A delayed April Fool's gag? A last-ditch corporate effort to win a hacking contest? Bloggers alternated between shock and delight over Apple Computer Inc.'s announcement that its new "Boot Camp" software allows Windows XP to run on its new Intel-based Macintosh computers.

"I still can't quite fully believe this," said Hadley Stern, a designer and writer who blogs at Apple Matters. "The implications here are mind-boggling." And like many bloggers commenting on the news, Mr. Stern couldn't resist a jab: "I think the OS wars are now over."

When an email bearing the news arrived this morning, "we just about plotzed," said Gizmodo, a popular gadget blog.

Ben Stanfield, editor of the MacSlash discussion site, wrote: "It's still cold in my part of the world, but I didn't realise it was chilly enough to cause the freeze over of Hell."

Killer Combination

According to Gadgetopia writer Rob O'Keefe, Windows-on-Apple is a killer combination for the big PC makers. "Michael Dell may not be worried yet, but depending on how this plays out, he might be soon," he wrote.

On his blog, Jupiter Research analyst Michael Gartenberg called Boot Camp "a nice tactical move by Apple that will make their platforms and systems much more attractive."

The technology and politics blog Politechnical Institute agreed. "This is going to increase Apple's marketshare big time. Buy a Mac, bring your XP license and apps, and have everything on one platform. You want games? Boot Windows. Windows, Unix, and Mac, all on one box."

C.K. Sample III, a writer for the Unofficial Apple Weblog, said PC users will soon join the ranks of the converted: "If Apple plays its cards right and doesn't screw things up, people will see that booting into OS X runs more smoothly and is nicer than booting into Windows, and we may see more switchers than ever before."

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