Before Boot Camp arrived on Intel Macs in 2006, Windows had already been used as an alternative operating system for Apple computers, but for a long time. I imagine that anyone who has known Ma products for more than 15 years has probably heard of the not so famous DOS Compatibility Cards, sold by the company in the mid-1990s.
While Apple had a messy product line, the popularity of Windows and DOS in the corporate sector made it feel the need to support both in the Macintoshes of the time. From there came the idea of ​​using an exclusive card to accomplish the task, which basically contained an entire PC, tightened to the extreme, but used power supply, drives and computer peripherals to which it was connected.
The first DOS Compatibility Card model was launched in 1994, intended for the Macintosh Centris 610 and Macintosh Quadra 610. It did not support audio output, but had an Intel 486SX processor (fast for the standards of the time) running at 25MHz and DOS 6 pre-installed, costing $ 400.
The second model, launched in 1995, featured DOS 6.2.2 and already supported audio and Windows 3.1. This already worked with the PowerMac 6100 and the Macintosh Performa 6100, with an Intel486DX / 66 processor, yes, it was capable of running up to Windows 98! Over time, however, she changed the name of the product and licensed it to other companies, bringing her price close to $ 700.
From helping Macs' systems handle Windows files to allowing them to run on a secondary monitor while the Mac ran on the primary through the same hardware, DOSCompatibility Cards did the job for which they were created, but only helped make Apple's product offering is even more fragmented. With the transition to Intel (2005/2006), at least she was able to bring Windows support back through less complicated features (not only Boot Camp, but also apps virtualization), allowing users to work better with the Microsoft system for professional purposes, or to play, among other tasks.
(via TUAW)
