apple news/media reports
03/14/2006, 6:30pm, EST
Tuesday, March 14th
Windows XP coming to Mactels?
OsXBook.com has developed software dubbed "BamBios," which allows legacy booting of operating systems on Intel-based Macs. A non-EFI version of Linux can be readily booted using BamBios, and developers are excited about the possibilities of using the software to multiboot several operating systems on the new Mac hardware. "Linux works fine, and we have made good progress with booting an unmodified Windows XP installation." Meanwhile, the "Windows XP on an Intel Mac" contest is boasting a cash prize that has swelled to over $12,500, which may have already been won by one developer. A recent post by a user who is said to be very credible on the "WinXP on Mac" forums has submitted his process to the owners of the site for review, and there is now a thread on the forums asking for testers -- three MacBook Pros, three iMacs, and three Mac minis, according to Ars Technica. As yet no definitive evidence has been released to the public that Windows XP is running on an Intel-based Mac, however. [updated]
Microsoft has already said it would have no problem granting a Windows license to Apple, in precisely the same way it currently provides licenses to Dell and HP, according to PCPro.
"Just like all Microsoft's OEMs, Apple can build industry-standard hardware that's compatible with Windows; Microsoft has an open specification and a process for certifying the hardware," a Microsoft spokesman said. "Microsoft would support Apple the same way it supports every other PC manufacturer."
Filed under: Apple
, 
, 14
, 
, 
, 
, 
, 
Top
subscribe to comments
for this article
I realize some people have a need to run Windows on their Mac. If Microsoft was smart, they would be working hard to update Virtual PC so that Intel Mac users can run Windows under Mac OS X. Or they would be working hard to make XP and Vista EFI-bootable with Intel Macs. Doing either or both will increase their sales of VPC and/or Windows. They should not be making stupid statements about Apple licensing Windows.
That does not sound too far fetched does it?
Brilliant observation!
I can think of two:
A version that ships with Office 11 - Mac that's just enough to run Office/Print, etc.
And of course a full version that a gamer can actually run any Windows games on a Mac.
It would be the ultimate if .exe's ran somewhat seemlessly like OS9 apps ... but then maybe it opens it up WAY too much for viruses, etc. Maybe they can implement an auto-repair much like they've done on Mac versions of Office?..
Having said that I am intrigued to see if Windows can be made to run easily on an Intel mac.
http://www.vimeo.com/clip=54706 http://clips1.vimeo.com/video_files/2006/03/15/vimeo.74487.mov
Obviously, this is something that only gamers and some corporate types would be interested in, so if you're not in those segments, your opinion simply is not relevant. We all know winblowz sucks, so what!
So for us corporate types, yes running Windows on a MacBook would be great.