There’s been a lot of speculation going around that Apple will offer an option to have Windows pre-installed on future Macs running OS X 10.5 Leopard. But now, Macmall is already offering that option! MacMall is offering pre-installed versions of Windows XP Home or Professional Edition on the MacBook Pros, Intel iMacs, and Intel Mac Minis for as little as $100. Hey, that’s a pretty sweet deal concerning that Windows XP Home costs alone $200. But this still does not answer the eternal question — why on Earth would anyone want to run Windows on the beautiful, virus-free (fine, 99% virus-free) Mac?
[via digg]
Update: MacMall has removed the option for Windows pre-installation, though they are selling copies of Windows and have put up a page about Boot Camp.
So what happens when the customer loses all their data due to Boot Camp, which is still in Beta?
AFAIK data loss is occurring when people install boot camp, not afterward. Having it preinstalled on a new computer should avoid that problem.
It disturbs me that there is even enough of a Mac base willing to buy such a frankensteinish hybrid.
I hope Mac users will stop and appreciate what they have before it is gone.
I can't find this option at MacMall. Did they already get a Cease & Desist from Apple? Link, anyone?
Apple clearly lists this software as beta. In addition, it says data lose is a possibility. Accordingly, people should be prepared to 1) lose data, 2) to reinstall the OS, and 3) to not complain about it.
Personally, I am not sure this move is a good one for Apple because I am concerned developers will jump ship. WIth that said, many former Mac customers stopped using Macs because the industry they worked in no longer supported them. Two examples are the federal courts which rely on Wordperfect (a much better wordprocessor then Word), and 2) real estate agents who need to use the WIndows only real estate listing data base. This move might bring some of these users back into the fold.