Windows PPC Coming

- 2001.07.11

REDMOND, WA. Remember back in the early 1990s when Apple and IBM had big plans to offer several different operating systems for the PowerPC? The goal was to offer the next generation Mac OS, OS/2, AI/X, and Windows on the new hardware platform.

If our mole is correct, Microsoft will announce Windows PPC in an effort to trump Apple, increase market domination, and spread more FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) than ever before.

Unlike Mac OS X, which Apple only officially supports on G3- and G4-based models, Windows PPC will run on any Power Mac meeting the following requirements:

180 MHz 603e, 132 MHz 604, or faster
192 MB RAM
6 GB available hard drive space
a CD-ROM drive for installation

In a brilliant marketing move, Windows PPC will include a customized version of VirtualPC, making it virtually 100% compatible with the existing base of Windows software.

Our source, who has not seen WinPPC itself but has seen proof sheets of sales literature, says the new OS will be the most stable version of Windows ever, since it will be based on a Unix kernel secretly licensed from Compaq (who got it from Digital some years back). WinPPC will always boot into Windows, but will allow Windows Me, Windows XP, classic Mac OS, and Unix sessions to run on top of the Unix kernel.

The move is sure to annoy Steve Jobs, since the new OS will support a broader range of Power Macs than OS X. It's also sure to frustrate Linus Torvalds and the Linux community, since this could become the dominant form of Unix on PowerPC hardware. Worse yet, another source at Microsoft tells us there is a secret off-site cadre of programmers developing 64-bit Windows on the same Unix kernel as WinPPC. On top of that, they're going out of their way to make sure it will be an easy port to today's Pentium and Athlon hardware.

End result: An even bigger monopoly.

Tune in next Wednesday and see if we aren't right. ;-)

Nobody anywhere could be reached for comment on this idle speculation, not even the janitor who empties Bill Gates' trash, er, recycle bin.

- Anne Onymus

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