Hell Freezes Over: Windows Now Pre-loaded on Macintosh Hardware

The other shoe has finally dropped. When Apple transitioned its hardware to Intel processors, many pundits wondered when Macintoshes would come pre-loaded with Windows. Well, Apple still isn’t ready to make that move. But a big IT distributor is.

Tech Data now offers 13 Macintosh configurations with Windows XP and Parallels preinstalled. Parallels is the increasingly popular virtualization software that allows Windows XP and Mac OS to live and run side-by-side on Apple hardware. The Macintosh systems with Windows XP preinstalled are available through Tech Data’s AppleAdvantage Specialized Business Unit (SBU).

Tech Data’s move highlights the growing popularity of running Windows XP on Macintosh hardware, and it also reinforces the fact that the transition to Windows Vista will be a slow one for the foreseeable future.

Still, The VAR Guy has avoided the temptation to put Windows on his own MacBook Pro. He’s had the system for about a year. For the most part, he doesn’t miss any Windows-specific applications. Nor does he want to invite Windows worms, viruses and spyware onto his Macintosh.