Windows on a Mac

A match made in Heaven, Hell, or just a gateway to something bigger and better for all of us?

Until the switch to Intel processors, Apple computers were distinguished from most PCs by two core traits: their use of the Mac OS operating system and the PowerPC CPU.

There have always been questions on why Apple had to be so different. Its insistence on pushing MacOS has done the industry much good and ought to be commended. Since its launch in 2001, OS X has evolved into a highly stable, secure and enjoyable platform. Its iLife software suite is the envy of many PC users. The latest release of MacOS, OS X Tiger, features built-in desktop search and a stylish widget system called Dashboard. In style and substance, it is in many ways superior to Microsoft’s ageing Windows XP. That it’s beyond the reach of most viruses and malware is just a bonus.

Apple’s devotion to the PowerPC architecture is harder to justify. It is true that the PowerPC instruction set is cleaner and more efficient than Intel’s x86 instruction set; PowerPC’s early performance often exceeded the fastest x86 processors. PowerPC’s robust AltiVec unit offered SIMD performance so impressive that it has now trickled down into the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. But these benefits were intangible to the consumer. Costs were high, clock speed improvements were slow and Apple was left with MHz processors while Intel processors rocketed to the GHz range. Consumers saw bigger numbers and more software titles for PCs and flocked to them. Apple was left in the cold. Its market share slipped.

After many years of decline, Apple finally accepted the unpleasant truth: The PowerPC architecture, despite all the mystical advantages, was a burden, not an advantage; if it just switched to Intel, its hardware would be more compatible, its performance always up to date, and it would naturally sell more computers.

The switch was announced mid-last year. By January this year, Apple was shipping Intel powered desktops and notebooks. By the end of the year, every new Apple computer will be powered by Intel processors.

Even before the Intel Macs shipped, speculation on whether it could run Windows was already rife. When January came and the first Intel Macs hit the stores, Mac enthusiasts plunged right in. A few weeks later a website was set up with the purpose of finding a way to run Windows XP on the new Macs. Donations poured in and soon the prize pool for the successful hacker reached $13,000. A mere two months later, two hackers claimed this prize. Although this was a triumph, the long and precarious procedure they devised was greeted with more admiration than adoption. There was much fanfare, but no one expected what came next.

Boot Camp
Apple’s one page press release on 5 April was cool and restrained; it was releasing Boot Camp – a tool that would help users install Windows XP on any Intel-based Mac. Apple deliberately toned down the release, emphasising the beta nature of the tool and stating that it had no intention of selling or supporting Windows. Though Apple may not proclaim it, Boot Camp, along with the switch to Intel, completely changes the nature of the Mac. Later in this article we’ll explore what the future holds, but for now, let’s head to Boot Camp.

The 83MB Boot Camp download includes a disk partitioning utility and the Windows XP drivers for graphics, sound and various hardware included with the new Intel Macs. You’ll need your own copy of Windows XP – both Home and Professional editions are fine – but it must have Service Pack 2 included. Boot Camp will then walk you through the three key steps for running Windows.

First the drivers are burned to a CD. Then, the hard drive is partitioned and finally Windows is installed. In the final step the wizard goes out of sight, the screen takes on a jarring blue, and you’ll know that you’re deep in Windows installation land. A few reboots later and you’ll be greeted with a pleasant start-up screen offering a choice of Windows or OS X.

Once in Windows, simply install the drivers and you’re set to go. As Boot Camp is still very much beta software, a few things are still unsupported. On the Macbook Pro, the function keys are out, the built-in iSight camera doesn’t work and the Delete button is mapped to Backspace, making a Ctrl+Alt+Del combination impossible. Incidentally this means that with Server versions of Windows, you won’t be able to log in. Installing the Windows Resource Kit Tools allows you to remap the keys and fix this problem. An external keyboard also solves the problem.

These small issues aside, graphics, chipset and IO drivers all worked smoothly; hence DirectX works, OpenGL works, and yes, games work too.