More “XP booting on Mac Intel” news January 31, 2006
Posted by James Webster in : apple, virtualization , trackbackUPDATE 1: Looks like the competition has been won. Meanwhile if you are searching for a virtualization solution, keep an eye on Q.
UPDATE 2: I know everyone else in the blogosphere is banging on about Boot Camp but just in case you didn’t know…
In addition to the the contest to boot XP on Mac Intel (current prize money at $8133 as at 10:08AEST), there’s some theorizing about the steps that would be necessary to do it. But, I’m with Ted, you’d have to be insane! Well maybe insane is a bit harsh, there are a few reasons to do it:
- Games, but consider that more and more games are available for OS X these days (Universal Binaries for World of Warcraft and Unreal Tournament are around the corner for example).
- Lower-risk for switchers. Especially in the absence of a commercially supported virtualization option at the moment, the ability to switch back to XP will make the Mac hardware more appealing to people who would otherwise buy a PC. Think of it as the thin end of the wedge.
- Power management. Jim White left a comment in my Windows virtualization rumour roundup to the effect that a dual-boot iMac or MacBook Pro in XP mode might be less power hungry than one running OS X and a virtual XP environment.
Give point #2 above, you could argue that Apple should be doing more to promote XP on Intel Mac hardware. The fewer barriers to corporate purchase of Apple hardware can only be a good thing right? But consider that Apple has long eschewed the corporate desktop, with the exception of creative industries, and that native, dual boot XP on Intel Mac marginalizes the value proposition of OS X (in the eyes of people who haven’t actually used it) and it isn’t too surprising that they haven’t come out with an overnight solution.
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