Analysis: Windows, the next Apple core?

By Stewart Mitchell

Posted on 10 Mar 2006 at 10:43

Microsoft, however, said it would have no problem granting a Windows licence to Apple, in exactly the same way it currently provides licences to Dell and HP.

'Just like all Microsoft's OEMs, Apple can build industry-standard hardware that's compatible with Windows; Microsoft has an open specification and a process for certifying the hardware,' said a Microsoft spokesman. 'Microsoft would support Apple the same way it supports every other PC manufacturer.'

However, running Mac OS X on a significantly cheaper PC remains an elusive dream, because Apple 'will not allow Mac OS X to be run on anything other than an Apple Mac', said the company's senior vice president Phil Schiller.

Nevertheless, it seems certain that hackers will work out a way of doing exactly this, although it won't be easy since Apple's Intel-based Macs use extensible firmware interface (EFI), whereas Microsoft's Windows XP relies on BIOS, and the two aren't natively interoperable.

'Apple's future operating systems will, in some way, work on any of the newer Intel x86 chips, which means just about any computer, even if Apple attempts to stop that from happening,' said Apple commentator Allan Warner. 'The market will devise methods that allow the average person to overcome Apple's restrictions.'

In reality, however, the biggest news for Windows developers is legally porting their software to Apple. CodeWeavers, for example, has expanded its software porting capabilities to include support for Windows-to-Mac - in theory, significantly reducing the time and cost of developing Mac versions of Windows software. 'The shift to Intel chips is good news for Windows developers who, for reasons of time and expense, have never created Mac versions of their key applications,' said CodeWeavers chief executive Jeremy White. 'It's a new opportunity for them.'

Apple's move to Intel has hardly turned the world of Windows on its head. But it has thrown up new hope for cross-platform development, which in the long term may bring great benefits to PC professionals.