Because in 2006, Apple began moving away from its PowerPC processors and offered Mac hardware with Intel processors like those used in PCs. If you wanted to use the full features of both operating systems, you'd have to buy both a Mac and a PC.īut in 2006, that all changed. A few brave souls tried to take an all-inclusive approach by trying to run both using virtualization software, but even that presented limitations.

It wasn't unusual to hear heated arguments between two users about which was the better system. This created a great rift between users of each system. MacOS couldn't run on PCs, and Microsoft Windows couldn't run on Macs. Justin Sullivan/Getty Imagesīack before 2006 (which is like 100 years ago in the technology industry), there was a clear dividing line between Apple's Macintosh computers and Windows PCs. Boot Camp is the software that allows Intel-based Macs to run Microsoft's Windows XP operating system. The Microsoft Windows website is seen on an iMac computer monitor at an Apple store.

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