PriceSCAN Blog

To be sure, making an operating system ensuring back-compatibility with the software and hardware of the majority of computers on Earth is a tad more challenging then accommodating the needs of a 4% market niche for which you manufacture the platform. But as I noted earlier in "Why Schizophrenia On The Mac Is A Good Thing", the new Intel-based Macs are allowing the running of Windows via Apple's BootStrap, and Windows or Linux with the virtualization software of Parallels Desktop (which requires no reboot, unlike BootStrap). So Apple's buyers should be able to avail themselves of any of these operating systems and whatever features they sport, presumably including Leopard's rumored cool new multimedia and search offerings.
Now the Mercury News quotes a Piper Jaffray analyst as saying that Microsoft viewed BootCamp's introduction as simply meaning there are now more computers to sell Windows on. True, but BootCamp gives current Windows/PC users the option of buying a machine that lets them run their old software while introducing them to Mac OS's elegance and advanced features. Parallels Desktop does the same, and allows access to Linux stability as well. Add to this the introduction of web-based apps from Google and others, and some users may discover its Windows they can live without. Microsoft's dominance is of course still its to lose. But it needs Vista to come out soon, and, when it does, the Beast of Redmond had better bring it.