BootCamp Makes Dual Booting Easy
Apple did something unexpected today, which is usually a good sign. They released BootCamp, a utility for on-the-fly repartitioning of an Intel Mac's HD to allow for a bootable windows partition, and it also includes instructions and drivers for using most of the new Intel Mac's features. Notably absent are the light sensor, the iSight and the motion sensor in the computer, but I have a feeling the open source community will be all over this.
Why did they do this, everyone is asking today... Here are a couple of scenarios.
A midsize company wants to standardize on hardware, but has a large creative department. They can now standardize on Apple Hardware and keep their Windows Volume License intact, since it will easily install on the Macs they buy. Everything necessary for the Office environment works out of the box, and as a result there are no complaints from those running Windows XP on iMacs, especially with their large screens.
A small lawfirm wants to do away with all their Windows machines after a virus or spyware halts productivity in the office. They figure out the cost, and decide it's worth it to jump, but don't want to abandon their old timecard system. Now they can dual boot the office admin's Mac mini with Windows and keep their timecard and billing solution.
This gives Apple all kinds of interesting options in the corporate environment. One hardware platform, one set of parts in case things go wrong. It's not as crazy as you might think. Will Apple be selling XP licenses soon? No, that won't be their modus operandi. But recognizing that other people really want this, and will give you a chance hardware-wise, that's a smart move.
Comments:
... And the stock market liked it too. It was up over six point today. Coincidence?
Posted by KB on April 5, 2006 — 9:26 PM