With Apple's release of Boot Camp, which will allow you to easily load Windows XP onto your Intel-powered Mac, some have postulated that this

Probably the most valid argument against Apple opening up OS X for general use on commodity PCs is that it would open the flood gates to a myriad of driver-related problems. David argues that part of what has allowed Apple to maintain high levels of stability with the operating system is that they control the hardware that it is used on. I had a debate over instant messaging with a co-worker about this today, who took the same position.

Although I understand the concern, I think it's important to keep in mind that even if Apple does allow OS X to be used on hardware that it does not manufacture, they still have the ace up their sleeve in that they can offer a different level of guarantee that everything will work as expected on their own hardware. Essentially, they can offer two tiers of support - all Mac support, and "other". The "other' category will be populated with two types of users: techies that want more control over the hardware they use, and budget users that simply cannot afford Apple's hardware. I fall into both categories.

While I can acknowledge that Apple makes very nice hardware with great design & aesthetic qualities, at the end of the day I can't get over the fact that PC hardware at similar performance levels is cheaper. As a Windows user since Windows existed, it pains me to admit that looking at Mac software is looking at software the way it should be: with a focus on usability and design. Too much of the Windows software we know and tolerate simply has little to no design value.

So Apple, please, please, please let me install OS X on my PC (like Chris Pirillo did). I'm an Apple customer waiting to happen, but I can't afford your hardware. The tantalizing possibility of dual booting is too much to handle. My true utopia will be achieved when it becomes possible to boot into either operating system (on any hardware), and still access the other one in a virtualized window. Now how cool would that be?