I have an idea for a new bootcamp! (My opinion)

[yeah]

You know how annoying it is when you install windows on a mac, but then realise that you need to shutdown in order to go into windows, well I have a possible solution (Lion only).

Instead of booting into windows, Bootcamp can create a "space" in mission control having windows inside of it. So to get into windows, all you would have to do is swipe with 3 fingers to the left (or right) and BAM, you are in windows.

This procedure would require a partition of windows on your harddrive but, you wouldn't need any support software because you are actually in windows without having to restart.

Of course, you can't delete the windows space because it's a partition on your hardrive.

Let me know what you guys think, DEAL OR DUD?

 

[simsaladimbamba]

That sounds like running a virtual machine: Booting Windows on the Mac

opinion ≠ idea

 

[yeah]

That sounds like running a virtual machine: Booting Windows on the Mac

Yes but this is MUCH easier then running a virtual machine, and it's full-screen.

 

[balamw]

It also sounds like what you can do with WINE/Winebottler. Where a simple Windows app can be run under OS X via emulation.

Virtualbox/VMWare Fusion/Parallels all allow you to run pretty much any Windows app without rebooting.

B

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Yes but this is MUCH easier then running a virtual machine, and it's full-screen.

How? Where should Windows reside in? If Windows shares its resources with Mac OS X (CPU, RAM, GPU, all the other hardware bits), it is not running at its full potential, and thus behaves and acts like a VM.

 

[balamw]

Yes but this is MUCH easier then running a virtual machine, and it's full-screen.

You need a VM or emulator to handle the "space".

Basically all you are saying is give the VM a dedicated space in Mission Control, which I believe you can already do.

B

 

[yeah]

How? Where should Windows reside in? If Windows shares its resources with Mac OS X (CPU, RAM, GPU, all the other hardware bits), it is not running at its full potential, and thus behaves and acts like a VM.

Windows would reside in the BOOTCAMP partition that will be made in your harddrive. When you switch to windows, Lion runs at a low-power state. When you switch back to OSX, windows will run at a low power state.

 

[hwojtek]

Yes but this is MUCH easier then running a virtual machine, and it's full-screen.

I have my VMWare set up to always open full-screen in a separate space…

If you want a new space in Lion, you need to open a Mac OS X application in it. You can not boot a different operating system to this space, as spaces are handled by OS X.
If you want to actually boot - you need to exit OS X and start a different OS.
If you want to have your other OS in a different space - assign the VM program of your choice to a certain space and switch between spaces.
The space is not a physical computer, what you are suggesting asks for just the contrary.

Windows would reside in the BOOTCAMP partition that will be made in your harddrive. When you switch to windows, Lion runs at a low-power state. When you switch back to OSX, windows will run at a low power state.

And what software exactly will be handling the switching between the two, including this nice animation of spaces etc?
You have now invented a computer running a bare virtual machine environment with two VM's on all the time - one for OS X, one for Windows. This is not the way it works.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Windows would reside in the BOOTCAMP partition that will be made in your harddrive. When you switch to windows, Lion runs at a low-power state. When you switch back to OSX, windows will run at a low power state.

What about the RAM content? What mechanism should be used to make the computer aware of a switch between OSs?

I understand it would be a fancy way to do so, especially since it looks so nice in Mission Control (actually Spaces looks better in that regard), but it is hard to implement with current architecture.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Windows would reside in the BOOTCAMP partition that will be made in your harddrive. When you switch to windows, Lion runs at a low-power state. When you switch back to OSX, windows will run at a low power state.

So you're proposing to use VMWare to run a Windows off of a seperate partition instead of a virtual HDD? Done... about 6 years ago.

 

[Brunchies]

VMware will be your friend for this one, I use it for windows 8 and Freebsd.

 

[hwojtek]

Brunchies, you made me realize there actually is Windows 8… Last Windows I've seen was XP. This is going fast, LOL.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Brunchies, you made me realize there actually is Windows 8… Last Windows I've seen was XP. This is going fast, LOL.

Though it is probably on Windows 6.5 or Windows 7, as Windows 2000 was Windows 5.0. Windows XP was 5.1, Windows Vista was 6.0 and Windows 7 is 6.1. Strange naming schemes.

 

[KevinN206]

Though it is probably on Windows 6.5 or Windows 7, as Windows 2000 was Windows 5.0. Windows XP was 5.1, Windows Vista was 6.0 and Windows 7 is 6.1. Strange naming schemes.

Its naming is similar to that of OS X.

OS X Tiger = 10.4
OS X Leopard = 10.5
OS X Snow Leopard 10.6
OS X Lion = 10.7

Windows XP = 5.1
Windows Vista = 6.0
Windows 7 = 6.1
Windows 8 = 6.2

A major version was jumped from XP to Vista because of the significant architectural changes. Windows 7/8 are further refinement from the foundation of Vista. The majority of applications that work in Vista, should also work fine in 7 and 8 (they have the same major version 6.X). I suppose what's strange would be the word naming (XP/Vista) to number naming (7/8).

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I also think what you're suggesting is a Type 1 hypervisor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypervisor

Microsoft has a technology calls Hyper-V that can host multiple OS concurrently, but it cannot host OS X for obvious reasons.

 

[balamw]

Its naming is similar to that of OS X.

The only issue is the confusion created by using numbers that don't match in both the casual name and "under the covers" version number. Mac OS doesn't do that.

2000 -> 5.0 under the covers
7 -> 6.1 under the covers
8 -> 6.2 under the covers

B