Microsoft working with Apple on future of Virtual PC
Just days after renewing its commitment to develop Office for the Mac, Microsoft revealed that it is also working with Apple to bring Virtual PC to its new Intel-architecture. — According to MacNN, Microsoft said any new version …
Context & Ripple Effects
Four days after the five-year software agreement signed with Apple on January 11, 2006, Microsoft confirmed a second strand to its Mac strategy: alongside its renewed commitment to develop Office for the Mac, it says it is working with Apple itself to bring Virtual PC to the new Intel-architecture machines.
The timing matters because Apple's move to Intel chips leaves the existing Virtual PC product stranded on the old architecture, and an analyst comparison published January 14 underscored just how differently Apple's Intel-based Macs differ from standard Intel PCs — meaning a straightforward port could not be assumed, hence Apple's involvement.
First-order effects
- Microsoft's Mac business unit takes on a second Intel-porting effort — Virtual PC alongside Office — with Apple collaborating directly rather than merely licensing the result.
- Mac users who depend on Windows applications receive a stated path forward on the new Intel hardware instead of losing Virtual PC entirely in the architecture switch.
Second-order effects
- Apple gains a way to sell Intel Macs to buyers who still require Windows software before native Mac versions of that software exist, removing a key switching objection during the processor transition.
- Microsoft hedges on both sides of the platform line: it protects the Mac installed base that sustains Office revenue while ensuring Windows remains reachable on rival hardware.
Third-order effects
- If the collaboration holds, virtualization rather than native ports becomes the default mechanism for running a second operating system on the Mac, softening the hard boundary between the Mac and Windows platforms and making Microsoft a supplier of cross-platform infrastructure rather than only of competing operating systems.
The trend: As Apple transitions its Macs to Intel processors, virtualization is emerging as the bridge technology between the Mac and Windows ecosystems, with Microsoft positioning products on both sides of the divide.