Windows XP Booting on Mac Contest Over

[remingtonhill]

What would you suggest as an alternative? blue LEDs? Cheap gray or black plastic? A return to the candy-colored days of yore?

Hey my new HP Pavilion zv6130us resembles that remark!

 

[skwert]

Here's what I want...
A bootleg of windows that would proceed to load Half-Life 2 directly. That way, I could game on my mac without every having to watch in horror as the microsoft logo appears on my screen!

haha, i'm right there with you. now instead of having to build a gaming rig, i can buy a beautiful power mactel for video editing and gaming. it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. come onnnn august. after all, whats another 2 grand to the college debt?

 

[mongoos150]

Only Apple went so low on the style scale as the "dalmation" and "flower power" iMacs. I'm surprised that Ive didn't crawl into a burrow and off himself when those were released.

Wow...you're really excited about Apple's *successful* marketing of the iMac in different colors...calm down, buddy

 

[kerbawya]

Did I cringe? Do you remember the feeling you got when you watched the Twin Towers fall on 9/11? Ok, so that's a little extreme but you know what Im sayin.

Just a little... yikes...

 

[berkleeboy210]

Do you REALLY need a PC around to make the XP CD?

 

[Yesurbius]

Good for Apple, Good for Microsoft, Good for all.

My take on the whole intel thing:

Microsoft committed themselves to developing Office on the Mac platform for 5 years. My guess is that Apple said they would not prevent windows from running on the mac *IF* Microsoft committed themselves. Of course Microsoft did.

Its good for Microsoft because they get to sell more copies of Windows, Office, and the windows platform will be more accessible to all - allowing them to spread whatever they want further. It also helps Microsoft against the vast number of antitrust suits it is fighting worldwide.

Its good for Apple because Microsoft's Office will remain developed for Mac OS X, not just for Windows running ON a Mac. My guess is that Apple has already, or intends to, license the Windows source code (which Microsoft has said they will license) in order to make Mac OS X run Windows applications natively, alongside Mac OS X applications. This is a definate plus for Apple.

Its good for us because now we only need one machine. I have a Mac Mini G4 now, and an Athlon 2600. I only use the Athlon to play games because I did the math ... the difference in price between identical mac and PC games can pay for a new computer inside of a year. ** BUT NOW ** I can simply dual boot, and spend my money upgrading only one machine instead of two.

 

[freddiecable]

I liker your thinking and hope you're right!

My take on the whole intel thing:

Microsoft committed themselves to developing Office on the Mac platform for 5 years. My guess is that Apple said they would not prevent windows from running on the mac *IF* Microsoft committed themselves. Of course Microsoft did.

Its good for Microsoft because they get to sell more copies of Windows, Office, and the windows platform will be more accessible to all - allowing them to spread whatever they want further. It also helps Microsoft against the vast number of antitrust suits it is fighting worldwide.

Its good for Apple because Microsoft's Office will remain developed for Mac OS X, not just for Windows running ON a Mac. My guess is that Apple has already, or intends to, license the Windows source code (which Microsoft has said they will license) in order to make Mac OS X run Windows applications natively, alongside Mac OS X applications. This is a definate plus for Apple.

Its good for us because now we only need one machine. I have a Mac Mini G4 now, and an Athlon 2600. I only use the Athlon to play games because I did the math ... the difference in price between identical mac and PC games can pay for a new computer inside of a year. ** BUT NOW ** I can simply dual boot, and spend my money upgrading only one machine instead of two.

 

[liketom]

Do you REALLY need a PC around to make the XP CD?

no you can try this solution

but it's not been 100% tested

http://wiki.onmac.net/index.php/HOWTO#Possible_Mac-Only_Solution

i've worked out why my install kept on failing on my mac mini - sp2 and sp1 was added ontop of sp1 in my slipstream xp disk not the latest xp disk with sp2 already included right outa the box.

14 cd-r's later and i can say i have it working

 

[Amuraivel]

While I do not think booting XP on Mac is an imminent threat, there is some concern as to wether developers will consider the rewards greater than the effort to port to Mac, and for smaller developers this is not really a consideration because apps are not highly complex, but when facing the cost of porting something massive CS, AutoCAD, etc. Then the small marketshare is a consideration.

Strategically, I think the best think to do would be for Apple to create
a rubust developing environment for Windows so that creating Mac applications is a trivial undertaking for developers.

As one person said, controlling the devleoping environment would insure that Mac continues to get support. I personally tried to use Visual Studio and XCode and found the latter easier to learn. If there could be a major "Windows" library plugin (and Linux plugin) for XCode with click button build for Mac and Windows, you have support for the Mac plattform incidentally. Suddenly, OSX becomes plattform of choice because it can port to any plattform with not too much trouble.

 

[50548]

I don't think many of you understand. This doesn't hurt development for the Mac overnight, it is a slow erosion that takes time. For example, read all the posts saying "I would only use it to run the occasional piece of software that is Windows only". Yes... and once you can do that easily and with native performance, there is *ZERO* pressure on the developer of that software to create an OSX version... he gets your money either way.

Case in point, Garmin announced at MWSF that they will make Mac-native versions of their GPS software... something that many people have been requesting for quite some time. If their software worked great under OSX through VPC or some fast switching solution, how motivated would they be to do that? Google Earth? Games? I doubt we'll ever see Autocad for the Mac again now. Then look at companies that may be on the edge of dropping Mac development for one reason or another. No MS Office for the Mac, anyone? Again, that won't happen overnight, but it could happen.

It takes time, but if Wintel software works as well and transparently on a Mac as it does on a PC, then you will see cases of this, guaranteed. It took years, but this was a huge factor in the slow and painful death of OS/2.

Thanks for seeing the obvious, at least one additional person perceives what will happen in the near future, if that effort becomes OFFICIALLY supported or TOO EASY.

Sometimes I have the impression that this forum is full of 15-year olds who are only interested in their individual gaming needs, as they have NO idea about the medium-term or long-term impact of WindowsOnMac; so we see a lot of excited posts regarding "my chances to play Counter Strike Source or Star Wars whatever", paying no attention to the prospective developers out there that will just PULL ALL STOPS in software porting efforts.

Already responding to another poster, it's NOT about those that have already spent a lot of R&D on Mac software, like MS or Adobe, they will continue with Macs for the time being...it's about those that thought about creating some new for the Mac, like Autodesk or others...they will NOT port anything if the same software can be run on a Windows partition flawlessly.

And why? Because you, Windows supporters, prefer to take the easy route and say "Ah, I don't wanna wait, let's run the Winblows version anyway"; and if Windows is just a boot away, why bother? Why hire 10 Mac programmers when the Windows product is already on the shelves for desperate Mac-go-Windows users? It's so clear I cannot even understand how some people disagree with this fact.

Go figure, y'all...this might be even worse than having OS X on normal PCs. Only blind gamer kids cannot see that (or are not worried anyway); well, soon they will be playing Half-Life 2 on a white box...and they will be happy in a great selfish way...bleargh.

 

[BlueRevolution]

As one person said, controlling the devleoping environment would insure that Mac continues to get support. I personally tried to use Visual Studio and XCode and found the latter easier to learn. If there could be a major "Windows" library plugin (and Linux plugin) for XCode with click button build for Mac and Windows, you have support for the Mac plattform incidentally. Suddenly, OSX becomes plattform of choice because it can port to any plattform with not too much trouble.

huh. I've always found Xcode confusing. then again, I cut my teeth on Visual Basic 5 (all groan), so that's the interface I'm most comfortable with. VC++ though I never really got, not that I tried terribly hard.

as for the part about a dual platform development environment, you're totally right... except, can you imagine most Windows apps compiled for OS X, with Aqua buttons instead of Windows grey ones? (think Quicken or MS Office for Mac.) using that kind of stuff would leave me feeling violated.

 

[iMeowbot]

Don't worry too too much about native Mac software. Recently (as in post-Intel), when IBM announced renewed support for Mac, one of their resellers gave a nice summary of how these things work.

“Mac support for Lotus is a check-box item,” said Jim Murphy, practice manager for Strategic Computer Solutions, a Syracuse, N.Y.-based IBM partner. “We have a lot of health-care customers and maybe 1 percent of a company’s research department is on Macs but they have 99 percent of the influence.”

That kind of influence isn't limited to health care. Big cross-platform vendors who support OS X now will keep on doing that because those Mac sales are the gateway to the bigger Windows pie.

Mac specialists aren't going away either, they serve the Mac market because they aren't lost in the noise with a billion competitors.

Apple certainly know all this too. They wouldn't have used the nearly-generic hardware that permits Windows to run otherwise.

 

[Maaij]

Anyone DL the winxp mac cd from the torrent? Did it work?

 

[Maaij]

Anyone got it working with the Macmini?

 

[eXan]

unless Apple starts offering it as an option

Apple will never officially support booting Windows on Mac. Its a personal matter of Jobs and Gates

 

[lord_flash]

Apple will never officially support booting Windows on Mac. Its a personal matter of Jobs and Gates

Yes... but... no... because didn't even the earliest Apple computers use Bill Gate's BASIC? Yes, they did, didn't they?

Apple will do whatever it suits them to do commercially. Hell, if abandoning OS X and selling expensive but very attractive Windows boxes suited them, they'd do that. Mercifully their share of the market is, just about, large enough for them to avoid such a fate.

Steve Jobs is someone who knows how to make money out of technology. His, other peoples, whichever suits him.

 

[MacSA]

I thought everyone hated Windows lol.......how come everyone wants it suddenly? lol.

 

[iMeowbot]

Yes... but... no... because didn't even the earliest Apple computers use Bill Gate's BASIC? Yes, they did, didn't they?

That's a good question. Applesoft BASIC came from Microsoft, but it doesn't really behave quite like all the other Microsoft BASIC flavors, so who knows where they got it from!

 

[BrianDavid0523]

I'm certainly not a "techie" but logic says if you install a piece of **** OS like Windows on Apple hardware, you're still going to have all the associated frustrations that come with running Windows. So what's the point? Why would anyone buy an Apple box just to run Windows. I don't see Windows fans running out to their local Apple store any time soon.

You can put lipstick on a pig - but it's still a pig.

 

[tdewey]

I'm certainly not a "techie" but logic says if you install a piece of **** OS like Windows on Apple hardware, you're still going to have all the associated frustrations that come with running Windows. So what's the point? Why would anyone buy an Apple box just to run Windows. I don't see Windows fans running out to their local Apple store any time soon.

You can put lipstick on a pig - but it's still a pig.

So I can run WoW on XP on a Mac(well, when the video drivers are fixed).

Ask a silly question....

It's funny that this gets beaten to death on this forum:

(1) Because you can.
(2) Because regardless of how wonderful OSX is, there are a hella lot of applications (and in particular games) that don't run on it.
(3) Because most people can't afford two computers.
(4) Because, Because, Because.

 

[AidenShaw]

Performance is not only about hardware, dumbass. Think OS X.

I was replying to a post about running Windows on "the best performing system".

Since OSX isn't running, it *is* only about the hardware.

 

[50548]

I thought everyone hated Windows lol.......how come everyone wants it suddenly? lol.

Yep, I pose the same question to the enlightened new MR members here...

 

[crees!]

Boot From External FW Drive

I would like to do this (once I own a new Mac) but have Windows installed only on an external drive. Questions are. If the external is not attached will the bootloader just boot straight into OS X without any intervention when you turn the machine on? Has anyone installed on an external drive and can they test this?

\m/

 

[dornoforpyros]

you know, I don't actually mind that people want to run windows & OS X side by side on the same machine. I certainly understand why you'd want to do it, the thing that gets me is how everyone (ok most) people in these forums go around bashing Windows users & M$, but now that they can run windows on their mac they are giddy with excitement over it.

I guess I'm just saying that "silly windows users" comments should probably stop now since it's apparent you don't all hate windows as much as you claim.

 

[50548]

I just can't understand yet, especially given the potential risks to Mac-native software, if the solution turns out too easy in the near future...and NO, I don't see any value in having Winblows on my Mac...VPC and the like are more than enough...and for gaming go buy a PS3, it's much cheaper.