[Steve]

From the BBC..

Hackers have managed to get Microsoft's Windows XP operating system running on an Apple Mac computer.

The success ends a competition started to see if the feat was even possible when Apple unveiled computers that used Intel chips.

The pair who managed the feat won $13,854 (£7,895) in prize money for their trouble.

The software used to put Windows on the Mac is now being circulated so others can try to replicate the success.
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In January 2006, the first Apple Mac computers using Intel chips were unveiled at the Macworld show by company boss Steve Jobs.

Soon after the unveiling, Mac enthusiast Colin Nederkoorn kicked off a competition to see if it was possible for the two operating systems to run independently on the same machine.

To tempt entrants, he put up $100 of his own money - a prize fund that gradually grew as news about the competition spread.

The rules of the competition stressed that to win hackers must get both Windows XP and Apple's OSX running on the same machine and neither operating system must conflict with the other.

As late as 7 March, Apple technical experts were saying that the prize money was unlikely to be collected.

The main stumbling block for those tackling the task was the different way that Microsoft's Windows XP and Apple's OSX boot-up, or start. Essentially, PCs and Apple Mac machines use different technology to get their operating systems loaded.

The hackers who won the contest created a custom copy of Windows XP that had modifications made to the installation files to get it working with the Apple boot system.

The hackers who won the contest are keen to keep their anonymity and are known only by the handles "narf" and "blanka". According to reports, their feat has been independently confirmed and XP has been made to run on an iMac, Mac Mini and MacBook Pro.

Technical sites such as Ars Technica have provided walkthroughs for people keen to try it for themselves, though they stress that it is likely to defeat those who are technically unskilled.

It is possible that easier ways to get a Mac booting both operating systems will appear as other hackers follow up the success.

Many people discussing the feat online stress that it is of more than casual interest. One of the many reasons that Apple machines have not proved more popular is because of the relatively small number of programs, in particular games, created for them. With work, many of the hugely popular programs for Windows may be able to run on Apple machines too.

[evilowl]

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060316-6393.html

TBH why anyone would want to run an inferior OS on Apple hardware is beyond me!

[Dave]

About time Macs got a decent OS

[Arkady]

Macs are thing that keep the rain off. Nuff said.

[noah]

Originally Posted by Arkady

Macs are thing that keep the rain off. Nuff said.

lol

nice to have to choice i suppose i'm sure i read somewhere about one of these chaps buying a mac for work and convincing his boss it would work fine with windows then trying to work out how he could run both.

[Arkady]

My brother still maintains that Macs are better for Graphics applications (he's an architect) but I've used both and the loss/change of my 'right-click' and desktop shortcuts in Photoshop means that any benefits to using OS-X or Panther are nullified; for me anyway.

[Fangman]

Buy a mouse with two buttons and you have the right click and all the shortcuts on a system that still is more user friendly - not biased mind you but started with Apple II and stayed with the old firm! There have been software Windows emulators around to run windows apps on Macs for years for those who miss their games!

[Matty]

..and so the final steps of M$ world domination begin....

[evilowl]

Originally Posted by noah

i'm sure i read somewhere about one of these chaps buying a mac for work and convincing his boss it would work fine with windows then trying to work out how he could run both.

Not entirely sure what you mean here, I support over 400 Macs alongside 3000 Windows desktops all running on a single network domain and they integrate brilliantly. I'd much rather everyone ran Apple's - I wouldn't have to do any work!

[dazzajl]

All very clever I'm sure but getting a mac to run windows is a bit like getting an Enzo to run on diesel.

I never used to get the point of Macs either untill I was forced over to using them by my camera software. I hate having to use a PC now, it's just sooooo cumbersome by comparison.

Although as a company, Apple make Microsoft look customer service focused.

[noah]

Originally Posted by evilowl

Not entirely sure what you mean here, I support over 400 Macs alongside 3000 Windows desktops all running on a single network domain and they integrate brilliantly. I'd much rather everyone ran Apple's - I wouldn't have to do any work!

sorry, i meant that his boss insisted he had a windows machine in his place of work so he bought a mac book pro and so it started...

i'm not fussed either way, as long as the mac has a 2 button mouse i'm happy, i only stick with pc's because i can upgrade my system gradually and for less money, oh and the occasional game of course