Those days are over. Done. Finis. Let me give you a real world example. My partner is a real estate agent and longtime Mac fan. Two years ago, he had to get rid of his PowerBook G4 because software he needs is specifically coded for Windows XP (and even more horrifying, requires Internet Explorer). He had a choice: Keep doing real estate or keep his laptop. He wound up with a Sony Vaio. As of now, he can safely return to the fold.

Apple's release this week of Boot Camp, which allows users of its newest Intel-based hardware to install Windows XP natively on their computer, now gives him -- and the rest of us -- the best of both worlds: A stylish Apple computer with a solid operating system that also does Windows. No emulation. No pokey performance. I know, because I downloaded Boot Camp, snagged a copy of Windows XP at CompUSA, installed it and promptly fired up that real estate program in IE. It worked like a charm. In fact, since my MacBook Pro has a Core Duo 2.16GHz processor inside, Windows practically flew. It runs faster than it does on his Vaio. It runs faster than it does on my Vaio -- itself no slouch, with a 2GHz processor and 2GB of RAM.

And installation, in true Apple form, was a snap. The longest part (and most disturbing to the eye) was watching XP install on the MacBook.

Before I get into details about the installation of Boot Camp and XP, I have to say that I don't really know how Apple's decision will shake up the world of computing, both at home and at work. There are Mac fans who'll see this all as some kind of horrible abomination.

There are Windows backers who'll never buy what they see as overpriced hardware from Apple that caters to snobs. (Checked out OS-focused message boards this week? The flames are already under way.) And then there's the remaining 80 percent of the world for whom this is potentially a big deal. Count me in the 80 percent. I now have two computers in one and can run virtually any software out there.