Apple Thoughts - News & Reviews on all things Apple

"Remember when Apple promised that Boot Camp would be updated to officially support Windows 7 in late 2009? It turns out that promise was a few weeks off, but the company has finally delivered, only one week after Microsoft's beloved Patch Tuesday."

Image Credit: enews.org

Ok folks, it is here, finally. Boot Camp 3.1 in 32-bit version and 64-bit version is in and with it comes support (officially) for Apple's wireless keyboard and the Magic Mouse. If you are going to upgrade from Vista to Windows 7, you can do so via the Boot Camp Utility upgrade. They have also fixed bugs associated with the Apple trackpad and as a bonus, the infared sensor on all MacBooks turns off when not in use. Read the article for more info on how to do this the efficient and safe way because I don't want you to miss anything! I may in fact do this now, I had been holding off on my older MacBook Pro.

"The utility that allows MAC OS X Snow Leopard users to repartition their hard drives and allow a version of Windows to run on Intel-based Mac computers, was set to receive an upgrade before the end of year as promised on the company's support website. This upgrade would have permitted users to run Microsoft's new OS Windows 7."

And reports from several sources say they have indeed missed their own deadline.

"We reckon a lot of Mac users will be dashing across to read PCR's interview with Microsoft's partner group manager, Simon Aldous, today, if only to look in black and white at his admission that Windows 7 was "inspired" by Apple's Mac OS X."

One of his quotes: "One of the things that people say an awful lot about the Apple Mac is that the OS is fantastic, that it's very graphical and easy to use. What we've tried to do with Windows 7 - whether it's traditional format or in a touch format - is create a Mac look and feel in terms of graphics."

But then he goes on to say they are basing it on the core Vista technology that is much more stable than OS X.

He couldn't help himself.

"Apple has released several new "Get a Mac" ads, each specifically targeting Windows 7."

First in a series of three new Mac ads, this one called "PC News." The others are "Teeter Tottering" and "Broken Promises," which are here after the jump for your viewing pleasure.

Read more...

"Chances are good that almost everyone download and installing the freshly-leaked Windows 7 build 7068 ISO is installing Ultimate Edition - after all, it's the one our product keys work with and it'll run for over year with a valid key. Paul Thurrott, however, has taken the pains of installing each version- including Starter - to get a feel for what's coming. We already knew that Starter would be extremely feature-limited. How full an experience would you expect from an OS that can only run three programs at once? Regardless, one feature has been crippled that has a lot of people confused. In Windows 7 Starter Edition, the personalization option on the context menu isn't available. Worse yet, users can't even change their wallpaper."

Okay, it's not like anyone being reasonable was expecting a full-blown experience from something called "Starter Edition." Seriously. The problem is that changing wallpapers is one of the most basic things people do to customize their computer. In fact, for most people (like myself) that's all the customization that ever happens. I run stock themes on all of my computers and change wallpapers every three months or so; I'm not a huge tweaker that way. But to take even that away from consumers sounds, to me, just flat out stupid. I would say "imagine if Apple had done this," but I reckon that really is already floating through a lot of your minds already.

I have a feeling this will change before the release just based on the negative buzz it's attracting from the folks I've seen writing about it.

The linked article has a workaround for you, if you're toying with Starter Edition, because, as everyone knows, in a life without walls, you don't really need wallpaper, right?

"Microsoft announced it will be releasing a new edition of its operating software, called Windows 7, while Apple is working on its new OS X Snow Leopard. How will they stack up against each other?"

Of course this is totally tongue-in-cheek, but it's definitely entertaining; particularly if you're a Mac fanboy (present company excluded, of course).

Before the flames begin, I can truthfully say I've only had minor issues with every Vista install I've done / worked wiht so far, so I'm definitely not one of those types. Just wanted to get that one in there to save you all the trouble of shredding me mercilessly.