Today, Apple updated the MobileMe control panel for Windows. Update 1.2 "provides better support for syncing a large number of contacts (more than 2,000) and prevents syncing of data between Microsoft Exchange Server and MobileMe, a configuration that is not supported."

This control panel is required to use MobileMe syncing/iDisk on a Windows computer. This update requires Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 2, or Windows Vista SP1 or later. You must have iTunes 8.0.1 or later installed.

You can download this update from the Apple Support website.

Rounding up on 9 months of Vista being on the market, Microsoft is of course at work on Service Pack 1 which is slated for an early 2008 release. At the official Windows Vista blog, Brandon LeBlanc has offered extensive details on what the focus of Service Pack 1 is, and while much of it is targeted at businesses and independent software vendors, an interesting section outlining some of the fundamentals mentions that support for the EFI booting standard is on its way (under the Introducing Windows Vista Service Pack 1 section; there aren't any anchors I can link in this extensive post, so you'll have to search for that title or simply 'EFI').

In their hype and marketing for Boot Camp, Apple makes a pretty big deal about Intel-based Macs supporting EFI while "Windows XP, and even Vista, are stuck in the 1980s with old-fashioned BIOS" (check the sidebar of the Boot Camp page). So what could it mean if Vista catches up to the EFI bandwagon? I'm not quite sure yet. It could likely make the Boot Camp engineers' lives a lot easier, and while I know less about virtualization software like Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion, they might be able to sleep better at night as well. Ultimately, if EFI support in Vista makes it easier for Apple to support running Windows on a Mac, this could likely yield even more sales from swtichers - especially those who need Vista for things like work or gaming. 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.

Thanks Adam

Apple has issued an EFI Firmware Update 1.0 which "fixes several Boot Camp and start up issues on Mac Pro computers." We've been hearing about these problems for a little while now, so here's hoping this 1.8MB update can let Mac Pro + XP owners sleep a little better at night.

The updater requires Mac OS X 10.4.7 and is available here.

Thanks Robert

Boot Camp, Apple's software that allows Mac users to run Windows XP on a separate partition, has been updated to version 1.1.1. Specific in this release is support for Core 2 Duo Macs (Mac Pro and new iMac), though the Boot Camp page lists other updates, such as support for built-in iSight cameras and improved Apple keyboard support, that actually appeared in Boot Camp 1.1.

This release weighs in at 186MB, and is available from Apple's Boot Camp page.


Thanks Randy

Apple would have you believe that switching from Windows to OS X is like changing socks. It isn't rocket science, but there are bound to be stumbling blocks, though since I have been using both Windows and OS X on a daily basis for years I tend to forget this little fact.

Robyn Peterson writes about his five 'argh' moments as he switches from Windows XP to OS X. Most of them are slight annoyances, but I do agree with him about OS X's lackluster support for auto-mounting network resources without using a work around (unless I am missing a setting somewhere).

[via Paul Thurrott]

(The picture accompanying this post is from here, in case you were wondering).

I am writing this at midnight, dear readers, and I can only pray that what I'm looking at is a fever-induced hallucination and I'm trapped in some sort of cruel nightmare triggered by Microsoft's secret Terror Ray XP Premium Edition (originally designed to torment Mossberg and Pogue every time they write a pro-Apple article, and also used to bend Dvorak, Thurrott, and Enderle to the company's uncompromising will).

It seems a company called ExperCom is selling standard-specced MacBook Pros...pre-loaded with Windows XP. This is for those folks who want the beautiful Apple hardware and the ubiquitous Windows software without having to deal with Boot Camp themselves, I guess.

We all knew this was inevitable, and fighting it is pointless. Still...just looking at that page sends shivers up my spine. At least they're happy to note, "We don't support Windows XP - and neither does Apple. We'll install it for you, but, hey, we're Mac people, so we can't help answer Windows questions."

[Thanks, Dan K. Kinda.]

The good folks at Bare Feats love them some benchmarking, so I am surprised it took them so long to compare the performance of Windows XP versus OS X on a MacBook Pro. They took a look at how applications that are available on both OSs (and are Universal) ran on the MacBook Pro.

The results? XP wins when running games (for the most part) while everything else goes to OS X. They did compare some apps running in Rosetta to the same apps running natively on XP, and XP blew OS X out of the water, as shown by the graph above (of course OS X running on a PowerPC would also blow Rosetta out of the water).

[via Paul Thurrot's Internet Nexus]

Hot on the heels of Apple's Boot Camp announcement, Parallels has announced Parallels Workstation 2.1 Beta for Mac OS X, a beta of their virtualization software for Intel Macs. Their software allows you to run Windows in OS X, much like Virtual PC, without the need to actually boot into Windows.

Using their software you can run lots of version of Windows (3.1, 3.11, 95, 98, Me, 2000, NT, XP, 2003), any Linux distribution, FreeBSD, Solaris, OS/2, eComStation, or MS-DOS and for the moment the software is free (and in beta).  When it is out of beta the software is expected to cost $49.99

Thanks to everyone who sent this in.

We have heard the pleas, dear readers. More Boot Camp news you scream! Fine, just a little more for you.

UNEASYsilence has updated their video tutorial about installing Windows XP on Intel Macs to use Boot Camp.

Check it out, if you want to see how easy it now is to install Windows XP on your Intel Mac (it looks really easy).

Apple is seemingly telling us that it is OK to install Windows XP on our Macs with the release of Boot Camp. Does this mean that the years of Apple mocking Windows have come to an end and there will finally be peace on earth?

Not a chance.

You may not have noticed the following blurbs on the right hand column of the Boot Camp site:

'Macs use an ultra-modern industry standard technology called EFI to handle booting. Sadly, Windows XP, and even the upcoming Vista, are stuck in the 1980s with old-fashioned BIOS. But with Boot Camp, the Mac can operate smoothly in both centuries.'

And under the heading 'Word to the Wise':

'Windows running on a Mac is like Windows running on a PC. That means it’ll be subject to the same attacks that plague the Windows world. So be sure to keep it updated with the latest Microsoft Windows security fixes.'

Oh, Apple, you clever minx.  You openly mock Window while at the same time enable it to run on Macs. This is why I am such a big fan of Apple.

Thanks to those who pointed this out.

I just read over the Boot Camp install instructions (to find out what Boot Camp is read this post) and they are pretty straightforward. During the process you create what Apple is calling a 'Driver CD' which contains all the drivers to let Windows use your Airport card, the networking on your Mac, and various other things.

Here's what won't work in Windows on your Intel Mac:

• iSight
• Apple Remote
• Apple USB modem
• keyboard backlighting on the MacBook Pro

In a bold move today, Apple has released a public beta of Boot Camp, a piece of technology that will be integrated with Leopard that is just for Intel Macs. Why is it so bold? Boot Camp allows you to dual boot Windows XP and OS X on any Intel Mac. The software even includes Mac specific drivers for networking, graphics, audio, Airport wireless, and bluetooth (amongst other things).

You can download the public beta right now (it checks in at 83MB).

Macworld's Rob Griffiths has written a fairly comprehensive look at the process of installing Windows XP on an Intel Mac. I know, you're thinking, 'This has been done already.'

Not so fast, sparky. Rob hasn't written a tutorial, but rather a kind of 'Installer's journal' during which he ponders if it is worth the effort to do such a thing (beyond the geek cred factor that is).

Does Rob think it is worth all the effort? You'll have to read it to find out.

Win XP boots on a MacBook Pro -- literally. You deserve a chuckle. After all, it's Sunday.

Thanks, Face Cake.