Apple’s switch to Intel chips raises the possibility of running both Mac OS X (the mac operating system) and Windows on the same computer. Basically you can choose, at boot up, what do you want your computer to be today, a Mac or a Windows box. Apple seems to have realized that its “Being Different” mantra was responsible not only for its hip allure but also for its 4% market share. “Look up and you will stumble on a hidden root, look down and you will find the truffles” (apocryphal Italian proverb).
Apple Unveils New Macs Using Intel Chips – Yahoo! News
Besides potentially alienating a fan base that’s accustomed to doing things differently, Apple’s move opens up the issue of backward compatibility and the possibility that PC users might run pirated versions of Mac
OS X, Apple’s critically acclaimed operating system, on their generally cheaper non-Apple computers.Jobs demonstrated new software, called Rosetta, that will let owners of the new Intel-based Macs run older applications. But he did not comment on how the company will lock its operating system to its hardware.
With Intel processors inside the new Macs, their owners could choose to run Windows and software designed for it at full speed.
Though Windows sales could benefit, Microsoft risks losing ground unless its operating systems keep up with the Mac OS X. Windows Vista, the next major update, won’t be available until later this year — and its promised features copy many of those already in Mac OS X.