Boot Camp update puts Vista on the Mac

Posted on 29 Mar 2007 at 09:14

Apple has updated Boot Camp to support Windows Vista, quashing once and for all rumours that incompatibility with Microsoft's latest operating system would delay the shipping of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard.

The new release - version 1.2 - remains a beta, and is a free 138MB download from apple.com's bootcamp pages.

It includes updates to drivers for the trackpad, audio, graphics, modem and iSight camera, and introduces Apple Remote compatibility to iTunes and Windows Media Player. Apple Software Update for XP and Vista makes its debut here, alongside an improved driver installation experience.

Upgraders don't need to re-partition their hard drives unless they want to change the size to accommodate Windows Vista.

Boot Camp 1.2 requires an Intel-based machine running Mac OS X 10.4.6 or later and at least 10GB of free hard disk space. It also needs a blank CD or DVD onto which you can burn the Boot Camp installation application, as it partially runs outside of the OS X environment. It does not include a copy of Windows. As Apple says, 'you will need to bring your own copy to the table'.

Apple warns in its Frequently Asked Questions document that Boot Camp is for use 'for a limited time'. Although no cut-off date has been given, the assumption is that once the product becomes a commercial release - either stand-alone or as part of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard - beta copies may expire.

Author: Nik Rawlinson

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