Apple Updates Boot Camp Beta

Much of the recent talk of running non-Macintosh operating systems on Apple’s new breed of Intel-based Macs has focused on virtualization solutions like Parallels Desktop (see “Parallels Desktop: The Switch is Complete”) and VMware’s as-yet-unreleased product (see “More, Less, and No Information on Running Windows on a Mac”), but let’s not forget the product announcement that started the ball rolling officially: Apple Computer’s Boot Camp (see “Apple Opens Boot Camp for Windows Users”), which enables Intel-based Macs to restart running Windows XP and is scheduled to be included in some way with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard.

Apple last week released version 1.1 of its public beta of Boot Camp, adding support for Apple’s brand-new Xeon-based Mac Pro and Xserve systems, adding partition presets which make installing Windows XP simpler for many users, providing the capability to install Windows XP on any internal disk, and building in support for Apple’s iSight camera and built-in microphones. The new beta improves support for Apple keyboards (enabling Delete, Print Screen, NumLock, and ScrollLock keys under Windows) and, for folks using single-button pointing devices, enables right-clicking by pressing the rightmost Command key on Apple keyboards. Boot Camp beta 1.1 also rolls in a number of small fixes, including turning off internal speakers when the headphone jack is in use, support for date and time synchronization under Windows when logged in as an administrator, and more.

The new beta weighs in at 202 MB; complete instructions for updating are available on Apple’s Web site. As always with beta software, we strongly recommend you back up your data early and often, and think carefully before trusting truly important data or processes to Boot Camp.