XP on MACs...

Lyon · Post by **Lyon** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 2:45 pm

Its official, Apple has released Boot Camp which allows XP to be installed on Intel based MACs.

Shannara · Post by **Shannara** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 6:31 pm

I was just about to post that ... now there really isnt any reason to buy a windows based pc

Plus once PB comes out for the intel OSX ... we can develop in both, plus use Beach's PureWinLin, and we can develop on all three on one box!

dracflamloc · Post by **dracflamloc** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 6:38 pm

Price...

Thats as good a reason as any as far as I can tell.

Oh and maybe if you want your computer to look badass and not like something that came out of the carebears cartoon.

Honestly I'd be way more excited if they released something that allowed Mac OSX to run on non-apple hardware.

Shannara · Post by **Shannara** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 7:02 pm

Well, now the price is basically "cheaper". AKA, you can now run both windows and mac on the same machine. I agree about the carebare, but at least it takes less desk room

But still, its expensive as hell. I think apple did a great thing when they only have OSX support certain hardware.. it keeps the testing of OSX changes to a minimal

BTW: The intel macs do not run on apple hardware

Killswitch · Post by **Killswitch** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 7:36 pm

I agree with dracflamloc, if OS X was released as a stand alone operation (free from Apple/Apple branded hardware) I would be far more exicited. But we all know this is very unlikely

.

Num3 · Post by **Num3** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 7:58 pm

Same here.

I would buy OSX, if it would run in any PC ...

Lyon · Post by **Lyon** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 1:52 am

I would buy OSX, if it would run in any PC ...

Add me to that list

PB · Post by PB » Thu Apr 06, 2006 2:40 am

> now there really isnt any reason to buy a windows based pc

That doesn't make sense. If there's no reason to buy a Windows-based
PC, then why would you pay for the more expensive Mac hardware just
to run Windows? :roll: It's not going to stop viruses or be any more secure.

The only reason one would buy the Mac hardware is to run both MacOS
and Windows. And I predict this'll mean people will begin to stop using
MacOS once they realise how much PC software is out there... in other
words, Boot Camp will become the boot-up option of choice. And that
can only bode badly for MacOS - I think they've shot themselves in the
foot with Boot Camp. It reminds me of the Commodore 128 - two PCs
in one, but no-one used the C128 and just used its C64 mode instead.
In this case, MacOS would be the C128 mode and Boot Camp is C64.

As Fred would say: Wait 'n' see.

dagcrack · Post by **dagcrack** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 2:51 am

Oh I'd love to see macs dead, where do I sign?

Lyon · Post by **Lyon** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 3:03 am

Oh I'd love to see macs dead, where do I sign?

You will never see macs die as long as Microsoft owns a chunk of them.

dracflamloc · Post by **dracflamloc** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 3:42 am

PB wrote:> now there really isnt any reason to buy a windows based pc

That doesn't make sense. If there's no reason to buy a Windows-based
PC, then why would you pay for the more expensive Mac hardware just
to run Windows? :roll: It's not going to stop viruses or be any more secure.

The only reason one would buy the Mac hardware is to run both MacOS
and Windows. And I predict this'll mean people will begin to stop using
MacOS once they realise how much PC software is out there... in other
words, Boot Camp will become the boot-up option of choice. And that
can only bode badly for MacOS - I think they've shot themselves in the
foot with Boot Camp. It reminds me of the Commodore 128 - two PCs
in one, but no-one used the C128 and just used its C64 mode instead.
In this case, MacOS would be the C128 mode and Boot Camp is C64.

As Fred would say: Wait 'n' see.

They aren't shooting themselves in the foot. Thier OS makes no money for them. They've always been a hardware company and the OS is just a loss for them. I figured they'd eventually switch to a windows OS

dagcrack · Post by **dagcrack** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 4:07 am

Lyon wrote:
Oh I'd love to see macs dead, where do I sign?
You will never see macs die as long as Microsoft owns a chunk of them.

Die as in the product not the company ... And thats something people decides (do I buy?) not MS.

jroad · Post by **jroad** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 4:47 am

I think this is good news, as did wall street (stock up ~10% on the news). I think allowing people who may be straddling the fence regarding the purchase a Mac while allowing access to Win XP apps when necessary is a good thing.

Apple has allowed the use of Windows apps on their hardware, while not making it terribly convenient, thus slowly weaning users away from Windows. It will be interesting to see how this story plays out with future OS X releases and other virtualization options.

PB · Post by PB » Thu Apr 06, 2006 5:54 am

> I think allowing people who may be straddling the fence regarding the
> purchase a Mac while allowing access to Win XP apps when necessary
> is a good thing

I disagree, because people are lazy. They're not going to want to reboot
to switch between OSes (which is the case according to the web site).
And once they see how much software they can use with Windows versus
Mac, I predict they'll stay booted in the Windows OS on a permanent basis.
There's nothing that a Mac does that Windows can't.

> Apple has allowed the use of Windows apps on their hardware, while
> not making it terribly convenient, thus slowly weaning users away from
> Windows

As you said, it's not convenient -- which is why I think they'll wean the
other way.

Picture this: They do all their e-mailing in the Mac etc, but
reboot into Windows to use an app not available on Mac. Then, they
suddenly realise they can just check their mail from Windows instead of
a slow reboot back into the Mac again. Next thing they know, they've set
up all their daily grinds in the Windows environment. Why then return to
the Mac at all, except for nostalgic reasons? Human Psychology 101.

jroad · Post by **jroad** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 6:55 am

I disagree, because people are lazy. They're not going to want to reboot
to switch between OSes (which is the case according to the web site).
And once they see how much software they can use with Windows versus
Mac, I predict they'll stay booted in the Windows OS on a permanent basis.
There's nothing that a Mac does that Windows can't.

I think we both agree that dual booting is cumbersome, yes? So, with that in mind, let's say I am thinking about buying a Mac. Why does one want to buy a Mac? Off the top of my head, I suppose one or more of the following:

a) I dislike MS and/or Windows for various reasons.
b) I find Windows prone to viruses and malware.
c) Someone recommended Mac to me.
d) I use a Mac for work and want to purchase for home use.
e) I want to experiment / develop with a new OS platform.
f) I like the way form and functionality are intertwined.
g) I like Apple and/or want to support the underdog.
h) There are Mac apps I want that do not work under Windows.
i) Mac's seem to make things easy/simpler.
j) I need a computer and a Mac is a computer.
k) I want a Mac, but still need to run Windows applications.

For many users, the Mac offers all the applications they may need, so I don't feel the argument that Mac owners who see that there are more applications for Windows will switch back to Windows. An investment and commitment was made to the Mac platfrom with the purchase and reversal would be difficult/tedious/an admission of a wrong choice. On the other hand, Windows users who want to make the switch can now do so, knowing their office apps and games (to varying extent) will work.

For Mac owners who are "lazy" and do not want to go dual boot, many will probably find the substitute applications for their needs. If not, then maybe they will try out the dual boot solution.

As you said, it's not convenient -- which is why I think they'll wean the
other way. Picture this: They do all their e-mailing in the Mac etc, but
reboot into Windows to use an app not available on Mac. Then, they
suddenly realise they can just check their mail from Windows instead of
a slow reboot back into the Mac again. Next thing they know, they've set
up all their daily grinds in the Windows environment. Why then return to
the Mac at all, except for nostalgic reasons? Human Psychology 101.

I am a long time Windows user since 3.1 and have Win 2000/XP/Linux(Slackware) boxes at home. I also have just recently purchased a new Intel Mac Mini

I think there are pros and cons to each OS. From what I have seen from the various forums, it seems to me that once a person chooses to go Mac, they stay there. It is the Windows users who are curious about switching to Mac, not the other way around.

That said, I do think this is a very interesting time for Apple with regards to there computing market. I believe most of their money comes from hardware sales, so I don't think they would switch to just selling their apps to run on Windows. Also, there are indications that the next version of Mac OS X may run Windows apps in a virtualization layer. As I recall, IBM OS/2 tried to do such things but look what happened to them...