Apple Macintosh, Meet Microsoft Windows
And we definitely saw it coming.
Apple users have been held back so far by Microsoft on Windows support for its Mactels – so named because they run on x86 microprocessors rather than that of Power PC technology. But even as the Vole cut support for EFI (the BIOS successor used by Mactels), hackers took the opportunity to successfully trick Windows XP into behaving on x86-based Macintosh computers.
Yes, we all saw that this is exactly what happened when those crackballs “0wn3d” several Windows XP installation discs to get them to install on Apple’s Mactels Now, thankfully, you don’t have to go so trigger-happy to dual-boot OSX and WinXP – you can let OSX do it for you natively (and legally). And the OSX technology that will enable this new form of Windows-Macintosh interoperability is quite accurately dubbed “Apple Boot Camp” – and it provides Mactels with a EFI/BIOS translator for Windows users that, according to reports, gets the job done efficiently. Plus it also includes Windows-specific drivers for Apple hardware that hackers have so far been near-incapable of providing for themselves.
Boot Camp works like this: You upgrade your Mactel’s firmware (if necessary), install Service Pack 6 of MacOSX Tiger (that is, OSX version 10.4.6, but the official word is that the upcoming OSX Leopard will also work – and install it at time of upgrade) and install the Boot Camp software (again, OSX Leopard will do this for you). Then you run the Boot Camp for Windows Dual-Boot Preperation Wizard, burn the necessary drivers onto a CD and create the partition on which to install Windows (don’t worry – unlike Microsoft’s FDISK and similar Windows-related partitioning tools, data loss will NOT occur as a result). Then you reboot, insert your Windows CD (which you must get from Microsoft-friendly dealers as Apple does not provide or support the actual Windows installation media) and proceed from there, making sure to select the Windows partition so as to avoid harming OSX. Finally, boot Windows (from the boot device selector you get when you hold down the Alt key – aka the Option key – on your Mac), install the drivers which you burned to CD and you’re set!
So just what is the value of Apple Boot Camp? Well, if you’re a tech enthusiast who wants to dual-boot Windows and OSX (which requires a Mactel as Apple does not provide MacOSX outside of its own hardware) or a business professional who regularly uses a Macintosh but also requires Windows for certain software programs, then Apple Boot Camp will let you dual-boot the two directly on your Mac and you’re on your way. For everyone else, it’s easier just to buy a PC from Dell, HP or any computer manufacturer and get Windows that way. And if you use Windows XP Media Center Edition, you’re pretty much S.O.L. (that is, squat outta luck) as Apple Boot Camp does not support this. All you have to do is decide which you want to be – or already are – and go from there.
Of course, this could somehow lead to MacOSX support on other manufacturer’s machines. Then again, that part may still be – and continue to remain – nothing more than wishful thinking. Same with Windows support – Apple does not plan on selling or supporting the Vole’s operating system, which continues to hold a “popularity monopoly” over OSX, Linux, etc. (Besides, OSX is largely used as a Unix replacement, anyway.) But Apple Boot Camp, at least, is a step in the right direction. Past patterns have shown that Apple has jumped the proverbial shark on things such as MP3 players and microprocessors after denying that it ever would make such business decisions and product changes, all simply by introducing the iPod and Intel-based Macs, respectively. Should the pattern hold, Boot Camp could allow Apple to test the proverbial water and see how many Mac users install Windows – and then dump OSX, spin off its development (or simply kill the product) and go full-time with Windows. Where Apple Computer is concerned, stranger things have definitely happened.
And for now, we’ll just leave it at that.
