With the new Intel based Macintosh hardware able to run (with beta software) Windows and Linux (as virtual or multi-boot machines) in addition to the standard Mac OS X operating system, new possibilities exist in meeting varied computing needs for teaching and learning at MIT.
In the coming months, IS&T will monitor the developments with products like Apple Boot Camp (beta), Parallels Workstation (release candidate), and other emerging virtual or multi-boot solutions and share ideas through these pages. A few pilots may emerge to experiment with this new technology to have the best of all worlds in teaching and learning for MIT.
An example of one pilot being contemplated is to utilize Intel based Mac laptops for the Laptop Loaner Program and provide the options to students or faculty as to which operating system or systems are loaded on the machines.
Another possible pilot would involve providing a cluster computer that could be used as a Windows (WIN.MIT.EDU), Linux (Athena) or Mac OS X system that the student would select which at login. This could be accomplished either through a multi-boot scenario or with virtualized systems running on the native Mac OS X.
As all of the software in question is currently beta, this is purely a technology watch effort with some possible experimentation. As the software area matures, we may see these pilots moving forward in more focussed ways.