OpenOSX updates WinTel 2.1.2
updated 09:25 am EST, Wed March 15, 2006
WinTel 2.12 updated
OpenOSX today updated its "WinTel" product. The free WinTel 2.1.2 update can now install Microsoft Windows XP in about a tenth of the time previously required, according to company claims. WinTel is an easy-to-use stand-alone application for configuring and utilizing the underlying open source "Qemu" and "Bochs" software--both of which allow users to run x86/Pentium-based operating systems on Macintosh computers running Mac OS X. WinTel is a complete stand-alone application that allows allows host operating systems (and applications) such as Microsoft Windows to run in a protected, virtual environment in a window on Mac OS X. It is available for $30 (CD delivery), while upgrades from previous versions are $20 (CD)--with a $5 discount for electronic delivery.
"With the availability of the Intel based Macintoshes, instructions may be dynamically translated, drastically enhancing performance." OpenOSX claims that WinTel 2.1.2 is capable of booting Windows XP in about 35 seconds on the Intel 2.0 GHz-Duo iMac with the stock 512-MB of RAM installed. WinTel contains three sets of binaries optimized for PowerPC G4, G5 and Intel processors.
Version 2.1.2 resolves a potential issue with WinTel's "Image CD-ROM" feature (which images CD-ROMs to an ISO-9660 disk image usable by WinTel), and brings hand-compiled, aggressively optimized Bochs binaries that can be used to install Windows XP in about 10 percent of the time previously required. WinTel includes two underlying "virtual machines" or "emulators": one is "Qemu" which is utilizes some dynamic translation for maximum performance and a slower, more compatible "Bochs," which it says is required at this time to install Windows XP on Intel Macs.
OpenOSX WinTel includes 10 ready-to-use disk images of open source x86-based operating systems including: FreeBSD, Red Hat Linux, FreeDOS and more. The product also features a stand-alone application featuring a drag-install backed with limited installation support and tutorials. OpenOSX says that WinTel 2.1.0 has been successfully tested running Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows NT 4.0 and Windows XP.
