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WinXP on a Mac, Hoax?

Brill writes "Ars Technica is reporting that a member of the 'WinXP on Mac' forums called narf2006 may have succeeded at the impossible. He's submitted his solution to get XP on an Intel Mac, for the $12,000 prize, but for now the only proof available is a blurry Flickr collection of photos that could be faked with virtual PC. His reputation on the forums however is strong, and he's already calling for testers." We've had people write in to say this has been announced a hoax on the contest page. The contest page is, of course, down due to bandwidth reasons. Engadget's conversation about this announcement has several theories on how this may have been faked. What's the verdict? Real or Fake?

390 comments

  1. Explain how? by srw · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Doesn't he have to explain how he did it to collect the prize? Am I missing something?

    1. Re:Explain how? by Kjuib · · Score: 5, Funny

      You are missing out on a GREAT OS running on some AWESOME HARDWARE... get with the program... everyone runs Windows XP on their Mac... come on!

      --
      - Your stupidity got you into this mess, why can't it get you out? -Will Rogers
    2. Re:Explain how? by SonicBV · · Score: 5, Informative
      It works like any scientific discovery (which it essentially is). It has to be confirmed by a group of his peers, then he gets the money.

      Or such is my understanding, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

      --
      -Brad V.
    3. Re:Explain how? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think anyone with a good understanding of how EFI works can do this. There are instructions on how to do this on the net. Peice of cake!

    4. Re:Explain how? by lortho · · Score: 1

      RTFA - he submitted his 'super-secret process' to the site owners for review.

    5. Re:Explain how? by PastAustin · · Score: 0
      RTFA. He did explain it. Just not publicly.

      What really bothers me is:

      ...narf2006 may choose to sell the hack as shareware and make a pretty penny more than the US$12,000...


      That statement pisses me off. The $12,000 is there as a reward that was paid for by people who wanted this to happen. If he has the balls to want more than that he can sit and spin and I'll wait for someone else to come up with a solution. I can understand not releasing the details yet because he doesn't want 20 other people to pop up saying they had it "first." I know $12,000 isn't the greatest amount of money but I'm sure he'd make more than that in the long run anyways. At least he'll get a huge e-penis.

      --
      Firefox 2.0 - Spell Rightly.
    6. Re:Explain how? by pete_norm · · Score: 1

      If he has the balls to want more than that he can sit and spin and I'll wait for someone else to come up with a solution.

      1. Wait for narf2006 to go the shareware way.
      2. Be the first to get said shareware.
      3. Submit shareware to competition
      4. ???
      5. Profit!

    7. Re:Explain how? by jrockway · · Score: 0

      I got Windows Server 2003 to run on my machine:

      http://driveway.uchicago.edu/

      --
      My other car is first.
    8. Re:Explain how? by tigersha · · Score: 1

      The real question is, where did you get a Intel iBook from??!!

      --
      The dangers of excessive individualism are nothing compared to the oppressiveness of excessive collectivism
  2. obivous! by ehmdjii · · Score: 0, Redundant

    tell me it was not obvious that something like this would happen.

    1. Re:obivous! by Jesus_666 · · Score: 4, Funny

      It was not obvious that something like this would happen.

      --
      USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
    2. Re:obivous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thank you, Jesus!

    3. Re:obivous! by Manara18 · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      guys-

      it's pretty obvious it's a fake.

      take a look at the screenshots: you'll notice the resolution is set to the correctly with the dimensions of the screen. that implies narfu got the drivers for the monitor somehow installed - which would be totally impossible as apple hasnt released windows drivers for their hardware.

      it's more likely he's using virtual pc or some emulator like that, or even some fancy photoshop work to produce those images...

    4. Re:obivous! by ehmdjii · · Score: 1

      apple monitors do require specific drivers? i thought those were standard DVI.

    5. Re:obivous! by Ravenscall · · Score: 1

      You forget, Apple uses the same ATI graphics hardware that PCs use, it would be no problem to find the drivers.

      --
      You say you want a revolution....
    6. Re:obivous! by bynary · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Welcome to the real world where Apple no longer uses proprietary hardware (or very little). ATI makes the video card for the iMac. Intel makes the processor. Micron makes the RAM (and possibly ROM) chips. Some obscure, Korean, third-party, hardware manufacturer makes everything else (just like in your PC). So, unless ATI hasn't released the drivers for their Radeon X1600 then it should be fairly easy to get WinXP to work with "Apple's" hardware. The only big difference is the TPM chip. Shoot, with all the people booting Mac OS X natively on random PC hardware, it shouldn't be a big logical leap to grasping the concept that booting WinXP (or any Windows for that matter) on a Macintel is only a matter of time.

      OSX boots on PC. Win boots on PC. OSX boots on Mac. Should not Win boot on Mac?

      --
      http://www.bynarystudio.com
    7. Re:obivous! by Poltras · · Score: 1

      hummm.... no. Apple uses the last ATI card (ATI Radeon X1600 graphics with 128MB GDDR3 memory exactly), for which no drivers as yet been released by ATI. And it seems that ati drivers do not work on that hardware (at least not in linux), it takes VESA drivers... which means: no ATI drivers yet on any other platform for this particular hardware.

    8. Re:obivous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ok...it was obivous.

      What does that mean again?

    9. Re:obivous! by HipToday · · Score: 1

      OSX boots on PC. Win boots on PC. OSX boots on Mac. Should not Win boot on Mac?

      Here is some similar logic:

      Airplanes can roll along the ground. Cars can roll along the ground. Airplanes can fly through the air. Should not cars fly through the air?

    10. Re:obivous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      As long as you have a big enough tebuchet.

    11. Re:obivous! by bynary · · Score: 1

      There are many flaws in both arguments. You also bring up a good point: my argument needs to be qualified by external, supporting data.

      --
      http://www.bynarystudio.com
    12. Re:obivous! by Glock27 · · Score: 1
      Airplanes can roll along the ground. Cars can roll along the ground. Airplanes can fly through the air. Should not cars fly through the air?

      And, having watched "Dukes of Hazzard" (along with many other Hollywood gems), I can assure you that cars DO fly through the air*.
      .
      .
      .
      .
      .
      .
      *The glide ratio is pretty bad though.

      --
      Galileo: "The Earth revolves around the Sun!"
      Score: -1 100% Flamebait
    13. Re:obivous! by TWX · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      "...I can assure you that cars DO fly through the air*."

      "*The glide ratio is pretty bad though."

      It worked out okay for that AMC Matador in Ian Fleming's The Man With The Golden Gun...

      By contrast, it didn't work out so well for Joan Wilder and Jack Colton in The Jewel of the Nile...

      --
      Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
    14. Re:obivous! by 99BottlesOfBeerInMyF · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The only big difference is the TPM chip. Shoot, with all the people booting Mac OS X natively on random PC hardware, it shouldn't be a big logical leap to grasping the concept that booting WinXP (or any Windows for that matter) on a Macintel is only a matter of time.

      You seem a little confused. The "TPM chip" as you put it has nothing to do with stopping other OS's from booting on macs, it is just a way to harder to make OS X boot on a machine without the right one. The reason it is hard to get WinXP booting on an Intel mac is because Windows utilizes BIOS to boot on all 32 bit systems. Apple did not include BIOS, opting for the more advanced EFI. Windows does support EFI, but only on 64 bit chips. Apple is using 32 bit chips. Hence, the Apple machines are hardware Windows does not support.

      You are likely right that Windows will eventually boot on Macs, just because eventually Apple will move to 64 bit Intel chips, which Windows does support, or MS may implement the ability to boot from 32 bit EFI systems. Yes Apple uses mostly commodity hardware, but it is usually newer hardware and they often don't bother implementing 20 year old legacy features like PS/2 ports, floppy drives, BIOS, etc. As a result, it is entirely possible that Apple machines may stay ahead of the curve of Windows support and thus Windows users will have a hard time using Apple hardware. This is mostly because Apple has such a limited hardware set it needs to support, it can adapt much more quickly to new hardware.

      As a final point, with the new virtualization features in the newest Intel chips, I don't see many people dual booting macs anyway. When you can run multiple OS's hosted on top of OS X, at nearly the same speed as a fresh boot (RAM notwithstanding) I suspect most users will prefer that route. I know I will.

    15. Re:obivous! by bynary · · Score: 1

      Not confused, just ignorant. Thanks for the info.

      --
      http://www.bynarystudio.com
    16. Re:obivous! by mrchaotica · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      That was a Matador?! To this day I'd been wondering which model of AMC that was, and now I finally know. Thanks!

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    17. Re:obivous! by nikster · · Score: 1

      Should not Win boot on Mac?

      Windows needs a BIOS to run. OS X intel can do either BIOS or EFI. EFI is basically a complete replacement for the over-20-year-old BIOS.

      The new Intel macs are all based on EFI.

      Windows (any version) doesn't support EFI.

      => Windows doesn't run on Mac. Hence the contest, and the $12k.

    18. Re:obivous! by Ravenscall · · Score: 1

      Releasing a card without drivers would be the stupidest thing to do ever. No Linux drivers maybe, but Windows and OS X definitely.

      --
      You say you want a revolution....
  3. Even if this one isn't real... by daveschroeder · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ...Amit Singh from IBM and kernelthread.com (slashdotted 16 times for excellent technical articles on various bits of internals of Apple hardware and Mac OS X) has his own legacy boot solution as well. From a rejected submission:

    It appears that Amit Singh of IBM Almaden Research Center, of kernelthread.com and author of Mac OS X Internals, has devised a method to allow legacy, or BIOS-based, booting on Intel-based Macs, which they're calling "BAMBIOS". This means operating systems that currently only support legacy booting, such as many Linux distributions that don't yet support EFI, or things like Windows XP and the forthcoming Windows Vista (the 32-bit version of which will lack EFI support), will now be able to run on Intel-based Macs without modification (and completely legally). There is also another solution from "narf2006", described here and shown in this flickr set of photos. narf2006's solution is awaiting verification by Colin for the $12,000 pot. Time to get that MacBook Pro you've been waiting on for the best of both worlds, everyone...

    So even if narf2006's solution isn't real, Amit's solution most certainly is, since he has a great deal of credibility. One way or another, we'll all be able to boot Windows directly on our Intel-based Macs.

    This will be great news for people interested in Windows gaming on an Intel-based Mac (who really need the direct video access) and/or people who just want to do it NOW; however, a virtualization solution running under Mac OS X, such as VMware or Parallels, will be the real holy grail for most users. Most people don't want/need/care about the highest graphics and I/O performance; just the ability to run Windows side-by-side with Mac OS X at a speed that is more than usable, and to also have some capability to seamlessly share things like clipboards and files between the environments (as a nice VM environment would most certainly do). Not to mention not having to reboot.

    In any case, even dual booting will be a welcome capability. It remains to be seen how convoluted the process is...

    Also, I just spoke with Colin Nederkoorn (the guy running the contest) moments ago, and narf2006's solution has NOT been submitted to him yet. He said that narf2006 said he's "cleaning it up" and will be submitting it "later this week". So, no one, including Colin, has actually seen this solution working yet. Also, he apparently hasn't been in communication with Amit on the BAMBIOS solution as yet...

    1. Re:Even if this one isn't real... by harryk · · Score: 1, Redundant

      As a question, and as someone who does not currently own any 'Apple' hardware, I have but a single question. Why would you want to run WindowsXP on an Intel based Mac? Seriously... I thought the whole point of running a mac based system was to get better hardware (generally speaking) and a very refined OS. I can understand Apple's move to Intel as a technical one (although I'm not sure I'm sold) ... but why would you ultimately want to go backwards to get XP running? I guess I'm specifically concerned with driver support and performance under XP. Am I wrong in thinking that the Mac components are going to be specific, and they aren't going to have adequate XP support? Please don't give me the canned 'becuase I want to' response. Thats only answers the geekfactor question. I want to know if you (or anyone, not be accusational) think that you will get a better performing machine with a Intel-Mac / XP combo... harryk

      --
      think before you write, it'll save me moderator points.
    2. Re:Even if this one isn't real... by urmensch · · Score: 1

      For work... For games... So you don't have to run through an virtual machine...

    3. Re:Even if this one isn't real... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the hardware inside macs has been the same as that in pcs for years now, regardless of the intel switch closing the circle. why run XP on a mac? well, directx isn't available for OS X and that means most games aren't available. a lot of people are also tied to windows-specific applications for their work, and while they'd like to go home to a mac, they'd also like to be able to work from home from time to time or bring a laptop to and from work.

      i sincerely doubt there will be any performance down or upgrade from running XP on an intel mac. it will be exactly the same as running it on a commodity pc running a core duo intel chip. the only thing separating the two is EFI vs BIOS.

    4. Re:Even if this one isn't real... by daveschroeder · · Score: 2, Informative

      The real benefit to most people will come from running Windows alongside Mac OS X in a "virtual machine" environment, in a window or even full screen, with, for example, a hotkey to switch back and forth between Mac OS X and Windows. To many users who prefer Mac OS X, particularly in enterprise, academic, and research environments, but who also have the occasional applications (usually administrative) that require Windows, this configuration would be a holy grail of sorts. And in this configuration, Windows wouldn't be running in emulation, but it would be running at essentially the native speed of the underlying hardware (with the exception of graphics and disk I/O performance). It will be *much* faster than any emulation ever has been, and there will no doubt be several open source (qemu, xen, wine) and commercial (vmware, Virtual PC) that will allow running Windows (or Windows software) in various capacities. Intel's Virtualization Technology (VT), allowing multiple operating systems to run in separate hardware "partitions" on one processor, make these prospects even more efficient and exciting from a technical standpoint. That scenario *will* happen; it's only a matter of time of the software coming to the platform now that the Intel Macs are shipping.

      As to the question, however, of why someone would want to install Windows directly, or "dual boot", here are some answers:

      - Gaming. This is probably the primary reason. Since even virtual machine solutions typically still emulate some aspects of video, to get the full performance Windows still has to be running natively directly on the hardware.

      - Best possible performance. For those who want Windows and their Windows applications to run as best as they possibly can, again, running Windows directly is required.

      - A desire to run Windows (for whatever reason, whether it be preference, desire, necessity, etc.) on quality Apple hardware, while also having the option to run Mac OS X.

      - Other applications for which direct hardware access is required.

      - Becuase you can. No reason at all other than to "do it".

      There are many other arguments for Apple's x86 transition being a potential trojan horse into environments that otherwise avoided Apple hardware because of requirements for Windows. Being able to run Windows in supported vm environments, such as VMware, could be a huge boon to Mac OS X/Apple adoption in certain sectors. The ability to directly boot Windows, even if officially unsupported by Apple, is also very attractive to some.

      Hopefully this answers your questions.

    5. Re:Even if this one isn't real... by everphilski · · Score: 3, Informative

      the 1,000 applications that can't (or haven't) been replicated on a mac.

    6. Re:Even if this one isn't real... by Weedlekin · · Score: 5, Interesting

      "Why would you want to run WindowsXP on an Intel based Mac?"

      I'm an example of somebody who would want precisely that capability. I have a Mac and various Wintel PCs, and use the Mac for everything except my work (which currently revolves around Windows programming) and some occasional gaming. Being a programming contractor means that I need to travel a fair bit, and my old Windows laptop is showing signs of age, so I'll be in the market for a new one during the next few months. Practicality would appear to dictate another Windows-based machine, but I'd prefer an Apple with OS X otherwise, and could actually justify buying one if I could do my Windows development work on it.

      --
      I'm not going to change your sheets again, Mr. Hastings.
    7. Re:Even if this one isn't real... by guet · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You missed out one very big reason on your list. Anyone who designs web pages or programs web applications will need to check their work under IE - currently this means switching over to a PC to check the page.

      Running Windows in a VM would be perfect for checking out websites during development.

    8. Re:Even if this one isn't real... by XMilkProject · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Just wanted to say that you had a rock solid submission there, if only submissions of that quality and depth could actually be accepted on slashdot then we'd all be alot more informed of current IT events.

      --
      Big ones, small ones, some as big as yer 'ead!
      Give 'em a twist, a flick o' the wrist...
    9. Re:Even if this one isn't real... by wanorris · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Yes -- web development is the killer app for loading Windows, OS X, and Linux simultaneously with virtualization.

      For that matter, other kinds of cross-platform testing, for example, for Java applications, would benefit similarly.

    10. Re:Even if this one isn't real... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      For the DRMed pr0n... :-)

    11. Re:Even if this one isn't real... by swb · · Score: 2, Interesting

      IMHO the ideal situation is using Intel's VT, booting one or both operating systems natively on the same CPU, especially if the hypervisor can be made so that the partitions can be adjusted as needed -- a "whole system" partition for solo-booting an OS, a fat/skinny combo, a 50/50 combo, etc.

      I'd personally be able to live with a VMWare-type setup under a host OS, but for me the host OS would have to be Windows just for work reasons.

    12. Re:Even if this one isn't real... by eobet · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Narf has claimed to be using a partial CMS implementation, which to me sounds a lot cleaner and faster than BIOS emulation lifted from Bochs (last time I checked, that emulator was slow as hell, and people claim that the BIOS in Bochs have trouble with Linux and BeOS).

      The reason I want XP on my Apple hardware is because the application I use professionally isn't availible on OS X (yet) and then, of course... games.

      I do think Windows works for the most part, but when you have been using it every day for years, it's the little things that get to you (like windows moving themselves on top of other windows, focus stealing applications, inability/slow killing of zombie processes, slow-downs due to leftover files from uninstallations, etc. etc. etc). I'm hoping that OS X is as clean as BeOS (which I used until Be died) and won't even need a reinstall, merely a wipe of a /home/ dir.

    13. Re:Even if this one isn't real... by TClevenger · · Score: 1

      I worked for a publishing company that had a mixed environment. Invariably, we'd be ordering a Dell for a user who needed Windows while a Powerbook sat idle in inventory, or vice versa. If XP runs on the new Powerbook, the company can order one model of machine to serve both Windows and OS X users.

    14. Re:Even if this one isn't real... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Have to say I learned a lot more from the rejected submission (with links to the tech aspects of the problem), than the accepted one which is more concerned with "OMG is it a fake".

      Hey /. editors, you are "doing heck of a job" (sic).

    15. Re:Even if this one isn't real... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is a typically poor argument that windows is clearly better because it has "the 1,000 applications that can't (or haven't) been replicated on a mac." I'd like to see something that truly "can't" be replicated on a Mac. And I would contest these numbers we constantly see claiming that Windows has a larger software base. Once you dump the totally useless apps and all the variations (a simple text editor is a simple text editor, and different versions of solitaire with different pictures on the cards) and boil the list down to things you actually use, I think you'd have a hard time finding something that doesn't run on a Mac.

      I have to use Mac OS and Windows everyday for professional engineering and PhD research. I have yet to find a program on Windows that isn't directly ported to the Mac or that I couldn't find a comparable "replica" on the Mac.

    16. Re:Even if this one isn't real... by MsGeek · · Score: 1

      I'd rather boot Windows in a secure sandbox as a guest OS under Mac OS X than dual-boot. So for me, a VMWare-esque solution would be ideal. That's going to be the real "killer app" that makes MacIntel very attractive.

      However, expect an Intel version of Virtual PC as the only "official" way of running Windows on a MacIntel. Microsoft will see to it that this is how everything will shake out.

      --
      Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
    17. Re:Even if this one isn't real... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dude, on a Mac you *can* check your work on IE. You may not necessarily want it, but I think IE came preinstalled on mine. If it didn't, well, I still have it on the thing anyway. Probably came with M$ Office if it wasn't preinstalled.

    18. Re:Even if this one isn't real... by heinousjay · · Score: 1

      IE on the Mac has nothing in common with IE on Windows, aside from the name and some interface conventions. They don't behave even remotely the same.

      --
      Slashdot - where whining about luck is the new way to make the world you want.
  4. Is it Real or fake?? by roe-roe · · Score: 5, Funny

    simple answer.... YES

    1. Re:Is it Real or fake?? by TangoCharlie · · Score: 1

      Q: Is is red or blue?

      A: Simple answer.... YES.

      YES?!

      Is it a fake? Yes.

      --
      return 0; }
    2. Re:Is it Real or fake?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      someone modded parent insightful? I find it hilarious, but definitely not insightful.

    3. Re:Is it Real or fake?? by thedak · · Score: 0, Redundant

      What confuses me is how the parent got modded insightful :p Seems like someone else out there is as sleep deprived as I am.

    4. Re:Is it Real or fake?? by mortonda · · Score: 4, Funny

      I can't seem to find my cat... have you seen it?

    5. Re:Is it Real or fake?? by c_forq · · Score: 4, Funny

      Be careful, once someone observes it it may be dead.

      --
      Computers allow humans to make mistakes at the fastest speeds known, with the possible exception of tequila and handguns
    6. Re:Is it Real or fake?? by toblak · · Score: 1

      Great reference, if I had any mod points you would get them!!!

    7. Re:Is it Real or fake?? by Creepy · · Score: 2, Funny

      heh - it's a plant to keep the meta-mods on their toes. Weeds out the incompetent meta moderators that don't check the context.

    8. Re:Is it Real or fake?? by Xemu · · Score: 1

      Um, are you saying the cat currently is both dead and alive at the same time?

      --
      Tell your friends about xenu.net
  5. If I sorted the bits by (H)elix1 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If I sorted out the bits of magic to get WinXP up and running on a Mac, I don't think I would post how to the outside world until *after* I collected my bounty. No shock at the lack of details here.

    1. Re:If I sorted the bits by powerg3 · · Score: 4, Informative

      Actually, part of the contest rules was that you had to be the first to post the instructions to the onmac.net forums. For the sake of transparency, it's a good idea.

      --
      Wild Eeep!
    2. Re:If I sorted the bits by bprime · · Score: 1

      In other news, narf2006 planned to split the pot with the GNAA, whom he leveraged to spearhead strategic posting initiatives. However, despite gaining first post, narf2006 was disqualified for "disparaging and racially charged comments" and mislabelling his instruction set as "FR1stY PIST"

    3. Re:If I sorted the bits by (H)elix1 · · Score: 1

      Actually, part of the contest rules was that you had to be the first to post the instructions to the onmac.net forums. For the sake of transparency, it's a good idea.

      All true. The selfish side in me would not post a partial solution, but wait till I had the full monty then post. There are lots of very clever people pounding on this and if he had an insight that others missed (but lacked some of the more mundane bits others may have working) I'd hold off on posting anything till I could win the pot. $12K is a lot of beer money in my book!

      Folks are doing an enormous amount of collaboration to pull this off in spite of that, however. Hope some of the money makes it out to the initial hackers who bricked their machines to noodle out the foundations. Even if it does not, those who figured out the dark magic will have my respect.

  6. I'd vote fake... by those.numbers · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Yeah, the man's reputation is strong. But those are pretty bad shots. Until he releases more details about how he's actually doing this. I'd have to say fake.

    1. Re:I'd vote fake... by pheco · · Score: 1

      I guess it's possible but better proof is needed before I'm convinced. Fake.

      --
      6 in a row
    2. Re:I'd vote fake... by j00r0m4nc3r · · Score: 1

      Yeah, you'd think someone who is technically saavy enough to hack this would have the skills to take some decent digital photos or video. This smacks of 12-year-old-lamer-with-cellfone-camera-and-Virtual PC fakery...

    3. Re:I'd vote fake... by mobiux · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I am interested in what the device manager says, if he shows a shot of that, it would go a long way.

    4. Re:I'd vote fake... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It doesn't matter how good the damn pictures are, they can easily be faked. Just use VirtualPC, and for the more tricky ones with the system specs included just take a Windows screenshot, change it to the specs of the Intel Mac and display it fullscreen. The only way to be sure it is genuine is having detailed instructions posted, which can then be independantly verified.

      TBH, I'd be more inclined to beleive it is real because he didn't bother to make the pictures look good. It is more likely that he just used the first camera to hand (which could very well have been the one on his phone) to take the pics.

    5. Re:I'd vote fake... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well and we just need to find a nice way to hack/cut the single touchpad button
      in two for those right button clicks?

  7. Verification? by JUSTONEMORELATTE · · Score: 5, Insightful

    For US$12,000, I'd take a day off and fly out to the contest judge's place to show them in person.

    Why is this so difficult?

    1. Re:Verification? by Durandal64 · · Score: 5, Informative

      Even if this is real, he hasn't won the contest yet. The rules require not only that XP boot, but it must also dual-boot with Mac OS X. The user must be presented with the option of which OS to run at boot-time, and narf2006 hasn't done that yet.

    2. Re:Verification? by Stevyn · · Score: 1

      Which is exactly why he wouldn't want the world to know how he got this far yet.

    3. Re:Verification? by dantheman82 · · Score: 1

      Perhaps you need to read the following:
      "Instructions will be peer reviewed once they are received and once the solution is guaranteed working, the prize money will be transferred via paypal"

      Yes, it would be nice to fly out and show Colin, but there is still the peer review process to deal with. Furthermore, he specifically has mentioned in the forum (which appears to be down right now) that it must work on MacBook Pro and the iMac as well. He was accepting testers in one specific thread...

      So save the money on the flight and email him the solution and he'll have it out to the various testers that signed up.

      --
      This sig donated to Pater. Long live /.
    4. Re:Verification? by plj · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The rules require not only that XP boot, but it must also dual-boot with Mac OS X. The user must be presented with the option of which OS to run at boot-time, and narf2006 hasn't done that yet.

      Indeed the dual-booting requirement sounds rather hard to achieve due to the GUID Partition Table (GPT) format required by EFI; Windows XP does not recognise this format, and I fear that even if narf2006 or someone else succeeds, the solution will be along the lines “hack X tells Windows that boot partition begins from disk address Y... AND DO NOT MESS WITH DISK ADMINISTRATOR!!!”

      --
      “Wait for Hurd if you want something real” –Linus
    5. Re:Verification? by squiggleslash · · Score: 1
      Why would that be a problem?

      The BIOS emulator can do this dynamically on boot up. It could even write an MBR before booting Windows.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
  8. Maybe interesting as an exercise... by Noer · · Score: 5, Interesting

    but I'd much rather see darWINE working well, or VMWare/VirtualPC running Windows at nearly native speed, or even some significant speedups that make QEMU nearly native speed. A Virtual Windows without the slowdown of emulation would be really nice; on the other hand, I have no desire whatsoever to actually boot Windows on a Mac. That's like putting 87 octane gas in a formula 1 car! ;-)

    --
    -- "Those who cast the votes decide nothing. Those who count the votes decide everything." -Joseph Stalin
    1. Re:Maybe interesting as an exercise... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      but I'd much rather see darWINE working well, or VMWare/VirtualPC running Windows at nearly native speed

      That's great, but neither of those things are going to happen soon. darWINE needs a lot of work. VMWare/VirtualPC have made no announcement of OS X products. Unless someone has been secretly working on an OS X virtual machine product and is ready to release (it IS possible), we won't see that soon.

    2. Re:Maybe interesting as an exercise... by Ma�djeurtam · · Score: 4, Funny
      Not so secretely.

      Q, an emulator based on QEMU is already working on MacIntels. From their News page :
      This is just a very first test on universal binaries for Q. Expect flaws! No virtualization yet, but it's way faster than on PPC never the less.
      As I understand it, virtualization IS planned in Q, and is already a reality in QEMU, albeit it is a closed-source add-on.
      --
      Instant Karma's gonna get you, Gonna knock you right on the head (John Lennon, 1970)
    3. Re:Maybe interesting as an exercise... by EraserMouseMan · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Yes, but if we could get WinXP loaded on the Mac hardware we could do some sweet benchmarked comparisons. It would really settle the debate about which OS is faster. Wouldn't it?

    4. Re:Maybe interesting as an exercise... by tpgp · · Score: 1

      actually boot Windows on a Mac. That's like putting 87 octane gas in a formula 1 car!

      Its kinda like the people who dual boot windows & linux. They can already run wine, they can already use vmware / bochs, but for some applications that just doesn't really cut it.

      It will soon be trivial to tri-boot os x, windows & linux on a single machine - that will extremely useful to a significant amount of people even if you can't see the point of it.

      --
      My pics.
    5. Re:Maybe interesting as an exercise... by kayak334 · · Score: 1

      What debate?

    6. Re:Maybe interesting as an exercise... by larkost · · Score: 3, Insightful

      No, because which is faster is a very complicated answer. It is like asking which is faster: a tank or a Porche. On a racetrack the Porche is going to be faster. On a field with mud a foot deep the tank is going to be (a lot) faster. This is a rather stark example, but the principal holds just as well for the Windows-MacOS comparisons.

      The best way of comparing has always been to benchmark the particular job you have in mind, an then to remember that generalizations are not really valid.

      Anyone who tells you different is trying to sell you a bridge.

    7. Re:Maybe interesting as an exercise... by ceeam · · Score: 1

      So - I believe we have it settled then: which videocards are faster - ATI or nVidia?

    8. Re:Maybe interesting as an exercise... by Noer · · Score: 1

      I never reboot my OS X systems, except for OS updates. I'm not interested in having to (for example) interrupt my massive BitTorrent warez downloads to reboot to Windows to play my pirated copy of Doom 5 that only runs on Windows (yes, I'm being facetious here). Proper virtualization should allow games and such to run fine in a virtual machine; even if not, I have no interest in running Windows in anything but the un-networked sandbox in which it belongs.

      --
      -- "Those who cast the votes decide nothing. Those who count the votes decide everything." -Joseph Stalin
    9. Re:Maybe interesting as an exercise... by SilentChris · · Score: 1

      "That's like putting 87 octane gas in a formula 1 car! ;-)"

      As always, follow the example of this poster. Make absolutely certain that your valid/intelligent comments are watered down by useless fanboyism. When in doubt, play to Slashdot crowd!

    10. Re:Maybe interesting as an exercise... by PIBM · · Score: 5, Funny

      Rest assured that the tank would win on the racetrack. No way is he gonna miss the porshe ;)

    11. Re:Maybe interesting as an exercise... by deathbyzen · · Score: 1

      This is modded funny... Is this some strange /. in-joke that requires a BS in CS?

    12. Re:Maybe interesting as an exercise... by tpgp · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Please reread the comment you were replying to. In particular, the line:
      that will extremely useful to a significant amount of people even if you can't see the point of it.
      --
      My pics.
    13. Re:Maybe interesting as an exercise... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't get it. How would a tank catch a porshe? A the porsche would have to do is get ahead of the tank and pace it for the rest of the race. The tank would never catch up.

    14. Re:Maybe interesting as an exercise... by Oniko · · Score: 1

      And all the tank has to do is to fire. And then it *would* catch up. ^_^

    15. Re:Maybe interesting as an exercise... by HTH+NE1 · · Score: 1

      Perhaps Funny due to a lack of a Giddy mod?

      --
      Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
    16. Re:Maybe interesting as an exercise... by Thalagyrt · · Score: 1

      He didn't say catch, he said miss. I'm sure the tank could easily hit the porsche. =P

      --
      Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo!
    17. Re:Maybe interesting as an exercise... by HTH+NE1 · · Score: 1

      I never reboot my OS X systems, except for OS updates.

      Lately, I've found I've had to. Problems with the Belkin OmniView SOHO 4-port USB KVMA switch have been causing kernel panics under the latest Mac OS X. I've had the OS go through its multilingual panic because the mouse was jostled while the Belkin was having problems. It then becomes a pain trying to get the Mac to recognize any USB devices on restart.

      B&W G3 w/550 MHz G4 upgrade, built-in Firewire ports dead. I need a new machine, but I'm wanting the new desktop to run Final Cut Studio UB with multiple big hard drives.

      --
      Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
    18. Re:Maybe interesting as an exercise... by drinkypoo · · Score: 1
      Stop making car analogies! Using slow ram would be a whole hell of a lot more like putting low-octane fuel in a high-compression engine. Both analogies are, however, quite stupid, and I only made mine to make a point.

      I think I'm going to have to register a new slashdot user called "NoMoreCarAnalogies" or something so I can show you people up with even more style.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    19. Re:Maybe interesting as an exercise... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is just a very first test on universal binaries for Q. Expect flaws! No virtualization yet, but it's way faster than on PPC never the less.
      (Emphasis mine)

      I'd like to see Q/QEMU work as well as VMWare or VirtualPC, but I'm not holding my breath.

    20. Re:Maybe interesting as an exercise... by kunzy · · Score: 1

      Why, oh why didn't they call it iQ?

    21. Re:Maybe interesting as an exercise... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It is like asking which is faster: a tank or a Porche. On a racetrack the Porche is going to be faster.

      But is the little bastard faster than a 120mm HEAT round?

    22. Re:Maybe interesting as an exercise... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The parent understood the "miss" as in "miss the bus" :)

    23. Re:Maybe interesting as an exercise... by kabz · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Yeah, it took 30 hours to install XP on my powerbook, but Q / QEMU on the mini runs it ok. Slow as hell though, and Ubuntu is even slower.

      I'll be sticking with OS X until VMWare does the decent thing.

      --
      -- "It's not stalking if you're married!" My Wife.
  9. Let's ruin a mac by waif69 · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Let's put an insecure OS on a beautiful machine and see if we can break it. Of course, this is only a lead in to making software that will be put on a CD to destroy a system if left in the CD drive and the user is told it will do something positive to their machine. OK, it will require social engineering and a upset worker in a software company to put this on a CD. OK, there are no IT people that get upset at company they work for. What was I thinking...

    1. Re:Let's ruin a mac by ZiakII · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Let's put an insecure OS on a beautiful machine and see if we can break it. Of course, this is only a lead in to making software that will be put on a CD to destroy a system if left in the CD drive and the user is told it will do something positive to their machine. OK, it will require social engineering and a upset worker in a software company to put this on a CD. OK, there are no IT people that get upset at company they work for. What was I thinking...

      You Sir, are why I don't hate Macs just Mac Users....

    2. Re:Let's ruin a mac by waif69 · · Score: 1

      You Sir, are why I don't hate Macs just Mac Users....
      I am hated for many reasons, many are good reasons, the least of which is the Mac.

    3. Re:Let's ruin a mac by kayak334 · · Score: 1

      Probably the best reason is that you are an idiot.

    4. Re:Let's ruin a mac by Slashcrap · · Score: 1

      I am hated for many reasons, many are good reasons, the least of which is the Mac.

      I don't think he hates people just because they own Macs. I think he hates people because they own Macs and can't shut up about how fucking great they are, whether they are asked or not. The sort of people who simply cannot see a story about running anything other than OSX on a Mac on any public forum without saying, "LOL Why wuld u do that?? It's like putting a Honda engine in a Ferrari. LOL". It just seems to me that Mac owners tend to see being a close-minded, corporate kool-aid drinking, public irritant as a state to aspire to.

      Of course in reality I have yet to encounter anyone who owns a Mac that doesn't fall into that group. I do however conceed that it is theoretically possible that such people may exist.

    5. Re:Let's ruin a mac by reklusband · · Score: 1

      To parent: I own several macs and run a pc business. I couldn't agree with you more about the kool-aid comment! The problem is that Macusers refuse to admit that a computer is a tool made by a company that doesn't care if their fanboys live or die as long as they keep making money. I love macs for the os, but I'm sure as hell going to put XP on a mac to allow me to WORK.

    6. Re:Let's ruin a mac by Luscious868 · · Score: 1

      Here, here. I'm the same way. I bought my first Mac a few months back (a Mini) to see what all the hype surrounding OS X was about. I love it and if I could, I'd never go back to Windows but I still want a PC that can run Windows for gaming and I need a PC that can run some Windows only applications when I'm working from home.

      I've been waiting for someone to figure out how to dual boot Windows and OS X on an Intel Mac since they were first announced. It would be the perfect solution for someone like me as I could finally do everythign that I want to do on a single box. As soon as someone figures out how to do it and it's independently verified then I'll be on the horn with Apple ordering an iMac.

      I think it's the number one thing holding a lot of would be switchers back. The Mac fanboys will never understand it but I think most other sane Slashdot readers probably can.

    7. Re:Let's ruin a mac by HTH+NE1 · · Score: 1
      --
      Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
    8. Re:Let's ruin a mac by GaryPatterson · · Score: 1

      You need to make more friends then. I don't go on and on about my Mac without being prompted, and all the Mac users I've ever known are the same.

      Most PC users I've known are like that as well, but I've had more than my fair share of bozos who (when they find out I've got a Mac) crap on and on endlessly about how much better PCs are than Macs. I tend to back away, maintaining eye contact until I get to a doorway to escape through.

      Forums are not representative of Mac or PC users. Only a small proportion of enthusiasts spend time around these sites.

  10. Astroturfing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It amazes me that the named personed has not even submitted a public release on how to run WinXP on Mac and everyone has already jumped onto the "zOMG its a photochop" bandwagon. At some point he has send his instructions to the person holding the pot and if it works then he wins the money while everyone else gets the instructions. In this day and age I find it rather disappointing that the first knee jerk reaction is always one of negativity. Slandering this guy's reputation in every forum won't get XP to run any sooner on a mac. I certainly hope that if this guy really did find the solution that Slashdot, Engadget, Digg and every other site dragging this guy's rep through the mud will run an apology.

  11. I thought Apple didn't care ? by alexhs · · Score: 1

    IIRC Apple doesn't care if you're running some Microsoft OS on Mac. After all, they're selling hardware...

    Don't get me wrong, I'm not dismissing the performance but the "succeeded at the impossible" from the blurb just doesn't sound "accurate" to me. It should be more difficult to run Intel MacOS X on a PC box than the opposite.

    --
    I have discovered a truly marvelous proof of killer sig, which this margin is too narrow to contain.
    1. Re:I thought Apple didn't care ? by falcon5768 · · Score: 1

      it actually isnt thats the thing. the EFI bootup on the Mactels make it surprisingly hard to boot windows on it, which is why its been a problem. On the otherhand OS X has little problems booting off a standard PC.

      --

      "Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."

    2. Re:I thought Apple didn't care ? by MustardMan · · Score: 1

      What rock have you been hiding under? Intel macs have no BIOS, they use EFI. Windows XP doesn't support EFI. Therefore, the technical challenge has been getting windows XP to boot on a machine with EFI. Even Vista is supposedly going to lack EFI support.

    3. Re:I thought Apple didn't care ? by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

      They don't care if you run another operating system, but they're also not going to spend extra effort and compromise their hardware design (by implementing legacy BIOS) to help you do it.

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    4. Re:I thought Apple didn't care ? by Greyfox · · Score: 2, Funny

      It's pretty much inevitable that someone will call them wanting support for the Apple machine they screwed up by trying to install Windows. Just answering the phone probably costs them $20-$30, so even if the users are forthcoming that they tried to install Windows and Apple tells them they can't be helped until they reinstall OSX off the restore DVDs, those calls will eat into Apple's profit margin. If a lot of people start doing that, Apple might have to hire another support person. That would double the cost of their support center and Steve will never get to finish his game of solitaire (Or whatever the Apple equivalent is.) All that engineering up front to discourage installing Windows on their hardware was probably just an attempt to avoid those support calls.

      --

      I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?

    5. Re:I thought Apple didn't care ? by mrchaotica · · Score: 1
      and Steve will never get to finish his game of solitaire (Or whatever the Apple equivalent is.)
      The only game all Macs (except maybe the Xserve) come with is GNU Chess. Behold Mac users' intellectual superiority! ; )
      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    6. Re:I thought Apple didn't care ? by Ford+Prefect · · Score: 2, Funny
      --
      Tedious Bloggy Stuff - hooray?
    7. Re:I thought Apple didn't care ? by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

      Bah! Dashboard widgets don't count!

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    8. Re:I thought Apple didn't care ? by ktappe · · Score: 1
      Just answering the phone probably costs them $20-$30
      Now that Apple has moved support to India, I think you mean it costs them 800-1300 Rupees.

      -Kurt

      --
      "We can categorically state we have not released man-eating badgers into the area." - UK military spokesman, July 2007
    9. Re:I thought Apple didn't care ? by ereshiere · · Score: 1

      Isn't the Apple version of Solitaire that bizarre iPod music guessing game?

    10. Re:I thought Apple didn't care ? by DarkVader · · Score: 1

      Just answering the phone probably costs them $20-$30

      Now that Apple has moved support to India, I think you mean it costs them 800-1300 Rupees.

      -Kurt


      Maybe this is WHY they opend a support center in India. "How can I help you? Oh, you installed Windows on your Mac. I don't know anything about supporting that, let me transfer you to our experts." ... (heavy accent) "Hello? How may I be helping you today? First, let us check that you have plugged in the power cable. All right. Let us now check that you have turned your computer on. This is a common mistake...."

      Frustrated, the customer hangs up....

    11. Re:I thought Apple didn't care ? by alexhs · · Score: 1

      What rock have you been hiding under?

      Debian and FreeBSD ? :)

      Intel macs have no BIOS, they use EFI.

      So were doing Itaniums that I've used 2 years ago.

      Windows XP doesn't support EFI.
      Therefore, the technical challenge has been getting windows XP to boot on a machine with EFI. Even Vista is supposedly going to lack EFI support.


      Agreed, but I've heard that at some point an MS-Windows version was available for Itanium. I guess MS has most of the code needed to boot a WinXP from EFI...

      Linux can boot from EFI (with elilo for example)
      Linux BIOSes are available
      I wonder if it isn't possible to fake a BIOS for MS-Windows to boot combining the two above.

      Well, easier to say it than to do it, I know :)
      My point was that in the absolute it is harder to break some crypto than working around a dumb boot loader...

      --
      I have discovered a truly marvelous proof of killer sig, which this margin is too narrow to contain.
    12. Re:I thought Apple didn't care ? by afidel · · Score: 1

      Actually XP64 DOES support EFI, the problem is that the Apple rigs are designed around a 32bit only chip. The other problem is that Apple for whatever reason decided not to include the optional legacy BIOS support profile in their EFI setup.

      --
      There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
    13. Re:I thought Apple didn't care ? by Yahweh+Doesn't+Exist · · Score: 1

      no, Solitaire is Solitaire, Music Quiz is "that bizarre iPod music guessing game" (kinda cool if you have lots of music and forget about about songs you haven't played in a while)

  12. Virtual PC!! by drrck · · Score: 1, Redundant

    The main problem I see with this one is Virtual PC. I can do the exact same thing with my iMac G5 at home by simply starting up VPC and booting XP.
    While I'm on a rant... Is there some unwritten rule that says all pictures of things somewhat exciting must be taken at VGA quality on a cell phone?

    1. Re:Virtual PC!! by schnikies79 · · Score: 1

      and for those who don't want/need linux on the mac? As soon as vmware comes out with a os x version, then that will be an option.

      --
      Gone!
    2. Re:Virtual PC!! by log0n · · Score: 1

      Virtual PC doesn't run on the intel macs yet.

      It could be VNC though.

    3. Re:Virtual PC!! by emerrill · · Score: 1

      True, but we have no way of knowing if that is an intel mac, they don't have any external differences from the last model of G5 iMacs

    4. Re:Virtual PC!! by emerrill · · Score: 1

      In my experience as a photographer, it can by very difficult to take decent pictures of LCD screens when using point and shoot cameras. Its pretty easy with a DSLR tho.

    5. Re:Virtual PC!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      While I'm on a rant... Is there some unwritten rule that says all pictures of things somewhat exciting must be taken at VGA quality on a cell phone?

      Yes.
      It's a tradition, or an old charter, or something..

    6. Re:Virtual PC!! by djdavetrouble · · Score: 1

      The main problem I see with this one is Virtual PC. I can do the exact same thing with my iMac G5 at home by simply starting up VPC and booting XP.

      Its a challenge! This guy wants to do it, and is willing to pony up money to fund the challenge.
      Why have a problem with it at all? Now you have one more problem than you had an hour ago,
      Dual boot vs. Virtualization, the debate continues.

      Keep in mind that Virtual PC introduces its own bugs and shortcomings. In trying to load up
      a bunch of kids games on the virtual pc of my g5, i had one work out of a dozen or so. I finally
      gave up.

      --
      music lover since 1969
  13. Vice Versa by szembek · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I'm probably stating the obvious here, but in my opinion the opposite of this would be much more useful. Being able to put Mac OSX on non-proprietary PC hardware would be much more useful than installing windows on a pricey Mac. I would like the ability to poke around in OSX, but I'm certainly not going to throw down the cash for a Mac.

    --
    nothing
    1. Re:Vice Versa by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      OS X already runs on generic PC hardware. You have to wait for Apple to release a standalone box of the OS though (if you want it legal). Should happen at the next update.

    2. Re:Vice Versa by WhatAmIDoingHere · · Score: 2, Insightful

      You can install OSX on your PC already. I've got it on my laptop. No wireless (yet) but it's fun to play with. It's also why I'm getting a Macbook Pro (when the Rev B comes out). I love OSX from my limited use of it. And if I could put Windows on there too? That would be great.

      --
      Not a Twitter sockpuppet... but I wish I was.
    3. Re:Vice Versa by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      HI,

      >but I'm certainly not going to throw down the cash for a Mac.

      Seems to me that if you're going to throw down cash you might as well spend it on hardware that can run any operating system you want rather that just windows and linux (the latter provided you can find drivers for your hardware)

      But I've seen people waste money before, so what you're saying doesn't surprise me.

    4. Re:Vice Versa by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

      This can be done already, assuming you have the right hardware (a CPU that supports SSE3 and possibly an Intel chipset, IIRC) and you don't care that it is possibly illegal (depending on jurisdiction, whether you have a legal copy of the OS, etc.).

      In fact, I'm considering doing it when I replace my iBook because Apple refuses to make a tablet (Grrr...).

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    5. Re:Vice Versa by shadexiii · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Windows works on lots of hardware. OS X *could* but isn't really suited for it (by design.) So if you need both, isn't Windows the more logical choice for transplanting?

    6. Re:Vice Versa by mr_gerbik · · Score: 1

      Actually the hardware isn't that pricey at all. Build me a PC with all the features of the iMac and I guarantee you will be at roughly the same price point. The only difference is, one will be a well engineered Mac and the other will be a big loud ugly box with a big ugly display. Choose what you prefer.

    7. Re:Vice Versa by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Lets say the motherboard fries, it's out of warranty. On a PC thats a $30-$50 spare. How much is it for your well engineered Mac? Is it even easy to change yourself?

      I take this example as motherboards fries quite often on well engineered Macs. More so than on PCs it seems.

    8. Re:Vice Versa by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Shut up with your mac, for the same price i can get a True machine.
      For 1400 euros i get an Athlon 64 x2 dual core 3800+, two gig of ram, a 160 gig western digital and an ATI x1800 XL. Yes, this config doesn't include a webcam, a remote and other useless things from the mac world.

      For 1400 euros you get a 1ghz8 core duo, 512 MO of ram, a crappy maxtor harddrive, a fucking ati x1600 and a machine that cannot be upgraded. No possibility of changing the motherboard yourself, or the graphic card. You can't add a second harddrive, you use your dvd burner to read things too and it's crappy to change yourself when it will fail.

    9. Re:Vice Versa by kannibal_klown · · Score: 1
      Actually the hardware isn't that pricey at all. Build me a PC with all the features of the iMac and I guarantee you will be at roughly the same price point. The only difference is, one will be a well engineered Mac and the other will be a big loud ugly box with a big ugly display. Choose what you prefer.

      That's what I can't get some people to understand. Particularly with laptops.

      I know people that brag about the $500 USD laptop they picked up on clearance/sale in BestBuy after some rebates. They say "tell me how Apple can justify such high prices!?!? Look how cheap this thing was."

      Meanwhile, their cheap plastic laptop is already crashing from poor hardware and the case is cracking.

      Hmm, why indeed.

      Apple's do have a premium, I won't argue with that. You can get a similarly specced out Dell for less than an Apple but it's not a HUGE difference. But again, that's only if you're doing a true comparison. That Intel Celeron notebook is not a comparison with a Duo.
    10. Re:Vice Versa by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So Apple don't even have a contender in the budget market, thanks for clearing that up. May I buy whatever machine suits me now.

    11. Re:Vice Versa by kannibal_klown · · Score: 1
      So Apple don't even have a contender in the budget market, thanks for clearing that up. May I buy whatever machine suits me now.

      Unless you want to look at an iBook. $999 USD for a 12", $1,299 USD for a 14". Both perform quite decently. Probably perform better than a Dell Celeron, but I don't know (or care) as I don't go "budget" for my equipment. My work requires I have something more substantial.
      But feel free to get whatever machine you want. My post was only that people laughing at how expensive Apple's notebooks are price are pretty clueless.
    12. Re:Vice Versa by hammackj · · Score: 1

      You are a fool if you do not get AppleCare.

    13. Re:Vice Versa by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Actually the hardware isn't that pricey at all. Build me a PC with all the features of the iMac and I guarantee you will be at roughly the same price point. The only difference is, one will be a well engineered Mac and the other will be a big loud ugly box with a big ugly display. Choose what you prefer.

      Well, this never pans out for me when I try, but I guess it depends on ones definition of similar. I just configured up a 20" iMac on applestore with 1 GB memory and 256 MB video. Price: $1,874. Did the same for a Dell E510 (dual core, same memory, disk, DVD-RW, wifi, widescreen 20", etc.): $1,189. That makes the iMac 57% more expensive. There might be small differences between the machines that I'm not spotting with this quick look (except design as you said), but nearly 700 dollars worth of difference? Apple have 3 times the profit margin on their hardware compared to PC producers with far greather volume (lower cost). The users are paying more for that profit somehow, it's no way around it.

    14. Re:Vice Versa by Solra+Bizna · · Score: 1

      Why not buy a third-party tablet? Like my sister? And my mother? And my neighbor's friend's father's friend's son? Wacom makes good ones.

      -:sigma.SB

      --
      WARN
      THERE IS ANOTHER SYSTEM
    15. Re:Vice Versa by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What's that? A hidden cost?

    16. Re:Vice Versa by TFoo · · Score: 1

      Actually you're missing something: I have a Macbook Pro, I run OSX primarily -- but I'd like the OPTION of occasionally running windows on the box, mostly so I can run PC-only games.

    17. Re:Vice Versa by Frobozz0 · · Score: 1

      I have a MacBook Pro 2.16 / 2GB / 100GB 7200 RPM HD. Got one of the first ones. I know some people seem to be having a hissing issue but I can say that after a full month of usage surfing, ripping DVD's, coding, desiging, etc. that I haven't had an hardware related issues. No hissing. Nothing. Works like a champ.

      And, yes, it's DAMN fast.

      Now if I could ditch my desktop PC for gaming / proprietary apps .... mmmmmmm.

      --
      "Politicians find new names for institutions which under old names have become odious to the people."
    18. Re:Vice Versa by duffolonious · · Score: 1

      $1,299.00 or as low as $31 a month Ships: Within 24 hours Free Shipping 17-inch widescreen LCD with 1440x900 resolution 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo with 2MB shared L2 cache 512MB (single SO-DIMM) 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM 160GB Serial ATA hard drive Slot-load 8x double-layer SuperDrive ATI Radeon X1600 graphics with 128MB GDDR3 memory Built-in AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 2.0 That's the cheapest IMac $1300... I just priced out a Amd64 X2 4200 system, Abit AN8-32X (w/ sound and lan), the same video card (w/ 256mb ram - I couldn't find less w/o paying more), amount of ram, $200 priced for 17" lcd, $50 for case, non-slot loading dual layer 10x dvd drive for $100, same size serial ata drive, pci wireless card, keyboard/mouse: $905.33 (shipping included) The major variable is the lcd (and arguably the case) - this system will be uglier, but spec-wise possibly better (amd64 after all). This will be more upgradable. And of course - it doesn't include OS, nonetheless, this gives a decent idea. It also shows why it's hard for a linux user like myself to switch to a Mac. Because I also don't have to pay for the OSX updates (which are like $100 or so?). Still it depends on what you like. Personally, since I already have x86 hardware - I think it would be nice to have OSX for any ol' x86 box.

    19. Re:Vice Versa by duffolonious · · Score: 1

      Crap, forgot to stick in the html...

    20. Re:Vice Versa by Arandir · · Score: 1

      I've got a new 12" iBook, and it's great! With only half the CPU speed, it is still snappier and more responsive than my desktop's P4. If you're not doing heavy builds or complex renderings, the CPU speed will not be an issue.

      --
      A Government Is a Body of People, Usually Notably Ungoverned
    21. Re:Vice Versa by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No more so than, say, a Dell Extended Warranty.

    22. Re:Vice Versa by colmore · · Score: 1

      Apple has stated up and down that they never want to see OS X on commodity hardware. I haven't really looked into it, but I'm betting, that there's some teeth in the EULA to that effect.

      That said, $600 for a dual-proc Mac Mini is a pretty awesome deal, and you can probably find a used G4 tower or Imac for way cheaper than that.

      *that* said, I'm already in the own-too-many-computers club. For web development reasons (right now I work on Linux and test on Windows) I'd like a mac, I'd probably use it basically as a second monitor, using a USB switch to switch between my linux/windows desktop and the mac.

      --
      In Capitalist America, bank robs you!
    23. Re:Vice Versa by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't need that, I can repair a PC myself. Is it possible to by a iMac mobo?

    24. Re:Vice Versa by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

      Huh??! Are you talking about carrying a separate Wacom tablet around with the laptop? If so, that completely defeats the point, which is to have a small, extremely portable computer where I can take notes directly on the screen -- for example, writing on it with the stylus in my right hand while holding the rest of it in my left hand. There's no way that would work with a separate writing pad.

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    25. Re:Vice Versa by MightyYar · · Score: 1

      Good luck using a generic motherboard in that Dell case.

      --
      W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
    26. Re:Vice Versa by MightyYar · · Score: 1

      I'll second that. I just bought a 12" iBook and I love it. I only wanted a laptop for email, web, and code editing. I needed battery life above all else. I found a Dell for $499, but then needed to up the memory, add wireless, and get the upgraded battery... it all came in around $700. I'm sorry, but that's close enough to the $900 that I got the iBook for. So I paid a $200 "Apple premium" that includes a pro-level OS (instead of XP Home) and a dedicated video card, which I still contend makes a machine feel snappier. I'm really past the point in my life where I'd put myself through 3 years of using a low-end Dell just to save $200.

      --
      W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
    27. Re:Vice Versa by Solra+Bizna · · Score: 1

      Oh, so you want a PDA? Darn shame they stopped selling Newtons then...

      -:sigma.SB

      --
      WARN
      THERE IS ANOTHER SYSTEM
    28. Re:Vice Versa by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

      Exactly! The trouble is, modern PDAs (like my Palm Tungsten E) are too small. I need one with a screen at least 4" by 6", and at least 800x600 resolution, which knocks out every PDA on the market today. A modern Newton would be awesome, especially if it actually ran NewtonOS or Mac OS X (or best yet, one running Mac OS X but with the Newton organization software). Ideally it would have a 1024x768, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, either a 1.8" (iPod size) hard drive or two CF slots (for MicroDrives), a very low-power CPU (ARM or Transmeta or AMD Geode or something) and a battery of sufficient size to last at least 6 hours. The size would be about 6" (wide) by 8" (high) by .5" (thick). See what I'm talking about now?

      It's kind of frustrating, because companies keep making stuff that comes close, but it's never quite close enough. For example, the Nokia 770 is almost perfect except that they put in a widescreen, which means I can't easily take notes on it. The new Microsoft "Origami" ones are almost perfect too, except that they'll draw too much power, run the wrong operating system, and probably be too thick (ergonomically speaking, I don't want the writing surface to be too high when it's sitting flat on a desk, because my wrist would have to bend at a weird angle).

      I wish I had my own electronics company, because I know exactly what I want to build, know that it is technically feasable to do for the price I want, and know that it would sell because I'm a (fairly) typical college student and I would buy it for myself.

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

  14. Re:In Soviet Russia... by GekkePrutser · · Score: 4, Informative

    Wel... Games, for one, like you already said :) This is something that REALLY requires dual-booting. I mean, you're not going to run a game in VMWare or Virtual PC even if it did support OpenGL or DirectX. Just too slow.

    I know a Mac is not for hardcore gamers but someone like me who wants to play the occasional game and not be tied into the pathetically small line-up for Mac games, dual-booting into Windows is a perfect solution.

    But there's lots of other uses (most of which would work fine within a virtual machine), like company-supported apps that are not available for Windows.

  15. Old news by Compunerd · · Score: 1, Funny
    --
    Computers are like air conditioners.
    - They stop working when you open Windows.
  16. Re:In Soviet Russia... by tpgp · · Score: 4, Insightful

    What's the point here, anyhow? Besides games, and maybe some MS development stuff, why run Windows on a PC??

    You do realise you answered your own question don't you?

    Anyway, whilst I don't like or run windows at home, I keep a spare 1GB partition with my old legal copy of win2k on it.

    Why? Because I think two operating systems are better then one - and its not exactly like its hard work (or much overhead) to set up a dual boot these days.

    --
    My pics.
  17. Re:In Soviet Russia... by tool462 · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Besides games, and maybe some MS development stuff

    For many people, those two things are reason enough to dual boot. It allows you to keep using your existing software, which makes the switch to Mac that much easier for people who have large libraries of Windows-only software.
  18. get a life people..... by cjpenguin · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    i've loved slashdot for a long time. yes the self-conscious righteous OSS rants and all. ...but this is just ridiculous. windows xp on a mac....seriously...

    WHO CARES!?!

    1. Re:get a life people..... by Sesticulus · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Apparently quite a lot of people, this is what the latest of perhaps a dozen articles since the mac->intel announcement?

      As a small developer that with about a 50/50 split in customers that run OSX and customers running Windows, having a single machine for support is a very attractive thing.

    2. Re:get a life people..... by springbox · · Score: 1

      Well, Windows is what's keeping me from going fully Linux on my main system, so I would suspect that Mac users who also depend or would like to use some Windows specific apps are in a similar situation.

    3. Re:get a life people..... by SinistarJAB · · Score: 0

      i care...

  19. Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by sgant · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Who would put up 12,000 bucks for something that's not really needed? I mean, sure, hacking the hardware to get it to run is kinda cool and all...but 12 grand?!?! Is it THAT important to buy Mac hardware to put Windows on?

    As people have said many many times before, why buy a Porsche and put a Yugo engine in it? Yeah yeah....you use XP at work and blah blah blah and when you get home you might want to run blah blah blah so it would be nice if you could reboot into XP blah blah blah.

    But fricken $12,000?

    --

    "Leo Fender was in a 'state of grace' when he designed the Stratocaster." -- Paul Reed Smith
    1. Re:Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by NetJunkie · · Score: 4, Informative

      No single person or organization put up $12K. A lot of people chipped in a few bucks at a time to get to that level.

    2. Re:Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by eno2001 · · Score: 3, Funny
      Is it THAT important to buy Mac hardware to put Windows on?

      But of course... As soon as the number of Macs running Windows to do real work outnumbers the number of Macs running Mac OS, can you imagine the reaction of the die hard Mac fanboys? Just that alone is worth $12,000 x 100. ;P (JOKE ALERT!!! JOKE ALERT!!! JOKE ALERT!!!)

      --
      -"...bad old ideas look confusingly fresh when they are packaged as technology" - Jaron Lanier (Digital Maoism on Edge.o
    3. Re:Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by sgant · · Score: 1

      ah, ok...that would make more sense then. So it was more of a big pot that people threw money into and the winner takes all? Ok, actually that's kinda cool.

      --

      "Leo Fender was in a 'state of grace' when he designed the Stratocaster." -- Paul Reed Smith
    4. Re:Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by CuriousGeorge113 · · Score: 0, Troll
      Who would put up 12,000 bucks for something that's not really needed? I mean, sure, hacking the hardware to get it to run is kinda cool and all...but 12 grand?!?! Is it THAT important to buy Mac hardware to put Windows on?


      One obvious answer might be Apple. They have stated over and over again that it would be impossible for someone to boot XP on a Intel Mac. Now we have claims by someone that it can be done.


      I can see two obvious reasons they would pay the bounty.

      1. Hush money - they pay the $12k and insist that the user sign an agreement not to realse it to anyone, ever.

      2. Apple engineers have no idea how in the world this guy did it, and they need to know in order to engineer a 'fix' to prevent anyone else from doing it.


      Maybe this is more of a ransom or a threat to Apple than a legitimate offer to share iformation with the community.

      --
      No man is an island, But if you take a bunch of dead guys and tie them together, they make a pretty good raft.
    5. Re:Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by rm69990 · · Score: 1

      Name one reason why Apple would not want WinXP booting on a Mac?

    6. Re:Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by plumby · · Score: 1
      1. Hush money - they pay the $12k and insist that the user sign an agreement not to realse it to anyone, ever.

      But a competition like this with a $12K prize will attract more than one competitor and even if the first person were paid off, there would almost certainly be others not far behind. So unless Apple were prepared to pay off every single person that did it, I can't imagine this would be a sensible plan for them.

    7. Re:Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's not quite true. Apple never said that it would be impossible. They said they wouldn't stop people from doing it, but they wouldn't help either.

      Apple has little interest in worry about whether or not Windows is going to run on a Mac. They're spending their money and time on better projects.

    8. Re:Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by tdemark · · Score: 5, Informative

      They have stated over and over again that it would be impossible for someone to boot XP on a Intel Mac. Now we have claims by someone that it can be done.

      I think you have that backwards.

      Apple has said they don't care if you want to by their hardware and boot XP on it, feel free. They're not doing anything to stop it, but they are also not doing anything to enable it.

      What they are against is Mac OS X on non-Apple hardware.

      - Tony

    9. Re:Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by carpe_noctem · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Who would put up 12,000 bucks for something that's not really needed? I mean, sure, hacking the hardware to get it to run is kinda cool and all...but 12 grand?!?! Is it THAT important to buy Mac hardware to put Windows on?

      It's not about buying mac hardware specifically to run windows, it's about the ability to dual boot mac osx and windows on the same laptop. Honestly, I'm at the point in my life where I need fewer computers, not more of them. Having a whole closet full of junky old PC's isn't worth the time and energy anymore, so I just have 2 laptops now, a powerbook and an old gateway. I'd gladly sell them both if I could buy one laptop that could run both OS's.

      For what I do (audio programming and music production), emulation is not an acceptable solution due to obvious performance and hardware issues. Plus, there is so much good software available for both platforms, why limit yourself to just one?

      --
      "Quoting famous computer scientists out of context is the root of all evil (or at least most of it) in programming." - K
    10. Re:Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by IAmTheDave · · Score: 3, Insightful
      Name one reason why Apple would not want WinXP booting on a Mac?

      Because WinXP boots just as nicely on a Walmart laptop. If people who own Mac hardware find themselves booting to Windows as often or more often than OSX, their next purchase may rationalize that the premium is just not worth it to run OSX.

      The debate goes two ways - way one, I get to run both OSes, how wonderful is that? Way two, I run XP more and more, why buy Mac hardware?

      It's only time that will tell us which is which...

      --
      Excuse my speling.
      Making The Bar Project
    11. Re:Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by KUHurdler · · Score: 5, Funny

      "Who would put up 12,000 bucks?"

      Microsoft

      --
      Fix Your Own TV - RiddledTV.com Avoid the Landfill
    12. Re:Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by soft_guy · · Score: 1

      The software company I work for wanted to "standardize" on one hardware vendor. Now, I can reasonably suggest to management that we should "standardize" on Apple hardware for all of our development on Windows, Linux, and MacOS X.

      --
      Avoid Missing Ball for High Score
    13. Re:Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I get your point, but I think your logic on this is not quite correct. The thing is, there's basically no difficulty getting access to WinXP. They're the dominant OS. People get to use it at work, at school, etc. - any Mac user to whom the experience you mentioned ("hrm, winXP works pretty well") would *already* get to experience this whether or not they can install Windows on their Mac.

      What you said would only matter if (a) people rarely got to try out the "other" OS (which is probably more the case for WinXP users not getting to use OS X in the sense of more than just playing around with it in an Apple store, than the other way round), or (b) a comparison with Windows only makes sense if its run on "apple quality hardware", which is also not the case - I'd say guys like IBM make pretty darned good PCs, for example.

    14. Re:Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's not just about gaming. I was an inveterate Mac user but eventually had to switch to Windows to be compatible with work. That means I get all the software I need from the office in Windows versions. I would prefer to go Mac, but I don't want to have to buy a lot of the same software again.

      On the other hand if I knew I could dual-boot, I would buy a Mactel and install my old Windows software from work on it, then buy native Mac versions of any new software.

    15. Re:Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by Alien+Being · · Score: 1

      "As people have said many many times before, why buy a Porsche and put a Yugo engine in it?"

      To get to the other side of the road?

    16. Re:Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by Heembo · · Score: 1

      and an old gateway

      Maybe if you bought a new laptop you wouldnt have the performance issues? I HATE using old hardware! :)

      --
      Horns are really just a broken halo.
    17. Re:Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait
      For what I do (audio programming and music production), emulation is not an acceptable solution due to obvious performance and hardware issues.
      If you really need to use Windoze, just use virtual PC.

      Moron.

    18. Re:Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because WinXP boots just as nicely on a Walmart laptop. If people who own Mac hardware find themselves booting to Windows as often or more often than OSX, their next purchase may rationalize that the premium is just not worth it to run OSX.

      Heh, the set of people who actively prefer Win XP to OS X having tried both is vanishingly small. I don't think Apple need to worry about that.

    19. Re:Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by IAmTheDave · · Score: 1
      What you said would only matter if (a) people rarely got to try out the "other" OS

      Well, that's kind of Apple's whole game. Sell pretty computers, that are considered hip in certain circles. You get two types of users - OSX power users, and standard family home users.

      For the power user like you and me, well, we have more than one computer. I have three desktops and two laptops, and run (on different machines) Windows XP, 2003, Ubuntu, and OSX.

      But for the standard family user and the niche "cool" user, who won't have more than one computer, buying Apple is a guarentee that you continue to buy Apple when it comes to software and services. If I can boot Windows XP, then I might start buying more Microsoft products, thus removing the cost barrier for Windows involvement introduced to those who spend their last dime forking over $2500 for a PowerBook.

      I just think that Apple sees choice (see France and iTunes) as a threat to their bottom line. But it's just a thought, and you make a good point.

      --
      Excuse my speling.
      Making The Bar Project
    20. Re:Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by Yaztromo · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Because WinXP boots just as nicely on a Walmart laptop. If people who own Mac hardware find themselves booting to Windows as often or more often than OSX, their next purchase may rationalize that the premium is just not worth it to run OSX.

      This seems doubtful to happen in any significant numbers. It isn't as if Intel Mac owners don't know about this option known as the "Windows PC", or the "cheap Walmart Laptop" that you mention. The systems have been available for just a bit more than two months now -- if Intel Mac owners wanted a Windows XP machine running on cheap Intel hardware, they would have bought a Windows XP machine running on cheap Intel hardware.

      There may be a percentage of "switchers" who decide to "switch back" -- but I imagine this has always been the case, so I don't see how anything would really be changing here. The only thing that is new is that the "switch back-ers" don't have to buy a new PC -- they can do it on their existing Mac hardware (assuming the challenge has indeed been met).

      Yaz.

    21. Re:Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by The+Infamous+Grimace · · Score: 1

      The contest home page has a list at the bottom of all donators. The largest donation is $1,111.11, the smallest a penny.

      (tig)

      --
      Ignorance and prejudice and fear
      Walk hand in hand
    22. Re:Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by MayorDefacto · · Score: 2, Funny

      So, what you're really saying is, "Once you go Mac, you never go back"

    23. Re:Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by Yaztromo · · Score: 1
      So, what you're really saying is, "Once you go Mac, you never go back"

      I can see some people adopting that as their new tagline :).

      Note that that isn't what I'm saying -- the possibility to switch from a Mac to a Windows-based machine has always been there. You'll be hard pressed to find any Mac users who aren't aware of (and haven't been forced to use at one time or another) this alternative.

      Yaz.

    24. Re:Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by IHSW · · Score: 1

      The debate goes two ways - way one, I get to run both OSes, how wonderful is that? Way two, I run XP more and more, why buy Mac hardware? For MacOSX?

    25. Re:Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They said it's impossible, not that they care if you do it.

      "That doesn't preclude someone from running [Windows XP] on a Mac. They probably will. We won't do anything to preclude that."
      -- Phil Schiller, Apple Senior VP, 6/6/2005

      I'm sorry, Firehed, we couldn't quite understand your response. Perhaps you want to remove the foot from your mouth and try again?

    26. Re:Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by mboverload · · Score: 1

      Until Apple makes a firmware/BIOS change and all the computers running WIndoews stop working.

      You'd be anything but a genius then.

    27. Re:Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by heinousjay · · Score: 1

      To be fair it's more like buying a Volkswagen and putting a Toyota engine in it. Neither system is really spectacular, and neither is really better than the other. The Mac hardware is pretty externally, but vanilla inside.

      And just it's known, I regularly use WinXP, OSX, and various flavors of Linux, plus the occasional foray into Solaris.

      --
      Slashdot - where whining about luck is the new way to make the world you want.
    28. Re:Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      idiot

    29. Re:Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      EFI. Check it out (Like you should've before posting your mouth off here). It's not firmware or a BIOS like on your daddy's machine.

      All the hip people are doing it! Geez, dude. You're so 90's!

    30. Re:Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by soupdevil · · Score: 1

      For the same reason they don't want Rhapsody selling tunes to iPod users. Apple sells an integrated user experience, and they make money on hardware, software, and content. Why would they give away a slice of that yummy pie?

    31. Re:Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by MagnusDredd · · Score: 1

      Yeah, and here I am wasting all this time tinkering with my network, I should buckle down and get some real work done.

      I need to get XP running on the Mac so I can do some *cough* network load testing *cough*.

    32. Re:Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by Firehed · · Score: 1
      They have stated over and over again that it would be impossible for someone to boot XP on a Intel Mac. Now we have claims by someone that it can be done

      Sorry for assuming people read the thread. That was based off of the grandparent post, not anything Apple said. People just suck at humor around here, I guess. At least I didn't post as AC (and yes, that's flamebait, unlike the original post which was a joke). And a foot in my mouth wouldn't affect my typing :p

      --
      How are sites slashdotted when nobody reads TFAs?
    33. Re:Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by Sheriff+of+Rockridge · · Score: 1

      I would think that the bigger fear for Apple would be getting OSX to run on non-Apple hardware. Why pay for the pretty box if all you care about is what is inside?

    34. Re:Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by eno2001 · · Score: 1

      Nah. Real work in Windows XP = GAMEZ!!!! ;P

      --
      -"...bad old ideas look confusingly fresh when they are packaged as technology" - Jaron Lanier (Digital Maoism on Edge.o
    35. Re:Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by MonkeySpank · · Score: 1
      Name one reason why Apple would not want WinXP booting on a Mac?

      Because WinXP boots just as nicely on a Walmart laptop. If people who own Mac hardware find themselves booting to Windows as often or more often than OSX, their next purchase may rationalize that the premium is just not worth it to run OSX.

      Damn...you're right. When the time comes I'll be trading up my Lexus for a Yugo.

    36. Re:Explain the fricken 12,000 bucks for this... by MagnusDredd · · Score: 1

      That's what I was referring to...

      It's what network administrators tell the boss they are doing when they fire up a LAN game on the company network. Network Load Testing. Mostly started with Marathon/Quake games to ensure low network latency... (at least on my part).

  20. Re:This looks to be...... by LeonGeeste · · Score: 1

    You're joking, but I have to wonder why Brill (submitter), who probably saw the photos himself, didn't pass them on to Slashdot or some other site to host, rather than gripe about how they're not available anymore. Seems it would have been the courteous thing to do.

    --
    Rank my idea: http://www.sinceslicedbread.com/node/531
  21. Re:This looks to be...... by catwh0re · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Here is the thing: you don't need to photoshop anything to get images of windows on an "Intel" iMac

    The iMac G5 with built-in iSight camera is visually identical to the new Intel based iMacs.

    Virtual PC 7 runs on the iMac G5 without a hitch (and allows full screen mode.)

    You then need only take photos of your iMac G5 running windows-xp under virtual PC in full screen mode.

    Better proof is images of this method on a MacBook Pro, because intel-based macs are unable to run virtual PC.

    Additionally, faking images of a MacBook Pro running XP is also trivial, as you can simply get screen shots (from virtual pc on a G4 or G5 system.. or even off the web.) and display them full screen on your new Intel Mac.

    In fact I can fake pictures of my powerbook running vista via a similar method, I can fake images of my powerbook running nintendo DS games with the same method.

    The truth of this will come out once the method is tested to work or not work. Only then will the prize money be rewarded.

  22. This shot in particular by BShive · · Score: 2, Interesting

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/32436196@N00/11065077 1/ There's no way for that one to be real. The screen is overlapping the edge of the machine itself. He definitely needs some hard proof (or better pictures).

    1. Re:This shot in particular by birder · · Score: 4, Informative

      "Look closer Lenny" There is another monitor covering part of the iMac.

    2. Re:This shot in particular by pete_norm · · Score: 2, Funny

      From the Flickr website:

      _________
      Hold your clicks a moment please...
      Flickr has the hiccups. We're looking into the problem right now, so please check back later.
      _________

      It seems Flickr has a Slashdot caught in its throat...

    3. Re:This shot in particular by BShive · · Score: 1

      You're right. Apparently "Blurry Picture + No Glasses = Stupid Conclusion"

      Doesn't change that they'll need some more substantial proof though.

  23. I have a life by kcurtis · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'm a level 60 Warrior on WoW. I battle those nasty night elves and live the high life in Orgrimmar.

    Oh, you mean real life?

    But seriously, and related to the first part of my post...

    I would love to have a Mac for browsing, mail and multimedia editing, and to also dual-boot into XP for gaming. (Yes, I know WoW comes on Mac, but many games do not).

  24. Re:This looks to be...... by Guspaz · · Score: 1

    There are emulation solutions, at least, that run on intel-based macs. Throw a copy of QEMU onto a MacBook and run it in fullscreen mode, and the photos would look real. It would even allow you to make a fake video easier than recording a video of a WinXP desktop and playing it back.

  25. Virtual PC? Bah! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    the only proof available is a blurry Flickr collection of photos that could be faked with virtual PC

    Virtual PC?! Screw that - he could have faked those with a full-screen iPhoto view of a screenshot taken from a regular PC.

    I'm not trying to say he wasn't successful, I'm just trying to say that the story submitter is looking for far too complicated of an explanation.

  26. Re:This looks to be...... by mrchaotica · · Score: 1
    Better proof is images of this method on a MacBook Pro, because intel-based macs are unable to run virtual PC.
    You mean you can't even run it with Rosetta, doing an x86 -> PPC -> x86 conversion?
    --

    "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

  27. It's not hard to hoax by earthbound+kid · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It's not as though it's a hard hoax to do.

    1. Go to a Windows box. Take a screen shot.

    2. Open the screenshot on your iMac. Display it full screen.

    3. Take a picture.

    I mean, he hasn't posted a video of him using the computer and his mousing syncing up with the screen, right? Just a blurry photo. So, that proves basically nothing. I'm not saying he absolutely didn't do it, just that a photo doesn't count for much.

    1. Re:It's not hard to hoax by jekewa · · Score: 1
      Even easier, two words: full-screen VNC. Hyphenated is it two or three? I'm sure I'll be corrected.

      I do this all the time between LINUX, Solaris, Mac, Windows. I'm at one machine and need to do something screwy and GUI on another; VNC to the rescue. Takes about two minutes to set up, and in full-screen mode, easy to do with no photo alterations. And the mouse and keyboards work.

      --
      End the FUD
    2. Re:It's not hard to hoax by praseodym · · Score: 1

      Even easier: install Windows XP using VirtualPC on a PowerPC Mac -- the outside of both is exactly the same.

    3. Re:It's not hard to hoax by thedletterman · · Score: 1

      Correct me if I'm wrong.. because I can't access the pictures (Thanks Websense!) But couldn't you just put a PC under the table and connect the Mac monitor to the PC? Or was this done on a mac notebook?

      --
      Any fool can criticise, condemn, and complain, and most fools do. - Benjamin Franklin
    4. Re:It's not hard to hoax by Echnin · · Score: 1

      This was done on an iMac, where the monitor is integrated. So, no, that wouldn't work unless you went in and grabbed the monitor cable from within the case, which I don't even know is possible, and probably would be a bit of work.

      --
      Lalala
    5. Re:It's not hard to hoax by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Uh, what about a camcorder?

    6. Re:It's not hard to hoax by SpaghettiPattern · · Score: 1

      Open the screenshot on your iMac. Display it full screen...
      This guy is a hoax genious. I bet he was behind the picture of Bush with goatse.cx in the background. Hey, there's always someone smarter than you are.

      --

      I hadn't the slightest objection to his spending his time planning massacres for the bourgeoisie... (P.G. Wodehouse)
  28. 640x480 by ikejam · · Score: 3, Informative

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/32436196@N00/11097774 4/in/photostream/

    Interesting thought there - VGA drivers arent installed now if it was a fresh install right?

    "
    PowerMacChris says:

    oh-oh-owned!

    Windows XP has a 640x480 resoulition on GUI install :P
    Posted 3 days ago.

    Paul Stamatiou Pro User says:

    ^ No. I've installed XP with 1280x1024.
    Posted 2 days ago.

    digitalpiracy says:

    No he's right - you can set an option in the unattend.sif file so the resolution jumps to whatever you like once its installed the VGA drivers, but this section always runs at 640x480
    Posted 2 days ago. "

    1. Re: 640x480 by EXMSFT · · Score: 1

      At that point it is running with a VESA mode VGA driver. Which may look good, or like crap. Depending on the VESA implementation of the chipset. Given that it is a relatively recent chipset on the iMac, it looks about right.

    2. Re: 640x480 by drew · · Score: 1

      And you mean to say that you can tell from this rather low quality photo what resultion is being displayed on the screen?

      --
      If I don't put anything here, will anyone recognize me anymore?
  29. People who are far more likely to succeed... by neuroklinik · · Score: 2, Informative
  30. What next? by emo+boy · · Score: 1

    What next?? NES Emulators on the mac platform? When will the insanity stop?

    1. Re:What next? by scrwvwls · · Score: 1

      Maybe my sarcasm detector is malfunctioning but NES emulation is one of the most popular consoles to emulate and thus may be found on any number of platforms, including of course, Mac. http://www.zophar.net/mac/nes.html

  31. And here's the picture confirming ... by Dr.Sweety · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... that this is not a hoax! Windows XP boots on a Mac! http://www.mathcaddy.com/windowsxpbootsonamac!!!!1 /

    SCNR :)

    1. Re:And here's the picture confirming ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Dual boot, no less.

  32. Another Case of Poor Slashdot Journalism by plaidhacker · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Turn of events: 1) someone posts some (blurry) pictures (4) of a WinXP install screen on an iMac to flickr 2) forums world-wide respond with "d00d! its a total fake! look at those pixels!" and "why can't a guy who knows how to do this use a camera? fake!" and "OMFG hwd u do that? cant be done - fake!" which results in this fine slashdot news story, based entirely on blurry photos and forum jockeys. seriously guys, we'll know someone's done it when the pot is claimed - until then, it just isn't news... daveschroeder posted a better written, more informative piece than the article he was replying to. Luke got the same uninformed forum jockey BS when he bootstrapped linux on the Treo 650.

    1. Re:Another Case of Poor Slashdot Journalism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Luke as in Luke Skywalker? Did he happen to use the Force to bootstrap that Treo?

  33. OK, I just don't get it.. by Dutchmaan · · Score: 1

    I know Apple wants to maintain it's image and all, but I always felt that if they marketed their machines as the "run anything" computer, they would grab a nice chunk of the market. Instead of the pure Apple machine they might go the other direction with their hardware and call it a "blank slate" fit for whatever OS you want to put on it... go where YOU want to go kind of computer.

    It seems pretty damn apparent that people want a dual boot Windows/Mac... There's demand there, but no company wants to risk it because it might affect other portions of their business. Oh well, baby steps I guess.

    1. Re:OK, I just don't get it.. by CottonEyedJoe · · Score: 1
      I know Apple wants to maintain it's image and all, but I always felt that if they marketed their machines as the "run anything" computer, they would grab a nice chunk of the market. Instead of the pure Apple machine they might go the other direction with their hardware and call it a "blank slate" fit for whatever OS you want to put on it... go where YOU want to go kind of computer.
      The problem with this strategy is that developers may see it as an excuse to move (or keep) their software to Windows exclusively. Keeping a seperate version for OSX is expensive, why do it if it isnt neccessary. Adobe could simply produce a Windows version of Photoshop and have Mac owners boot into Windows to use it.

      On the flip side, Mac owners are pretty finicky about demanding native software. Windows is already available via emulation on Macs and we havent seen the above scenario. Even more intriguing is that many "linux" apps are available for free via X11 in OSX but outside of techies, few people use them (With the possible exception of Gimp.app). Most Mac owners prefer the (relatively) consistent UI of native mac apps.

      Personally, I'll install Windows on my Macintel when its available. I'm much more comfortable in a mac/unix environment but there are occasional needs for full speed Windows. I keep an old PC around for that now. I'd like to be able to toss it and just dual boot OSX/XP on a laptop.
    2. Re:OK, I just don't get it.. by forkazoo · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Unfortunately, this would kill a lot of their developer base.

      If almost all PC's have Windows, and almost all Macs run Windows apps, then you can just write a program for Windows, and there is no need to make a Mac specific port.

      If there is no native Mac OS software, why get a Mac?

      Sure, lots of developers would develop for the Mac out of love for the platform or whatever, but a lot of other devs would declare that just supporting Windows is sufficient for a very large percentage of their user base.

    3. Re:OK, I just don't get it.. by duffolonious · · Score: 1

      I disagree.

      Because in essence this fear is already realized - most apps are windows only. Most Mac apps are from apple themselves. I don't think they have anything to lose.

      Linux is in this boat already, and it's getting more apps ported to it.

    4. Re:OK, I just don't get it.. by rafimg · · Score: 1
      Most Mac apps are from apple themselves.

      Um, no. That's just not true. Apple makes maybe 20 applications that aren't part of the OS at the most, while there are many thousands of Mac OS X programs out there. They don't even make a lot of the most widely-used Mac programs, e.g. Word, Photoshop, and InDesign. Heck, there are over a thousand Mac applications that have Intel-native binaries available. Take a look at this guide if you really don't believe me.

    5. Re:OK, I just don't get it.. by duffolonious · · Score: 1

      I concede your point, but I still doubt it because I don't see any support for the argument that devs will just say, "well now that windows can be run on the mac, why develop for it?"

      You still will have to buy windows, for one thing.

      This is kind of the same argument that WINE is bad for Linux, and I don't think it holds true - more games -albeit a small number- have linux versions, especially smaller games studios. I bring up games, because it's a good example of an area where windows still reigns supreme as far as numbers of games created for it, that don't have Mac or Linux or ... versions.

      Also, the move to intel was supposed to help getting support. You know, as a dev the main reason I don't do much coding for macs, or attempt to support them is only because I don't have one. If OSX was available to me then it would be possible. But with Apple's irritating "hardware company" stance, I don't feel like buying a computer just for OSX.

      This is undoubtedly different for commercial software, even so it helps.

      I would really like Apple to no longer be a "hardware company".

    6. Re:OK, I just don't get it.. by jcr · · Score: 1

      I know Apple wants to maintain it's image and all, but I always felt that if they marketed their machines as the "run anything" computer, they would grab a nice chunk of the market

      The problem with that is that grabbing that "nice chunk of the market" endangers the business they get by being the much easier-to-use computer.

      Many vendors have crashed and burned attempting to offer a better version of the monopoly's offerings. Starting with the TI PC, there was the Sun 386i, the DEC Rainbow, OS/2, SGI's NT boxes, Data General's NT servers, and many, many more.

      Remember Apple's dual CPU machine from the late 80's, which (IIRC) had a 68030 and an 80286? Believe me, there are at people at Apple who do. ;-)

      The hard lesson is that in the commodity business, you can't deviate from the standard crap and try to offer something better. Compaq won, TI lost. Dell won, IBM lost. Apple's not going to play that game.

      -jcr

      --
      The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
  34. Re:In Soviet Russia... by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

    It'd be fine for (non-Source) Half-Life mods though, which are the only games I'm interested in that aren't native Mac OS already anyway.

    --

    "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

  35. XP on Mac works in apples favour? by joshsnow · · Score: 2, Insightful

    there's a lot of noise, over on the ars forums, about why Apple may want to prevent XP and foghorn (vista) from running on Mac hardware. I think it's the opposite. Apple won't try to hard to prevent windows operating systems from running on Mac hardware, because Apple are, primarily, a hardware company - they want to sell macs. In fact, if people are buying macs intending to install windows, Apple may hope to use that as a bate and switch tactic. I think they're more likely to attempt to prevent people from running OS X on bog standard beige PCs (or Dells or whatever) because that could hurt Mac sales.

  36. Windows on mac WHAT?? by BillGod · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Ok let me get this right. 99% of all /. talk trash about M$ all day. Windows is hell and Bill Gates is the devil..... Now there is a big geek contest to see who can get winXP to run on a mac? Am I missing something? Is this just for bragging rights to see who can do it first or is everyone actually wanting to install and run XP on mac?

    --
    MISSING - Sig file. 2 years old black and white and very funny. If found please email me.
  37. A real fix, emulate BIOS to run XP an non-EFI unix by Masq666 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This article talks about a project called BAMBIOS, BAMBIOS emulates a bios on the intel-based Mac's. This enables non-EFI OS's to run.

    --
    Bits of News Giving you the latest bits.
  38. Re:What I don't get... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Have you completely ignored every Apple article that has ever been posted to Slashdot? I swear, somebody always asks this question. Hell, sometimes several people do. The answer is still the same: the software! There are many, many applications and games available for Windows that are not available for OS X. People want to use them. Period. It doesn't matter if there isn't any Windows-based software you want to use. Get it through your head already.

  39. Re:This looks to be...... by Ford+Prefect · · Score: 1

    I've been using Windows 98SE on my MacBook Pro since I got it.

    If I took a photo of it, you'd notice it has no problems running full-screen, and video would prove it's most definitely not a static screenshot - and better still, Windows XP is no obstacle, and I could even have MacOS X for PowerPC, Linux, FreeBSD, RISC OS appearing in a similar manner with no problems whatsoever.

    How?

    VNC. Easy!

    --
    Tedious Bloggy Stuff - hooray?
  40. Re:it doesn't have to be real by ceeam · · Score: 1

    How does it run HalfLife2 for example?

  41. Re:This looks to be...... by eboot · · Score: 1

    Yes you can, in fact im doing it right now. But i did hear a rumour that it may cause the universe to implode or something but i mean thats just ridic!?@! (Actually a quick google answered this, pretty much straight from microsoft's mouth: no)

    --
    Two tears in a bucket. Motherfuck it.
  42. No, what we really want is... by wandazulu · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ...VMWare to come out with their VMWare Workstation (or even the player) for the Mac. Even VirtualPC, if/when it ever comes to the Intel Mac, should run Windows "well enough" for everything I would do with a PC (short of gaming, which wouldn't be very useful on a portable or a mini anyway).

    I'm becoming more and more a fan of virtualization; why deal with dual booting and configuring the disk when you can just run the client OS as a task in the main operating system. Also, if you trash your copy of Windows, just restore it from a snapshot or recreate it from a "good" image.

    But, OTOH, kudos to him if he has in fact gotten it to work.

    1. Re:No, what we really want is... by evilviper · · Score: 1
      No, what we really want is... ...VMWare to come out with their VMWare Workstation (or even the player) for the Mac.

      Why wait for VMWare? QEMU is open source, and the performance feels about the same. Actually, VMware is pretty slow, too, so there's still plenty of reason for getting Windows running natively, and having QEMU emulating an x86 system on PPC would probably be nearly as fast (slow?).

      It would probably be pretty trivial to start using it on OSX right now through OSX's x11 server. In fact, I see it's in FINK CVS already.
      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
  43. Simple Question... Why? by maddmike · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Why do you want to put a crappy OS on MAC hardware? If you want an intel machine just go buy one.....

  44. Re:What I don't get... by Pope · · Score: 1

    It's more handy than you think: web apps of all sorts need bug testing on as many major browsers as possible. IE for Mac is not the same as IE on Windows, heck, MS didn't even produce a version 6. If I can do all that on ONE machine, it's less cost than buying a PC just to run that software, since my main platform at home is Mac OS.

    Sure, I have Virtual PC, but it's dog slow even on a Dual G5. Even getting Windows or just IE to operate at 1/3 of the true processor speed would be welcome.

    --
    It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
  45. Windows XP on a mac? by Bitwaba · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'm still having trouble getting winXP to install on my pc sata drive... maybe narf2006 can give me a hand.

  46. Fake... Next question by trianglecat · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Im all for this happening but... has anyone looked at the photos? The screen is on top of the bottom right cornner of the machine.

    1. Re:Fake... Next question by ledow · · Score: 1

      Er... that doesn't really show it as fake. I assume you mean that the edge of the picture is "overlapping" the case? It's a picture of brightly lit screen taken with a cheap cell phone - it's called colour bleed.

    2. Re: Fake... Next question by gidds · · Score: 1
      Agreed. Would anyone go to the trouble of Photoshopping it carefully enough to match the edges precisely, and subtly add glare intersected by the shadow of the other monitor, but somehow forget something very very obvious like that corner?

      Okay, it's possible; but in this case I think it's far more possible that the photo itself is genuine.

      That's not to say that Windows is really running on the Mac; I'll await the jury on this one, but my guts tell me that 1) I shouldn't have had that second onion bhaji, and 2) this is sounding more like a case of Mac OS X displaying a screenshot of Windows than a genuine competition winner.

      --

      Ceterum censeo subscriptionem esse delendam.

  47. What about Solaris x86 by CottonEyedJoe · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I know this is a bit off topic, but has anyone tried Solaris x86? It would probably be more interesting to me to be able to dual boot Solaris/OSX than Windows XP.

    1. Re:What about Solaris x86 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Solaris/x86 has a more fundamental problem to be conquered first - that is to boot successfully on _STANDARD_ PC hardware first. More often than not it fails to boot on non-fancy bare bones x86 hardware. So let's leave Solaris/x86 alone for some more time.

  48. Is this really a first? by moderators_are_w*nke · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I can't believe nobody ever got the old PPC builds of Windows NT to boot on a PPC Mac?

    --
    "XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve your problem, use more." - Anonymous Coward
    1. Re:Is this really a first? by wandazulu · · Score: 1

      I don't recall the specifics, but there were two types of PowerPC machines, CHiRP and PReP (don't remember what any of that means). IIRC the PowerPC version worked on PReP machines, and Macs were supposed to be, but I don't know if they were completely, CHiRP. For some reason, again lost in the mists of time, those two worlds couldn't be bridged.

    2. Re:Is this really a first? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It doesn't have any IDE disk drivers.

    3. Re:Is this really a first? by mihalis · · Score: 1

      CHiRP stood for, approximately, "awesome hardware platform which surely will wipe out PCs". So did PReP, but just spelled differently. Sadly, they were wrong both times.

    4. Re:Is this really a first? by imikem · · Score: 2, Informative

      In the beginning there was PReP - PowerPC Reference Platform

      A year or two later this was revised to CHRP - Common Hardware Reference Platform

      As pointed out elsewhere, these were not runaway successes. I don't believe Macs ever were fully compliant with either spec, on purpose I suppose.

      --
      Perscriptio in manibus tabellariorum est.
    5. Re:Is this really a first? by plj · · Score: 2, Informative

      In the beginning there was PReP - PowerPC Reference Platform

      A year or two later this was revised to CHRP - Common Hardware Reference Platform


      Parent is correct. CHRP was a successor of PReP. PReP was quite flawed from Apple's perspective, and while CHRP was better, probably only few boxes actually complied with it. Some of those that did were Motorola's StarMax Pro 6000s, running 233 or 266 MHz G3s.

      Those systems were announced at mid-1997, but they never shipped, as Apple decided to kill the clones. Some are still using those few that were made, though.

      --
      “Wait for Hurd if you want something real” –Linus
    6. Re:Is this really a first? by ModernGeek · · Score: 1

      IIRC, Windows NT was able to boot and run on some of the old mac clones that had SCSI drives. However, WinNT PPC was never able to boot on G4's or any other PowerPC platform given the reasons the parent and grandparent posts gave.

      --
      Sig: I stole this sig.
    7. Re:Is this really a first? by evilviper · · Score: 1

      Windows on non-x86 systems won't run Win32 binaries. So, this is very, very, very, different.

      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    8. Re:Is this really a first? by moderators_are_w*nke · · Score: 1

      Pedant time.

      Yes i will. All Win32 binaries are in PE (Portable Executable format) and one of the headers on this file is the machine architecture. 99.99% (at least) of Win32 exes in the world are i386, and the rest are mostly Alpha, so it won't run any of those, but there must be a PPC app somewhere (notepad?) you can run, and if you can find a compiler, Firefox would probably work, assuming NT4 had a PPC build.

      --
      "XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve your problem, use more." - Anonymous Coward
    9. Re:Is this really a first? by evilviper · · Score: 1
      but there must be a PPC app somewhere (notepad?) you can run,

      Well the built-in programs are obvious. I also remember Diskeeper having a download for PPC, so your PPC Windows disk will never have to be fragmented...

      and if you can find a compiler, Firefox would probably work, assuming NT4 had a PPC build.

      Yeah, but who would install Windows to get Firefox, or any other open-source app? People want Windows so they can run propritary Win32 apps like the newest 3D games.
      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
  49. Monitor by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    The simplest way to fake this would be to use a mac monitor with a pc. no photoshopping necessary

    Think about it

  50. You guys are lame by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Why would people call these photos a hoax? What does it matter if he hasn't posted the solution yet? Obviously, wait until he posts a solution, and then judge.

    All of you leachers calling this a hoax are super lame. Instead of wasting Internet bandwidth with stupid comments on Slashdot, try downloading Intel's EFI starter kit, and implement yourself. You don't even need a Mac, except to polish off the EFI boot environment; you can develop the entire BIOS emulation without a Mac.

    I've been implementing a BIOS compatibility layer, and those photos are definitely legitimate; they show BIOS call traces.

    I hope that he sells his solution. People making comments like this don't deserve the gracious effort of others.

    1. Re:You guys are lame by shotfeel · · Score: 1

      I like the last line of the writup, "What's the verdict? Real or Fake?"

      The answer: Nobody can know until the real evidence is made available.

      I just read someone from my home town was arrested for shoplifing. Maybe I should submit the story to /. and we can debate wether or not he's guilty. Who needs evidence when someone can probably Google the guy and we can determine by uninformed debate what the verdict should be.

      I know, I Know. I should get lost and chill out.

  51. Photoshopped!.... by haplo21112 · · Score: 1, Interesting

    ...and badly at that...take a look at the "Real VGA!" photo...thats pretty clearly a BAD! Bad! photoshoping...

    --
    Power Corrupts,Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely, leaving one person(group)in charge is absolutely corrupt.
    1. Re:Photoshopped!.... by Slashcrap · · Score: 1

      ...and badly at that...take a look at the "Real VGA!" photo...thats pretty clearly a BAD! Bad! photoshoping...

      Hi, would you mind letting us know where you got the experience to be able to tell when a picture has been Photoshopped?

      When you've done that can you also provide a detailed explanation of the various visual anomalies that have led you to this conclusion?

      Sorry for all the questions, it's just that I have an aversion to people who claim expertise in a subject without providing evidence. While I am certain that you're not just another loud mouthed, attention seeking Slashtard there may be others who are not so trusting.

  52. Hypothesis by MrNougat · · Score: 2, Funny

    This "XP on a Mac" thing is currently a hypothesis. It is something that has been reasoned as possible, and now has been tested one time. Provided that the tester kept meticulous notes, others should be able to follow those notes to reproduce the experiment, and report their results to the media. The more times the experiment is successful, the more it can be described as a theory or law.

    However, since the current state of knowledge on this subject is thin, it is just as likely that the way to get Windows XP running on a Mac requires divine intervention. One could then describe a Mac running XP as "Intelligently Designed."

    --
    Web 2.0 == Giant Blogspam Circle Jerk
    1. Re:Hypothesis by PRMan · · Score: 1

      Actually, you have that backward. If he designs a complex solution that is so complex that only an idiot would say it could happen randomly, that's Intelligent Design. If he says that something as complex as installing Windows XP on a Mac platform "happened by random chance" that would be evolution. Just put a random keypresser on there for a few billion years. Windows XP will get on there eventually...

      --
      Peter predicted that you would "deliberately forget" creation 2000 years ago...
  53. It's an iMac! by objekt · · Score: 1

    iMacs are all-in-one computer and monitor together. So it's either a G5 iMac running an emulator (and from looking at all the flickr photos, it's got to be more than that), or a Photochop, or it's legit.

    --
    -- Boycott Shell
  54. This is all well and good... by JaXx-StoRm · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...but I wish they'd concentrate more on getting Mac OS working on a PC. That to me is much more interesting that getting Windows working on a mac

    --
    'If I have seen furthur, it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants' - Sir Isaac Newton
    1. Re:This is all well and good... by creepynut · · Score: 1

      That's what OSx86Project.org is up to. The difference is, it's quite clear there are no legal issues installing Windows XP on a Mac system. Likewise, the MacOS X licence clearly states that OS X can't be installed on a non-Apple computer.

    2. Re:This is all well and good... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...but I wish they'd concentrate more on getting Mac OS working on a PC. That to me is much more interesting that getting Windows working on a mac

      That's already possibly, and has been possible for quite some time (though there was some catching up to do with the release version of OS X, but that's done already). It requires you to have a CPU that supports SSE3, though.

  55. List of contributors is available. by AddressException · · Score: 1

    The list of contributors to the fund is available on their site -- Apple is not one of them (obviously!).

  56. Why Apple *used* to be interested... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...from the unleaked internal memo at the Cupertino headquarters.

    Similar to the hardware on the shelves that bore the sticker 'Intel Inside', Apple was going to ship its units emblazoned with the words 'Idiot proof'. But now that somebody has managed to install XP on their expensive but well-engineered hardware, they nixed the sticker idea. Swear to God. Or Jobs.

  57. Re:What I don't get... by twofidyKidd · · Score: 1

    I'm not convinced this is a good reason. Get a second machine, like I've done, that runs your Windows OS and software separate from the Mac machine. If you can afford to buy a Mac, a separate Windows box shouldn't be out of your realm. And if gaming is your thing, you wouldn't really be looking at a Mac in the first place, so why bother. Yes, I've seen the software reason cited over and over, but that's a really poor argument. Would you use a philips head screwdriver on a flat-head screw? No. Would you use a Mac to develop Windows software or to game? No. Use the right tool for the right job. It's that simple. Forcing something to work isn't going to give you the results you'd expect if you simply chose to use the proper tool in the first place, and in reality, that's all computers are: tools. You want a gaming tool? Go spend the money on an Alienware, not a Mac box. That's just stupid.

    How about, coming up with a better argument? That's the question I'm asking. I would like to hear a different argument to why dual-booting on an Intel Mac is a worthwhile effort for me to engage in on a rather expensive piece of hardware. I own an Intel Mac. I bought it because Windows sucks, and frankly, so does Linux for my needs. If someone told me that, by running Windows on Apple Intel-based hardware, my OS environment would be secure, run faster, and instantly provide me with features that Mac OSX already does (Spotlight search, for instance) then yeah, maybe I'd be interested in fuddling around with my $2000+ computer. But considering how unlikely that is, I'll continue to tinker with one of my other 4 Windows boxes that cost far less.

    My final question is: why on god's green earth is someone willing to pay $12,000 to get someone to make it work? Is it like some sort of bet that was wagered? "I'll bet you $12,000 you can't do it." Why is the dual-booting of Windows and Mac OSX so important to someone that they'd be willing to pay that much? You can't even use them both at the same time. Dual-boot does not mean "boot and run simultaneously." Again, I'm taken back to: why not use two separate machines at the same time? Mac OS on an Apple machine, and Windows OS on some other box. I do it just fine with my machines.

    Hopefully someone with sense will read this because obviously I'm wasting my time speaking to an AC. This is my question(s) to Slashdot.

    --


    Hades, PoD: Official Advocate
  58. I installed XP on my mac... by utexaspunk · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...and then I installed FlyAKiteOSX. Now I'm really confused :(

  59. Re:Windows on mac WHAT?? by slazzy · · Score: 1

    I think a lot of the hate towards windows comes from having to use it for work. For many, being able to run the windows apps that we need to from time to time, and OSX the rest of the time, is actually freeing us from windows :) get it?

    --
    Website Just Down For Me? Find out
  60. "His reputation on the forums" by xant · · Score: 2, Funny

    How does he sleep at night? On a huge pile of money.

    --
    It's rare that you're presented with a knob whose only two positions are Make History and Flee Your Glorious Destiny.
  61. Re:Of course it's a fake by Milton+Waddams · · Score: 2, Funny

    I was talking to someone in my class the other week and he was saying that his TINY laptop was better than my iBook because the CPU in his was IBM (it was AMD but I got that he was talking about x86 versus PPC). I then said that Macs actually had IBM chips in them and newer Macs had Intel chips in them but my iBook had Motorola chips in them. He was utterly confused.

  62. Definite Fake.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Pretty good job on most of the photos but http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=110650771& context=photostream&size=o is without a question a fake. The viewer would not be any farther away from the top right hand corner of the monitor than you are from the bottom right hand corner but image extends beyond bottom right hand corner. Porportions of the screen are all out of whack. If it where real, why would you not move the monitor that is facing the Imac out of the way of the picture. Unless of course if you were projecting an image from one monitor to the other?????

  63. A simple question by wootest · · Score: 0, Redundant

    If this is an obvious fake, why are they looking for three owners of each Intel Mac model to see what it works with?

  64. Re:What I don't get... by Dev59 · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    I'm so, so, so sick of this shit. Why would you want to RUIN such nice hardware with CRAPPY Windows? As if the Mac hardware is too good for the seething masses of Windows users.

    THIS is why people hate Mac users: they're so often represented by elitist assholes.

  65. Re:Windows on mac WHAT?? by shadexiii · · Score: 1

    You have to use Windows for the vast majority of computer games, and for certain other software applications. You don't have to like it.

  66. Re:What I don't get... by twofidyKidd · · Score: 1

    My response to this (as it was to the AC above you) was: get a windows box. I know you've said your primary environment is Mac OS (meaning you have no Windows-based computers at home), but I don't think not being able to afford a separate windows machine a good enough reason. Let's say you wanted to legally install a purchased and licensed copy of Windows XP to dual-boot on your Intel Mac. That's going to cost you somewhere in the realm of $150. I'm willing to bet you could find a machine that's costs less than that, AND will sufficiently run IE, Firefox, and any other browser you wish to test on it, with an OEM licensed copy of Windows XP. Hell, I will sell you one of my machines with an OEM licensed copy of WinXP for $75. That's half of what you'd pay for the software. Not only are you getting the benefit of a second machine, you will also be able to run it, in tandem with your Mac environment without having to leave it to boot up Windows simply for a webpage test. Modern flat-panel displays are small and inexpensive enough to accomodate most desks (particularly if you're using a 17-inch Intel Mac), and let's say for instance, you're running an Intel-based mac-mini (which means you've got to use a monitor anyhow), most of the newer monitors I've seen will allow you to switch between inputs (DVI, VGA, etc.) meaning you can hook both machines up to one monitor. Problem solved. In conclusion, I'm not seeing the benefit of dual-booting. I still think there's much better ways.

    --


    Hades, PoD: Official Advocate
  67. Re:What I don't get... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    putting an 8-Track player in a BMW

    That would actually be pretty cool...

  68. Re:What I don't get... by Sepodati · · Score: 1

    Personally, I just love the form factor of the Mac Mini. That's the only mac I'd buy. I'd like it to dual boot into Windows for the odd games that I do like to play and for application development. But really, I think I could go all Mac and not really miss anything... Dual boot would just be something nice to have, but I'd be happy with either OS, I think, in that form factor.

    ---John Holmes...

  69. Re:What I don't get... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I might install a 8 track if what I wanted to listen to was only available on 8 track.

  70. 3D Screenshot by Nuclear+Elephant · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Since VirtualPC doesn't support 3D, why not just have him post a screenshot of a 3D program running?

    1. Re:3D Screenshot by chivo243 · · Score: 1

      I am pretty sure you can't run setup of VPC in full screen mode, as when you initially install, you need to install or update additions. I have VPC running right now... and yes, we are trying to crack this nut...

      --
      Sig Hansen?
  71. Re:In Soviet Russia... by kerbawya · · Score: 1

    Well, other thoughts? What's the point here, anyhow? Besides games, and maybe some MS development stuff, why run Windows on a PC??

    FlashFXP.

    --
    If I knew what I was talking about, there would prolly be more text.
  72. Prize revoked? by giminy · · Score: 1

    The prize site ( http://winxponmac.com/ ) is 403'ing. Maybe the prizegivers are worried? :)

    --
    The Right Reverend K. Reid Wightman,
  73. Re:What I don't get... by twofidyKidd · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I never said "NICE" hardware. I said "EXPENSIVE" hardware. There's a difference in context, although the reality may be that the hardware is pretty nice. Indeed, there is nicer hardware out there (that is also more expensive), but the point of my argument is: I've paid a lot of money to have a particular OS run as smoothly as possible on the hardware it was designed for. Why would I want to put a different OS on that same hardware?

    In my opinion, there are far better hardware configurations on which to run Windows, however you're still going to have issues with security, hardware interoperability (unless you REALLY know you stuff; enter "computer enthusiasts"), and lack of features. This is why I liken windows on an Intel-based Mac to putting an 8-track player in a B-mer. It's not an elitist attitude, it's just plain sense. You hate Mac users for other reasons. Besides, I'm not even a "Mac User" by your definition. I own two Macs and like 4 other computers that run anything from Windows to FreeBSD. They're just tools.

    --


    Hades, PoD: Official Advocate
  74. Re:What I don't get... by douglasq · · Score: 1

    Hmmm, did any BMW's in the 70's roll off the showroom floor with 8-track already installed?

    --
    "Form should follow function...unless it's just plain ugly."
  75. Re:In Soviet Russia... by Listen+Up · · Score: 1

    I disagree with you, I believe one operating system is better than two. I need to get work done and be productive, as well as enjoy and play games, but I do not want to have to use two OS's to accomplish any of these tasks. While I dual-boot currently, it is to test Linux distros in hopes of finding one which I can move completely from Windows permanently. So, right now, it is for testing and experimentation, not for any other reason. Now that I have had a chance to use OS X 10.4 on an iBook for about 6 months, I am waiting until the next revision of the MacBook Pro to switch completely to Apple. Currently, there is no reason or software on Windows that is not available in an equal or better quality product on OS X for my needs. But, I am not interested in dual-booting on my Mac because it would be counter-productive to the reasons why I bought a Mac to begin with, which was to eliminate my use of Windows.

    If I needed to have another OS booted in order to test something such as Java software development, I would either find a solution with a product like VMWare or simply have another cheap computer with Windows and/or Linux running on it to test directly. But this would only be for software testing purposes, not for everyday use.

  76. Re:What I don't get... by twofidyKidd · · Score: 1

    Form factor does have a lot to do with why I bought it. Saves a lot of space, and looks nice in public. Good point.

    --


    Hades, PoD: Official Advocate
  77. What a sad state of affairs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    WTF? Someone potentially shows a really sick hack and all people can do is bitch about how it's "obviously" photoshopped and man, who'd be stupid enough to try this?! Jesus Christ on a pogo stick, where has the hacker ethos gone? How about withholding judgment until we get solid confirmation one way or another. Since the forums got pwned, we'll have to wait and see if step-by-step instructions are forthcoming so it can be reproduced. If they don't show up in a week, or they constantly "delayed" then we can collectively denounce him as a fraud.

    And as for why do this to begin with? How about because we can! Sheesh. Getting things that aren't supposed to work to work is part and parcel of being a true hacker. It's breaking the pigopolists' rules and doing things with hardware/software you bought that they never intended. Lighten up, guys. It's cool. If this is real, it's definitely a sick hack and we should salute him.

  78. Re:In Soviet Russia... by tpgp · · Score: 2, Funny

    Well than! Ill try to remember that in future.

    --
    My pics.
  79. DURR by Hrothgar+The+Great · · Score: 0, Troll

    I hate you and your stupid fucking redundant car analogy - the fifteen thousandth in the last month, by the way. Nice job being a repetitive asshole.

    Here's an analogy for you: How's about I buy your face and put my fist in it?

    1. Re:DURR by BluenoseJake · · Score: 1

      Nice post, I'd put up with redundancy over posts that offer no value, no information, just rude comments and irelevant, irrational anger

  80. Can't wait! by HerculesMO · · Score: 2, Interesting

    When the iBooks are released (or are they Macbooks now? -- whatever...), I will be able to work on my XP Machine (no remote desktop on OSX, or is there? NOT VNC!), and then reboot and 'play' on my OSX Machine :)

    Yup, can't wait!

    --
    The price is always right if someone else is paying.
    1. Re:Can't wait! by assassinator42 · · Score: 1

      A quick search finds a remote desktop client for Mac. Or do you mean a server or something?

    2. Re:Can't wait! by chivo243 · · Score: 1

      I use it to connect to my winbox in the other room.... works great.... good advice!

      --
      Sig Hansen?
    3. Re:Can't wait! by HerculesMO · · Score: 1

      Thanks for that, extremely helpful and something I didn't know about :)

      However, it's still wishful thinking, to hope that OS X can replicate all the sysadmin chores I have to do on my servers. In a perfect world yes, but until then I hope that dual booting is a viable alternative and thus, I can get away without having to worry about it.

      --
      The price is always right if someone else is paying.
  81. Re:What I don't get... by DancesWithBlowTorch · · Score: 1

    I think the biggest reason for most people contributing to the prize money (you are mistaken to think "someone is willing to pay $12,000 to get someone to make it work", rather a lot of people contributed a few bucks to the prize) is software lockin: Like it or not, there is a lot of software that doesn't work on OS X. Think in-house build software solutions and other rather highly specialised software. Heck, the till at my local pub runs on Windows. It's just not true that everything can be done on OS X that can be done in Windows.

    And buying a second Windows-running machine, as you suggest, is just a stupid solution. Who wants to have two computers on his desk? Besides, contributing $20 to a prize that will surely turn out a solution is still cheaper than buying a second Windows-machine.
    Does that convince you?

  82. Re:Of course it's a fake by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The difference is RISC and CISC.

    He doesn't sound very tech saavy if he's says EVERY PC is IBM. Since, as we all know - IBM is a company. If he had a Thinkpad, he may have something there. Apple has used Intel chips in the past and of course IBM (G5) and Motorola (G4).

    Tell him don't worry about it and he'll get back to his solitare game.

  83. Re:This looks to be...... by gEvil+(beta) · · Score: 1

    Hell, you can do this for free using the OS X Remote Desktop Connection client. Just connect to the other machine, set it for fullscreen and you're done.

    --
    This guy's the limit!
  84. "not needed" by mnemonic_ · · Score: 2, Interesting
    There are people who use more than email, web browsers and music players on their computer. The entire engineering industry relies on Windows-only (few of which run on x86 Linux) applications, and a large portion of the gaming world plays Windows-only games.

    Engineering:
    • NASTRAN
    • Gridgen
    • Unigraphics
    • Star-CD
    • Rhino
    • CATIA
    • Pro/Engineer
    • Fluent
    • 3ds max
    • AutoCAD
    • SolidWork

    These aren't niche needs. EVERY MODERN MACHINE was designed using one of applications above.

    Games:
    • Call of Duty 2
    • Battlefield 2
    • Half-Life 2
    • Far Cry
    • Fear

    Some of these are old, but they're all still very popular.

    Whether we like it or not, there is a great need to run Windows applications that can't be satisfied by WINE or VirtualPC (usually because of 3d graphics performance). Getting Windows running on an Intel Mac isn't just a hacking challenge; it's a fantastic opportunity at creating a machine that satisfies all needs.
    1. Re:"not needed" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      These aren't niche needs. EVERY MODERN MACHINE was designed using one of applications above.

      "people who design machines" is a good example of a niche market.

    2. Re:"not needed" by rufty_tufty · · Score: 3, Interesting

      WTF?

      Not sure how PCs are designed, but I've done both electronic and mechanical design for embedded telco equipment, and the only tool that we used that only ran on windows was Outlook.

      all the electronic design was Cadence's toolchain, Flowtherm for the thermal modling, I forget what the mechanical package was called, but I had a sun on my desk to run it on...

      --
      "The weirdest thing about a mind, is that every answer that you find, is the basis of a brand new cliche" -
    3. Re:"not needed" by jcr · · Score: 1

      Whether we like it or not, there is a great need to run Windows applications that can't be satisfied by WINE or VirtualPC (usually because of 3d graphics performance).

      There's no reason why a 3D app (or any other windows app) has to run more slowly in a VM. Virtualization and emulation are very different situations. Some windows apps run substantially faster on a virtual Windows host in VMWare on Linux than they do under Windows on the same hardware, since they benefit from Linux's superior filesystems and memory management, for example.

      -jcr

      --
      The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
    4. Re:"not needed" by mkiwi · · Score: 1
      all the electronic design was Cadence's toolchain, Flowtherm for the thermal modling, I forget what the mechanical package was called, but I had a sun on my desk to run it on...

      I have to agree with that statement... we don't have candence working on windows systems, but rather Red Hat Linux. As far as the rest goes, there is a LOT one can do with MATLAB/SIMULINK if they know how to use the software package (and have LOTS of money). That runs on Linux, Windows, and Mac.

      Cadence does make a program called OrCAD for Windows only that is decent, but for logic-level applications and designing integrated circuits, pcb's, and other production items OrCAD can't hold a candle to Cadence.

      Some of the other Cadence packages include Virtuoso and Allegro, which are very nice.

      That said, Cadence is rough around the edges (it uses older GTK on our machines) but it definitely gets the job done.

  85. Re:Photoshopped!....since you asked... by haplo21112 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Take a look at the over all picture.

    Follow the line at the botton of the monitor and the line along the right hand side.

    Now notice how the bottom left corner looks pulled away from the monitor also notice how the line at the bottom of the screen actually disappears under the blue windows screen (along with it attendant shadow) The same happens to the right hand side. the edge of the monitor and the shadow being cast over it also dissappears under the blue windows loading screen.

    If you look at the blue windows screen itself it has a ever so slight shadow on it (a darkening of the blue color) on the right hand side. However the shadow's shape is not continuous with the showdow being cast over the monitor's edge.

    As for my skills never claimed to have any documented ones, I just have a good eye. My eye tells me there is a wrongness to the image and further exploration as documented above explains the wrongness.

    --
    Power Corrupts,Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely, leaving one person(group)in charge is absolutely corrupt.
  86. Re:What I don't get... by m50d · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Apple makes good hardware. Horrendously overpriced, but top quality. If you wanted to run windows, particularly, on a laptop, and wanted the best money-no-object hardware, I can see this being somewhat useful.

    --
    I am trolling
  87. Re:In Soviet Russia... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Some vendors are taking their sweet time *cough* Newtek to make an intel version of their software for the macs... until that's available running Lightwave on Windows is the only practical alternative if you have the new hardware.

  88. Re:What I don't get... by infinii · · Score: 1

    It's not about being unable to afford to buy an el-cheapo beige box.

    I'd like to see you run thru an airpot with 2 laptops and hand carry luggage, thru 40 terminals, to catch a flight.

    What about desk space? Do you really want 2 machines/keyboards/etc littering your workspace?

  89. Re:What I don't get... by twofidyKidd · · Score: 1

    "Does that convince you?"

    Nope. Here's why: I've seen time and again, gamers with more than one PC at their desk, be it a laptop, or other machine. One machine is running a browser with the latest info on their guild, or something, and the other runs the game. Also, I have 5 machines running at my workspace, and it's no clutter, or mess, or problem, whatsoever. I've seen bigger messes with other geeks, and if anything, the more machine mess they've got at their desk, the bigger the source of pride, and yes, GEEKS are exactly who we're talking about. They're really the only ones concerned with this dual-boot mess.

    Additionally, that still does not solve the issue of running both environments simultaneously. I'd still have to take one OS down to use the other. Here's the solution I'm looking for. Dual-screens, simultaneously running OSes in two or more flavors, one mouse, one keyboard. Move the mouse from screen one (OS [foo]) over to screen two (OS [bar]) without having to perform any manual switching. I'd put some $$$ toward a project that can successfully do THAT. Otherwise, dual-booting is a waste of time.

    --


    Hades, PoD: Official Advocate
  90. Re:XP on Mac works in apples favour? by javaxman · · Score: 1
    In fact, if people are buying macs intending to install windows, Apple may hope to use that as a bate and switch tactic. I think they're more likely to attempt to prevent people from running OS X on bog standard beige PCs

    Damn straight. In fact, there'd be no bait-and-switch about it... once you've bought Apple's hardware, you've already done what they want you to do.

    Apple's people have in fact already laid it out bare : they are not going to support running Windows on their hardware. They're not going to do anything special to stop you from doing so, they're just not going to help, and they're not going to help if you trash your machine trying to do so. They probably aren't ( without some serious, um, incentive ) going to help Microsoft help you run Windows, either... um, do OEMs have to do something special to market their computers as being supported by Windows? Apple wouldn't do that, if there was something there to do.

    Anyway, back to the point : both Apple and Intel have stated that the one thing you won't be able to do is run OS X on non-Apple hardware. Well, obviously that statement has to be refined to mean non-hacked, supportable, updateable current-version release-quality OS X to be true right now, but I suppose with all that, it's true. But if you want to hack up a BIOS emulator or something to run a copy of Windows on your Apple? What does it matter to Apple as long as it doesn't incur support costs ? They still made their sale, and you could still use that system to connect to iTMS... fine by them.

    Which is great. Some day we'll all be able to run OS X, and at the end of the day if we just _have_ to play some game that stupidly is made only for Windows, I could still manage to do so without owning more than one machine.

  91. Re:What I don't get... by Dev59 · · Score: 1

    Where did I ever define who Mac users are? Where did I say that "I" hate Mac users?

    I'm just sick of the large number of vocal Mac users who constantly look down on Windows and PC users. They are out there, they won't shut the hell up, and the attitude coming off your poorly worded post made you seem like one of them. Hell, there are examples of this in this thread.

  92. Someone explain this by assassinator42 · · Score: 1

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/32436196@N00/10273565 5/in/photostream/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/32436196@N00/10273566 0/in/photostream/ What's all that read DCHS stuff? That happens normally when you install XP? Sorry, I haven't in a while, and I don't remember that.

  93. Re:What I don't get... by Peganthyrus · · Score: 1

    Only one computer means:

    * fewer backup schedules to deal with
    * less impact on the environment to make one machine than two
    * less power consumed
    * no hassle with moving data around for testing - that website in development stays in one place
    * only one to take on the plane with you - wanna get some work done? do it on the Mac. wanna play "The 500 Guns of Grunty McShootsalot"? do it on Windows, running on the Mac.
    * no godawful Windows-world attempts at case design, or boring beige box cases, uglying up your life

    --
    egypt urnash minimal art.
  94. Why? by LongShip · · Score: 1

    Gawd, WHY?

  95. Benchmarking isn't rocket science by jmorris42 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    > No, because which is faster is a very complicated answer.

    No fanboi it isn't. Comparing a Windows PC to a Sun Niagra based server would be complicated, comparing a PC from Apple running typical desktop loadsets under OS X to basically the same loadsets under Windows XP on the same hardware isn't complicated at all. Encode some video, run Microsoft Office through some timed task lists, script some compute intensive Photoshop transformations, etc. If one OS is faster at all of the tasks it is the clearcut winner, if as is more likely, each excel at some tasks and falter at others this will inform customers which is more appropriate for their intended loads. Of course if the intended load doesn't imply long waits under either OS the choice of which to boot can be made purely on personal preference.

    --
    Democrat delenda est
    1. Re:Benchmarking isn't rocket science by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, you're saying.. create a fictional workload.

      Which is exactly what Jobs and company does every time they do a keynote speech with some new piece of hardware. And they hand-pick what video encoding settings work best on the Mac. They hand-pick what Photoshop filters run the fastest on the Mac.

      Even if you aren't hand-picking your benchmarks they aren't much more meaningful, because there are *too damn many* criteria. Too many filters to benchmark, too many video encoder options. Too many source media. Do you benchmark photo manipulation with a 640x480 source pic? A 4 megapixel source pic? 8? 12? All of them?

      There is no average workload. If Apple were to produce these benchmarks, you would be attacking them, same as you attacked the parent poster. (with that fanboi comment)

      Benchmarking isn't rocket science, it's the art of selling blue butter.

    2. Re:Benchmarking isn't rocket science by Matts · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I don't get it. It's (presumably) the same code running on the same hardware. All you'll really prove if Photoshop is faster on the PC vs Mac is that the PC version used a better compiler. What are you trying to show exactly?

      (Note I use Photoshop as the example because it's what everyone will try to prove is faster on one platform vs the other, but I imagine the code for the filters will be the same tuned assembler across both platforms - even if it's not, all you've proved is that they need to GET the tuned assembler from the other platform).

      --

      Matt. Want XML + Apache + Stylesheets? Get AxKit.
    3. Re:Benchmarking isn't rocket science by jmorris42 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      > All you'll really prove if Photoshop is faster on the PC vs Mac is that
      > the PC version used a better compiler. What are you trying to show exactly?

      Exactly. The only differences should depend on the OS and it's supporting infrastructure. Compiler, libraries, memory management, disk throughput, etc. And those differences are likely to be highly variable. OS X might have UNIXy goodness (not sure how Darwin stands compared to a modern Linux or Solaris though) in it's favor while Microsoft probably has the advantage on compilier tech vs GCC. Some good benchmarks should be interesting to read through.

      --
      Democrat delenda est
  96. Xen by Craig+Ringer · · Score: 1

    This is where Xen support for Mac OS X would rock. With a VT-enabled CPU (the coming Core Duos should be) it'd be possible to run Windows and Mac OS X side by side. Xen can also handle all the legacy BIOS emulation, etc.

    Sounds nice, eh? Like you said, potentially just a hotkey to switch. It'd be harder to do if you wanted accelerated 3D etc but I doubt it's impossible. I'd be surprised if the TPM chip got in the way either.

    For this to work really well it'd need support from Apple, and alas that pretty much means it won't happen thanks to the joys of Not Invented Here (TM).

  97. Just Curious... by ChaoticCoyote · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Once again, the veracity of digital images is in question under the term "Photoshopping."

    Notice how no one says "GIMPing" or "GIMPed pictures"? Has Adobe's product become so ubiquitous that it is in danger of loosing its trademark status?

    1. Re:Just Curious... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Gimped seems like a more correct term than photoshopping in most cases.

    2. Re:Just Curious... by triptolemus · · Score: 1

      I don't know - why don't you go google it...

    3. Re:Just Curious... by triumph_larry · · Score: 1

      Such is the reality. Most people just use the term Xerox in reference to using a copier. Besides Pshop is still the generally dominant editor so odds are that was used.

      --
      The box said I needed Windows XP or better so I bought a Mac.
  98. Re:What I don't get... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Whats this? A horrible luxury car analogy from a Mac user trying to justify his purchase to himself? Now I've seen everything!

  99. Re:What I don't get... by CCFreak2K · · Score: 1

    The purpose of the contest isn't to answer the question, "why would someone run this on that," but rather, "can this be run on that?"

    --
    "Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master."
  100. And.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    only 3 grammar mistakes on that Apple webpage.

    Good jorb, everyone.

  101. Re:What I don't get... by twofidyKidd · · Score: 1

    You're right. This is Slashdot. I'm asking the wrong questions in the first place.

    --


    Hades, PoD: Official Advocate
  102. Re:XP on Mac works in apples favour? by GlassHeart · · Score: 1
    if people are buying macs intending to install windows, Apple may hope to use that as a bate and switch tactic.

    You probably don't understand the expression "bait and switch". It refers to a deceptive (and I think illegal) business practice of luring in customers with a fake ad (probably a ridiculously cheap price) - the "bait" - but selling them only some other product because the great deal is "out of stock" - the "switch".

  103. Re:What I don't get... by duffolonious · · Score: 1

    Unfortunately most games only play on the "8-Track player". Among other things... so stop making this argument, please.

  104. Support. by Foerstner · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The keyword here is "support." Apple does not "support" running Windows, or any OS besides Mac OS X, on its hardware. Why they chose this route is very easy to understand.

    When Apple designed the MacIntel architecture, it started with a clean sheet of paper, including only the hardware and firmware that would be useful to a Mac OS customer. The result was a simple, legacy-free design that avoids much of the baggage that the x86 world has carried for over 20 years.

    To support Windows, Apple would have to include a legacy BIOS layer, VGA BIOS, and who knows what else. This would complicate the hardware from the get-go. Second, Apple would have to either A) License Windows from Microsoft, and include it with every Macintel (a very expensive proposition) or B) answer dozens of AppleCare calls from users as they try to install WinXP, configure appropriate drivers, and get a registration key (also a very expensive proposition, especially for a company that does not already have Windows-trained call center techs.

    I know of no mainstream vendors who support home users with a dual-boot configuration. And very few will support even corporate customers who dual-boot.

    --
    The US free market: two halves of a government-granted duopoly are free to set the market price.
  105. Re: they never said it would be impossible by Thrudheim · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If you are so sure they said it would be impossible, then tell us where did they said it.

    The parent message is referring to well-reported statements by Apple's Jobs and Schiller, who both said Apple would do nothing to prevent people from running Windows on Intel-based Macs. See this link: http://news.com.com/2100-1014_3-5733756-2.html

    As the article states, Schiller's words were, "That doesn't preclude someone from running it on a Mac. They probably will. We won't do anything to preclude that."

  106. I'm quite sure he will. by plj · · Score: 1

    You just need to give him $12,000 in return.

    --
    “Wait for Hurd if you want something real” –Linus
  107. Apple Desktop Remote could be the hoax by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So as a test I started XP in VPC n my Powerbook in full screen mode and went to my new MacBook Pro started Apple Desktop remote loged into my powerbook and viewed the other machine in fullscreen mode, and there is is XP running on a Intel Mac its that simple, I could take a screen shot or all the phony pictures or video I want. Lets hope this is not the case here.

  108. That's like... by Kaenneth · · Score: 2, Funny

    like hiring a Supermodel to wash the dishes.
    like buying a BMW and filling up at ARCO.
    like renting out a Mansion for your cats.

  109. Re: Yes! by dch24 · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Finally! I would mod everyone who's whining down right now. Take a breath people, and let the guy clean up his instructions for submission. We know that once he posts them on the onmac.com forums, they're going to be plastered all over the web. So I understand if he's taking his time. Besides, it's only $12K. That's not very much money for months of work.

    And if he's faking, he won't be able to hide. Anybody know more details on narf2006?

  110. Re:In Soviet Russia... by 99BottlesOfBeerInMyF · · Score: 1

    Wel... Games, for one, like you already said :) This is something that REALLY requires dual-booting. I mean, you're not going to run a game in VMWare or Virtual PC even if it did support OpenGL or DirectX. Just too slow.

    I'm not sure that this is true. Plenty of people run games in WINE on Linux and the slowdown is pretty acceptable, and sometimes even outweighed by the better memory management. As for real emulators and VMs (rather than partial re-implementations of APIs) when it is running on hardware that is supported the biggest slowdowns are available RAM and sharing the CPU. With Intel's new hardware virtulaization the second problem goes away and you're left with pretty much just RAM. Given Mac user's propensity to avoid reboots (I reboot about once a month when updating the OS) and given the cost/convenience I know a lot of us might well do our gaming in a virtual machines in the future. I'd rather shell out $100-200 for an extra couple of gigs of RAM for my laptop than have to buy and use a whole extra machine. I'm sure there are plenty of people in the same boat.

  111. Re:Even if this one isn't real... (RE: AC) by everphilski · · Score: 2, Informative

    I have yet to find a program on Windows that isn't directly ported to the Mac or that I couldn't find a comparable "replica" on the Mac.

    PRODAS (Projectile Rocket and Ordinance Design and Analysis Software)

    Don't know if you are trolling or serious, I am an aerospace engineer wrapping up my masters and I use this piece of software regularly to do 6DOF ballistics and trajectory modeling. There **are** no substitutes for a mac. Similar programs exist for radar modeling, etc. that have no Mac equivalent.

    Besides the key apps that target a small but deep-pocketed audience (PRODAS license: $6000) (hence no motivation to port - small audiences, target 1 popular platform) you have gamers: a very large audience with smaller pocketbooks, but you have volume. Gamers want to customize their systems - they can't do that currently with a mac. Now with the move to Intel hardware, Apple has the chance to change that trend. We will see...

  112. Who cares about dual-booting? by TomatoMan · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I couldn't care less about booting Windows - I just want to be able to RUN it (or the brain-dead apps I'm sometimes forced to work with). Dual-booting is a pain in the ass - who the hell wants to run only in windows with no OSX available?

    Give me basically a natively fast virtual machine. I don't ever want to boot my mac into Windows. Just let me run it like VPC on steroids when I have to, and you've got a sale.

    --
    -- http://frobnosticate.com
  113. Re:Photoshopped!....since you asked... by ElephanTS · · Score: 1

    Just wait until the Zapruda film comes out, then we'll know for sure . . . . (!)

    --
    spoonerize "magic trackpad"
  114. Re:In Soviet Russia... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Besides games, and maybe some MS development stuff, why run Windows on a PC?? DRM'ed WMP PORN! v(^_^)v Cuz Mac Windows Media Player does not support later versions of WMP DRM and Flip4Mac does no DRM period. T_T

  115. Too embarassing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I would be too embarassed to actually select "Windows" on the boot loader of my Mac.
    I do get all these people needing it for their jobs etc but I think what we need is some sweet virtualization to run applications side by side not have to boot - reboot and back again.

  116. Re:Photoshopped!....since you asked... by bani · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Now notice how the bottom left corner looks pulled away from the monitor also notice how the line at the bottom of the screen actually disappears under the blue windows screen (along with it attendant shadow) The same happens to the right hand side. the edge of the monitor and the shadow being cast over it also dissappears under the blue windows loading screen.

    If you look at the blue windows screen itself it has a ever so slight shadow on it (a darkening of the blue color) on the right hand side. However the shadow's shape is not continuous with the showdow being cast over the monitor's edge.


    welcome to the world of chromatic abberation.

    you can demonstrate this effect with glasses. open up a terminal window and display some red, white, and blue text on a black background. now angle your glasses vs the display (eg, look through the narrow part of your lens, then pan through to the thicker parts) and see how the blue and red text move up and down while the white text stays.

    you may also notice, looking through glasses, "shadowing" of blue boxes against other backgrounds, especially white and red.

    this is what you get from cheap cameras (eg cellphones). good cameras with good lenses won't do that.

  117. here is a nice example of CA by bani · · Score: 1

    chromatic abberation test

    you won't see the effect unless you're wearing glasses though.

  118. Re:What I don't get... by simscitizen · · Score: 1

    So you are saying maybe I should carry a MacBook and a windows laptop to work/school? Not all of us sit at a desk all day...a lot of us move around, and two computers are twice as heavy.

    Shoot, PC companies make more $ from laptops than desktops these days--you'd think a few in the Slashdot audience would realize that for a mainstream user/power user, laptops are much more important than desktops. Dual boot > dual laptops. Nuff said.

  119. Question... by SanityInAnarchy · · Score: 1

    Why would you do this instead of buying a cheaper, non-Mac laptop and putting OS X on it?

    I can't believe that Microsoft wouldn't care about running Windows on an Intel Mac, but Apple would care about running OS X on anything other than an Intel Mac. But, if I'm wrong about that, I guess I just answered my own question.

    --
    Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
  120. Re:What I don't get... by aristotle-dude · · Score: 1
    Apple makes good hardware. Horrendously overpriced, but top quality.

    Overpriced? Compared to what? Compare a Core Duo Macbook Prp with Sony Vaio Core Duos and the macbook pro is cheaper. Compare with a Toshiba and again, it is either cheaper or in price parity depending on whether you count software.

    Apple does not sell ultra low end or highly subsidized hardware. If you are a coupon collecting cheapskate with a lot of time on your hands, get a Dell. But if you are looking for reasonable prices with "value added" bundled hardware and software, the macbooks are competitive.

    You can bring up the old straw man 500 USD laptops but chances are that you would never buy one anyway. They are just artificial examples used by geeks with no concept of "value" and "reasonable" prices to win an argument on the internet.

    --
    Jesus was a compassionate social conservative who called individuals to sin no more.
  121. See how easy it is to fake it? by superrcat · · Score: 1

    So this guy hasn't proved that this is not a PowerPC iMac G5 running Virtual PC with Windows XP full-screen (including the some of the installation process).

    He hasn't taken a screen shot of the Device Manager to show us how the hardware components appear.

    Not to be dismissive, but it would be nice to see more proof. I know there are screen shots with the installation appearing to occur with some feedback in an EFI shell, but that doesn't mean it actually finished. He could have had the installation appear, but used Virtual PC on a PowerPC iMac G5 to make it appear as if it finished.

    Without posting or responding to messages about how he has done this or when he will give more details about the CSM that he programmed, it makes people more skeptical.

    I mean, I could just do something similar like this:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/superrcat/sets/720575 94082389573/

  122. Re:Even if this one isn't real... (RE: AC) by 5plicer · · Score: 1

    It would likely be trivial to port PRODAS to Mac OS X. I think PRODAS is definitely an example of software which hasn't been ported to Mac OS X, as opposed to software which can't be ported to Mac OS X.

    --
    The bits on the bus go on and off... on and off... on and off...
  123. Re:What I don't get... by m50d · · Score: 1

    I wasn't counting software, because if you're switching to winxp all the software you get will be wasted. Also there is no way that, to me at least, the software is worth what they charge for it. If you think the bundled software is worth what apple would charge you for it then the pricing is comparable to a similar quality non-apple product, though still slightly worse from what I've seen.

    --
    I am trolling
  124. enjoy... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  125. And you wouldn't pay for MacOS... by svanstrom · · Score: 1

    Not saying that _you_ would do something that isn't legal, but most people that would just "like the ability to poke around in OSX" would probably just download it from the Internet instead of buying it...

    Hey, it's not like you're acctually using it, you're just learning more about it so that you one day might buy Apple hardware, so although technically not legal is actually good for Apple... or so people will justify it.

    Then at least some of them will find themselfs booting into MacOS more and more, but still, you already got something working, so why buy something which is already there... you'll just wait for the next time you buy hardware, or for the next large(ish) upgrade of MacOS...

    Then when it's time for you to get new hardware you'll find that although Apple computers look good, there are still a few things wrong and/or you feel that you can get a better solution by building a computer yourself; or just upgrade the one you've already got, and/or just pick some parts from the one you've got. So no new fancy Apple hardware.

    Then it's time for that large upgrade of MacOS... well, since you can't buy MacOS for just any PC you'll feel that why support a company that doesn't support you, so technically, you'll think, you are doing a great thing by not buying the latest MacOS, as that makes you a protester which will change the world... "force" Apple into releasing MacOS for generic hardware...

    What if they then one day do release it for generic hardware? Well, just take a look at most peoples (Windows) computers today, are they really filled with paid for software...?! Is even Windows paid for...?!

    I'm not saying that it wouldn't be good for Apple to release MacOS for generic hardware (I'm not saying it wouldn't bad either), I'm just saying that it isn't such huge good thing (for Apple) that most people seem to think...

    --
    perl -e'print$_{$_} for sort%_=`lynx -dump svanstrom.com/t`'
  126. Was this posted yet? by ClassicComposer · · Score: 0

    I dont know if this was posted yet Windows booting up on mac video. I'm convinced.
    I dont knwo how many people will read this post either so if someone wants to devote a new article to this go ahead.

  127. Video of Windows install on imac by xfletch · · Score: 2, Informative
    You can see a mysterious video here which seems to be proof that the job has been done (obviously the person is being secretive about how he did it until he claims his reward). Brilliant - now we can have the viruses, spyware and blue screens of death that I thought I had left behind. Of course the positive side is that there is now no reason not to buy an Apple, with the beautiful Mac OSX for all your day to day tasks, and Windows for those other programmes/games you think you can't live without.

    Screenshot here

    Video available here

  128. Looks legit now... by Kantara · · Score: 1

    He just posted a video of it booting. While it's not the answer of how to do it, it's better than possible 'PHOTOSHOPED' photos. Kantara

  129. your submission by mnemonic_ · · Score: 1

    "Everyone spoke of an information overload, but what there was in fact was a non-information overload."

    Your submission contains 9 links, without clear indication of which contains the "scoop." Links aren't just paths to other pages; they highlight text and draw the reader's eye to what should be important. You mix in links to completely unnecessary pages that any reader (if interested) could Google on his own. The slashdot editors sagely rejected your submission; you failed to whittle down your story to its heart, instead littering it with noise most readers want to avoid.

  130. update from colin and narf2006 by mnemonic_ · · Score: 2, Informative
    Colin has received a solution from narf2006 and is currently testing it. Meanwhile, narf2006 has revealed some details on his method; he patched the Windows XP kernel to get VGA working, and wrote a custom Compatibility Support Module (CSM) to allow booting XP from EFI.

    According to Intel documentation, using a CSM that plugs into the EFI framework should allow for booting BIOS-based operating systems:
    A contemporary implementation of the Framework on a PC includes a CSM for supplying services to operating systems that do not boot using EFI and for supporting legacy option ROMs on add-in cards. For legacy boot the Framework initializes the platform's silicon and executes EFI drivers.
    So far (to me at least), it looks like narf2006 (and his accomplice, blanka) might have truly done it.
  131. onmac.net site updated....solution submitted by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://www.onmac.net/

    Says they are testing the submitted "solution".

  132. Movie is a fake by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you look at the last few windows of the movie, the device manager lists "Batteries" as a device. If it's running on an iMac, there is no battery! I'm running XP on my desktop PC and there is no "Batteries" device listed in the device manager. This is not footage of it running on an iMac. Whatever it is (a full screen movie probably), it's running on a laptop.

  133. Re:Even if this one isn't real... (RE: AC) by everphilski · · Score: 1

    That's not the point. Parent stated that he hadn't found software that " that isn't directly ported to the Mac or that I couldn't find a comparable "replica" on the Mac.". Doesn't matter if it is trivial or not. It isn't there and there's no replacement. Windows is the only choice. And there is a whole host of other pieces of software like it, that are unique and only available for Windows.

  134. Re:verdict: irrelevant by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Jesus god you're a faggot.

  135. WinXPonMac Contest is Over - the judges have ruled by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    From the site.

    "Latest Update
    Contest has been won - updates to follow shortly. All further donations will go into an account to sustain the open source project that will be launched with the initial solution. There are still many bugs to be worked out! "

  136. Contest is over. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Details to follow on http://onmac.net/.

  137. Why? by Mr+zoidburg · · Score: 1

    Running Windows XP on a mac has to be the dumbest thing you could do with a 1,200 laptop.Apples Mac OSX is much more Advanced and powerful than Microsoft Windows.come-on face it,putting windows on a mac is like butchering the laptop after you just bought it...