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Apple releases test software to allow new Mac owners to use Windows XP

To broaden its appeal in a Windows-dominated world, Apple Computer Inc unveiled software to help owners of its new Intel-based Macs run not only its own operating system but also Microsoft Corp's rival software.

Apple's shares surged on Wednesday as Wall Street bet the move would help Apple grow its current worldwide personal computer market share beyond the current range of 3 percent to 4 percent by attracting more business and home users.

"It makes the Mac the most versatile computer on the market," said Tim Bajarin, a tech industry consultant at Creative Strategies.

Apple's new "Boot Camp" software, a "beta" test version available as a free download, lets computer users with a Windows XP installation disk load it on the Mac. Users could then switch between the two operating systems by rebooting.

Users would have to get their own copy of Windows XP -- the home edition retails for US$199.

Apple shares rose nearly 10 percent on the news, raising its market capitalization to US$57.04 billion -- an increase of more than US$5.1 billion.

Van Baker, analyst at research firm Gartner Inc, said Apple is removing one of the hurdles it faced in its long-standing battle to win over Windows-based converts.

"Consumers who were thinking about Macs but hesitated don't have to worry anymore about not being able to run PC software that didn't run on a Mac," Baker said.

The test software will expire after September next year, but Apple said it will feature Boot Camp in the upcoming Mac OS X version 10.5, code-named "Leopard."

Apple said it will preview Leopard in August, but it hasn't yet disclosed a release date or price for the upgrade.

Because Windows is much more dominant, Mac users don't have access to many software programs written only for Windows. The switch to Intel chips lets users load Windows onto a Mac, without the need for emulation software that slows performance. But until Wednesday, the user needed some technical expertise to pull it off.

Forrester Research analyst Ted Schadler called the move "smart."

"When they opened the iTunes software for Windows, the market for iPods exploded," he said. "And similarly here, they have a great hardware product, but they've been shut off from businesses and consumers who want to run PC programs, and now they have the software that will allow that."
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