[thumb:1856:l] Ever since Apple made the switch to the Intel processors everyone has been wondering whether or not you could run Windows XP natively on the machines and not require the use of Virtual PC, well Apple has released beta software that allows you to do just that. Boot Camp allows you to easily setup a new partition on your drive and installed Windows XP Home SP2 or Pro SP2. Setup was very straightforward, put your Windows XP CD into your Mac and then using Boot Camp Assistant you reboot your computer into setup mode. Once XP was installed it was a snap to get the drivers setup thanks to Apple provided a CD image that you can burn. The only hardware devices that will not work are builtin iSight cameras and the backlit keyboards, but those are not show stoppers by any means.

All the applications I tested ran without problems and ran just as well if not better than they do on my Dell Inspiron & Latitude laptops. This is a big plus as you will no longer need to run a very laggy Virtual PC.

So what does this mean for the future of Apple and their market share? I would much rather pay the $1500.00+ price tag for a MacBook that can run both Windows XP & OS X than pay $1500.00+ for the MacBook and another $600.00+ for a PC laptop. Plus I only need to carry one laptop around.

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