“For as long as I can remember, there has been a battle of operating systems. Which operating system is better, Microsoft or Apple? The debate rages on but what we do know is this: Currently, your organization does not have the ability to dual-boot a Windows and an Apple operating system,” Steven Warren writes for CIO Update. “Well, times are a changin’ and new Intel machines are gearing up for Apple and its OS X operating system.”
“In June 2005, Apple announced a brilliant strategy. They decided to abandon the IBM PowerPC processors to move to the Intel engine. Can you imagine the possibilities? We could live in a world where you could now buy a brand-name computer or clone and load Apple OS X Tiger on it or dual-boot your computer with OS X and Windows. You may even be able to run Windows on an Apple computer. Seriously,” Warren writes. “With Apple’s move to the Intel platform, I see several things happening in the industries where Apple reigns supreme, which include publishing, recording, Hollywood, etc. Currently these industries use both Microsoft and Apple products. Imagine if these industries had the option to abandon Microsoft as the workstation and simply load OS X throughout their infrastructure; an infrastructure that already owns or leases Intel based PC’s.”
“If Apple can take the next step and move into a licensing model, we could really see some things heat up which is very encouraging,” Warren writes.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take by SteveJack: Everything out of Apple so far says Mac OS X will only run on Apple-branded Macs. Apple execs have also said that it would be possible for Windows to run on Intel-based Macs and that Apple would do nothing to prevent Macs from doing so. Until we hear otherwise, I’ll have rate the idea of being able to run Mac OS X on any x86 PC as “not likely.”
After Jobs’ [announcement that Apple would shift its Mac line to Intel-based chips], Apple Senior Vice President Phil Schiller addressed the issue of running Windows on Macs, saying there are no plans to sell or support Windows on an Intel-based Mac. “That doesn’t preclude someone from running it on a Mac. They probably will,” he said. “We won’t do anything to preclude that.” However, Schiller said the company does not plan to let people run Mac OS X on other computer makers’ hardware. “We will not allow running Mac OS X on anything other than an Apple Mac,” he said. – CNET, June 6, 2005
The possibility of being able to run Windows on any Intel-based Mac seems a much more reality-based idea and the possibilities are much more fun to imagine. Dual-booting Mac OS X and Windows on Intel-based Macs is one such idea, but hardly the most elegant. Another is having the ability to run VirtualPC (Windows within the secure Mac OS X environment) at native speeds. Probably the most intriguing concept can be seen in a project like Darwine which allows the user to run Windows applications via Mac OS X without needing Windows at all. Imagine if you could run Windows-only applications (think AutoCAD, for just one example) at native speeds without needing Windows on Intel-based Macs? How many industries that are tied to Windows-only apps (Architecture, Engineering, Real Estate, etc.) would be able to consider Macs again? Who wouldn’t want to be able to run the virus-free Mac OS X that can run Mac-only apps like iMovie HD, Keynote, GarageBand, iDVD, iPhoto, Aperture, Pages, Motion, DVD Studio, Final Cut Pro, Logic, etc. along Windows-only games and apps?
The Cupertino Project?
Was Schiller’s “no plans to sell or support Windows on an Intel-based Mac” comment just another Apple smokescreen along the lines of “no video iPod is planned?” Could Steve Jobs be preparing to drop just such a bomb on the Windows box assemblers at Macworld Expo or sometime in 2006? Would he first drop just a moderately destructive atomic bomb on the likes of Dell, HP, Lenovo, Gateway, etc., leaving out the “Windows apps on Mac without Windows” threat to Microsoft? Or could Jobs actually be boldly planning to drop the industry-devastating hydrogen bomb on both the Windows box assemblers and Microsoft all in one fell swoop? If a Mac could run Mac OS X and Windows, who would buy a Dell, HP, etc.? If a Mac could run Mac OS X and Windows applications without Windows, who would buy a Dell or a copy of Windows from Microsoft? And what would Microsoft be able to do about it? Drop Internet Explorer for Mac (LOL)? Drop Office for Mac? Big deal, we’ll run the Windows versions on our Macs then, if need be. Is this why Jobs has been building a world-class library of Mac-only software titles for years? Does Jobs still harbor the desire to take back the personal computer industry from Microsoft? Could that be the real reason why Jobs is undertaking the massive switch to Intel-based Macs? Or do you really think the switch to Intel-based Macs is just to get better performance per watt CPUs for Apple iBooks and PowerBooks?
Today Apple has mastered the art of moving from one computer user’s space to another with its graphic cube effect. This is commonly known as Fast User Switching and is a system preference in Mac OS X. But [can you] imagine a world wherein you can cube the cube? Imagine that each user account can have multiple instances of operating systems (perhaps OS X and Windows, or Linux and OS X) running simultaneously. From the Apple menu a user would select an OS environment and an Exposé cubic switch would literally swing around a different OS environment, just like today’s Fast User Switching… Apple already has the interface technique in place and the technology to make this happen in Exposé. What it lacks is the ability to run multiple operating systems side by side. That it can now get from Intel and its virtualization technologies inside of future Pentium and Xeon chips. [Intel-based Macs from Apple] may offer us not just smooth multiple user environments, but multiple OS worlds as well. – Architosh, November 16, 2005
For even more tantalization, Google “Yellow Box for Windows” and/or “Mac Dharma.” (Note: Mac OS X users can highlight the text I’ve placed within quotes, Control-Click (or Right-Click) on the highlighted text and choose “Search in Google.”)
SteveJack is a long-time Macintosh user, web designer, multimedia producer and a regular contributor to MacDailyNews.
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Related MacDailyNews articles:
Report: Apple contracts with Intel for design of next-gen Power Mac motherboard – December 27, 2005
Report: Quanta and Asustek to partner with Apple on new Intel-based iBooks and PowerBooks – December 27, 2005
Intel ‘Yonah’ specs, performance detailed; processor expected to power first Apple Intel-based Macs – December 22, 2005
Move to Intel-based Macs one of the most important switches Apple has ever made – December 22, 2005
It’s official: Apple CEO Steve Jobs to deliver Macworld San Francisco 2006 keynote address – December 01, 2005
Will future Intel-based Apple Macs offer multiple OS worlds via virtualization? – November 16, 2005
Apple patent application describes Intel-based Macs that run Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows – November 05, 2005
Is Apple morphing Mac into the ultimate PC capable of running Mac OS X, Windows, Linux? – June 20, 2005
Intel’s built-in virtualization tech could be one way to run Windows on Intel-based Apple Macs – June 16, 2005
Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ ultimate goal: ‘to take back the computer business from Microsoft’ – June 16, 2005
Why buy a Dell when Apple ‘Macintel’ computers will run both Mac OS X and Windows? – June 08, 2005
Apple Computer is a computer company and therefore it will always sell a computer which means no licensing of OSX for Windows clones period! Now if people are really interested in OSX then they will have to buy a Mac. And now with an intel processor they might be able to load Windows on it to if they like. Why I haven’t the foggiest but at least they could if they wanted too.
I am extremely surprised that no one has yet to mention this problem with the “hydrogen bomb” option of using Darwine / WINE in order to run Windows / Win32 applications natively INSIDE the Mac OS operating system: MASSIVE INCREASE IN TROJAN / WORM FOOTPRINT.
In other words, if you suddenly give everyone, including grandmas who know nothing about computers, the ability to run ANY windows application inside of the Mac OS, they would also have the ability to run any windows-based attachment that appeared in their inboxes. Including Worms! Worms that could delete email, send themselves to other Mac and Windows users all at the same time.
I love the idea of using VMWARE at native speeds on Mac OS X in order to finally be able to run my company’s software for demo purposes at full speed. However, I do not want to run the risk of my mom or any other less-knowledgeable family member getting a Windows virus or worm/trojan, by having them run immediately and natively under Darwine / WINE. I certainly hope that if this is available that it can be an option to turn OFF if you want/need to. Or better yet, for security purposes, default OFF and turn ON if needed / wanted during initial setup.
It’s actually a matter of when and how well Windows apps run on a Mac, certainly not a matter of technology. Look at what Sun is doing with its Linux wrapper inside Solaris. Previously code named Janus, Solaris will run Linux apps natively. The trick is you have to have a copy of Red Hat installed as well, even though the Red Hat OS is not techniacally running when Solaris calls up the particular Linux app in question. Now comes word that Solaris will be able to run BSD and Darwin apps as well using this wrapper technology.
Now if Sun can do this, then it should be no great stretch for Apple to do the same either with a wrapper like function or an enhanced version of Rosetta. Either way, as I stated earlier, it’s just a matter of time, not technology.
Side note: With the advent of AJAX and Flash based Web desktops…along with Apple’s move to Intel, the days of Microsoft dominance are truly coming to an end. It will take some time, as it does turning any large object such as a ship, but the behemoth known as Microsoft has seen its better day.
The analysis in this article is all screwed up, it is clearly based on complete and total ignorance of the software issues. We have had Wine on Linux for a very long time now, and believe me when I say that it isn’t the panacea. I would say that less than 10% of all Windows applications run reliably in Wine. Most of them look like total crap, and most of them crash regularly. Games fare even worse on a standard Wine build. If it was possible to run all the relevant and important Windows applications flawlessly through Wine on x86 Linux, don’t you think that more people would be doing it?
All the doom and gloom predictions for Dell and other PC manufacturers are just as absurd. Why buy a Dell when you can get a Mac that runs OSX as well as Windows? Because if you go with Dell you can probably get better hardware for a third of the cost! And with Windows, you won’t have to pay $150+ every six to twelve months for the obligatory OS upgrade. Apple always charges outrageous prices for their hardware, and Dell is ridiculously popular because it charges very low prices.
The ability to dual-boot Windows on a Mac will definitely increase general willingness to risk the migration for some consumers, but it won’t have any significant impact on the overall PC market. Companies that need to buy in bulk will continue to buy from Dell and other major manufacturers, because of the better value.
“LEOPARD” is the next version of os/x for a reason … perhaps because it can change it’s spots!
ie to be able to run windows binaries on the mcatel, and/or to run cocoa binaries on windoze (aka yellowbox).
sadly, this achievement rather than any fundemental improvement in os/x will probably be the main result in 10.5
I say release older versions of os x, like 10.2, for the 486’s. Heck, maybe even give it away. Let all the windows folks see what the os is all about. They will become mac aware and consider macs when their current systems need to be replaced.
For Apple to overtake MS, it’s approach will have to be slow and stealthy. If Jobs threatens MS directly, Gates will pull out his checkbook and buy Apple outright.
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