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Windows XP on Intel Macs using Apple Boot Camp
When the first Intel Core-based Macs came out and people were asking if they could ever run Windows on it, Apple's response what they don't support it, but they won't do anything to stop it either. However, the decision to use EFI instead of BIOS basically stopped it from happening on a hardware level.
Today Apple released a beta of Boot Camp, which enables dynamic, non-destructive partitioning of a Mac hard disk, and installation of Windows XP that will run natively on Intel-based Macs. It even burns you a CD containing all the necessary drivers to support the hardware of the Mac you're installing it on. You still need your own copy of Windows XP (Home or Professional) though. Boot Camp then allows selection of the boot partition on start-up when the option(alt) key is held down.
Boot Camp functionality would be incorporated into the next major version of Mac OS X 10.5, code-named Leopard, and would probably be called something else by then.
This step is HUGE for apple, and leapfrogging ahead of Microsoft's feeble attempts to port Virtual PC which it acquired from Connectix. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think VPC even got as far as being optimised for the PPC G5.
I would personally prefer a full virtualization environment where Windows would be running concurrently, either within a window, or a separate switchable desktop, at native speeds of course. In the meantime, a dual boot option like this is a good start.
So now, when you buy a Macintosh, you get a machine that can run both Mac OS X and Windows natively, but the reverse isn't true. It's already been proven time after time that Macintosh hardware is no more expensive than similarly configured brand-name PCs from Dell or HP. Why wouldn't you want to buy a Mac now? But in all honesty, if you've bought a Mac, the question should be - Why would you want to boot into Windows for?
Oh, and I love Apple's interpretation of the 4-paned windows logo, as greyscale diamonds, with a glassy, embossed effect.
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Comments
In essence what I questioned as well: But in all honesty, if you've bought a Mac, the question should be - Why would you want to boot into Windows for?
April 9, 2006 3:36 PM | Viceice said:
Yes, but for the rest of us who KNOW what we are doing, we'd prefer to build our own rigs, which costs less and outperforms whatever $BrandedPCmaker$ has to offer.
Anyway, I find Macs just weird. I mean, how on earth do you get away with ripping audio to PCM RAW? At least adopt wav or something.
April 10, 2006 11:56 AM | jonathanpoh![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jonathanpoh.com/blog/nav-commenters.gif)
said:
Well, I've reached the stage where I just want my computers to work without spending all that time troubleshooting random crashes and just ongoing maintenance. The pain and time spent setting up my Media Center PC just reminded me why I prefer to work on a Mac.
As for the audio formats, both AIFF and WAV are the same PCM audio format, which is the format Audio CDs are in. They are just different container formats and easily converted from one to another. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WAV
April 7, 2006 10:58 AM | geekchic said: