Apple releases Boot Camp
Today, Apple announced new software to allow a user to dual boot their Intel based Macintosh computers into Mac OS X or Windows XP. This is certainly one of those moments that leaves even die hard Mac fans caught off guard. Dual booting is something that had been accomplished by several independent developers, but not something that was expected to come from Apple.
Many people are guessing that Apple is simply trying to grab part of the lucrative Windows market, and some people are even suggesting that this is the beginning of Apple switching over to Windows entirely. I would guess that they are trying to eliminate another barrier to Mac OS X adoption. By providing a safety net for folks that have one or more Windows apps that they feel they can't live without, Apple is allowing new users to test out Mac OS X, but still have access to their "important" apps if needed. Also, users that have a sizable investment in existing Windows software can more judiciously test out OS X and cross grade to Macintosh software as their budget allows.
One area of concern is that "switchers" will be looking applications that behave identically to their Windows counterparts. I have learned that if you can put aside your previous experience and judge applications on their own merits, more often than not you will find Macintosh applications to be as capable and usually providing a more enjoyable user experience.
I would still prefer to run Windows in a window inside of Mac OS X and not have to reboot. This would allow for easy testing of cross platform and Web apps. It would also provide quicker access to the few apps that may not have a Mac counterpart. For instance, in our office, we use GoTo Meeting for Web conferences and unfortunately it is Windows only. Boot camp will allow me to use GoTo meeting, but if I am forced to boot into Windows, I would loose access to all my Mac applications and data files which would be a drag. It will be interesting to see how people like it and if it does help Apple sell more computers.
The full press release can be found here.
