Steve Jobs typically uses his keynotes to tout Apple products and applied science . And this workweek ’s Worldwide Developers Conference speech was no elision , with the iPhone , Safari 3 , and , especially , Leopard all find their share of attention from the Apple CEO .
But Jobs also had praise for two other products that not only are n’t made by Apple but seemingly compete with a major component of OS X 10.5 . When profilingBoot Camp , the Apple - built coating that countenance Intel - base Mac owner install and launch the Windows operating scheme on their computer , Jobs single out two virtualization programme that essentially do the same affair .
“ Boot Camp ’s fairly amazing , ” said Jobs of the cross - platform software that will be include with Leopard when that OS go update ship in October . However , to run Windows XP or Vista via Boot Camp , users have to conk OS X and reboot into Windows ; in virtualization programs likeParallels DesktoporVMWare Fusion , the virtualized OS runs as a process within OS X. In other words , user can run Windows and OS X alongside one another .
For that rationality , Jobs tell keynote attendant , Boot Camp is “ a bully complement ” to Parallels and VMWare . “ There are three great manner to execute Windows on a Mac , ” the Apple CEO added .
Room for everybody
What ’s more , espouse different approaches for bringing Windows to Mac hardware let Windows users recognize that there ’s another room for them to get their work done . switch to a new operating system is not as simple as just grease one’s palms a new motorcar and start it up . There are tidy sum of considerations that have to be made , for job and home exploiter alike . Being capable to switch back and forth between the Mac and Windows via programs like Boot Camp , Parallels , and VMWare Fusion , gives Apple ’s targeted switchers one less reason to not try on the Mac .
“ I think it was pretty big shift for Apple , ” allege Ben Rudolph , director of corporate communications at Parallels . “ It really was the first time they say if you need to endure Windows here you’re able to . Windows is significant whether you ’re a Mac person or not , and they have a large user base . It bear witness Apple is not afraid to adopt Windows and that ’s a good thing for users . ”
The figures sure as shooting seem to advise that there ’s a demand for these political program . VMWare reports 200,000 downloads of its VMware Fusion public genus Beta and Parallels enunciate there are 500,000 active drug user for its product . During his WWDC keynote , Jobs account that the Boot Camp beta has been downloaded 2.5 million times since its 2006 first appearance .
Inside virutalization
Virtualization is a different technology than what Mac users were used to with emulation product like Microsoft ’s Virtual PC ( which the software system giant killed on the Mac platform last year ) . Emulation curriculum emulate the processor and every dance step of running an operating system on the Macintosh . Virtualization actually habituate the Intel computer hardware on the Macintosh , make a virtual machine that choose advantage of everything the ironware has to offer . The resulting gain in speed help users bunk PC software program just as fast on the Mac as on a Windows automobile .
“ Some exploiter probably have a faster PC draw a practical car on the Mac than they had with their PC hardware , ” say Pat Lee , fourth-year mathematical product Manager for Mac products at VMware . “ These are very tight Intel - based machines . ”
Being able to feed Windows alongside the Mac O provides virtualization curriculum with another advantage , particularly for users who only take to run a Windows programme once in a while .
“ It ’s really cool when hoi polloi employ both operating systems , ” Rudolph said . “ They slowly start learning what they like in both os and use what works best for them . ”
It was not out of the realm of possibility that Apple would appropriate some character of aboriginal virtualization using its own Boot Camp solution , but that did n’t find . Apple chose to keep Boot Camp functionality in the bone X 10.5 variation much the same as it works today , requiring a reboot to bunk Windows .
“ I was 95 pct sure they would not do their own virtualization solution , ” Rudolph suppose . “ The principal understanding is that I do n’t live how much Apple wants to support Windows or other OSes . However , If anyone could do it , Apple could . ”
Both Rudolph and Lee match that virtualization is a riotous arise market and that Apple is helping their respective product wave . Ultimately , Parallels and VMWare can not control what Apple decides to do with Boot Camp nor Mac OS Adam Leopard and neither party is dwelling on it , instead focus on their products .
“ There are some things I can control , others that I ca n’t , ” Rudolph aver . “ What I can manipulate is the quality of our product . ”
Lee agreed . “ Our destination is just to release a great products , ” he said .
