January 11th, 2006
Running Windows on Intel Macs
Worth reading: Henry Norr, one of the deans of Mac journalism, offers his impression of the Steve Jobs keynote. He comments on the potential impact a running Windows on a Intel-based Mac, which Apple exec Phil Schiller said would be possible, although Apple won’t provide any support for such efforts.
Below is Henry’s take:
If, in fact, Windows will run reliably on the Apple hardware, some developer is sure to produce a dual-boot utility that would let users choose between Microsoft and Apple operating systems - or maybe even some software that enable them both to run simultaneously. If that happens, I think it could bring a flood of new switchers to the Mac platform, because it would remove most of the risk from the change. At the price of a Windows license plus the utility software I’m envisioning, they’d be able to try out the Mac, and stick to it where it excels, without losing access to the games and specialized apps that aren’t available for the Mac platform.
So far Apple seems uninterested in promoting this approach, and, as a Mac consultant pointed out to me on the show floor, the company certainly has no interest in taking on the burden of support for Windows on its machines. Without such support, corporate IT managers aren’t likely to adopt Intel-based Macs as a dual-OS platform. But if Windows actually runs reasonably reliably on these machines - as well, say, as on an average PC - I think the dual-boot option, even without official support from Apple, would have a lot of appeal to many small businesses, home users, and students.
Update: It turns out the Windows XP won’t run on Intel Macs, but Vista will when it ships.
Dan Farber, editor-in-chief of CNET News.com, has more than 20 years of experience as an editor and journalist covering technology. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
