Apple INTEL Macs

Guys,

I am eager to dump Windows once and for all. Recently Apple announced the availability of INTEL-based Macintosh computers which should remove part of the Motorola-Intel incompatibility which existed for the past two decades.

I was wondering to what extent PC Windows programs will now be able to work under the Mac environment and the INTEL processor? I realize that part of the problem would be software which is partially dependent on Windows (ex. registry keys) but I was wondering (and hoping) that the Intel-based Macs would be a way out of the sadistic world of the PC Windows environment.

Thanks!

Might be helpful:

www.macwindows.com/winintelmac.html

(I have no personal experience of this mind you!)

Anthony

There is no compatibility issue. When windows is installed it is a windows computer. You choose at boot time wether you are booting windows or OS X.
I manage an 'ordinary' windows network (NT/2k/XP/ + servers etc) I have been successfully introducing the intel macs (running windows) to this mix over the last year with no issues.

JMP

When windows is installed it is a windows computer.

Therefore STILL in the "Sadistic World" surely !

Using Intel macs for some time; its fairly straightforward to run other software (Windows or Linux).

You have two choices: installing boot camp, so that you can boot into either Windows OR OS X, or buying virtualisation software (I use Parallels)
which allows you to run Windows/Linux/etc. within OS X. Works well, and
my preferred solution.

Hi Anthony.

You will not be able to dump windows completely. You will have to install either bootcamp or parallels on your mac, which will allow you to run windows on the mac to host your windows programs.

Bootcamp allows you to have OSX and Windows on the same machine. During bootup you hold down shift and you are presented with a screen to choose what OS you want to boot into. If you boot into windows from here, its just like any computer using windows, the windows OS has full access and control of the pc.

Parallels allows you to run windows from within OSX, giving windows access to hardware via a virtual machine. You decide before opening windows, how much resources to dedicate to the parallels app. Parallels gives these resources to windows. if you maximize the parallels window its as if your using a windows machine. the windows desktop is visible to you and you can install software here that will be accessable via parallels. There is a mode called "coherence mode" in parallels that allows you to run windows, but all you see is the app you want to use, and not the whole windows expirience. The app when running even has a little icon on the OSX dock. I use this method quite a bit.

I dont think you can decoupple from windows completely but mac offers a decent compromise.

If you go down the parallels road, it might be best to stick wtih XP and not vista. vista works, but it takes a bit of tweaking and some calls to MS Support to iorn out licensing issues.