subject: Apple moves to widen Mac appeal posted: Thu, 06 Apr 2006 15:53:25 +0100
[Comment on yesterday's news. Quotable: "you quickly forget that the
computer you are using is a Mac" ... to me this is the biggest danger
for Apple in its transition to Intel. It means the hardware is more
disposable and interchangable than ever. Apple have historically
safeguarded their marketshare with proprietary hardware and
aggressive litigation. Opening their hardware up to Windows means
Apple becomes a PC maker, just like HP, Dell and Lenovo. The only
other differentiator Apple had was their operating system - but OSX
is really FreeBSD with a pretty interface called "Darwin". FreeBSD
is downloadable. So now, the only thing that makes a Mac a Mac is
"Darwin", the GUI, and that is only protected by the well-used "look
and feel" arguments at Apple Legal. Surely this is a dangerous
strategy, betting your company's niche on a single piece of software?
Certainly, OSX is a marvellous piece of engineering, and Apple have
strengths in integration. But a quality PC with FreeBSD and a nice
GUI will surely do the same job for half the money. Granted, it
probably won't have a soft pastel case - cos Apple sued to protect
that as well. - Stu]
Apple moves to widen Mac appeal
By Graham Barlow
Editor, MacFormat
Who would have thought we would see Windows running on a Mac with
Apple's blessing?
Boot Camp, a new utility released by Apple, makes it easy for anybody
to install Windows XP on to a new Mac.
It will not work on the older G5 and G4 Macs, but it opens a whole
new world of compatibility to anybody with a Mac running one of the
new Intel processors.
It is a bold move by Apple that has taken everybody by surprise,
although looking back, the signs were there that it was going to
happen ever since Apple announced the switch to Intel processors last
June.
Boot Camp is currently available as a free trial, and it is scheduled
to form part of Leopard, the next version of OS X operating system.
These are the first details we have heard on the new operating
system, and more information is expected in August at Apple's World
Wide Developer Conference.
It means that Apple has had its Windows dual boot system in
development for some time now.
DIY method
Apple may have been forced into releasing Boot Camp this early by
Jesus Lopez and Eric Wasserman.
The two pioneering software programmers succeeded in first installing
a copy of Windows XP on an Intel Mac on 16 March.
The pair won a $13,000 bounty from the OnMac.net website for being
the first people to get Windows installed on an Intel Mac.
It took a lot of technical know-how and a lot of messing around with
disc partitions, installation discs and driver files to get it to
work, but it was possible for other people to replicate their method.
With the technical possibility of Windows on a Mac revealed by the
boys' DIY method, Apple has responded with an official solution.
Apple's Boot Camp makes it much easier for anybody with an Intel Mac
to install Windows XP.
Rather than a signal that it is going to abandon OS X in the future,
letting people install Windows on a Mac right now is a clever way to
encourage Windows users to make the switch to Mac.
Apple wants to get as many people switching over from Windows as it
can, and with the news that Windows Vista is being delayed until at
least January 2007, it is striking while the iron is hot.
If a Windows user is nervous about switching to a Mac, they now have
the ultimate security blanket.
Game on
Seeing Windows XP running on a new MacBook Pro for the first time is
a very strange experience.
It runs without a hitch. After a few minutes you quickly forget that
the computer you are using is a Mac, and not a PC.
Will most existing Mac users care? That's debatable. Most Mac users
are happy to never go near Windows and are unlikely to be tempted to
install it now.
Boot Camp throws up a number of other issues they need to consider.
Will having Windows installed on your Mac leave them open to the
security vulnerabilities that Windows users take for granted, but Mac
users seldom have to worry about?
Could the Windows installation be used as a vulnerable backdoor into
the Mac's previously watertight security? Only time will tell.
The Mac games industry has also been turned on its head.
With Windows running on an Apple machine, Mac gamers now have the
ability to run all the latest Windows games without having to wait
for a company to port them across to the Mac platform.
In fact, it could be Mac gamers that have the most to gain from
installing Windows on their Mac.
Will we one day even see OS X running on PCs with Apple's blessing
too, as some industry experts have predicted?
Probably not any time soon, but suddenly everything seems possible.
search: