Apple releases software to let Macs run Windows

[engine]

Apple Computer Inc., the maker of the Macintosh computer and iPod music devices, on Wednesday rolled out a software patch under its plan to move its computers over to Intel Corp. microprocessors.

Apple said that the new software, called "Boot Camp", enables Intel-based Macs to install and run Microsoft Corp.'s Windows XP operating system software. Boot Camp is available as a download beginning today.

Apple releases software to let Macs run Windows [today.reuters.com]

[travelin cat]

StupidScript...

You MUST be trolling with an inane post like that...

[StupidScript]

Not trolling ... well, maybe a little ... it's just become really irritating to see all of the spin being put on this "Boot Camp" thing. C'mon! I use Macs, too, in addition to the M$ products and the excellent (free) 'Nix products. I actually just read a ZDNet review that claimed no other OS can do this. Well ... up until now, Mac was the only one that couldn't, because of the clever way MacOS checks to see if it's on "lamer" hardware before installing. Steve Jobs is an exceptional marketer, but he's playing catch-up with this one.

How long must you wait before there is a decent "virtualization" program that runs on a Mac ... not counting the fine 'Nix variants out there like Xen? Now THAT's an approach to multi-OS operation that seems to have been missed by Apple's thinkers.

[whoisgregg]

StupidScript, it sounds like you are taking your frustration about poor technology reporting out on the folks on this forum. :)

That said, your points c) and d) are (of course) correct, but regarding the other two (which I believe to be false)...

This statement:

a) We've been able to load OSX onto Intel-powered PCs for quite some time

Doesn't reconcile with this one:

because of the clever way MacOS checks to see if it's on "lamer" hardware before installing

How do you get OS X to install on a non-Mac PC?

(Of course the validity of benchmarking OS X on a PC versus on a Mac is pretty much moot until we can show that it's even possible to install OS X on a PC.)

[ytswy]

OS X on a generic PC has happened - a Register story [reghardware.co.uk] about it here.

However without drivers for PC hardware it's firmly in the geeks-only category.

[whoisgregg]

That's cool. I stand corrected on the possibility of installing OS X on other PCs.

I still take slight umbrage with "for quite some time" as I would consider that to be more a 9 months term, not a 3 month term.... but I'll let that rest. :)

[StupidScript]

August 18, 2005: "Mac Hacks Allow OS X on PCs"

[wired.com...]

Wired Magazine (so you know we could do it at least a couple of months before this report).

[whoisgregg]

I stand corrected on the timeframe as well. :)

All that's left is the benchmarks comparing identical Intel processors (one in an Apple box, one in a non-Apple box) showing that Mac OS X runs faster on the non-Apple hardware and I'll have all sorts of egg on my face.

I dug through OSx86 forums and everything, but all i could find was super beefed up AMD systems and heavily upgraded and obviously home-built Intel systems. I don't think that's a reasonable comparison of consumer machines. (Anyone can make a PC to beat the pants off an off-the-shelf PC.)

Who can put the egg on my face? :)