Steve Jobs has always been considered a high tech guru. He lead the IT revolution with a passion that few people could deny. So why isn’t he pushing Apple to get behind virtualization?

VMware is currently working on a version of their Workstation product that would allow you to run other operating systems like Windows and Linux on top of Mac OS X. However, they won’t allow Mac OS X to be run inside a virtual machine.

http://www.arstechnica.com/ reports:

As a followup to that statement from Parallels, I was able to also get in touch with Srinivas Krishnamurti, VMWare’s Director of Product Management and Market Development in order to get VMWare’s official position on the matter. Previously, the company indicated that they might perhaps give into temptation and allow users to run OS X in a virtual machine on non-Apple hardware despite what Apple thinks, but Krishnamurti says that’s not so. “Apple does not currently allow running Mac OS X in a virtual machine,” he said. “Apple is an important partner and VMware respects Apple’s intellectual property.”

Apparently Apple is afraid that if they allow OS X to run in a VM, then nobody will buy MacBooks anymore. As it is, most people don’t think of Apple as a computer company but as a consumer electronics company. In fact, when a friend of mine left Dell to work for Apple a few years ago it was to “become an iPod salesman”. (His words.)

This is really a sad development for me. Although I’ve never been a “Mac guy”, I’ve always respected their products. I’ve also always thought Steve Jobs was an amazing visionary. Seeing Apple take a stand against virtualization is kinda sad.

Apple is wasting no time combating Windows Vista. Today the released a new commercial in their successful “Mac & PC” commercials. I think this is absolutely brilliant!

VMware has just announced Workstation for the Mac. Their slogan is, “Love your Mac, and have your PC too”.

This is announcement was timed to correspond with the opening of the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, CA.

The new version is not yet available, in fact VMware is only now allowing “pre-registration” for the upcomming beta test of the product. Here’s the link to register:

http://vmware.rsc02.net/servlet/campaignrespondent?_ID_=vmwi.1756

At the same time, Microsoft announced that they would not be following suit.

I’d personally be more excited if Apple’s future did not include a total migration from the PowerPC architecture to Intel. I’ve used PowerPC based systems for years, and have always found them much more powerful. However, they are more costly and Apple does need to compete in the marketplace.

One thing I am excited about is eweek’s article on the 25 most influential products in the last 25 years. VMware ranked number 7 and the Linux kernel number 6, while Microsoft Office and Microsoft Windows 95 listed 23 and 24. Here’s the full list:

1. 1. The IBM PC
2. 2. Mosaic Web Browser
3. 3. Apache
4. 4. Intel i386 Processor
5. 5. XNS
6. 6. The Linux Kernel
7. 7. VMware x86 Virtualization
8. 8. Apple Macintosh
9. 9. PGP
10. 10. Compaq Portable
11. 11. Adobe PDF and Acrobat
12. 12. Lotus 1-2-3
13. 13. Cisco IOS
14. 14. Ashton-Tate dBase II
15. 15. Palm Pilot
16. 16. Linksys 802.11 Routers
17. 17. Shiva LanRover
18. 18. Phoenix BIOS
19. 19. Red Hat Linux
20. 20. Microsoft Visual Basic
21. 21. Network General Sniffer
22. 22. Lotus Notes
23. 23. Windows 95
24. 24. Microsoft Office
25. 25. Nessus

You can read the VMware Workstation press release here:

http://www.vmware.com/news/releases/mac.html