Apple's Boot Camp brings "XP" and "Tiger" Together

After appealing computer users persistently to "think different" and defining the Macintosh as a solitary rampart against the Windows attack, Apple Computer has decided to open the doors, at least a little.

The Macintosh, or Mac, line of Personal Computers is designed, developed, manufactured, and marketed by Apple Computer. Named after the McIntosh apple, the original Macintosh was released on January 24, 1984. It was the first commercially successful personal computer to use a graphical user interface (GUI) and mouse instead of the then-standard command line interface.

Two decenniums after the first Mac landed; Apple decided to offer users its latest released Boot Camp software with an easier way to run the Microsoft Windows XP operating system and its own operating system also known as "Apple’s Tiger". It signifies that a single Apple computer can be transformed into a machine capable of running two operating systems, simultaneously. It will run programs made for either the Mac that uses Intel Corp.’s microprocessors or Microsoft Corp.’s Windows, despite the fact that it will have to shut down one system to start the other.

After installing Windows XP via Boot Camp, users can select which operating systems they would like to run at startup. With the release of Boot Camp, the company is authorizing the use of Microsoft’s software on its hardware. Apple has said all along that it would not sell or support Windows, but that it also would not prevent the OS from running on its hardware.

Mac OS X version 10.4 "Tiger" is the fifth and most recent major release of Mac OS X for Apple’s Macintosh Computers, and released to the public on April 29, 2005. It was preceded by Mac OS X v10.3 "Panther", and is scheduled to be super ceded by Mac OS X v10.5 around the end of 2006. Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger" costs $129 USD (£88.99 GBP) as an upgrade for existing Mac OS X v10.3 "Panther" users.

The move was embraced with great enthusiasm even among the loyal faith of Macintosh enthusiasts who sustained Apple through many gloomy years before its revival on the strength of its iPod music player. Apple believes that the move will make its latest Macs more attractive to customers who might be unwilling to move from a PC to a Mac.

Lehman Brothers analyst Harry Blount wrote in a note to clients: "The utilization of Windows XP on Intel-based Macs in the home solves a key requirement for consumers who want to be entertained and work in the digital home."

Wall Street-American Financial Market analysts and computer industry experts also greeted the move as an obvious and potentially remunerative one for Apple. Apple Computer Inc.’s stock jumped almost 10%, ending the trading day at $ 67.21, up $ 6.04 as investors and analysts continued to praise new Apple software that lets Macintosh computers run the Windows operating system as well as Apple’s own.

Estimating the profit Blount said, "While we look for limited near-term benefit from this announcement, we believe it creates a significant long-term potential upside opportunity for Apple."

Options volume in Apple also expanded for the second straight day. On Thursday, about 260,000 calls and 191,700 puts traded in the U.S. options market, distinctively exceeding Apple normal average volume of 117,420 contracts, according to Track Data.

Boot Camp is compatible with new Apple computers that use Intel chips like the Mini and iMac desktops and the MacBook Pro laptop. Apple’s iBook and PowerBook laptops are expected to be upgraded to the Intel chips by the end of 2006. To put XP on your machine, you must have patience: You must take following steps to get your computer ready:

Step 1:
First, download Boot Camp software at www.apple.com/bootcamp, and the 17-page PDF instruction manual (https://images.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/pdf/Boot_Camp_Beta_Setup_Guide.pdf).

Step 2:
Then Download software updates for your machine. Apple recommends searching at www.apple.com/macosx/upgrade/softwareupdates.html for "Firmware Update" and your computer’s name such as Mac Mini, iMac, etc.

Step 3:
After restarting the computer, click on the Boot Camp application. Here, you will be asked to split the hard drive. In a nutshell, you’re splitting it, fixing Apple software on one side, and Windows on the other. Apple lets you decide how much space to devote to Windows. If you just plan to browse the Web, take a small chunk, like 5 gigabytes. But if you want to add space-hogging games or Windows programs, give XP more like 30 GBs.

Step 4:
Further, the software installation will incite you to make a copy of important software drivers onto a blank CD. Then you’ll be asked to insert the Windows software disk into the computer. After you’re done with XP installation, you need to insert the driver disk in Windows, and double-click the CD icon to install.

It may take more than three hours to add XP because of several odd error messages that would popped up during the process. As the name is "Boot Camp" you have to reboot the computer if you want to toggle back and forth between Windows and Mac.
Indeed, Boot Camp is everything Apple pleaded: a fully functioning, fast Windows XP computer on a Mac. Buying a cheap Windows desktop with XP already installed would be a less expensive and easier way to go.

Eventually, Mac lovers who are fed up of being shut out from websites and software have a real, workable solution.