Apple Introduces Boot Camp

Apple is introducing Boot Camp, a public beta software that enables Intel-based Macs to run Microsoft Windows XP. Available as a download, Boot Camp allows users with a Microsoft Windows XP installation disc to install Windows XP on an Intel-based Mac, and once installation is complete, users can restart their computer to run either Mac OS X or Windows XP.

Boot Camp will be a feature in “Leopard,” Apple’s next major release of Mac OS X, that will be previewed at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference in August 2006.

Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing said that Apple has no desire or plan to sell or support Windows, but many customers have expressed their interest to run Windows on Apple’s hardware.

Boot Camp simplifies Windows installation on an Intel-based Mac by providing a simple graphical step-by-step assistant application to dynamically create a second partition on the hard drive for Windows, to burn a CD with all the necessary Windows drivers, and to install Windows from a Windows XP installation CD.

After installation is complete, users can choose to run either Mac OS X or Windows when they restart their computer.

The public beta of Boot Camp is available immediately, and is preview software licensed for use on a trial basis for a limited time. The final version of Boot Camp will be available as a feature in the upcoming Mac OS X version 10.5 “Leopard.”

The company does not provide support for installing or running Boot Camp and does not sell or support Microsoft Windows software.