WinXP Boots on Macintel, Real World Thinking about Rosetta Performance, and Intel's Impact on Future Macs

Compiled by Charles Moore and edited by Dan Knight - 2006.03.23

This Week's Macintel News

Gene Steinberg has some common sense thoughts on Rosetta performance - if you're replacing an older Mac, it may be every bit as fast as what you're used to. And Digit takes a look at forthcoming Intel CPUs and their expected impact on the Mac.

But the big news is the hack that lets Macintel owners install and boot into Windows XP. We're happy with OS X ourselves, but there there are some Windows apps with no equivalent on the Mac. The biggest drawback we've heard about is that the Macs may overheat, since WinXP has no support for their cooling fans.

All this and more in this week's news roundup.

PowerBook, iBook, and other portable computing news is covered in The 'Book Review. General Apple and Mac desktops news is covered in The Mac News Review. iPod news is covered in The iPod News Review.

The Macintel Transition

• Realistic Thinking about Rosetta Performance
• Intel to Shape Mac Future

Windows on Macintel

• Website Reports Dual-boot Macintel Success
• Macintel Runs Windows XP
• Code to Run XP on Mac May Become Open Source
• Step by Step Video Shows How to Install Windows XP on Macintel

The Macintel Transition

Realistic Thinking about Rosetta Performance

Gene Steinberg, the Mac Night Owl, says:

"In the past, processor emulation has gotten a bad rap for good reasons. Consider Microsoft's Virtual PC for the Mac, which epitomizes languid performance. But if you think it's bad, try some of the other PC emulators, even the ones that are loudly proclaimed as Universal binaries fully compatible with MacIntels. Of course, way back in the days when Apple switched to the PowerPC, its emulation performance for older 680x0 software also turned a fast Mac into a slug. In those days, it took years for the software to catch up, and, no, I don't believe it was a key factor in Apple's lost market share."

Link: Before You Buy a MacIntel: A Rosetta Performance Update

Intel to Shape Mac Future

Digit's Laurianne McLaughlin reports:

"Now Apple's made its switch to Intel chips, the Intel Developer Forum is big news for most computer users. Digit got the lowdown on what Intel's latest developments could mean for the Mac.

"The Intel Developer Forum is awash with product codenames and technology-speak that only a select few can understand. But at the Spring 2006 session in San Francisco, there were a few hints at what could be in store for Apple's portables and desktops....

"For Apple users, that could mean power-efficient notebooks in the second half of this year, and desktop PCs with quad-core processors in early 2007....

"Lower-power, dual-core chips also got their moment in the Developer Forum spotlight, as Intel revealed more details regarding three long-awaited products: Merom for mobile computers, Conroe for desktop PCs, and Woodcrest for servers. All are based on Intel's new Core micro-architecture....

"The new chips will be manufactured using 65-nanometer technology, a process improvement that lets Intel make smaller chips that draw less power - perhaps 30 per cent less than today's comparable chips, Intel says. Intel plans to roll out 45-nanometer technology in 2007, which should be even more efficient, the company revealed last week.

"Power-efficient chips have two big implications for Apple. It gives the company room to make highly creative notebook designs in late 2006, while raising the possibility of making an ultra-mobile PC - a tiny machine that's smaller than a notebook but bigger and more functional than a PDA."

Link: Intel Sends Mac to the Future

Windows on Macintel

Website Reports Dual-boot Macintel Success

eWeek's John G. Spooner reports:

"Computer enthusiasts are reporting the creation of a method for booting Windows on one of Apple Computer's newest Macs.

"The Onmac.net Web site reported on March 16 that it has come up with a method for booting Microsoft's Windows XP alongside Apple's Mac OS X on Apple's Intel processor-based Macs, which began rolling out earlier this year."

Link: Web Site Reports Dual-Boot Intel Mac Success

Macintel Runs Windows XP

Forbes' Maya Roney reports:

"For PC dependents with Mac cravings - and software-deprived Mac users - Apple Computer's transition to Intel chips ignited dreams of a day when Mac and PC hardware and software could exist interchangeably in one blissful technological paradise.

"That day may come sooner than expected, now that two California techies who go by the handles 'narf' and 'blanka' have become the first to succeed in loading Microsoft Windows XP onto an Intel Mac in a contest organized by Mac-enthusiast Colin Nederkoorn.

"Nederkoorn, a Houston-based ship broker, needed both a Mac operating system to design presentations on the job and Microsoft Outlook for his work e-mail. So, he figured he would donate $100 of his own money to anyone who could create his dream product. Five-hundred donors joined him in the effort, with the most generous pledging $1,111 to reach a final prize sum of $13,840....

"And the contest's juicy incentive got impressive results. According to Nederkoorn, you simply turn on your computer and press the up key to see an Apple OS logo, or the down key to see a Windows logo. Then you choose whichever system you desire at the time."

Link: Mac, Meet Windows

Code to Run XP on Mac May Become Open Source

The San Jose Mercury News's Dean Takahashi reports:

"A couple of amateur programmers have managed to do what Apple Computer didn't want them to: get Microsoft's Windows operating system to run on the Macintosh.

"The two unidentified programmers, known as 'narf2006' and 'blanka,' won an unofficial online contest organized by Colin Nederkoorn, a 23-year-old employee of a shipping company in Austin, Texas.

"Nederkoorn's Web site said the winners' code had been tested and was available for downloading at www.onmac.net . He said he expected they would make it available as open source software.

"He said he expected they would make it available as open source software."

Link: Code to Run XP on Mac May Become Open Source

Step by Step Video Shows How to Install Windows XP on Macintel

This video is a step by step narrated tutorial showing how to install Windows XP on an Intel Mac.

Link: Step by Step Video Showing How to Install Windows XP on an Intel Mac