Apple -- can Jobs make up his mind about anything?

Well, this is interesting. Steve Jobs has done another 180. Apple will now allow Windows/MacOS, and even provide the software to implement, dual booting on Intel Macs, something ole' Stevey said would never happen. Of course, Steve Jobs also said iPod would never be sold at Wal-Mart, either.

http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/

http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/macword/2006/04/bootcamp/index.php

http://blogs.pcworld.com/techlog/archives/001787.html

I'm going to go to my local Apple Store and see if they have a demo of this going on. This might be the thing that gets me to get a new Intel Mac. Might be. I'm still pissed off at Apple that my iPod bit the dust 19 days out of warranty.

Good luck with drivers.

If he finally releases a version that isn't designed to be difficult to run on (non Mac-rebranded)intel hardware, I might pay attention.

Actually, there was a "contest" to get the first implementation of Windows XP to run on a Mac.... Someone successfully did it and posted his method on the Net. It's a complicated procedure, 14 pages of documentation I think, but it apparently works pretty well for non-gaming apps.

This link, I believe, has the story and more info.

Well, part of the Bootcamp software is the inclusion of all Windows drivers needed for all the Intel-specific hardware. So drivers are covered, and will be updated regularly according to Apple. (You have to admit, they are a little better with updates than Microsoft.)

So drivers I'm not worried about. In fact, I'm not worried about much of anything. I just want to test this out and see the performance of Windows on one of the new Intel Macs. I'm guessing the performance should be pretty decent, since the hardware in the new Macs is pretty good.

The Mac-on-PC version is a little simpler for the most part, about a page of instructions, but you have to pirate a special cracked version of the OS... Someone cracked the security system, which you can't normally bypass on a PC.

Nerds.

Here's an interesting story.

Apple unveils software to let Macs run Windows
'Boot Camp' for Intel-based Macs likely to woo Windows users to Apple

Thanks! I'm actually so out of 'the game' I can't really call myself a computer nerd anymore.

Here's a more interesting one:

Doublethink Different

There's a few problems with that article. The first is the grouping of Apple users with those who thought Intel was in trouble. Actually, most Apple users wouldn't know an Intel chip from and AMD chip and wouldn't have cared.

The doublethink part is silly. There was a lot of skepticism in the Mac community about switching to Intel chips, the benefits of the RISC chip over the CISC chip and all. The problem was that the IBM and Motorola PPC chips ran too hot at higher speeds. The new Intel Core-Duo chips seem to be performing excellently. Why would it be doublethink to accept a better technology?

Apple's move toward universal hardware standards didn't begin with the iPod, but with the iMac. The first iMac jettisoned SCSI, and the Apple printer/modem ports for USB and Firewire.

It's really talking about the fanatics, not "all mac users". I agree it could be clearer on that point.

Oh come on, the vast majority of Windows users don't really give a damn what their chip is either, as long as it plays games OK. Give me a break. It's mostly geeks - regardless of whatever operating system they use - who care about their chip manufacturer. Many computer users, if you asked them what Intel was, a good portion of their knowledge would probably come from the 'Intel Inside' campaign.

I say this myself as a Mac geek who's spent endless hours discussing the virtues of ADM vs. Intel, and also debated the switch from Motorolla to IBM a few years back. The vast majority of people simply don't care, and that's fine - they shouldn't have to worry about it.

But to say that Jane Average Mac User cares less about her processor than Jill Average PC User is just based on personal bias, and not any kind of real knowledge.

From what I've had to deal with, when someone tells me they need their computer fixed or got a new one, and I ask what kind, the answer I get 99% of the time.... Intel. Not 2.2 Ghz pentium 4, or AMD 64 Dual Core.

For the most part, your average computer user only wants the damn thing to work & do what they want.

I'm just curious about the articles & blogs that mentioned the gaming side of it. The majority of PC Games require Direct X to give all those Shweet looking graphical goodness. I'm wondering if Apple is including that with it? Would be nice to see Mac users playing some of the more up-to-date games online. Cuz Mac gamers need PWNED too!!

I didn't say that, I said this:


I didn't compare Mac users to PC users at all. I was pointing out that the "doublethink" article made it seem as if Mac users were the people who were predicting the demise of Intel. The point I was trying to make was that most Mac users could not have cared less about the Intel-AMD competition. Just as PC users were probably completely uninterested in Apple's switch from Motorola 080 chips to IBM PPC chips.

I don't really care as long as it doesn't mean (a) less investment in OS X development because "well they can always use Windows for function A" and (b) less development on OS X because "well we can always release the Windows version and people can use that".

I have a Mac because of OS X. Full stop. I like the hardware, but there are plenty of people putting out good hardware these days. What I really like is OS X. I have no interest in how many computers Apple sells.

I doubt this will lure Windows users to Macs. Not being a Mac user myself, I can only guess that people buy Macs for OS X. Making Macs run Windows will make them more flexible for Mac users. Windows users will not pay extra for machines that run an OS that much cheaper PCs will run natively. Its really a questionable move.

I disagree. There are a lot of disgruntled PC users that have too much time (and money in software) invested in Windows that they cannot justify the move to Mac even though they would like to. I had ruled out going Mac because of this reason, but now I'm reconsidering it. And now that my main PC is slowing dying (the motherboard is dying bit by bit), I'm in the market for a new computer, and this could get me to switch.

I called my closest Apple Store and they said it will be several weeks before they have dual-booting Intel Macs to show off. I won't buy a Mac unless I can test the dual-booting thing, install some software on the XP side and see how things run.

Overall, I'm excited. I need the Apple Video Editiing software for work, but I need XP for pretty much everything else.

Plus I've really wanted to play around with iGarage since I saw it on a friend's laptop.

Oooo! iGarage is one thing I'd like to mess with! The rest of the i-software isnt that impressive. Nothing I havent seen before