The future of Microsoft ’s Virtual PC emulation software program was already up in the air before Apple loose Boot Camp this workweek . But now that Intel - based Mac drug user have the power to reboot directly into Windows XP , practical microcomputer faces an even more incertain future .
“ We are preserve to mould with Apple on a possible next version of practical PC , ” state Amanda Lefebvre , selling managing director for Microsoft ’s Mac Business Unit . “ We still do n’t have all the answers , but we are trying to interpret what changes need to happen in their operating system and what change we need to make . ”
practical PC ’s future was throw into flux by Apple ’s move to Intel - built processor . While Microsoft has committed to developing an Intel - aboriginal version of its Office suite , Virtual PC was notably abstracted from a five - twelvemonth technology correspondence between Apple and Microsoft that was unveiled at January ’s Macworld Expo .
Since Virtual PC emulates the Windows environment , the move away from PowerPC chips requires real changes to Virtual PC . “ This is like building a brand newfangled version for us , ” Lefebvre tell . “ It ’s not just a new operating scheme , it ’s newfangled computer hardware , too — this is a really big transition . It ’s hard to say right now what it will wait like or when it will be . ”
Microsoft continues to believe there ’s a market for emulation software system among Mac exploiter ; the fellowship is unsure , however , just what sort of market that will be . Owners of PowerPC - base Macs would still need the product to run Windows and other operating system on their hardware ; likewise , Intel - found Mac owners may prefer to run Windows without having to boot out of the Mac OS , as Boot Camp currently requires .
“ practical microcomputer customer have tell us that the seamless interoperability between the two operating systems is important to the oeuvre that they do , ” Lefebvre say . “ Being able to stay in the Mac O and still get at Windows without get to shutdown is important to them . ”
While the Macintosh Business Unit is busy contemplating the future of Virtual PC , Microsoft ’s Windows squad was busy welcoming Apple and its client to Windows .
“ Windows is a not bad operating system , say Kevin Kutz , music director of Microsoft Windows Client in a statement bring home the bacon toMacworld . “ We ’re pleased that Apple customers are excited about running it , and that Apple is responding to foregather the requirement . ”
