'bout time!

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Then again, Microsoft might pull a fast one and shut the door on boot camp.

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I kind of expect Microsoft's support for EFI to be just as unfriendly to other operating systems as their current MBR bootloader, where installing Windows will destroy the bootloaders for OSs such as Linux.

Having said that, most people using Linux will know how to restore their bootloader and will realise that no data loss has occurred. I would hope that Microsoft will recognise that Mac users have no need to consider bootloaders and such, and make their own EFI bootloader take into account other OSs on the system when installing itself.

Hopefully, Apple's Startup Disk preference pane and control panel won't be affected by whatever Vista does to the EFI partition. I wonder whether applying Vista SP1 to an already installed system would automatically switch Vista to EFI booting - there's no need for it really, as obviously the system is able to boot - and what it would do to custom bootloaders like rEFIt, which I use on my MacBook.

Sam

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correct me if I'm wrong but it seems like this works only with 64 bit windows and that already had EFI support in the first place, if someone could explain this it would help thanks

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The best thing about M$ is that they are pathethic. See the Vista ad? A couple on the top of a hill in a pose as they are they where lost and trying to locate something (probably Apple's HQ...) in a landscape full of with haze and fog where one cannot see a crap and the text says... "Bring clarity to your world"...

To finish, the point the couple is standing is a downhill, that represents the Vista itsel, as it is getting dust on the shelves.

The conclusion of this picture is: if you are lost in a mountain and cannot see the exit, the only way you can go is the way downhill. Perfect!

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Microsoft... pathetic. As always.

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This means nothing for BootCamp. Now, if XP SP3 supports EFI, BootCamp is done for!

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Take from Paul Thurrot's walkthrough of SP1...

"In the initial shipping version of Windows Vista, 64-bit (x64) versions of the OS could boot on EFI-compliant PCs, which replace ancient BIOS technology with a more modern solution. With SP1, EFI-based x64 Vista systems can also support network boot, a feature that was previously available only on 32-bit (x86) Vista versions on BIOS-based PCs."

To me this reads that you need two things for EFI, a 64bit system (which all new macs can put a check mark down for), and the x64 version of Vista which is a piece of crap because of device drivers (for printers, scanners etc).

So basically if I'm correct all that will change is... well nothing since the x64 Vista is a piece of crap.

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lol where is the "edit for grammar" function?

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There is a misconception that Apple's "Boot Camp" is what lets an Apple Mac boot Windows. You can take a Windows XP SP2 CD into any Apple store, turn any system off, pop your CD in and boot up and install XP onto that system. Boot Camp is not required.

Boot Camp contains a GUI interface to partitioning toos to make that easier (though they are already there from the command line) and it contains the Windows driver disk.

The booting capability has been in all Intel Macs since April 2005 and a firmware update updated older Intel Macs (thats why it was a requirement to have that firmware before you used Boot Camp)

Steve

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"As to speculation on whether this could bring some of the wilder stuff like running Windows apps in Mac OS X without the need for the Windows OS or virtualization tools, I'll leave that to the tin foil hat enthusiasts in the audience."

How on earth would a different boot system remove the need for Windows applications to access Windows frameworks? "Without the need for the Windows OS" – if this update is coming in the form of a Windows OS update, how can it possibly affect the ability to run applications without Windows?

The one thing it *should* mean, is that you should be able to install Vista on a Mac without Boot Camp (although you're probably still going to want to use Boot Camp, since it handles all the partitioning etc. for you, as well as providing all the drivers for the custom hardware) by just inserting the CD and installing as you would on any other EFI-based PC.

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Who gives a flying fuck? How is Windows news of any interest to Mac users? Oh, right--this is TUAW, hivemind of switcheurs who really would have been better off sticking with Windows.

If you're the type who just doesn't feel comfortable without SquareSoft Accountancy 2000 or whatever PC apps it is you people need so badly, perhaps you should have thought of that before you bought your shiny new Mac. As the saying goes, you can take the PC from the user...

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TUAW's comment system is reminiscent of a torture trap from some Ballmerian fantasy. Of course, you tasteless dweebs here at TUAW probably can't even perceive the shit in which you wade knee deep, so it's not surprising you don't care.

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Quote from the article :
"[...]those who need Vista for things like work or gaming.[...]"

I think there is a problem with that sentence. ;)

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Dont you just love the asshats that post comments here. Somebody needs to get laid...

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Only 20 years in the past? Windows, using old, outdated technology for years? Nowai! ;)
Anyway, I see this as another "me 2!" from windows. Yeah, they finally caught on, but who wants to wait that long for them to catch up to Apple all the time?

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