“Now that the speculation about Apple switching from IBM PowerPC to Intel chips is over, industry buzz about more platform crossover for the Macintosh is just beginning,” Russell Redman writes for CRN. “Solution providers and analysts said Apple’s move to Intel opens up some intriguing possibilities: Would Intel-based Macs be able to run Microsoft Windows and Linux? And would the Intel version of Unix-based Mac OS X–code-named Leopard–be able to run on non-Apple computers powered by Intel processors?”
“The answer to both questions likely will be no, at least in the short term, VARs and analysts said. But they didn’t rule out either eventuality because of the huge market implications for Apple. Both scenarios would open the Windows PC space–especially the lucrative corporate market–to the Mac platform, potentially lifting Apple’s 2 percent to 3 percent computer market share into the double digits, they said. What’s more, if Leopard were permitted to run on PCs, Apple could reverse its historic decision to not license its operating system on other manufacturers’ computers,” Redman writes.
“Ross Rubin, an analyst at The NPD Group, said in a report that Apple could use a proprietary chipset to prevent Intel Macs from running other operating systems. Likewise, Apple could use Trusted Platform Module technology to ensure that the x86-based version of OS X will run only on its hardware, according to research firm Gartner,” Redman writes.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: This has been covered numerous times and various Apple spokespeople, including Apple VP Phil Schiller, have stated that Mac OS X will only be able to be run on Mac hardware and that Apple will do nothing to support or prevent Windows from running on Intel-based Macs. Linux already runs on Macs hardware.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
The Washington Post: ‘In a year or two, the best Windows PC may come from Apple’ – June 19, 2005
Intel’s built-in virtualization tech could be one way to run Windows on Intel-based Apple Macs – June 16, 2005
If Intel-based Macs can run Mac OS X and Windows, buying a Mac will be a no-brainer – June 15, 2005
Apple could use Trusted Platform Module chip to keep Mac OS X off non-Macs – June 14, 2005
Intel-based Macs running both Mac OS X and Windows will be good for Apple – June 10, 2005
Why buy a Dell when Apple ‘Macintel’ computers will run both Mac OS X and Windows? – June 08, 2005
Microsoft and Dell must have a lot of bricks lying around today – June 07, 2005
Apple to use Intel microprocessors beginning in 2006, all Macs to be Intel-based by end of 2007 – June 06, 2005
