasco that occurred.
PC hardware is more prolific and lower cost, but the burden is on the end user or the branded system manufacturer to ensure that the components work nicely together. Even then, updated drivers from 3rd party manufacturers may cause issues.
For example, I use the ECS A780GM-A with Vista Ultimate 64 bit as my home system. Since the integrated graphics had HD DVD playback issues with my LG HD DVD/Blu-ray drive, I put in my spare 8500GT nVidia card. It worked fine until a recent driver update from nVidia, which then conflicted with my integrated sound. It would cause my system to lock up after 3-15 minutes of use. Of course, there was an updated ATI driver, so I chose to go back to using the IGP (but have yet to test HD DVDs yet).
Obviously Apple systems do not have quite the same issues currently. However, if they opened up their system to "after market" upgrades, they undoubtedly would. Thus it would be a big mistake for Apple to open up their system. As to getting more modern hardware choices immediately available, this would require rapid and thorough testing and possibly quick software coding - which would not only increase the cost of the components but increase the probability of coding errors. People wish for more hardware choices, but often they do not realize the risks and costs associated with them.
Overall, I find the comparison of Mac and PC computers a bit questionable. Although both are computers for home and business use, the way they are designed and marketed are totally different. The perceptions of the companies (underdog Apple with only a tiny market share versus the big evil overlord Microsoft and their legion of PC hardware henchmen) also make comparisons impractical... its kinda like, well, comparing apples to oranges. They may be the in the same category, but they are not the same thing.
Personally, I find that good - Apple should not let itself become just another PC styled market. Instead, lets keep giving consumers a choice between design philosophies. Heck, lets even let them choose to buy into and enjoy both ways of doing business!
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