When pigs fly: Running Windows on a Mac

Gary Krakow Columnist • E-mail

I’m going to make it easy for those of you who usually jump to the end of my column to see whether I like the item in question before they waste their time reading everything I have to say.

For those people, here’s the summary: Not only is the new iMac a spectacular example of computer jewelry — but you can now run Windows XP in addition to OS X on it.

I have to admit, it will be very difficult sending this computer back at the end of the test period.

Let’s take this step-by-step.  First, the computer: Apple was kind enough to send me one of their new iMacs with a 20-inch wide-screen to play with. It just might be the best personal computer on the market today.

Open the box, plug in the mouse and keyboard and turn it on. The only "set-up" items I had to fiddle with were to set the proper time zone and to add my wireless network information.  The iMac was out of the box, up and running in less than 5 minutes.

Using the new iMac is a breeze. Everything you need to use a computer is presented right there in front of you. With all of the built-in software that comes with the latest version of the Mac OS (version 10.4.x) you are ready to do just about all the tasks most people need to do on their computer.

For the record, the only change I had to make to any program was to make the type face size a little smaller in the Safari browser program so that all the words fit in their proper places on this Web site.  Not bad at all.

As for speed, OS X flies on the 2.0 GHz Intel T500 processor.  It’s one of the fastest computers I’ve played with in a long time. For those keeping count, my test computer came with 1 GB (out of a maximum of 2 GB) of memory and a 240 GB hard drive. There’s an available 500 GB hard drive as well. As configured, the test computer would retail for $1,999.

Did I mention that the 20-inch, high-definition color screen is amazing? Actually, what’s really amazing is that the entire computer is right behind that beautiful screen — and the enclosure is only and inch and a half deep. That includes the hard drive (inside), DVD slot (on the right) and the stereo speakers (on the bottom).

Pigs fly, hell freezes over ...
As much as I like the latest version of OS X, like many people I need to use Microsoft's Windows XP for work. The site's publishing system, built in-house, is only available in Windows. (MSNBC.com is a joint venture between Microsoft and NBC.) So, before Apple’s release of Boot Camp, I was stuck using any number of PCs — some very good, others less so.

While Boot Camp lets you install Windows on a Mac, there are a few caveats. First, it only runs on the new Macs with Intel processors. Second, Apple is calling the program a beta, as in, not 100 percent ready for prime time. If you use it, you become a beta tester for Apple. After installing and using it, I have to say that in my situation you can drop the beta. Boot Camp worked perfectly for me. Finally, Boot Camp doesn't come with Windows; you need to buy a copy of it yourself. And while Boot Camp is free, a full version of Windows XP will set you back around $200.

First you download Boot Camp from Apple’s site. You need a blank CD and a bootable CD of Windows XP with Service Pack 2. Older versions of XP, or versions on multiple disks will not work.

When you start up Boot Camp you install some stuff and burn a special Macintosh Drivers CD that you’ll use to allow Windows to recognize some of the iMac hardware. You then follow the instructions to partition the hard drive (so that there can be separate, secure places for OS X and for Windows), and then install Windows XP into the new partition. Make sure you create enough room for XP and the Windows programs you wish to use. I made a 100 GB Windows XP partition.

Installing Windows XP Professional via Boot Camp took just under one hour. Installing everything else I need to use Windows (Office, lots of MSNBC stuff and more than 60 system updates) took another two hours or so.

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