Apple opens its Windows

Like friends who fight and make up on a regular basis, Microsoft and Apple are buddies once again, as Apple released software last Wednesday to run Windows on some Macintosh computers. The move is possible because Apple began using Intel-based chips in January. Apple is seeking to lure more Windows users, analysts said.

‘‘With the iPod, they kind of got an inkling of this when they moved from Mac-only to Windows,’’ said Rob Enderle, principal analyst for Enderle Group, a research company based in San Jose, Calif. ‘‘That’s when the market exploded for them.’’ The software may push Mac users to upgrade to an Intel-based Macintosh computer and help Microsoft sell more versions of Windows, said Chris Swenson, a software analyst at NPD Group, a marketing research company.

Windows has run on Macs via computer hacks and slow-running software that emulates Windows. But on Wednesday Apple released ‘‘Boot Camp,’’ which will easily install Windows on Macs and allow users to boot up with either Windows or Mac OS X. Bradley Dichter, technical adviser to Long Island Macintosh Users Group, called the software a ‘‘rather limited solution,’’ noting that Apple’s next major release, Leopard, will make it easier to switch from Windows to Mac OS.

Boot Camp will be part of Leopard, to be previewed in August. Neither Apple nor Microsoft will provide support for the test software, and users would have to buy Windows XP, which costs about $100. The companies have worked together before, most notably with Microsoft developing Microsoft Office for the Mac. But they’ve also seen their share of time in court over copyright and antitrust issues.

Microsoft revelled that Apple customers are excited about running Windows, ‘‘and that Apple is responding to meet the demand,’’ said Kevin Kutz, director of Microsoft Windows Client, through a spokesman. At Apple—which has many customers who despise Microsoft—the company was a little more reserved. ‘‘Apple has no desire or plan to sell or support Windows, but many customers have expressed their interest’’ in Windows, Philip Schiller, an Apple senior vice president said in a statement. On its Web site, Apple issued a warning, telling users to keep their systems up-to-date because a Mac with Windows will ‘‘be subject to the same attacks that plague the Windows world.’’ The software is available at www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp.

(LAT-WP)

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