Apple Allows Windows on Its Machines
By VIKAS BAJAJ
nytimes.com
( Now, how long before we get a dual-boot the OTHER way, the Mac OS on a vanilla Wintel box? )
Turning a decades-long rivalry on its head, Apple Computer introduced software today that it says will easily allow users to install Microsoft's Windows XP operating system on Apple's newest computers.
The software, Boot Camp, is available as a free download on Apple's Web site and will be part of the next version of Apple's operating system, Leopard. It works on Apple's three lines of computer that run on Intel chips — the Mac mini, the iMac and the MacBook Pro.
Apple's move is a recognition of the growing interest among some users in running Windows on Macintosh computers now that they are using Intel processors, which power the majority of Windows-based personal computers. Many technology enthusiasts have already been sharing software and tricks on the Internet to allow Mac users to add Windows to their new machines, though those approaches, it appears, involve a far more complicated installation than Apple's new software does.
In a statement today, Apple said it does not intend to support Windows for customers who install Boot Camp and run Windows XP on their machines. Still, the company said it is providing the software because it recognizes a sizeable demand — and opportunity.
"We think Boot Camp makes the Mac even more appealing to Windows users considering making the switch," Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, said in the statement.
Investors seemed to think the strategy would help Apple expand its share of the personal computer market beyond the 3 percent to 5 percent level where it has stood at for many years. Shares of Apple jumped $3.28, or 5.4 percent, to $64.45 in morning trading.
After years of stagnant or declining computer sales, Apple has seen a steady and significant rise in its desktops and laptops in recent years as more consumers have purchased its iPod music player and bought songs through its online iTunes music store.
Though Apple's shift to Intel from chips made by International Business Machines and a former division of Motorola has been considered risky from a technical and business standpoint, the move could help the company capitalize further on the so-far modest gains it has made in the computer business.
The key test will be whether computer buyers will be willing to spend more money to buy an Apple computer to run the same software they can run on a far cheaper Windows-based machine from manufacturers like Dell and Hewlett-Packard.
Users who download and install Boot Camp must buy a copy of Windows XP software, which starts at $141.98 for the home edition. The Boot Camp software serves as an intermediary that creates an installation disk (users will need to provide a blank compact disk for this step) that lets the Windows software operate the Apple hardware.
Once the installation is complete, users can select which operating system, Apple or Windows, they want to use each time they start the computer
Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company |
