Robert Cringley, writing for PBS, thinks that Apple is positioned to offer the best Microsoft Windows computing platform, and could become the biggest vendor of Windows computers to businesses. The company may even sell some Macs pre-loaded with Windows, but it wonit abandon Mac OS X.
Boot Camp is only the first step towards virtualization, or running multiple operating systems at the same time, on the Mac. By the time MAc OS X 10.5 ships, it will likely be the most stable and secure platform available for running Windows. Mr. Cringley thinks that Leopard will include built-in protection for operating systems running in virtual mode, meaning that hackers will have to get past Appleis OS before they can start chipping away at Windows.
John Dvorak is predicting that Apple will eventually drop Mac OS X in favor of the unreleased Windows Vista. Mr. Cringley, however, thinks he is wrong. "I see an Apple business strategy that combines OS X and Vista. Nearly all of Appleis own applications, like iLife and iWork, will still be OS X-only, as will be thousands of native OS X apps, so there will be many opportunities to lure Vista users into the light."