New and Noteworthy: Analysts: Windows on Macs will not open corporate doors; Former XBox head developing iPod rival; more

Analysts: Windows on Macs will not open corporate doors Macworld polls various analysts who speculate that the ability to run Windows on Macs may result in increased adoption in the home and small business marketplace, but will probably not translate to an increased presence in large-scale corporate environment. "Gartner analyst Michael Silver also says that while individuals might be switching, it does not make sense for large companies heavily invested in Windows machines and applications to do so. 'We're not seeing Macs replace Windows PCs as a standard choice,' said Silver. 'I don't really see Boot Camp as the resolution of why organizations don't buy Macs. If you want to buy a Windows machine, especially if you are in a company buying hundreds or thousands of PCs, there are cheaper ways to do that than buying a Mac. There's only one vendor, and you still have to install Boot Camp and buy a full version of Windows, which has list price of like $300.' More.

Former XBox head developing iPod rival A Blog Critics post reports that Robbie Bach, former head of the XBox division, is rumored to be in charge of the Microsoft iPod rival project, which will involve both a portable music player to compete with the iPod and an online music store to compete with iTunes." A Reuters report suggested that Microsoft will emphasize an a la carte download model, like iTunes does, but also provide a subscription service, like Napster and others do. There has been no word yet on what form of security Microsoft will use and whether the restrictions will be stronger or weaker than those from iTunes. Tidbits leaked to entertainment executives suggest that the new portable music player will have built-in wireless communication capability for music downloading on the fly. A Wi-Fi function could also enable localized ad transmission and ad hoc short-range networks." More.

Previously on MacFixIt

• iTunes 6.0.5 (#2): Random freezes/crashes; Problems importing CDs
• Mac OS X 10.4.7 (#7): Widget "phone home" function actually a security measure; Erratic Bluetooth behavior; more
• iPhoto 6.0.4 (#4): Problems with importing from some cameras; Images missing from library
• Odds and Ends: MacBook Pro: With Apple thermal paste vs. custom thermal paste; Knowledge Base updates

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