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Amherst Bytes #26: Windows on Macs

By now, you’ve all probably heard about Apple’s introduction of new software that lets users of their new Intel Macs to run Windows. The technology, dubbed “Boot Camp”, offers an incredibly simple way to reconfigure an Intel iMac to turn it into a multi-boot system that gives you a choice to launch either Apple’s OSX or Windows XP upon startup. It’s currently in beta release for users of OSX 10.4.6, but it will be a standard feature in OSX 10.5 “Leopard.”

Now think about this for a moment. Windows… On a MAC! Surely hell, or whatever nasty place in the afterlife that you reserve for child molesters, theater talkers, and James Blunt, has frozen over. Now why would Apple, champion against all things Microsoft, ever do such a thing willingly? The answer isn’t all that complicated really, it’s simply the easiest way to tap into an entirely new market of users—Windows users.

Most computer users today first start out their life-long computer journey on Windows machines, and this is to be expected given Microsoft’s dominance in the computing world. This is a problem for Apple, however, because it’s very difficult to convince someone to jump ship simply for a prettier interface and hardware. The case is even harder for Apple to make if users become dependant on Windows-only applications and games. Enter “Boot Camp”, and the magical ability to never be without Windows.

In the end, this capability is good for both Apple and Microsoft, surprisingly enough. Apple sells more machines because Windows users are less hesitant about switching, and Microsoft sells more copies of Windows XP. Neither company loses anything: Apple doesn’t care if their users run Windows XP because they will also have OSX on their machines, and Microsoft doesn’t care what hardware their operating system runs on. This is the very definition of a win/win situation.

And while it may be cheesy to say it, the biggest winner in this whole situation is you, the consumer. How many times have you come across that one Windows or Mac application that is impossible to get because you’re running the opposite system? Now all you have to do is buy a shiny new Intel Mac and you can have both at your disposal. Of course, it’s this line of thinking which Apple is betting on.

Now if you’re holding your breath for Apple to release OSX on the PC side, I would say don’t bother. Unless, of course, I don’t much like you—in which case knock yourself out! Remember that Apple is first and foremost a hardware company. They have always kept tight control over their hardware, and for good reason: It has allowed them to keep OSX fairly bug free, and without much of the security issues that plague Windows machines. Of course, everything is easier when you remove choice, but I digress. Simply put, Apple won’t release OSX for standard PCs because it would be difficult for them to support the infinite variety of hardware out there. It would also remove the cachet from being a Mac owner. If everyone can run OSX on cheaper machines what makes Apples computers so special?

Of course, the next logical step is for Apple to figure out a way to get Windows applications to run directly inside OSX without the need of a reboot, although it looks like a third-party company has beat them to it. Parallels (parallels.com) has just announced new virtualization software that would allow Mac users to launch any version of Windows or Linux from within OSX. They also have other versions of their software that can allow Windows or Linux users to run any other operating system.

This software takes advantage of Intel’s new “Virtualization Technology” which allows multiple operating systems to run at one time. This technology is standard on their new dual core CPUs. Simply put, this makes the Parallels software much faster than past attempts at operating system emulation. While no replacement for “Boot Camp”, this software would allow Mac users to run the occasional Windows application without rebooting, which could be useful for some.

The significance of “Boot Camp” is perhaps more symbolic than anything else. After decades of seemingly arbitrary incompatibility between the Macintosh OS and Windows, they can now coexist peacefully, or so I hope.


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