Apr 5, 2006
Welcome to Boot Camp
So the big news of the day (month?) is that Apple has finally announced the first official feature of Mac OS X Leopard today, as a public beta. The new feature, Boot Camp, allows you to *drumroll*...boot Windows XP on an Intel-based Mac! Hooray?
This is of course after hackers spent a few months struggling to get a bare bones copy of Windows XP running on the Intel Macs, without many drivers or even an elegant solution. Hopeful Mac owners donated around $13,000 USD to help these hackers do it, all while Apple was working on it for Leopard. Bummer.
The good news is that Boot Camp is a really easy to use solution, with the hardest part being actually *installing* Windows. You can even set aside a separate partition for the system without touching your Mac files. What about all of those missing drivers? Boot Camp lets you burn an installation disc which automatically installs all the drivers you'll need, with a few exceptions (iSight, backlit keyboard, some others). Apple does indeed note that when you're using Windows, you will be subject to viruses and other attacks! Just so you know.
What do you do with a Mac running Windows XP? Well, Apple stands by its position to never support Windows, however if you know what you're doing, you can run some nifty games and helpful apps. Apparently Half Life 2 runs well, as do other games, of course.
So why did Apple do this? If it wasn't obvious, this is definitely not helping Microsoft. Right now, its going after the PC retailers such as Dell, Gateway, Lenovo, etc. Once people start buying Macs to run Windows XP though, they will be subject to both systems, and get to see hands-on how nice using Mac OS X really is. Here's how I see the transition, in 4 easy steps:
Phase 1 Customers have heard about Macs in the news, they may own an iPod, etc., but have never really taken Macs seriously. Now they can boot Windows XP. The hardware is pretty nice, too. "Let's buy one and see what all the fuss is about!"
Phase 2 Customers use Windows XP when they need to, sometimes switching back to play with Mac OS X. They begin to realize what a superior experience it is to use Mac OS X instead of the vulnerable and unfriendly Windows XP.
Phase 3 Customers find ways to use Mac OS X more than often. They download alternatives to their favorite apps on Windows, use iLife to create and organize personal media, and buy a .Mac account to publish to the web. "Damn, this really is easy!"
Phase 4 "Windows? Who needs Windows? I'm loving my Mac!"
Phase 2 Customers use Windows XP when they need to, sometimes switching back to play with Mac OS X. They begin to realize what a superior experience it is to use Mac OS X instead of the vulnerable and unfriendly Windows XP.
Phase 3 Customers find ways to use Mac OS X more than often. They download alternatives to their favorite apps on Windows, use iLife to create and organize personal media, and buy a .Mac account to publish to the web. "Damn, this really is easy!"
Phase 4 "Windows? Who needs Windows? I'm loving my Mac!"
And that, my friends, is how this will end. Allowing Windows to boot on a Mac is a small price to pay for what this truly means. Will I install Windows XP on my Mac mini? I have no desire to, but I'm still excited about the possibility. Damn you, Apple Marketing.