Rock and Roll! Apple released a beta version of what it is calling Boot Camp today. Available as a free download. With it, you can install a copy of Windows XP on your Intel Mac. For a lot of computer professionals, the Intel Mac instantly becomes the machine to own. Being able to run both Mac and Windows really is a huge advantage that only Apple will be able to offer. That should double Apple's market share in short order.
I guess I should have known better. Apple completely blew by its 30th birthday on April 1st. Silence. Is Golden apparently.
As I said a month ago:
If you could run PC apps at native speeds on one of these Intel Macs, I would think the whole switch to Intel was worth it. Think about it. No more being marginalized. You would have access to all the web sites and applications that you've been locked out of all these years. PC users could switch with impunity. These would truly be the uber Macs.
As we've long suspected, Steve had something extra up his sleeve when he announced that Apple was switching to Intel processors. There is no doubt in my mind that dual-booting was a key part of Apple's plan from the beginning.
The switch to Intel chips was about dual-booting, not about IBM's power-hungry chips. But the excuse was as good a ruse as any I suppose.
Anyway, now we know. I don't ever have to worry that I'm going to be locked out of something important on the Net or in the computer world because I'm running a Mac.
This is going to be fun to watch. How fast will this dual boot notion take off. Will Apple's market share surge? I'm guessing it will. Since this is still the slow part of Apple's transition to Intel, the surge may not be overnight. But, I'm betting sales of Macs will uptick starting today!
By the way, I also read yesterday in AppleInsider that Apple is likely on its 4th revision of the MacBook Pro already. Each time perfecting it a little bit more. I'm holding out for a universal version of FileMaker myself. By waiting a while longer, I figure I'll have a little better machine when I do buy. But then again, I guess I could consider running a Windows version of FileMaker Pro 8 on an Intel Mac while I'm waiting...
The one issue I have been particularly concerned about is heat. Some MacBook Pro owners said the machines got too hot to have on their laps without protection and one said the top of the machine was too hot to rest his palms on. Apple has said this is abnormal, so that suggests not all machines have this issue and that Apple is willing to fix or exchange if you have a serious heat problem.
I have about $10,000 in Apple stock right now and am thinking maybe buy some more. What do you think?
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