Windows Devs to Get Apple Shot

Officials at software developer CodeWeavers Wednesday said developers using its product will be able to create Mac versions of Windows applications using its software.

The St. Paul, Minn.-based company is best known for its CrossOver tool, which allows developers to port, or migrate, to Linux applications developed in Windows. The company also develops CrossOver Office, which lets Linux end users run Windows-based applications like Office, Lotus Notes, Macromedia Dreamweaver and Adobe Photoshop.

The ability to port applications from Windows to the Macintosh comes courtesy of Apple’s conversion from IBM’s PowerPC chips to Intel earlier this month.

So, while Apple has no plans at this time to run the Mac OS on non-Apple hardware, nor plans to run Windows applications on the Mac, Apple users will someday be able to take advantage of more software running on Windows.

“Apple’s decision to shift to Intel chips is good news for many Windows developers who, for reasons of time and/or expense, have never created Mac versions of their key applications,” Jeremy White, CodeWeavers CEO, said in a statement. “CodeWeavers can give these developers a low-cost and near-instant path to market through the use of CrossOver technology.”

Applications are normally developed on one platform and modified to run on other operating system platforms, a time-consuming and resource-intensive requirement for smaller ISVs . However, according to CodeWeavers officials, software developers now only need to purchase a CrossOver license from the company. With the framework in place, they say, the developer won’t need to change any of the application code.

Apple users will need to wait before they see the fruits of CodeWeavers endeavors; Intel-based Mac machines won’t hit the market until sometime next year.