No EFI Support in Vista- The Microsoft Bomb
It’s all over the ‘Net now that Microsoft has just revealed that Vista would not have EFI support in it, dashing the hopes of both present day and future Mac lovers that they would be able to dual-boot their new Mac between Windows and OS X. That’s a fairly significant blow to Apple’s hopes to expand market share. Many people (and I’m one of them) need to be able to run a Windows operating system or at least Windows’ applications on their Macs. This is a show-stopper for many folks. The reality of the moment is that if you need to run Windows and Mac OS X, then you’re only present option is to buy a PPC version of the machine and use Virtual PC, a Microsoft product.
I’m willing to put money down that says part of the reason Apple switched to EFI was to lock down OS X to only Apple hardware running X86 CPU’s. But you have to wonder if Apple hasn’t inadvertently shot itself in its proverbial foot with that move, as it stands now. With no EFI support in Vista, Mac Intel users cannot currently run Windows or Classic and are locked into only Intel-compiled version applications of OS X. Despite Apple’s rhetoric about how many of those there are, there are few major applications that have made the port. Mac Intel users are stranded on their own platform, at least for now.
One of the big questions that remain unanswered is whether Microsoft’s abandonment of EFI on 32 bit versions of Vista had been planned all along or if it was a recent development. If recent, then it could be the move was another anti-competitive tactic from the monopolist, in this case, an attempt to squash an OS X threat before it can fully take form. Widespread adoption of Macs, even if accompanied by copies of Windows, could greatly expand OS X market share, giving Microsoft its first real competitor in decades. If Microsoft is the least bit savvy about the talk roaring though various Mac forums, then they know that more people than ever before are considering switching to the Mac platform. Large scale moves (and by that I mean even a move on Apple’s part that awards it with 10% or more market share) in such a direction would lead to serious and ongoing comparisons between OS X and Windows, no matter what versions. This would put real competition and real pressure on Microsoft. That’s not something they want or something they’re used to dealing with in this arena.
Microsoft has said that 64 bit versions of Vista would have EFI support. Ironically, the first Macs that might be able to dual boot Windows with little or no modification could be PowerMacs, the most likely Mac to first see a 64 bit Intel CPU. That could happen within a year, but that will be little solace to those who bought MacBook Pro’s hoping to dual booth them with Windows when Vista showed up.
The real hope is now is that some decent virtualization scheme will come along that will either allow Windows to run inside OS X for Intel. Lots of folks are interested in it and some are even working on it, so it is probably just a matter of time before it shows up. The big question is whether Apple stock will now take a tumble and, if it does, whether it will recover or find some new plateau much lower than the one it enjoys now. I think this is going to prove to be a big deal.
I’m willing to put money down that says part of the reason Apple switched to EFI was to lock down OS X to only Apple hardware running X86 CPU’s. But you have to wonder if Apple hasn’t inadvertently shot itself in its proverbial foot with that move, as it stands now. With no EFI support in Vista, Mac Intel users cannot currently run Windows or Classic and are locked into only Intel-compiled version applications of OS X. Despite Apple’s rhetoric about how many of those there are, there are few major applications that have made the port. Mac Intel users are stranded on their own platform, at least for now.
One of the big questions that remain unanswered is whether Microsoft’s abandonment of EFI on 32 bit versions of Vista had been planned all along or if it was a recent development. If recent, then it could be the move was another anti-competitive tactic from the monopolist, in this case, an attempt to squash an OS X threat before it can fully take form. Widespread adoption of Macs, even if accompanied by copies of Windows, could greatly expand OS X market share, giving Microsoft its first real competitor in decades. If Microsoft is the least bit savvy about the talk roaring though various Mac forums, then they know that more people than ever before are considering switching to the Mac platform. Large scale moves (and by that I mean even a move on Apple’s part that awards it with 10% or more market share) in such a direction would lead to serious and ongoing comparisons between OS X and Windows, no matter what versions. This would put real competition and real pressure on Microsoft. That’s not something they want or something they’re used to dealing with in this arena.
Microsoft has said that 64 bit versions of Vista would have EFI support. Ironically, the first Macs that might be able to dual boot Windows with little or no modification could be PowerMacs, the most likely Mac to first see a 64 bit Intel CPU. That could happen within a year, but that will be little solace to those who bought MacBook Pro’s hoping to dual booth them with Windows when Vista showed up.
The real hope is now is that some decent virtualization scheme will come along that will either allow Windows to run inside OS X for Intel. Lots of folks are interested in it and some are even working on it, so it is probably just a matter of time before it shows up. The big question is whether Apple stock will now take a tumble and, if it does, whether it will recover or find some new plateau much lower than the one it enjoys now. I think this is going to prove to be a big deal.
posted by Andy Foster at
7:12 AM
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