Let's think about this for a moment. Windows … on a MAC! Surely hell, or whatever nasty place in the afterlife reserved for child molesters, theater talkers and James Blunt, has frozen over. Now why would Apple, champion against all things Microsoft, ever do such a thing willingly? Because it's the easiest way to tap into an entirely new market of users-Windows users.
Most computer users today start out their lifelong computer journey on Windows machines, understandable given Microsoft's dominance in the computing world. This is a problem for Apple, however, because it's hard to convince someone to jump ship simply for a prettier interface and hardware. If users become dependant on Windows-only applications and games, it is even harder. Enter "Boot Camp."
"Boot Camp" means good news for both Apple and Microsoft. Since Windows users are less hesitant about switching, Apple sells more machines, and Microsoft sells more copies of Windows XP. Clearly this is a win-win situation.
And as cheesy as it may sound, the biggest winner is the consumer. How many times have you come across a Windows or Mac application impossible to access because you're running the opposite system? Now with a shiny new Intel Mac and you can have both at your disposal. This line of thinking is, of course, what Apple is betting on.
Now if you're holding your breath for Apple to release OSX on the PC side, don't bother. Apple is first and foremost a hardware company and has always kept tight control over its hardware. This has allowed them to keep OSX fairly bug free, and without many of the security issues that plague Windows machines. Simply put, Apple won't release OSX for standard PCs because it would be difficult for them to support the infinite variety of hardware out there. It would also remove the cachet from being a Mac owner. If everyone can run OSX on cheaper machines what makes Apples computers so special?
Of course, the next logical step is for Apple to enable Windows applications to run directly inside OSX without the need of a reboot. A third-party company has beat them to it. Parallels (parallels.com) has just announced new virtualization software that allows Mac users to launch any version of Windows or Linux from within OSX. They also have other versions of their software that can allow Windows or Linux users to run any other operating system.
This software takes advantage of Intel's new "Virtualization Technology" which allows multiple operating systems to run at one time. This technology is standard on their new dual-core CPUs, making the Parallels software faster than past attempts at operating system emulation. While no replacement for "Boot Camp," this software would allow Mac users to run the occasional Windows application without rebooting.
The significance of "Boot Camp" is more symbolic than anything else. After decades of incompatibility between the Macintosh OS and Windows, they will now coexist peacefully.
Devindra can be reached at dahardawar@amherst.edu. You can also read more of his thoughts at devindra.org/tech.