Apple Releases Boot Camp Beta

[Yvan256]

And hell freezes over again. Not just freezes over... hits absolute zero, despite the impossiblility of doing so.

If your talking 0 degrees celsius, then there wouldn't be any winter sports

He's talking about absolute zero, which is in Kelvin degrees.

 

[bilbo--baggins]

I disagree...

Everyone with a Intel Mac will use that for web/office/iLife on the Mac thats 99% of computer use. Anyway as Mac fans we all think OS X is better it'll be easier for people to switch knowing they can still use their old windows applications.

Also gamers who don't build their own PC's (ie Alienware buyers) will be more likely to switch to Mac too (especially if they have a copy of XP) as Vista is going to be such a resource hog that XP will actually run games better. Also with a Mac too you can do all the important stuff you need to do on your computer on the Mac part and only use the PC for gaming, making the periodic windows re-installs much less painful. If some gamers start to use Mac's then that will undoubtly be bad for windows in the long run, its one of their aces.

Heck, I'm just being a pessimist. Any good news, and I just sit here worrying about what might happen if it all goes wrong! It's a gamble I guess, but providing a seamless transition from Windows to Mac could be the best move Apple could make.

They're not going to win over the cheapskates though. But even I'm my own line of business, I take the opinion that they're customers not worth having anyway...

 

[rog]

I don't want dual boot, I want it to work in a window so I can use both at the same time. This is only slightly less annoying that having 2 computers, 1 mac, 1 windoze.

 

[bilbo--baggins]

He's talking about absolute zero, which is in Kelvin degrees.

I seem to recall absolute zero is something like -273 degrees celcius (0 kelvin).

 

[Yvan256]

OMG FORD RELEASED A NEW CAR
OMG NISSAN WILL STOP MAKING CARS
WHY MAKE ANOTHER TYPE OF CAR WHEN A CAR ALREADY EXISTS...

The same reason they make different types of everything BECAUSE PPL WANT TO STILL BUY IT, DUH!

Last time I checked, roads were car-manufacturer independent, unlike software.

 

[kuhvorreiber]

Bluetooth

Anyone else upset that Boot Camp does not support the Apple Pro Wireless Mouse and Keyboard? Bluetooth drivers for Windows are included. Maybe it's just a matter of time?

 

[Multimedia]

Link To What Firmware Update Are You Writing About Please?

FWIW, the firmware update adds BIOS compatibility to the EFI implementation in Intel Macs. Boot Camp is simply the CD disk image and partitioning tool, nothing else.

All you need is to apply the firmware, and you can start up any x86 OS you want. Vista, Linux, etc. The SP2 requirement is for the drivers.

Link To What Firmware Update Are You Writing About Please? You made that post like starting in the middle of a sentence. What firmware update are you writing about and where can we get it for what hardware that needs to have firmware update applied to it??

You mean there is a firmware updater for all the MacIntels? LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION please?

 

[JCT]

Yeah, that was the first thing that came into my mind.

I think this is going to kill OS X and any 3rd party support for apps.

Why develop an app for OS X when the hardware can support Windows?

Which developers are going to "abandon" OS X? I cannot imagine that Apple did this on some sort of whim or reaction. Just like everyone thought that Adobe would be "mad" about Aperture and it turns out they had known about it for years. Did all of the developers run away when Apple said they had to come up with Universal Binaries? I'll bet all of the major software knew about this directly from Apple as part of the Intel migration.

Again, this is for enthusiasts and to provide "training wheels" for folks who either want to try OS X but are nervous about it (Mom and Pop) or work in corporations that run Windows only.

Apple is putting their money where their mouth is and saying "here, run them side by side and see which you prefer". ANd they are betting that folks will run Win XP less and less over time. It's nice to see a company have some confidence in their products.

JT

 

[demallien]

I disagree...

Everyone with a Intel Mac will use that for web/office/iLife on the Mac thats 99% of computer use. Anyway as Mac fans we all think OS X is better it'll be easier for people to switch knowing they can still use their old windows applications.

Also gamers who don't build their own PC's (ie Alienware buyers) will be more likely to switch to Mac too (especially if they have a copy of XP) as Vista is going to be such a resource hog that XP will actually run games better. Also with a Mac too you can do all the important stuff you need to do on your computer on the Mac part and only use the PC for gaming, making the periodic windows re-installs much less painful. If some gamers start to use Mac's then that will undoubtly be bad for windows in the long run, its one of their aces.

I have to admit, I'm really curious as to what percentage of people's time is spent using 3rd Party software on their Mac. I use Apple and Open Source, and the only other stuff on there is games.

If you take MS Office out of the evaluation (because if MS spit the dummy and refuse to continue supporting the Mac, Open Office is already a very viable alternative), I'm willing to bet that 90%+ of a Mac User's time is spent using Apple's own software.

Don't forget, Apple likes to sell an experience, not just a gadget. That's why it's "iPod + iTunes + iTMS". We're seeing the same thing with the Mac, where it's "Mac + iLife + Front Row + ..." Apple isn't trying to build beige boxes, but fun computing experiences. Having Windows available as a Plan B can only be good

 

[cann11]

retail version of windows xp?

Does anyone know if the version of windows that came with virtual pc / w windows xp pro is the full retail version, and will it activate on the intel machines. (i know it will install but will it pass activation)

I have a version of windows xp pro that came with virtual pc 6 which I haven't been able to use since I purchased my g5 and os x 10.4 was released.

 

[kainjow]

Link To What Firmware Update Are You Writing About Please? You made that post like starting in the middle of a sentence. What firmware update are you writing about and where can we get it for what hardware that needs to have firmware update applied to it??

You mean there is a firmware updater for all the MacIntels? LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION please?

http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/

 

[danny_w]

http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/

2nd line under "What you’ll need"

Link To What Firmware Update Are You Writing About Please? You made that post like starting in the middle of a sentence. What firmware update are you writing about and where can we get it for what hardware that needs to have firmware update applied to it??

You mean there is a firmware updater for all the MacIntels? LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION please?

 

[jonparadise]

I don't want dual boot, I want it to work in a window so I can use both at the same time. This is only slightly less annoying that having 2 computers, 1 mac, 1 windoze.

Same here, at the mo I use VPC for checking my websites on a Windows Machine.

If I could switch between the 2, like with users, that would be perfect. Not sure how possible that would be though.

 

[bilbo--baggins]

I don't want dual boot, I want it to work in a window so I can use both at the same time. This is only slightly less annoying that having 2 computers, 1 mac, 1 windoze.

But dual boot is a good ploy. Get Windows users to buy macs cos they can use their existing Windows software, and start to see the benefits of OS X. Within weeks they get sick of re-booting - and make a decision which way to go.

Same as it was for the move from OS 9 to OS X. "Classic" was a waste of time for me - and as soon as I could I decided to stick with OS X only, and buy all the software updates asap to make the move to OS X.

I can see many similarities in moving from OS 9 to OS X as moving from Windows XP to Mac OS X. I guess that one huge difference is that OS X is now a well established rock solid OS, whereas the advantages weren't so clear in those days. There's probably even more reason to move from XP to OS X now than there was reason to move form OS 9 to OS X a few years ago.

 

[technicolor]

Last time I checked, roads were car-manufacturer independent, unlike software.

the point was lost on you all
but that is to be expected
by ppl so blind and worship a company as
if it had any real super power

 

[awesomebase]

Great...

Wow, that is like saying, "Hey, get your BMW 760 IL to run like a Geo Metro". No doubt many will get it, but for OS X users it is a dud. I wonder how HP and Dell are feeling about this move...

 

[iHeartTheApple]

...so it begins.

I think we're going to see a lot of big changes ahead. My condolences to the PC manufacturers for their loss.

But you know what they say...one industry's loss is another company's gain!

Steve, you're the frickin' man, man...Happy birthday to you!

EDIT: Thinking more about this, it's probably really great for OS X. I personally have no interest in ever running windows, but for the people who do, they'll play with the dual boot for a while and eventually realize that OS X is superior: Apple 1, Windows 0. It's such a tastefully evil plan...I love it!!! Mwuahahahahahaha!

 

[Fabio_gsilva]

Hahahahahahahaha!!!!

Hah...just found this on the FARK discussion about Boot Camp. Apparently this happened when someone tried to use the iSight with XP:

Oh, what a surprise!!! Windows sucks.

 

[swingerofbirch]

developers

I haven't read through the 600 posts, so this may have been said, but I wonder what effect this will have on developers.

If it's an arduous task to port a program to the Mac OS, a developer could just post a note on their website, for Mac users: "Boot into Windows to use this product."

This could be especially true for game developers and even Microsoft (Virtual PC looks less important now, as does a Mac version of Office).

And what about Adobe? They practically make it sound like they are doing charity work to develop their next creative suite for Intel Macs. What's to stop them from saying, the hell with it, boot it in Windows?

 

[imikem]

Something of a counter-argument

I don't wanna repeat myself...but my assumptions are: (1) IF Apple officially (as with BootCamp) makes it easy for people to install Winblows; AND (2) we consider software that is NOT YET ported to the Mac = RESULT: no prospective software developers (like for Autocad and games) will make an effort to creat native OS X versions.

I am still waiting for reasonable counter-arguments to my theory here...

The main thing I'd say in rebuttal to this is that there wasn't much in the way of evidence for these developers porting to OS X previously, over 5 years or so if you count OS X/PPC. Therefore little has changed with respect to them. Arguably it becomes slightly cheaper/easier for these folks to investigate OS X since a single machine can be purchased for development/testing. They have to know that there are customers for their products who can't or won't use Windows.

Similarly, many developers have produced OS X products, so have already spent the time and money. There is little savings to be had by canning OS X products in favor of Windows either, given the loss of customers and their goodwill. The wrath of Mac users so spurned would pillory into submission all but a few of these.

I just don't see that many parallels with the OS/2 vs. Windows slaughter. Yes, OS/2 was acknowledged superior technically, but it was highly unpleasant to install, and lacked anything approaching a critical mass of applications and users to maintain momentum.

 

[legacyb4]

I bet that's exactly the reaction that Apple wanted to achieve with this pre-release. After all, what better way to make sure that 10.5/Leopard gets a HUGE boost in acceptance than to have this as one of the flagship reasons you should buy a Mac (hardware) on top of the fact that it just runs OS X.

My guess is Core Dual Minis sales are going to see a healthy spike this quarter...

Also, is it just me or is it almost uncanny how Steve & Co. can time these sleeper announcements back to back with negative press about Microsoft (consumer delay of Vista...)

I want an intel mac now just to try it!

-alywa

 

[leftbanke7]

It's just that Utah rain today thats making you cranky (same here)... I've been a macuser for many years, but a newbie to posting on this forum. I've always had a PC for gaming until now.

I guess why I am so cranky over this whole gaming thing is that the three Intel Macs out are NOT gaming machines but as soon as somebody releases some benchmarks, these gamers are gonna go ape s**t.

"Why doesn't (insert game here) run better?"
"Why can't Apple put out a computer than plays game"
"MACS suck" (capitalization intentional)

I'm just not a huge fan of hardcore gaming fanboys I guess.

 

[Wags]

CPU Whine with MS XP

Hey Nesbitt_a
Does the CPU whine go away when using MS XP ?

 

[YoNeX]

For those interested in forcing a BSOD on your XP:

1. Start > Run > Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\i8042prt\Parameters.
3. Go to Edit > New > DWORD Value and name the new value CrashOnCtrlScroll.
4. Double-click the CrashOnCtrlScroll DWORD Value, type 1 in the Value Data textbox, and click OK.
5. Close the Registry Editor and restart Windows XP.

Once restarted, hold the [RIGHT CTRL] key and press [Scroll Lock] twice. Viola, BSOD. Make sure you enable the BSOD, My Computer > Advanced > Startup and Recovery > Settings. Uncheck automatically restart.

To those worried about the garbage along with XP and possibly touching the OS X stuff, you are way too worried about the alarmists view. Think about it, most of the viruses today are meant to hijack your computer and used as zombies. Viruses that are destructive have no purpose for virus writers because it provides no finanical benefit. Even if there was a virus that got out, first there would be a XP exploit to get it installed on your computer (assuming you are practicing safe computing). Then it would have to be so specific that it absolutely destroys the boot sequenece (I'm iffy on this part, but something along this line). Even a rootkit XP hybrid with the possibilty of going to OS X. But remember, when modifying OS X critical system items, it requires a password. So, you pretty much have to be one silly computing user to infected, and pretty bad. You have a bigger chance of Microsoft coming out with something innovative, than this happening to you.

I'll say this once, there is no cure for human stupidity. Practice safe computing and you will be fine.

 

[weg]

hahahah all those people searching forever for a way to install windows and all those countless hours gone to waste by Apple doing it themselves

Who says Apple did it themselves? Perhaps they're useing the solution that people came up with "in countless hours"? ;-) Apple used the "let somebody else do it"-concept already when writing their operating system ;-)