“I am experiencing the computer equivalent of an out-of-body experience. In front of me is Apple’s sleek new MacBook Pro laptop computer. And on the screen is a familiar sight in an unfamiliar setting: the rolling green hill and the blue sky spotted with clouds (and dotted with icons) that is the unmistakable Windows XP desktop. It’s like Pepsi in a Coke bottle, DeLay as a Democrat, Johnny Damon in a Yankee uniform (oops, forget that last one). Though it had previously been possible to run Windows on a Macintosh via pokey simulation software, this time Windows runs “native” (i.e., directly, just like with Dell and the rest) on the Intel chips that Apple has been switching to this year. Depending on how I start it up, this MacBook can retain the identity of a Mac running the Tiger OS, or become a Windows box in Mac clothing. It’s making me dizzy,” Steven Levy writes for Newsweek. “Even more disorienting, the software utility that allows me to go into the twilight zone of “it’s a Mac, it’s not a Mac” was created by Apple itself, the anti-Windows company.”
“Apple may be sending a not so subtle message that a direct comparison of the competing systems will leave no doubts concerning which is superior—or safer. When describing the precautions one must take when using Windows, Apple’s attitude is similar to a hotel concierge providing an insistent guest with directions to a nightclub in a thoroughly disreputable neighborhood. ‘When you load Windows you’re taking on the risk that entails,’ Apple senior VP Phil Schiller warns, citing the epidemiological woes of the Microsoft world. ‘There are a lot more security threats than the Mac has ever seen.’ Microsoft’s response to Boot Camp is telling. You would think there would be celebrating in Redmond—after all, customers who try it must bring their own $199 full-install version of Windows XP to the party. But aside from a welcome statement attributed to a Windows apparatchik, Microsoft execs are refusing to go on the record about this historic development—an indication that this disruptive development may be anything but welcome,” Levy writes. “Ultimately, Apple isn’t about supporting Windows—it’s about trying to steal customers from Windows.”
Advertisements:
• Apple’s brand new iPod Hi-Fi speaker system. Home stereo. Reinvented. Available now for $349 with free shipping.
• Apple’s new Mac mini. Intel Core, up to 4 times faster. Starting at just $599. Free shipping.
• MacBook Pro. The first Mac notebook built upon Intel Core Duo with iLife ’06, Front Row and built-in iSight. Starting at $1999. Free shipping.
• iMac. Twice as amazing — Intel Core Duo, iLife ’06, Front Row media experience, Apple Remote, built-in iSight. Starting at $1299. Free shipping.
• iPod Radio Remote. Listen to FM radio on your iPod and control everything with a convenient wired remote. Just $49.
• iPod. 15,000 songs. 25,000 photos. 150 hours of video. The new iPod. 30GB and 60GB models start at just $299. Free shipping.
• Connect iPod to your television set with the iPod AV Cable. Just $19.
Related articles:
Analyst: Apple’s Boot Camp may bring ‘significant benefits’ beginning in 2006 holiday quarter – April 07, 2006
Apple reseller: Boot Camp could sway a ‘huge percentage’ of PC users to go to the Mac – April 07, 2006
The Motley Fool: Apple ‘may be the next Dell’ – April 07, 2006
Macs that run Windows will calm potential switchers’ irrational fears – April 06, 2006
Analyst: Apple’s Boot Camp all about selling more Mac hardware – April 06, 2006
Analyst: With Boot Camp, Apple has removed another barrier to switching – April 06, 2006
Analyst: Apple Boot Camp could be an opportunity for Mac market share gains – April 06, 2006
Enderle: Apple’s Boot Camp allowing Windows on Mac ‘could change PC landscape as we know it’ – April 06, 2006
How to run Microsoft Windows XP on an Intel-based Macintosh with Boot Camp – April 05, 2006
Apple’s ‘Boot Camp’ a watershed, could dramatically expand Mac market share – April 05, 2006
Apple’s ‘Boot Camp’ is bad news for Windows-only PC box assemblers – April 05, 2006
Reuters: Apple’s new ‘Boot Camp’ could draw millions of new Mac buyers – April 05, 2006
I think those people that think things like:
– Only Mac users will be interested in this.
– Only hard-core Mac users will use this.
– Most Windows owners have no interest in the Mac or OS X.
… are seriously underestimating a couple of important factors:
1) Couples who disagree on platform choice, and who up til now have been relegated to PC’s because they “play games” or “use Access, which I need for work”… Now, one person can have the Mac, and the other can have their windows, and it’s all happyland.
2) People who have been interested in Mac OS, but have been unwilling to “lose their investment” in software (i.e. games and Office) by buying an incompatible Mac. Problem solved.
3) People who have been interested in the Mac hardware, but don’t want to dive headfirst into unfamiliar (OS) waters. Now they have a great safety net.
4) People who would buy a Mac out of preference, but have to use Windows at work, and can’t justify an ADDITIONAL computer just to run the Mac OS at home. Problem solved. One computer for both needs.
I think there are a lot of people in these 4 categories, and I think as they think about their next computer (say, when that Dell blows its power supply or needs to be de-infested for the umpteenth time) they will think seriously about the Mac. Especially if Leopard does the virtualization thing.
I can EASILY see Mac sales moving into the 10% range in a year or two. And Steve Jobs definitely will be smiling at the move he’s made to Intel and with this new direction.
And the posts above are right – the integration of iLife, Address Book, Mail, and even the Dictionary in the OS – once Windows people start to see these things, and use them firsthand – I personally demonstrated the address book / Mail / iCal connectivity to a friend last week, and he was impressed with how slick and easy it all was.
Oh, and – –
First Boast! “I AM SO GREAT!” (quoting Bart Simpson, circa Season 1)
Agreed. Many of the ‘smart’ buyers will indeed now purchase a Mac. And I would also agree that there are indeed enough of them to make a difference. But until now at least, it seems pretty clear that simply being ‘smart’ hasn’t exactly ruled the day when it came to making decisions about computer purchasing.
Regardless .. we do agree.
don’t forget the ducation market, now they have no excuse, Apple gets both slices of the cake, one less excuse from schools & universities running Mac’s to run to MS.
I think it’s big and I think Apple wants the cream of the PC market.
Frankly, I’m not certain what the technical limitations of multi-core processing may be; however, I see two Mac designs that would be compelling,
1. Macs running both Windows and OS X applications simultaneously with “Fast User Switching” would be a major advantage where exclusively Mac and PC users cohabitate.
2. Running both Windows and OS X applications simultaneously on side-by-side displays for person required to use certain Windows apps and wanting OS X to be their primary operating system.
Is the promise of Darwine consistent with point 2?
They’re not stealing anything…
Microsoft left its door open to everyone, even hackers, so that more and more people could use windows, and now they’re just really upset to see that Apple had come over too.
(anyone catch the reference)
A lot of you seem to think that this will help OSX but in reality it will probably only make a significant impact on hardware sales.
And whoever says Apple is the anti-Microsoft and crap like that obviously doesn’t know the two are in cahoots. In case you were sleeping, or maybe not born yet, Gates bought into Apple a while back so I highly doubt he despises it and Apple is ‘super smart’ for trying to deviously take customers.
Now that all windows people could use macs, what more incentive does it give companies to develop software for it? They just figure that no one NEEDS Mac software anymore, they could just dualboot.
Something like Firefox needs to happen to OSX, a program that starts out small and then word of mouth makes it spread and get better and soon it’s on all platforms and OS’s. If that could happen for some office platforms or some games then I’m sure there would be a lot of people who would rather use OSX. Until it’s compatible with file formats at peoples work and can play all the games people want it will always be a runner-up.
BTW-I’m typing on a AMD 3800×2-Nvidia6800-3GBram OSX install right now. Unfortunately I need to use all the other programs and games on my Windows so this is just pretty to look at. Gotta reboot now
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”hmmm” style=”border:0;” />
“It’s like Pepsi in a Coke bottle”
Maybe Tang in a Tropicana carton is more accurate…
mark “I hope this isn’t another OS/2 scenario where the superior OS lost…”
Back in the mid-90s Microsoft told the hardware companies that they would lose their cheap OEM Windows licenses if they also shipped OS/2 on their machines. The hardware people, who needed Windows for sales, understandably caved. This time Apple has all the advantages. Apple is both the hardware manufacturer and alternative OS supplier, and they don’t even sell licenses of Windows, let alone get OEM pricing. Who can Microsoft threaten? Even if they did, they would hear the noise of people in Cupertino laughing up all the way up to Redmond.
drew “Now that all windows people could use macs, what more incentive does it give companies to develop software for it? They just figure that no one NEEDS Mac software anymore, they could just dualboot.”
Your argument relies on Apple supplying Windows by default on all new Macs, which isn’t going to happen as it will push Mac prices up. Even with the current “low” numbers of Mac OS X users all the important developers code Mac products. I don’t see why software companies would abandon OS X if it’s installed base goes up dramatically, even if most of the newcomers can dual-boot into Windows.
Did I say Microsoft told the hardware companies? Of course I meant threatened.
AGAIN with this MS bought into Apple nonsense!
Drew, MS bought 150 million dollars of non-voting stock in Apple when SJ first came back to the company. This was part of a very quiet deal to make sure Apple was still visible in the business market (at the time there was talk of Office on Mac going away), and also included the agreement that Apple not sue MS for directly lifting code from QT for use in it’s media software. Apparently MS jumped at this because Apple had sold evidence of the theft.
MS sold their stock as soon as it was legally possible and made a nice profit to boot.
Apple and MS are not in “cahoots”, they do some business through the MacBU, but I am sure Apple would like nothing better than to see MS relegated to the status of a supplier of applications.
drew notes:
Balony.
(Nearly) every Dell or HP, etc. hardware sold usually results in a sale/placement of only ONE OS — MS Windows OS (Linux is a distant second, loaded from the factory.)
EVERY CoreDuo Mac hardware sold is a guaranteed sale/placement of OSX OS, AND the potential for additional sales of Windows OS (and Linux via third-party virtualization or Apple-provided methodology.)
In other words, the mere sale of a Dell, etc hardeware does NOT result in getting OSX in front of the user — sale of an Apple Mac CoreDuo hardware DOES.
Uh, drew — check your facts — Microsoft sold their Apple stock position a couple/three years ago.
Niffy
Why do reporters assume Apple is anti-Windows? I know I am, but consider the following:-
Apple has always considered its OS superior to Windows and encouraged switchers, but has never been anti-other OS (but they DO put Windows down in comparisons):
• Apple sold a PPC 6100 DOS-compatible and a Centris DOS-compatible both with a real Intel 486 in them running real Windows 3.1
• Apple never spoke against any version of Linux or the open source community (but made Darwin open source)
• Apple never stopped Connectix Virtual Game Station (PlayStation One emulator) or Virtual PC working but even sells Virtual PC on its store
• Apple regularly offers hardware bundles with Office (can you imagine MS offering Windows with bundled iTunes or ClarisWorks)
• Apple produced many of its applications for Windows e.g. ClarisWorks, iTunes
• Apple had poster ads showing MacOS, Unix and Windows on the same monitor as a selling point.
• Apple wrote their MacOS to run under Unix (called A/UX)
• Apple sold IBM AIX (spelling?) boxes as Apple servers for a while
• QuickTime supports many MS formats
Microsoft has consistently made remarks against their own competitive developers (Google, Netscape, Novell) and the open source community, plus tried to crush the internet. They have not encouraged support for other OS’s in their OS and have forced hardware manufacturers to never consider other OS’s.
We should never confuse superiority with anti-competitiveness.
ishufflemy feet….what drugs are you taking? Are they good?
Of course this will work…it will work better with the completion of Windows virtualization in Mac OS X Leopard. Like I said months ago, it will be as OS 9 Classic has…ability to boot up in that OS or you can just run concurrently inside OS X without looking at the oh-so-attractive hills and fields. Just launch a Win App and it opens like any other OS X program.
Keep in mind, there are millions like me….sole mac users in their office. I unfortunately need Windows on the business front for client side installs and Active X apps. Can’t get around it with the Mac other than using VPC which sucks, or MS Remote Desktop to take control of a free Windows box. I was going to be forced to buy a Dull but now I can get the MacBook Pro because of the XP compatibility.
Plus this will allow Apple to grab huge marketshare (more if they actually come out with a competitively priced gaming machine!)
And for all you WinBlows. WinSucks, WinPoop people out there, be nice! Windows is brilliant. I don’t understand why you would say those things! I mean, hey, without Windows, you would never really know how awesome and superior Mac OS X is!!!
I have absolutely no doubts that Mac OS X is seeing a strong resurgence and will see rapidly increasing market share as a result of a number of factors.
In no particular order:
1) iPod;
2) Sexy QUALITY hardware, even at the low end;
3) People are fed up with the complexity and unreliability of Windows, particularly at the more technically minded end, but still the whole spectrum of users;
4) Malware which plagues the Windows platform;
5) As word filters out, the ability to run multiple operating systems and the choice of dual/multi boot and running high speed virtual machines within OS X;
6) Incredible quality of Apple’s bundled and nicely integrated software and professional software lines compared to the clunky opposition;
7) Microsoft’s stumbling mess which is Vista. Also their inability to focus on their core competencies (if they actually have any) and obsessive need to be all things to all people and control every conceivable market and hardware platform. They have their fingers in too many pies;
8) Mac OS X.
I know many a Windows user who has switched, is about to switch or was waiting for point 5 to switch.
There are still people who don’t appreciate that you get what you pay for or can’t afford a name brand computer so buy the corner shop slapped together mongrel special. But even still, when you can buy a second hand Quicksilver + LCD monitor for $600-700 AU, which still has plenty of grunt and room to grow (upgradable to the max) compared to a new P4 system, why would you bother with anything else if you’re on a budget? It’s precisely this last argument that has swayed some very grateful friends.
It has been a great time to be a Mac user these past couple of years, and the party is only just getting started.
The tide is definitely turning.
blucaso has it right.
Government, education, and even corporate users can now check off the “standard” box when ordering Macs. And consumers will definitely like the ability to save their previous investment. Given that the Vista previews don’t reveal anything much beyond what Tiger already has (and Leopard could have), many will be buying Mac hardware this Christmas instead of getting an “XP-only, Vista-maybe” box. The Vista delay, I believe, made Boot Camp even more of a must-do thing.
And I think virtualization is coming in Leopard. Once people feel more comfortable running Windows as the base OS on Mac hardware, Apple will offer them the next step – run Mac OS X with Windows in a virtual box. And ta da, without noticing, they’ve switched OSes. And when they try Leopard on a regular basis, that Windows virtual box will become more and more marginalized to just one or two apps. They’ll be using Safari, Dashboard, iLife, and all the other little Apple apps instead of IE, Outlook, etc.
And that explains why there is no movement on Virtual PC. Apple must be noncommital about not pursuing virtualization, leaving MS in a bind.
Apple is after everyone’s desktop; no doubt about it. MS execs are just beginning to realize it and to think what they will do next.
my daughter has a violin teacher who used a Mac to run his violin business until it got too big and complex. then he hired an accountant who made him switch to a Windows PC. he never seemed as happy using Windows as he was using his Mac.
well, now, he told me he’s going back and buying an Intel Mac. and he’ll run Windows in Boot Camp. and he says, if virtualization comes, all the better. he’s a happy camper.
i’m sure this story is being repeated many times over among one-person and small businesses.
“It’s like Pepsi in a Coke bottle, DeLay as a Democrat…”
More like sh*t in a pudding container.
From: Mark – “I hope this isn’t another OS/2 scenario where the superior OS lost…”
Oh, for the love of {$DEITY} please don’t even joke about that!
I think I still have my Warp 4 somewhere…
80-90% of all PC sales in the Western world are replacement sales, not sales to first-time computer users. That means that lots and lots of people (and companies) already have Windows XP legally (not to mention the millions who have it through piracy).
So replacing their current PC with a Mac doesn’t incur any additional cost if they still want to run Windows. And compared to name-brand PCs, the Mac has a only a slight premium, which many will consider worth it to be able to run the iLife apps, enjoy the great design of the Mac boxes, and be able to avoid being targeted by malware. No more hiring repair services to fix PCs (wipe hard drives), or buying new hard drives, or worrying about installing a million virus/malware checkers. That’s worth something.
“Ultimately, Apple isn’t about supporting Windows—it’s about trying to steal customers from Windows.”
So true, so true!
37th-ish post and Windoze STILL sucks.
Yep…
Gentlemen, start your engines!
Heheeheheeh.
As the NASCAR guys says at the start of the race, “Boogedy, boogedy, boogedy! Let’s go racin’!”
This is the first lap of the race folks!
This bullcrap about MS or Bill Gates owning Apple has got to stop. If I ever win the lotttery Im taking out full pages ads in every newspaper in the country to post the facts.
My buddy goes to the local burger joint to get his kid a happy meal and overhears redneck #1 talking to redneck #2 about the iPod and how smart Bill Gates is for coming up with it. My friend interjects that Apple makes the iPod not Microsoft, and that Bill Gates has nothing to do with it.
Redneck #1 jumps out of his chair and swears emphatically that my friend is wrong and that Bill Gates does indeed own Apple.
To which my friend, who has an Apple employee number, decided it was useless to talk to this idiot and just backed out of the conversation.
Apple wants the living room.
They aren’t looking to grow market share by switching existing windows customers. They’re looking to create new markets. I’d bet this is part of the evolution of media device.
How dual booting (and/or virtualization) fits in is not exactly clear yet. But it removes barriers to the uninitiated consumer from considering buying a MAC -not as a PC replacement- but as their new media device.
Certainly all their games and crappy PC software will run on it … and that is both important and comforting to people unfamilar with MACs. Its a key component to competing with MS media center for the living room.
I’m not on any drugs but thans for asking! Actually that’s not correct, I’m on Paxil, 10mg.
I stand by my original comments. Apple will not gain any significant sales due to boot camp.
Apple only needs to advertize more and get OS X in the face of consumers and boot Camp is NOT the way to do it. They have to push OS X. Pushing Windows is COUNTER PRODUCTIVE.
Why buy a Mac to run WINDOWS ON????? They (Joe A. Citizen) can already run Windows on their cheaper PC. 95% of the market are Windows brainwashed, they will not switch just by trying a Mac that can run Windows.