Boot Camp: the day after

Now that Apple's Boot Camp is in the wild, there's very little to be said about booting into alternate operating systems on the Mac, right? Wrong! Because, not surprisingly, no sooner did Apple take the wraps off its little 30th birthday suprise, than Mac owners (or non-Mac owners who could cajole friends into lending them their Macs for a spell) began to put the Apple boot manager through its paces. And they've found out quite a few interesting things, including:

• Boot Camp can load Vista. Or at least the Vista installer. Marc Orchant at ZDNet is one of those using a borrowed MacBook Pro, and he was able to load the Vista installer with no problem. Alas, his lender insisted on doing a full backup before allowing Orchant to go any further, so we have yet to see whether a full Vista install is possible -- though we remain optimistic.
  
• Boot Camp can load Linux. Or at least a Linux installer. Torifile at applenova.com also got cold feet, and aborted an Ubuntu install after confirming that the setup loaded and was able to recognize a keyboard and other hardware.
• International editions of Windows will work with Boot Camp. This should come as no surprise, but with a beta product that's designed to do something that isn't supposed to work, you never know. But the PC Watch team in Japan wasted no time and installed the Japanese version of XP Pro without a hitch.
• Boot Camp can load Windows XP Media Center Edition. Now the Mac mini really is a media PC!
• Third parties are already filling in some of the gaps. With a basic Boot Camp setup, you can't access your Mac OS X partition from your Windows XP partition. However, MediaFour's MacDrive software solves that problem. Now you can boot into Windows and read and write to your Mac partition, which could allow you to have common settings files for some cross-platform apps. Whether or not it will also allow you to share your iTunes library between partitions remains to be seen.
  
• You can boot from external drives, even though Boot Camp's installer won't allow you to set it up. Actually, that may not be true. However, you can create external boot disks using narf and blanka's boot manager (see, there's still a use for it!). And we're pretty confident that someone will find a way to do so within Boot Camp as well very quickly.

We'll post more updates at a later date. In the meantime, we've got some partitioning to do.

[js @ Apr 6th 2006 3:18PM]

Bill Gates is king.

[Bruce @ Apr 6th 2006 3:19PM]

Now there is no reason to go back ... to OS X.

[Yanathin @ Apr 6th 2006 3:22PM]

I think MacDrive is the key application here for Boot Camp, and I'm sure Apple will include a feature like this in the final release of Boot Camp. This would allow you to install Windows on the smallest amount of space possible, yet still have access to your entire 200GB (or whatever) of space. This has confirmed my purchase of an Intel PowerMac, whenever those may be released.

[Liam @ Apr 6th 2006 3:30PM]

Still cant figure how to right click with XP. I was under the impression that it was done using thr ctrl key, but that doesn't seem to work. Anybody know how to set this up?

[peterjon @ Apr 6th 2006 3:31PM]

so with this people will get eveything they wanted the pc to but on a mac and Dvorak was right. now you can have you apple DVR and all 3 os on one box but the only things is since windows vista will be delayed i dont think people will buy mac just because of this because they are still expensive and they cant match the speed like the other pc manufactor for that price you are going to pay and they are missing one thing. A F**KING MONITOR to come with it.

[Twist @ Apr 6th 2006 3:35PM]

I think the biggest missing piece is a good NTFS extension for Mac OS X that supports read and write access. Windows XP runs fine from FAT32 formatted drives but there are many advantages to using NTFS.

[mac-faithful @ Apr 6th 2006 3:39PM]

My intial reaction when I saw that Apple released Boot Camp and Parralel's released their virtualization solution was "AWESOME!!!...I can play all of those games I always want to buy...and now my daughter can buy the educational games she always wants and she can run that scooby-doo disc that came in her serial box."

But over the past 24 hours I have began to reevaluate my intial reaction. I think this is an awesome solution to a problem that us mac users have always had which is running Windows apps we can never run. However, that is good for the short term. What does this mean LONG TERM? While the big Mac OS software houses will probably not change (blizzard, adobe, etc.), this is almost certainly the end of Quicken and other medium-sized software houses. I mean those companies can't help but look at this from a business perspective which day-after-day results in them barely making their return on their Mac Software Divisions. If Quicken sells 5% of their software to Mac users, it will make much more business sense to axe their Mac OS developers and require Mac users to now "Option Boot" into Windows XP, knowing that they will probably retain half of their original Mac users that will be willing to actually do that. In the end, they save money and headcount. And if key software packages like that go away, it reduces the Mac OS as a viable alternative OS to Windows XP. Why would grandma want to boot into Mac OS X at all if she has to boot into Windows XP to do her Quicken which is very important to her...just buy a Mac and run Windows XP...

And you can just forget about those companies that work so hard to bring PC games to the Mac. I mean sure you can run them in XP on your Mac now, but that also means there is one less Mac OS software developer out there now and ultimately another win for Microsoft.

I just think we are treading on some seriously dangerous times here. While I think it does solve our problems short-term, if not dealt with carefully this could be the start of the end of Mac OS.... Sure...the Mac may still exist, but will there be a future where more people run Macs with Windows than Macs with Mac OS? And how could Apple ignore that?!?

Anyone else feel happy and concerned as I am?????

[Jay @ Apr 6th 2006 3:40PM]

This worries me that software makers will stop making OSX versions of there software as now windows will run on a mac with no performance loss. Which by default could doom OSX which is far superior to windows. Why would any company put the cost into a port?

[mike @ Apr 6th 2006 3:45PM]

"AWESOME!!!...I can play all of those games I always want to buy...and now my daughter can buy the educational games she always wants and she can run that scooby-doo disc that came in her serial box."

---

Go back to school. Please. Or at least have your kid proofread these posts.

[Yong @ Apr 6th 2006 3:45PM]

#5: One line for you:
...
resistance is futile!

Look at the bright side, maybe one day Apple will start selling OS X to PC OEM, so there goes boot camp for everyone.

[Santiago @ Apr 6th 2006 3:49PM]

all i can say is... w00t!

[kibets @ Apr 6th 2006 3:50PM]

#6, I agree, it is the beginning of the end. From my experience as a Web developer, there is nothing we like less then having to write special codes to work on the Mac. The Internet was designed and optimized for Internet Explored on the PC. Mac owners are really second class citizens and do nopt get the same quality browsing experience as on a PC. I know because I have both. Let Apple drop the OS and save us all the headache...

[russia @ Apr 6th 2006 3:50PM]

hmmm.. wow, if apple starts sellign macs with only windows then it looks like windows and apple might become good friends, mac makign the hardware, and windows the operatign system... true sign of the appalypse

[mac-faithful @ Apr 6th 2006 3:56PM]

kibets...

That mentality is the EXACT problem with IT these days. As I do web development also I can understand your initial reaction, but you should honestly THINK about what you just said...."the Internet is designed and optimized for IE on the PC." That is what is wrong here...if you were using open-standards to begin with, it would be a problem for NOONE!! But unfortunately Microsoft has entrenched its own proprietary mindset into every corner of IT and now Apple has resorted to allowing XP to run on their hardware to deal with this very problem. I think it is sad that people want the Mac OS dissolved. That is less competition for M$ and less innovation for you as well. You have to remember that most of the things you have seen in Windows since its inception came from the competition between M$ and Apple...and without that we all suffer.

[bhaalspawn @ Apr 6th 2006 3:57PM]

A couple of things

1. no 5 is on crack or is just plain dumb. Only one mac that can boot windows comes without a monitor because it's cheaper than all the rest. In the UK at least the imac which comes with a �500 widescreen monitor BUILT IN is stunningly good value compared to other windows machines. All indiciations are that macs are the fastest windows machines out there. The Mac BookPro for example is faster than windows machines at running a wndows version of photoshop. So your argument fails on every level.

2. To the well thought out comments from no 7, I'm not convinved that will neccesarily be the case. If more people now buy macs there are more people with OS X availible to them. Remember that Apple aren't going to include Windows with the machine you'll have to go out and buy your own copy so there's going to be a large number of mac users who don't want to spend that mpney just to run one or two apps.

The bottom line is there will be more people using OS X even if they mainly use Windows on the mac. Therefore from a devloper's point of view they should be putting more money into their mac business because there are more people using the platform.

For example imagine that Apple's market share goes up to say 7% from the current 5%, which is a conservative estimate for an increase. Now if half of those people who bought a mac because they can boot windows end up using OS X more then that's still an increase of 1% overall market share or an increase of 20% in OS X market share. Those people aren't going to want to go back to Windows, they're going to want more apps in OS X, not less. So looked at one way boot camp will encourage, or at least presents a strong argument to encourage developers to put more money into their mac divisions.

[Jeff @ Apr 6th 2006 4:02PM]

"What does this mean LONG TERM?"

One of two things: Apple dumps OSX, or Apple starts selling OSX for non-Apple hardware.

This is the beginning of the end of the old way of doing things at Apple. Not that Apple was really ever one to maintain the status quo, even when it doesn't seem to be obviously in their best interests to rock the boat (going all the way back to dumping their successful Apple II line in favor of the then-much weaker Mac in the first place). There's no way around it - there will come a day when more people are buying Macs to run Windows than OSX, and that will be an unstoppable force gathering momentum that cannot be ignored by either Apple or their software developers. (Even if 1% of Windows users buy a Mac to run Windows, that will be more than all of the current Mac users in the world. And that's not counting Mac "switchers" that own Macs now and decide to install Windows later.)

I think Apple is looking at this like "what have we got to lose?" At worst, they sell a bunch more hardware - which is still their bread and butter. Their best-case scenario is probably selling a bunch more hardware *and* turning a lot of people on to OSX - but that's not really what's going to happen and I think they know it. What's going to happen is a bunch of Windows users are going to buy Macs to run Windows. As superior as you can argue OSX is, all their software that they already own is on Windows. This is akin to Nikon releasing an adapter for their cameras to accept Canon EF lenses. Sure, it will get some Canon owners to buy Nikon cameras. But they will keep right on using their Canon lenses; I mean that's even kinda the point. They're not gonna spend thousands of dollars changing lenses when the whole reason they bought the Nikon in the first place is because it has that adapter. And it might even provoke some original Nikon users into buying that cheap Canon glass for their Nikon cameras...

So, long story short, this is either the beginning of Apple giving up on OS development, or it's the beginning of OSX as commodity software. Those are the only two possible outcomes in the long term - though it may still be five or ten years before we really get there.

Or, Apple could just pull the plug if they realize things aren't going as planned, just as they did with the Mac clone fiasco about 10 years back.

[macona @ Apr 6th 2006 4:02PM]

#11 "The Internet was designed and optimized for Internet Explored on the PC."

Wow, revisionist history for the internet!

[Gary Meyer @ Apr 6th 2006 4:02PM]

I think that this will expose more people to OSX. Think about it, you buy an intel mac with the intention of just using XP, but of course people will want to check out the "other" OS on thier new computers too. Just a thought. Not that it makes any difference here in South Africa... Mac's here are insanly expensive... $3,527.549 for the 2Ghz intel core duo macbook pro!!!

[Jeff @ Apr 6th 2006 4:03PM]

"Even if 1% of Windows users buy a Mac to run Windows, that will be more than all of the current Mac users in the world."

Er, my math is obviously a little fuzzy today. Raise that to about 5% and that statement should be true.

[Chinito77 @ Apr 6th 2006 4:06PM]

Apple can never drop the OS for the simple fact that the OS is just simple to use. That is the selling point of the Mac. Why do PC users need 10 music applications and 300 photo managing software? The Mac OS makes it simple to listen to music, edit photos, and make movies. Each new version improves or adds new features. I would like to play some high end PC games on the mac but really, consoles fill that gap. Perhaps people in the white collar fields like PCs to crunch numbers and geeky gamers like to push FPS on games. I don't need tons of the same app with problems running on my mac.

[Steve @ Apr 6th 2006 4:12PM]

"From my experience as a Web developer, there is nothing we like less then having to write special codes to work on the Mac" - This really should read "this is nothing we like less than having to write special codes, full stop." Everything I've written for the last three years has been designed to be as lean as possible and never, ever, under any circumstances rely on a feature from a specific browser. The result is applications that run on everything from Smartphones to desktops, on virtually any web browser that displays graphic elements, using one code base (the only mod is changing the width of some apps to suit the screen size but that's all contained in a single config file anyway). The instant I presume that all visitors to our public business web site will use IE on a Windows platform is the day I deserve to be fired and replaced with a so-green-they-need-mowing graduate.

And to all those wondering if companies will stop developing for Macs... why is this such a worry? Seriously, what's different today than at the start of the week. Macs can run Windows but it's a �100+ optional extra, it's not as if OSX suddenly had the XP code base added to every install as standard. All this will do, from the point of view of software companies, is possibly increase the number of Macs in the wild as people find it easier to do transitions from Windows environments. Now if in a year or two Mac market share is down THEN you can worry. My take on it anyway, could be wrong of course.

[Erin @ Apr 6th 2006 4:14PM]

You can't be serious, kibets! I develop for the web as well, and I find it hardest to make websites that are compatible with IE for PC(and Mac especially)! Internet Explorer DOES NOT CONFORM TO WEB STANDARDS! Rumor has it that IE7 will "follow CSS standards", but after downloading the beta b0rked the CSS on my PC, I have little to no faith. Perhaps you should check out http://www.webstandards.org or http://www.w3.org to learn more about how miserable IE is for those who code to established standards.

Mac users only become second class citizens on the web because of people like YOU and companies that utilize crappy Windows Media Player filetypes and Microsoft's proprietary DRM.

Then again, if you're using FrontPage, I'm sure your websites look pretty awesome on a PC in IE. Ha!

You also sound like you've never used a Mac. OS X is a functional, beautiful operating system. Try it, you'll be singing a different tune.

[mac-faithful @ Apr 6th 2006 4:18PM]

Jeff -

Your comments are well-taken and I agree with you that these are definitely two possible outcomes. And both of them result in a new company and a new product that is drastically different than the one I fell in love with in '84 and the one I still love to this day.

The Mac OS being sold OEM to PC Manufacturers is reminiscent of NeXT desiding to do the SAME exact thing...which ultimately resulted in the downfall of NeXT altogether. Granted, Mac hardware is far more reasonably priced compared to PC's today than NeXT boxes where to PC's in their day...but still it is an erie feeling.

Apple ditching the Mac OS altogether and selling its machines with Windows on it results in die-hard people like me leaving the IT profession and taking up a completely new career path...one with paper and pencil! The thought of actually having to deal with the Registry and DLL's and Add/Remove Programs (that never works right) and BSOD's and....I am starting to get sick just thinking about it....

[Huge Market @ Apr 6th 2006 4:19PM]

For the nayslayers you have to realize that the majority of people walking into the Apple retail stores are going to be PC users. If it were the other way then the retail stores would be closing around the nation as there just are not enough Mac users to support them. The question I'm sure many of the PC users are asking when they talk to the salespeople about Macs is "will this run my Windows programs?" There is just no way of getting around that. I for one believe that there will always be a core Mac user who will have little use for Windows. That really hasn't changed since the late 90's. However here is a opportunity for Apple to get those people who ask "will this run Windows" to say "yes it will". There isn't a PC on the Windows side that can compete with the Mac mini. I could of convinced my dad to buy a mini a couple of months ago if this announcement would of been made sooner. Instead he bought a big, loud, ugly PC.

[Bart Lee @ Apr 6th 2006 4:23PM]

I think you guys are missing the big picture. We haven't heard one thing (other than about Boot Camp) about what Apple has planned for Leopard. Wait until August, I think we're going to see they've been quietly banging away in Cupertino developing some super cool stuff for 10.5.

I just installed XP on the iMac in my kitchen this morning. Worked great, but I found myself letting out a sigh of relief when I booted it back up into OSX. Time will tell, but I highly doubt that this is going to have many current Mac users running their Macs in XP for anything other than games or the odd program not available on the Mac.

[glacia00 @ Apr 6th 2006 4:28PM]

What bootcamp will do is expose a very few from both sides of the debate to each other's OS. What is likely to happen is a small percentage of that few may switch one way or the other. It's very unlikely to come close to what people are predicting.

A very few MS OS users may find things about the Mac OS they like and an equal number of Mac OS users will find that most of the rumors they've heard about XP are false.

Anyone with any curiosity at all has already used the other OS and haven't found a reason to switch so I doubt there will be more than a fraction of a percent of users who truly switch from one to the other.

I doubt this will be a coupe for anyone other than some who already own Macs and who really need to run some app that isn't currently available and there is no alternative or the people who want Mac hardware and the thousands of PC hardware designs aren't appealing to them.

[Kyran @ Apr 6th 2006 4:30PM]

"One of two things: Apple dumps OSX, or Apple starts selling OSX for non-Apple hardware."

I wont disagree with that point. Apple often touted themselves as a hardware company and that the advantage of OSX is that it's tailored for their hardware that they put together. Apple *also* said that they don't provide legacy support and that Windows is a legacy OS.

It seems Apple broke down and finally decided to provide legacy support.

The main thing that's stopping OSX from being practical on PC hardware is driver support. With OSX for x86 procs sporting EFI, that means once UEFI hardware becomes mainstream, OSX will become a VERY practical system to be installed on PCs. While there may be many people willing to buy a Mac because it can also run Windows, there are likely many more people who are dying to get a not-Linux (honestly) alternative to Windows on their DIY rigs.

One thing I *am* sure of is that OSX's market share isn't going to come anywhere near competing with Windows if the OS is still tied to very specific hardware.

[MuDoggy @ Apr 6th 2006 4:31PM]

So this is good for:
1) when you want to securly browse the web in public.
2) when you want to easily EASILY edit simple HD movies (that you captured with your PC side)
3) you can FINALLY get a 1" thin powerful notebook that runs windows.

[jrea @ Apr 6th 2006 4:33PM]

Has anybody thought about the posibility that this is just a 'first move' in a series from Apple? I mean, it is their 30th, and this is a beta release. They could have just released this to stir the internets/media, get people used to the idea of windows apps on macs, but then release another update that simply allows you to run windows apps in OSX?

[Monty @ Apr 6th 2006 4:34PM]

As someone who has both in my household, it is kind of a nice thing. This means I don't have to build my girlfriend a computer everytime I upgrade. Currently we run OSX10.3.9 on a 300 meg mac...and nicely. She plays windows games, so she uses a pc.
But she loves OSX because it isn't windows. Those who say great, who wanted OSX anyway?, I have to think that they haven't actually used it. It combines some of the best things about user interfaces,and I'll admit there are a few things I don't like, but there's a lot more I don't like about XP. Thats why I'm running Ubuntu. Once you have 6 or more desktops to separate work out onto, you never want to go back to xp. And Kubuntu's been rock solid stable. But I wish I could run OSX on normal hardware. It seems that Mac is letting the tiger in their court but not unleashing their's. No pun intended. If they released OSx for everyone, lots of people would buy it because they are sick of Microsoft. That's why Linux is doing so well. And people would still buy their Mini's because of their size and power, and their Imac's because of their cool formfactor, and their Macbooks because of their nice features, and especially their multiprocessor systems, because face it, what other home desktop producing company has offered a dual dual core system on the market (4 processor cores)? You don't see microsoft doing it...or dell, or Alienware, Gateway, or Micron. Sure they are expensive, but they are also backed by a warranty and a company that's been doing hardware since the 1970's. That counts for something.
If I could have a pc that is the size of a mini doing everything for 800 bucks with a dvd burner, 100gigs of hard drive and a gig of ram AND dual core for 800$ (latest Mac Mall price) I think that's a steal when you consider it's the size of a small stack of Cd's. For those web developers out there, finally they can cross platform on one box to test web pages and use tools. Try OSX, its great (I have used windows since it came out, unfortunately (sometimes))...I think most people will be pleasantly suprised when they check it out. Windows seems clunky by comparison.

[gabehoffman @ Apr 6th 2006 4:40PM]

Just an FYI, with MacDrive loaded, I was able to run my iTunes library from Windows (include purchased music, once I authorized the machine).
And the right-click is a pain, you have to get a program to do that for you. It was linked in the last post boot camp.

[consumer_q @ Apr 6th 2006 4:41PM]

Does this mean I can finally run mythtv on a mac?

[Scott Johnson @ Apr 6th 2006 4:44PM]

This really makes me want a MacBook Pro...and some Apple stock. ;-)

[Tachion @ Apr 6th 2006 4:48PM]

This is actually great news. I've been wanting a media center PC for a while, but nothing really was small enough and aesthetically pleasing to me. Looks like a Mac Mini will be the perfect solution now.

[Tim @ Apr 6th 2006 4:57PM]

If anything, professional users will continue doing what they do - whether it is developing on a PC or creatives on Macs, there's no doubt about it. I'm happy to have reason to buy a Mac again so that I can have my Windows when I need it.

Think again, though, of where Macs are heading - cheap mac minis that include a multitude of simple digital applications (web publishing that integrates with consumer digital photos, movies that can be edited and burned to dvd). Add in the Media Center-esque Front Row application with its included remote, and it's a great all-in-one that can attract novice users.

Apple's still trying to get people to "switch", but they need to pull out some serious stops to gain more users. Integrating their computers with their software, gadgets (iPods and the potential iPhone) really calls for a full solution, but doesn't have the "Me only!" mentality of Microsoft.

[john Doe @ Apr 6th 2006 4:57PM]

"I hope Apple starts selling these Macs w/o OSX installed so I can save a few bucks and just get XP / Vista."

Nice one flameboy.

[Poor Michael @ Apr 6th 2006 5:01PM]

I think this definitely sounds the death knell for 1 group of Mac software developers. That would be the companies that adapt Windows games to the Mac. At this point, it's quite likely that most people wanting to play games on the Mac will opt for the dual boot into Windows so they have the large choice of Windows games vs. the limited choice of Mac games.

Yes, a small market for Mac native games will remain. It's likely to become so small, however, that many shops might need to just close up.

[Torontoguy @ Apr 6th 2006 5:06PM]

This just confirms my belief that the purpose of Windows was to 'replace' the Mac which, for 90% of the world, it has.
How else do you explain the race to get the new Mac hardware to run Windows?
Even though all of the major applications in the world are available on Mac and Windows, people obviously prefer to run them under Windows rather than the Mac OS.
Nobody is offering prizes for the first person to boot OSX on a Dell are they?

[rich @ Apr 6th 2006 5:09PM]

Personally, as any good poster, I think everyone else is wrong...

But seriously, I think we're all missing the key to this. When everyone said there'd be no way Apple would release iTunes for Windows, it was because it was thought that would keep people from buying a Mac - but it didn't do that. Mac sales post-iPod and iTunes for Windows are through the roof. People saw iTunes, used an iPod, were intrigued, and then walked into an Apple store or something and tried a Mac - something they may never have done if they hadn't used iTunes + iPod on their Windows machine.

This is similar - people will get tired of dual-booting, will want some of the interface features of OS X into Windows (like how I also trying to see the desktop by moving my mouse into the corner of the screen when I switch to my work laptop w/ Windows), etc. This is just to get people a taste of Mac. It worked with iTunes + iPod, it'll work here.

[Striggity @ Apr 6th 2006 5:19PM]

Apple >>> Windows.

[dextro @ Apr 6th 2006 5:37PM]

It's already possible to run OSX on a Dell...

[Pinkerton @ Apr 6th 2006 5:42PM]

We are in for a major deluge of Vista versus Leopard adverts in the coming year.
Here's my prediction on how part of this will go down.

-There are a lot of "Joe Users" who always want the latest OS.

-A good portion of old PCs will not run Vista in its full glory.

-Apple will entice Windows users with the idea that they can dual boot. Many Windows users will buy a Mac with the intention of dual booting.

-Your average "Joe User" only needs to do basic things like write e-mail, browse the web, listen to music, burn discs, etc.

-Out of ignorance or laziness, many of those Windows users adapt to OSX. Lots of them never figured out how to properly use Windows anyhow so it's no big loss.

[Torontoguy @ Apr 6th 2006 5:52PM]

#37 dextro wrote "It's already possible to run OSX on a Dell..."
Which may be true but...it appears that nobody cares because there obviously hasn't been a huge jump to Mac OSX by Windows users.

Some commentators have noted that Apple probably would have gone under if it hadn't been for investment by Microsoft to prop them up. Microsoft needed to have the Mac OS in the market in order to disprove claims of an OS monopoly.

[Tom @ Apr 6th 2006 5:56PM]

Yes, but can it load DOS 6.22?

[big deal @ Apr 6th 2006 6:01PM]

Oh great now I can run xp on a mac. Still not good enough! How about letting me customize it and not be forced buy from 2 or 3 versions (ram size doesn't count). Let me put an AMD X-2 processor in it with two nvidia gfx in sli mode. And then it better have the ability to allow me to further upgrade it for any reason. God just sell me an empty case. Oh wait, I can buy one that looks like it.

Come on, you are better off buying a cheap pc or building it yourself (millions of guides on the web) and just downloading a theme modification to make xp look like os.

[Adam @ Apr 6th 2006 6:07PM]

From the original story...

...yes, with MacDrive you can definitely share your iTunes library between platforms. Just store it on the Mac partition and point iTunes for Windows to the proper location that you have it at.

[Ivesaid @ Apr 6th 2006 6:23PM]

I told engadget before this whole bussiness with mac and apple is no diffrent then hp and compaq..

i been telling you guys i have an inside scoop for both companys and its been confirmed internally-apple no longer exist-look at the big picture of whats going on..
thats all i will say...is amazing at the power microsoft have wow....poor mac fans if you only knew where your money is going to hahaha.

isnt it funny that everytime i mention microsoft owning apple my post gets deleted??? it happened like 5 times already..engadget knows asomething they aint telling you???

[Nostradamus @ Apr 6th 2006 6:24PM]

i am Nostradamus and i can predict the future. The end of the world is coming.

haha on a brighter note. Who cares? Why are people worrying for nothing if it 's meant ot be it's meant to be. Just let the innovations continue.

[LaughingMan @ Apr 6th 2006 6:38PM]

Responding to some comments up at the top...

1) The Internet was not designed for Internet Explorer. Stupid standards of encoding were designed for it.

2) This is not the beginning of the end. This is the beginning of people who realize, hey, I can get that beautiful laptop now and run Windows as I need to for work... And I'll check OSX out... And wow, waitaiminnit, OSX is amazing. All of a sudden I'm doing everything in OSX except for that one app for work. And also, they're going to notice how much hassle free and secure OSX is.

That's what this is about. Getting people to keep the standard enforced on them by work, but opening their eyes to the benefits of OSX.

How do I know this? I used to scratch build my own PCs and be a Windows zealot and hated Macs. Now I cringe every time I have to jump on a Windows machine, or fix a friend's problem on one. I had to switch to a Mac for work, and I've never looked back.

[Ricardo Chavarria @ Apr 6th 2006 6:40PM]

#13, you are so freaking wrong. The Internet was NOT designed with IE in mind, websites were done to fit IE's broken tags and interpretation.

Firefox is the most accurate browser in the world and you should know it...what kind of website designer are you?

Please, get Firefox, for either Mac or PC and STOP BITCHING about moot points. IE sucks outright!