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Windows Drivers for Mac Rolling Out
OSXpert writes "Sure, we all know that Windows can now run on intel Apple Computers. Alas, the solution does not include drivers, and until now Mac users could still only hope to be able to use every application available to their Windows counterparts. However, with drivers now working 100% on the Mac Mini and drivers for the MacBook Pro only lacking video (which, by the looks of the 2nd link is only days away), Mac users now have a complete and working Windows solution."
And I know this thread will just consist of - "why would you want to do that?" "Whats the point, when your running OS X? It's so much better..."
Shut up. This is a good thing. Many people need to use Windows for work, and this lets do that. Whilst giving them the good stuff at home. Many people like to play computer games that aren't photshop.
Don't be stupid. Please.
Please!
http://skeptobot.blogspot.com/ - A site for the Renaissance man and woman
You can use Mac OS X with proper drivers (i.e. written by Apple, as they intended) and now (if you want to) you can use any 'Windows Only' applications that may be foisted upon you by, say, your job. Come on, people, it's not rocket science. Plus, when Linux is fully up, you'll have a completely triple-boot machine. All of which makes it even harder for the beancounters in your enterprise job(tm) to say "No, you can't have one of those because it can't run Approved Software(tm)".
Asking "Why would you?" is aking to shoving your head in the sand and asking "Why would you run a Mac?" Sure, go ahead and limit your choices. I'll be taking one from *every* column, thanks.
A hero is someone who knows when to run away. I am a hero. -Trent the Uncatchable
I see this comment on every thread dealing with this. Here are the answers:
1)Why not? It's geeky, it's fun, it's what being a nerd is all about.
2)Games. What if you want to be productive on OSX but want to reboot to play some win-only games every so often
3)tax software. This is a big one for this, why bother buying a win machine for something you do once a year when you can just install win on your nice mac.
4)Some people honestly like apple hardware but need to run windows. Try finding a non-apple box with as small a desk footprint as a mac mini.
5)Along the same lines, people who do all their work on laptops and dont want to carry 2 laptops around can now just carry a macbook pro.
6)Quick compatability checks for software. Yes, I realize that for major cross platform dev you might want 2 boxes, but for quick checks (see the laptop comment too) this is invaluable.
There are more of course, thats off the top of my coffee-depirved head right now.
~Anubis
"goodbye and hello, as always" ~Prince Corwin, from Zelazny's Amber series
Lots of people griping about the use of it, but who cares about that? It's like asking about why you'd dual boot Linux and Windows.
I like the idea - the hardware is nice, I like the OS, but I'm not 100% certain that the programs I use some of the time has been ported to OS X or if it has a usable counterpart on OS X. Lack of something like WINE makes this a viable option, should I choose to get a Mac (looking dreamily at the MacBook Pro).
I'd get nice hardware, an excelent OS and the option of still using the old and busted OS and irreplacable programs if I need them. Best of all parts I think.
We do not live in the 21st century. We live in the 20 second century.
Because Microsoft have done their very best to prevent operating systems other than Windows from being compatible with Windows. MS Office won't even be out on Mac for months yet! (maybe years, considering Vista delays)
DirectX ensures that no operating system will ever run games quite as well as Windows will, unless game developers drop DirectX. (which they should do, considering that OpenGL + SDL can mean that almost no code changes would be necessary to compile a game for almost any platform)
I would think that application developers would benefit from having a single, dual-boot system to develop in two flavors. Maybe this will benefit the Mac community by making it easier for resource-strapped app innovators to buy a macintel box that lets them server OSX and Windows app consumer markets.
Moderation in All Things... Especially Moderation - gurutc
Everyone, please ... repeat after me:
Options are never bad!
one more time...
Options are never bad
Just like I know I shouldn't put regular gas in a porche... I want the thing to run on it in case of an emergency.
The problem with being an Alternate OS user, regardless of preferred OS, is that Microsoft is still the 2 ton Gorilla in the professional sector. I have worked in companies as a UNIX Admin that expected me to do my entire set of job functions from an NT Workstation with Putty. I'm sorry, that just seems wrong to me. Their excuse? "We need to be able to have a singular desktop for the entire company that has the ability to roll out updates and security fixes from the Administrator."
The point is, if you are working for a company where computers are in daily use, chances are Windows is there. Many corporations use Exchange for their email / calendar / project planning systems. There is no easy way to access these stores on a Mac. Even Microsoft's own Entourage doesn't come ready equipped to talk to Exchange, and needs fixes, and even a third party adapter. So Outlook needs to be run. Virtual PC has been in use for a while for just this reason. Because, let's face it, VPC didn't ever really do games well. It was to gain access to certain corp apps that "your" boss tells you that you must use.
As a disclaimer, I must tell you that I am an Apple share holder. I have only Macs in my home. However, at work, I must use an XP machine. No ifs, no ands, and certainly no buts. Though my management would not listen to this plea, there are those that can now go to their boss and say "I need a new laptop, this laptop comes in high in all marks and respects, is competitively priced and I can pick one up today that will let me even check our web page / graphics / whatever for Mac users." That can be an important sale point to a manager that only has the stipulation of "It must run Windows to interoperate."
"Genius may shine aloof and alone, like a star, but goodness is social, and it takes two men and God to make a Brother."
To prove that you can. A lot of Slashdot is about that. "Because you can" answers a lot of Slashdot questions. Why modify your case to look like a Borg cube? Why port Linux to your PDA?
Hacking is about curiosity, first and foremost. And there was a question out there...how much like a PC are the new x86 Macs? And running Windows on it answers the question with authority.
Weaselmancer
rediculous.
For me, this would be the perfect solution. I am the lone hardware tech for a College (not counting student work study). I have to support both Windows and Mac OS. For me, having a laptop that will let me dual boot means I don't have to worry about grabbing the right bag, or having the right software on hand when I head out and make service calls. It also means that support for either OS is just a reboot away.
Yes, a geeky part of me wants to dual boot just because I can, but in my field, having a dual boot machine just makes sense. I can run the Mac for my day to day stuff, and launch Windows when we need to troubleshoot some odd scientific software package designed for DOS that they are still using (happens a lot more then people realize), or when I need to run specialized software like Datatel locally; as remote desktop has made that need even less of a need.
It also means that I have trimmed my office computer budget. One Mac Book Pro, although a little pricey, is much cheaper then an iBook and a Windows laptop ($1000 for the iBook, $1300 for the PC laptop we have stanardized on). $2300 total compared to the $1800 for my MBP.
Honestly, I think there are 3 camps of people.
1. Geeks who want to try this out
2. People like me, who could actually benefit from it
3. People who want the PC games
Of the above list, I think group 1 will tire of it quickly. Group 2 has the most to gain from this. Group 3 should really wait for DarWine or Qemu, but for the short term, this will work for them.
Just my $0.02
--nutz
First, dual boot is a myth, it is damn annoying and so counterproductive. Most people dont realise that until they actually experiment it, it's hype now, but all Linux users know it's a pain, and I know from experience that a dual boot Windows/Linux means one thing... Windows 90% of the time. Vmware and others solutions are the way to go for people who need Windows professionaly for a given application, I can't wait for a Mac OS X version. Second, some people try to makes us believe that companies will buy Apple PC to their employees now that they can run Windows, yeah right, serious manager will buy more expensive hardware, plus a Windows licence, so that their employees can have an Apple design and the joy of using Mac OS X out of the office... Lastly, Gamers, Well Windows users will probably not switch to Apple hardware to play, it's more expensive, and you'll get a better gaming PC for the price, hardcore gamers don't really care for Apple design, last time I checked it was more neon and see through glass panel...Seriously, You already have to be freaking rich to play seriously on laptop, do you think people will pay even more for an Apple on the back screen... I see this all thing as one big geek experiment, because it is what it is, mostly geek will do it, just because it is fun, but Apple geek will at the end stay under OS X, and Windows geek will soon realise they over paid their Windows laptop...
Who said this was ticking us off... Most of us WANT to run windows on our Intel macs simply so we can use what by all standards is a much superior operating system, but still run products made by companys who cant get their head out of their asses and make OS X builds. Same thing Linux users have been doing for ages.
"Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."
How about "because I need to do development on both Mac OS X and Windows and I don't want to lug around two laptops"?
I'm getting so tired of this argument and I'm not sure why it's been modded funny. There are plenty of reasons putting windows on your mac is worthwhile. For work purposes you may want have to run some windows only applications which won't work under virtualization. For play you may want to boot up some games that are windows only. In academic settings you can buy one machine and tripple boot it (Windows/OSX/Linux). I know my school a lot of the labs already dual boot windows and linux.
Yeah, that's right. Seriously. You'd think that after getting their questions answered, those guys would just know that there are indeed good reasons to run Windows on a Mac. It seems that there's just an endless supply of people who are unwilling to listen to good reason.
Anyway, having said that, let me say this one last time:
Some.
People.
NEED.
Windows.
Nobody's said that this is being done because Mac OS is inferior or anything of the sort. The only big reason is because there are people who are stuck on Windows boxes for work or other mission-critical applications that they simply cannot live without. Before you, for the so-manyth time, complain that this is nonsense and that people should just use Mac OS if the possibility exists, consider the fact that not everybody is as carefree as you and that there could be very good reasons that simply don't apply to you.
Next, how to mod your Porsche into a Toyota Camry.
Funny - but a terrible example.
Sure - a porsche looks cool, but if you're just going to the shops, its nicer to have a fuel range of 21 - 35 MPG rather then porsche's 17 - 25 MPG
I'd rather have a porsche, but if I could seamlessly degrade my porsche to a camry's performance to get the extra mileage, on occasion I would.
In just the same way, if I was forced to choose between os x & windows, I'd choose os x, but it would be nice to have a copy of windows hanging around in case I wanted to play some games.
My pics.
Why would you want to buy a mac to run windows on it?
So you can play games, and then have a mac for everything that isn't a directX-required game.
Windows does ONE thing better than macs, and that is roping in game devellopers.
You can't take the sky from me...
The average Mac user made a conscious choice to use a Mac rather than Windows. One popular argument to choose a Mac is because it's easier to use than Windows, so 'getting addicted to Windows' is not very likely for a Mac user.
You forget that Apple has done this before.
I am trolling
those are all fully licensed copies of windows right?
why? he asks, into the screaming wind...
-- it's ridiculous how many people misspell ridiculous... (damn, damn, damn...)
This won't provide a simple or cheap way to run XP. You'll have to reinstall your system as dual boot and buy an XP license. Not something many people would do in order to play a game.
Twice even, if you count the 68k->PPC and Classic->OS X transitions. Heck, you might even count the Finder->Multifinder transition since that took a bit of doing in some applications. 24 bit->32 bit maybe? I was always amazed that System 7.5.5 still ran on a 4 meg Mac Plus.
I can see your point, but what happens when a given software company is looking at what platforms to write their software for, and sees a Mac user can easily boot / run Windows? Why are they going to pay a bunch of money for Mac developers when they know you'll just dual boot your Mac to run the Windows version?
At that point, why write OS X apps at all? Because it runs better or it has transparent windows? (sarcasm)Yeah, I'm sure software companies are going to fork over lots of money just to maintain an OS X codebase just for that...(/sarcasm) I would think many apps that might have been ported to the Mac or are currently maintained will dry up. This is good for the Mac user in the short term but ultimately hurt Apple in the long run.
Hi all - could I make a tiny observation about all the "...but you are missing the point..." posts - its actually about choice - not whether one OS is 'better' than the other. If I choose to use Windows for something or other and MacOSX for something or other else, then why would anyone else need to take pseudo-moral umbrage? Choice is what the free market is all about. Now I have the choice, and can even have the choice as to whether I exercise my choice. So my meta-choice is what protects me from technological slavery and monopoly. I don't 'need' to or 'have' to or 'am required to' any more, I can choose to. Cheers