- Not even Apple's own technical staff
thought the feat was possible
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- Hackers have managed to get Microsoft's
Windows XP operating system running on an Apple Mac computer.
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- The success ends a competition started
to see if the feat was even possible when Apple unveiled computers that
used Intel chips.
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- The pair who managed the feat won $13,854
(£7,895) in prize money for their trouble.
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- The software used to put Windows on the
Mac is now being circulated so others can try to replicate the success.
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- Custom care
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- In January 2006, the first Apple Mac
computers using Intel chips were unveiled at the Macworld show by company
boss Steve Jobs.
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- Soon after the unveiling, Mac enthusiast
Colin Nederkoorn kicked off a competition to see if it was possible for
the two operating systems to run independently on the same machine.
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- To tempt entrants, he put up $100 of
his own money - a prize fund that gradually grew as news about the competition
spread.
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- The rules of the competition stressed
that to win hackers must get both Windows XP and Apple's OSX running on
the same machine and neither operating system must conflict with the other.
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- As late as 7 March, Apple technical experts
were saying that the prize money was unlikely to be collected.
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- The main stumbling block for those tackling
the task was the different way that Microsoft's Windows XP and Apple's
OSX boot-up, or start. Essentially, PCs and Apple Mac machines use different
technology to get their operating systems loaded.
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- The hackers who won the contest created
a custom copy of Windows XP that had modifications made to the installation
files to get it working with the Apple boot system.
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- The hackers who won the contest are keen
to keep their anonymity and are known only by the handles "narf"
and "blanka". According to reports, their feat has been independently
confirmed and XP has been made to run on an iMac, Mac Mini and MacBook
Pro.
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- Technical sites such as Ars Technica
have provided walkthroughs for people keen to try it for themselves, though
they stress that it is likely to defeat those who are technically unskilled.
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- It is possible that easier ways to get
a Mac booting both operating systems will appear as other hackers follow
up the success.
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- Many people discussing the feat online
stress that it is of more than casual interest. One of the many reasons
that Apple machines have not proved more popular is because of the relatively
small number of programs, in particular games, created for them. With work,
many of the hugely popular programs for Windows may be able to run on Apple
machines too.
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- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4816520.stm --
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