Filed under: OS, Macbook Pro
Buy a MacBook Pro with pre-loaded Windows XP
I am
writing this at midnight, dear readers, and I can only pray that what I'm looking at is a fever-induced hallucination
and I'm trapped in some sort of cruel nightmare triggered by Microsoft's secret Terror Ray XP Premium Edition
(originally designed to torment Mossberg and Pogue every time they write a pro-Apple article, and also used to bend
Dvorak, Thurrott, and Enderle to the company's uncompromising will).It seems a company called ExperCom is selling standard-specced MacBook Pros...pre-loaded with Windows XP. This is for those folks who want the beautiful Apple hardware and the ubiquitous Windows software without having to deal with Boot Camp themselves, I guess.
We all knew this was inevitable, and fighting it is pointless. Still...just looking at that page sends shivers up my spine. At least they're happy to note, "We don't support Windows XP - and neither does Apple. We'll install it for you, but, hey, we're Mac people, so we can't help answer Windows questions."
[Thanks, Dan K. Kinda.]
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
b said 11:17AM on 4-19-2006
Macmall was selling them until this past weekend pre-installed too, but they're not anymore
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Andrew - birdDog digital said 11:19AM on 4-19-2006
This is great. As for support, a partner and I have considering offering support for Windows on the Mac, as Apple has clearly run away from this. I dare say Microsoft is also not prepared to support XP SP2 on Mac hardware either.
Let us know if you are interested in this idea.
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SB said 11:24AM on 4-19-2006
This move by Apple to switch to Intel and allowing Windows compatability is the only way to sustain Mac hardware sales in the long-term. Apple cannot solely rely on diehards; it's just not economically feasible.
And I also think that opening the cult of Mac to outsiders will finally destroy the echo-chamber that exists in this community and will allow both Apple fans and the company itself to grow into a truly competitive entity.
Get used to this, diehards, and embrace the change. Like globalization, windows compatibility is not only an inevitability, it's a new awakening for this company.
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Malfoy Roark said 11:30AM on 4-19-2006
Is the picture on the top right of the story random(constrained to certain pictures obviously) or was it manually changed from an open MBP to a mostly closed one?
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bloggaru said 11:40AM on 4-19-2006
apple should have offered this long ago, IMO
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Hairatic said 12:35PM on 4-19-2006
Like a supermodel with a mullet...
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Joseph said 2:25PM on 4-19-2006
Malfoy, it's just a stock image.
Does it come with OS X on a different partition? Or is it just XP. If it is, I'll cry :'(
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danh said 2:36PM on 4-19-2006
I just returned from CompUSA in NYC. Walking by their pc-laptop section (right by the door) I noticed an incredibly attractive laptop running XP. My first thought was 'wow it looks like a mac'. My second thought was 'wow it is a mac(book pro)!'
I wonder how many sales they are making with this method.
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south said 6:53PM on 4-19-2006
Ever since Boot Camp was released, every Intel Mac I've seen in a big electronics store (other than Apple Stores) has had Windows XP running on it. Can't help feeling just a little bit queasy about all of this.
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Mac Diva said 8:54PM on 4-19-2006
I'm leery. Preloading the computer can raise ownership issues. For example, if there are problems later, how does one know that the third-party intervenor did not cause them when he was trying to install Boot Camp, or, perhaps, using the Mactel for a while before reselling it to an unsuspecting buyer? There is protection in having a product pass directly from seller to end buyer. I will not be surprised if Apple's lawyers are leery, too.
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Liquidmark said 7:12PM on 4-22-2006
Windows is ONLY good for one thing.
GAMES
Now, PC heads that don't know how to use OS X don't have to even touch it. This is bad. The less overall interest in OS X. The more likely Apple is to drop it. Now, Windows users (Many of whom, are convinced that XP is the SUPERIOR OS, only because they have used nothing else), can simply boot XP everytime without ever seeing OS X once. In order for people to appreciate and develop an interest in the further deveopment of OS X they have to use it at least once.
Now, they can continue in their ignorance and kill one of the best OS'es on the market at the same time. This is made of evil and tortured newborn babies.
Could D'vorak have been on to something?
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