To me it's a step closer to the cliffs!
I don't like it at all and I have a ver bad feeling about it.

_P_o_m_p_o _M_u_l_t_i_m_e_d_i_a
http://www.pompo.com
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You will know fear...Then you will know pain.
Then you will use a Mac.

I think this is a brilliant move on Apple's part. I use both platforms on a daily basis and although I don't own a PC anymore, Virtual PC just doesn't cut it when I have to work in a Windows only app such as 3DS Max. In school we're learning 3DS Max for the next 3 months and I'm hurting not being able to work at home.

Also, this is an amazing way to get PC users to make the switch. I know a TON of people who like the OS X but would never buy a Mac simply because they're favorite games aren't compatible. This leaves no reason for them to buy a new PC. Even the most Balmer-like windows pushers that I know might make switch because they don't have to leave anything they know behind. The dual boot can be their crutch while making the switch just like Classic was the crutch for the early adopters os OS X. Nothing but good can come of this. Apple will never abandon OS X.

- JoshuaTree

I don't know - l am kind of ambivalent. What made me switch to Apple was the operating system - not the hardware. I think what Steve has in mind is that people will purchase Macintoshes, run Windows on them. Then they'll slowly try OS X and switch to it.

I don't know if this is a realistic scenario though. It would break my heart to see people purchasing Macs and never giving OS X a try - and I fear this is what's going to happen.

I am kind of feel bad that our Macs have opened themselves to the ugly and ungainly world of Microsoft - see this: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-586467418825830089&q=microsoft+ipod+package&pl=true

Dvorak writes "Apple popularized the modern GUI. Why not specialize in it and leave the grunt work to Microsoft?" For me, OS X never was just the GUI. It was the stability, the intuitiveness (apart from the GUI), the general combination of all these...
--
Every conception is an equation of unequal things. - Nietzsche

I'd rather have each Windows app in it's own window under OSX. I'm certain that this is what Apple will eventually do. That said, depending on video card performance, it's a great way to play games that haven't been ported yet.

Does this question really need to be asked? Apple still holds the cards in every respect... with Boot Camp, Windows will play on the Mac on Apple's terms, not Microsoft's. Apple did this as a value-add, obviously, and may have even been planning this all along in the hopes of winning over the common PC owner now that their favorite Windows programs can run on Apple hardware. Apple has a far superior OS and they know it... it's part of what makes the Mac a Mac. Dvorak's comment is just a sensationalist claim that ultimately made him sound like a fool.

"Dvorak's comment is just a sensationalist claim that ultimately made him sound like a fool."

I am glad we agree 8-)

---
Every conception is an equation of unequal things. - Nietzsche

I'm really hoping that this doesn't turn out to be a double edged sword. I can understand the argument about it could help long time Windows users slowly transition over to OS-X, and I understand the logic in that. However I'm really worried about future software being developed natively for the Mac. There really is no incentive for software developers. I recall finding a petition online by people that wanted AtuoCAD to be ported over to OS-X. Not only did these people make a petition and gather thousands of signatures, they also started calculating how much the company stood to gain from it. Needless to say AutoCAD still hasn't been ported over, and now there is even less reason for it.

I really hope Apple has a solid game plan behind this.

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Infinite Style

... about this dual boot solution is that it's required to reboot the whole system. As long as Windows or Mac OSX take minutes to load completely it's not practical to switch between a windows and mac program. It should be possible on-the-fly. I don't know how good this solution is but this seems to be more practical:
http://www.parallels.com/en/products/workstation/mac/

That said I wouldn't miss Windows at all if I'd bought Mac OS versions of my Adobe programs years ago. I've chosen Windows because the hardware was cheaper but since I experienced Mac OS X I feel very sorry for choosing the wrong platform.

Yea, still unpractical, but booting an Intel Mac takes seconds, not minutes :)

Kjetil Valen
kjetil . valen (a) skir . no

I hadn't the chance to work on an intel mac so far but wouldn't it be like this:

Mac OSX: 5 programs are open when I suddenly have to use a Windows program.

00:00 Closing and saving 3 programs
00:15 Restart
00:20 I forgot to close or save the rest and shut down is aborted
00:25 Restart restartet
00:28 I choose to boot XP
00:30 Start to boot into Windows XP
01:05 After several black screens and mysterious flashes Windows XPs login screen finally appears
01:10 The XP desktop is visible JUHU
01:15 The program I need is ready
Note it's not possible to go away in the meantime you have to wait and stare at the screen just in case your computer needs something from you.

I don't think booting Windows XP on an Intel Mac will be any faster I think the whole process will take even longer than described above. And after this I want back to my beloved OS X ....
Veeery unpractical but of course its better than nothing and good to have the option.

this is awesome news.it will get people to switch to mac hardware and then be seduced into using osx, a more stable and safer os. At the least it will cause apples stock to soar. what i dig most is that i don't have to wait on cs3 to run ps on my intel mac . plus the awesome library of GAMES. plus the huge rocket in mac sales will give 3rd party developers more reason to make mac software - not less. this is a super move by apple. i am also really stoked by the benchmarks -macs have never been this fast for this cheap. i mean the new imacs are smoking g5s that cost twice as much. can't wait for the intel towers!Bet they will be monsterous.

no way, how could they? Steve? i trusted you, i worship you and all of the apple products, i don't leave my house without my ipod, and i don't talk to anybody who uses 2-button mouse. Windows on a Mac? NOOOOoooooooo.....