Michael Pascoe
writes:

Apple Computer shares surged nearly 10 per cent overnight,
helping to push key US market indicators to multi-year highs, just on the
promise of software that will allow Macs to run Windows.

The bemusing thing is that the promised
product, Boot Camp, is playing catch-up with hackers who have already managed
to run Microsoft’s Windows operating system on Macs that have Intel chips.

Apple is promoting Boot Camp as a product that will encourage
present PC users to switch to Macs, but you’d have to wonder why they’d bother
if they want to use Windows. Maybe it’s just
about the allegedly more fashionable look of the Mac range.

The Apple/Windows war is a matter of
religion among the Mac faithful, so accepting the enemy Microsoft operating
system might be a little hard. For Windows fans, there could be the little matter
of price – going the dual operating system route with Intel-powered Apple means
they will be paying for two lots of software.

But, hey, never let an agnostic’s views
stand in the way of the good stock market rally. The success of iPod music
players has been driving Apple computer sales at above the personal computer
industry average, but the hard reality is that Apple has only about 3 per cent
of the PC market – which is a lot of Windows switchers short of hurting Bill
Gates.