Boot Camp Boot Camp Boot Camp. I for one do not care. If I wanted a Pee Cee I would buy one. Okay I have one. I use it to go to certain websites that only work with Pee Cee's and Internet Exploder. I also have four Macs and two laptops (Mac) in constant use here at home.
I want to run OS X and all the programs that that just work. I like to surf with Safari. I like to instant message with iChat, even video chat on occasion. I like looking on my desktop and seeing that I have a CD loaded and double clicking on it will open it. I do not enjoy anything about WinDoze. I know this because I have one.
Remember Virtual PeeCee. I had a copy that ran in OS 9 and ran WinDoze 98. It was cool. I could show people that I could run WinDoze on my Mac. I think that Boot Camp is a lot like that. Look at Me! See what I can do. But did I do anything with it other than boot it up a time or two? Nope! Bottom line is that when people are give the choice they will choose the Mac operating system.
Hey that is my opinion and I am sticking to it.

What about the people (like me) who have all Windows software (i.e. games) who cant buy it for the Mac due to availability and/or money?

Personally I think it is a good move on Apple's part, it allows a lot of people to consider an Apple Computer while before they never would be able to get an Apple due to one or two pieces of software! And once those people do transition themselves to Mac they will see how powerfull the OS is and want to use only Mac OS X!

I'll have to agree with JPT62089 on this.

For the converted like us, Bernie, OS X is a no-brainer. But when it comes to games and proprietary apps, Windows has the lead.

With Boot Camp, PC users now have the option of buying MacTels, full knowing they can still run their library of Windows applications.

And as you and I know, its only a matter of time before the newly converted will start to prefer OS X.

It becomes plain as day at how much better it is than Windows, especially when it runs on the same hardware.

Actually, the primary mission of this website is to get "the uninitiated" to "get a mac" and see for themselves. And we can only do this when Mac veterans like Bernie and myself reach over the gap to get people like JPT62089 to the Mac side.

No not neccesarily people like me, because I have already been sold to Mac OS X... The moment I really worked on my teachers iBook I was sold... Even though the iBook was/is crap I saw the OS's potential... I just wish I could build my own Mac...

You're right! I didn't mean to imply that you're a total fresher. You already caught Mac fever despite your teacher's crappy iBook. Now imagine how much more compelling it will be once you're fully immersed.

You can unleash your modding skillz on em beauts and post them in our gallery

Actually, its people like you who will be most critical in getting Windows folks to check out the Mac since you know both sides of the fence. You can show doubters that you can have your cake and eat it too! Windows is just a reboot away with Boot Camp.

I just hope Apple is not half-hearted with BC. Early indications are it isn't, but you never know.

It would really become a slam-dunk if they actually install BootCamp with Windows preinstalled as a BTO option once BC gets out of beta. Some resellers are already doing it and are charging Windows bundling rates (around $35) instead of the full sticker price of XP ($150-400 depending on the edition).

And JPT62089, have you tried using the worksheet? It was recently updated to do ADC Student discounts.

Also, the MacBooks are due to come out any day now, and they should be markedly cheaper than the MBPs.

I agree. Apple should come up with an entry-level offering that allows PC tinkerers/modders to "build" their own Mac.

Right now, the PowerMac is just too expensive and is targeted to the Pro audience.

The same way Apple has the iBook for Consumers and the MBP for Pros, they should have a DesktopMac to complement the iMac line.

A DesktopMac, as the name implies, will be a desktop system with similar attributes combining the guts of the iMac with the form factor of the PowerMac.

The specs will be similar to an iMac, but with expandability in mind. Right now, the iMac basically just limits you to expanding your memory and that's it. People like me and JPT62089 would like to have the ability to install expansion cards too!

I feel that many here are not of the cult of Mac and it is hard to read the things that you all post. I want to build my Mac.

No No and again NO!

There are cars you drive and cars you work on. We drive our Macs and work on our Pee Cees. I know it will take some getting used to but it really is nicer this way.

I know you are used to being nickeled and dollared to the point that you think you are saving money by this do it yourself mentality. Lets see barebones computer add sound card add speakers add memory add virus protection add photo edit program add music subscription add Cd writing program add fan add better power supply because the one that came with the case crapped out when you added the second hard drive but it was cheap because no one uses harddrives that small anymore and this zip drive would be cool in that extra bay.

I know we are all trying to get along here Mac and Pee Cee but.....just because a Mac will run Windoze, do not expect Steve to sell something less than an Apple.

We should at least be allowed to upgrade the dang computer. What if Joe here bought a Mac a year ago and wants the latest/greatest CPU or GPU but doesn't want to buy a new Mac because he doesn't have enough money for another top of the line Mac? Should he be punished because he is poor? No!

Also imo Apple computers aren't about how the hardware works/doesn't upgrade easily or w/e, it is about Mac OS X!

Towers are upgradeable. Even the Cube is upgradeable. Laptops are upgradeable. A mini is a mini and would loose its form factor if it had extra slots and such. It would go go from a sandwich to a toaster. There are sites that show you how to hack OS X onto a Pee Cee. But at $500.00 the mini is no more upgradeable than a PDA or Treo.

There are upgrade cards http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/accelerators/

Folks,
This is exactly the kind of discussion this website was created for. A place where long-time Mac users and prospective switchers can talk and discuss all things MacTel without the rancor of some of the existing fan sites.

All of you make valid points. JPT62089, coming from the PC side, where people can freely swap out parts and Bernie from the Cult of the Mac, which puts a premium on the Apple experience.

And as Bernie pointed out in his last post, Macs are upgradeable. Just don't expect the kind of commoditization that you have in the PC world on the Mac.

One reason OS X is so solid is because its vertically integrated. Apple builds everything, OS and computer included. For your typical expansion, Apple led the way by inventing Firewire and standardizing on USB well before PC manufacturers. No need to crack your Mac open.

On the GPU front, I can see JPT62089's point, however. If a Windows switcher buys a MacTel to be his general purpose computer, alternating between OSes as need be, only the PowerMac offers the ability to upgrade GPUs.

I have a lot of PC gamer friends where getting the latest video card is a yearly ritual.

Apple may want to consider having the ability to upgrade GPUs at the very least. Maybe, dyani's point about a MacDesktop may not be a bad idea after all.