by , 9:15 AM EDT, April 5th, 2006

Apple announced a public beta of software designed to let an Intel-based Mac boot either Mac OS X or Windows XP on Wednesday. Boot Camp lets you install Windows XP onto your Mac and lets you choose which operating system run when your Mac starts up. Although it is available as a stand alone tool now, it will be included as a feature in Mac OS X 10.5.

Boot Camp lets Intel Macs run Windows.

The application works by simplifying the process of installing Windows XP, creating a partition on your hard drive to hold the extra operating system, and selecting which OS to use when your Mac starts up.

Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, commented "Apple has no desire or plan to sell or support Windows, but many customers have expressed their interest to run Windows on Apple's superior hardware now that we use Intel processors. We think Boot Camp makes the Mac even more appealing to Windows users considering making the switch."

Boot Camp requires an Intel-based Mac, Mac OS X 10.4.6 or later, a blank recordable CD or DVD, at least 10GB free space on your start up hard drive, and the single-disc version of Windows XP Home Edition or Professional Edition with Service Pack 2 or later.

Unlike products like Virtual PC, which is an emulator that lets you run Windows while your Mac is booted from Mac OS X, Boot Camp lets you physically boot your Mac hardware with Windows XP.

Choosing which OS you want when you start your Mac.

A contest recently wrapped up in March to create a dual-booting Mac.The basic form of the contest hack is very similar to Boot Camp, although Apple's product is far more refined.

Although your Mac is still a Mac, at least on the hardware level, when Windows is running it is just as much a Windows machine as any other PC. Apple has even gone so far as to remind everyone of that fact. From the Boot Camp Web site: "Windows running on a Mac is like Windows running on a PC. That means it'll be subject to the same attacks that plague the Windows world. So be sure to keep it updated with the latest Microsoft Windows security fixes."