The world - and I'm not referring to just the Mac faithful here - has been hearing about Boot Camp for a while now. People have been singing its praises right from the start, and many a reviewer has been putting the program through its paces on his or her computers, trying to see if it's worth all the acclaim.

Personal Tech Pipeline's Michael Brandenburg spent a month running Boot Camp on his MacBook Pro, and has come away handily impressed. As a matter of fact, in his own words, "After a month of having it all in one machine, I wonder how I ever survived with only one operating system."

Firstly, he says, although installation of Boot Camp does require up-to-date software and firmware, it's pretty straightforward - you just need to let the installer do its thing and run the Boot Camp Assistant. Brandenburg's only big dilemma during this process was when he had to decide how to format the new Windows partition: formatting the space as FAT32 gives the Mac OS full read/write access to the Windows drive, whereas creating the drive as an NTFS partition only gives OS X read access. FAT32 is less secure and/or stable than NTFS, and Brandenburg decided to go with NTFS as a result.

Brandenburg also found out that there are a couple of rough patches when OS X and Windows are running on the same machine.

• The Mac OS X can at least read the Windows drive, but Windows can't make heads or tails of the Mac partition. (A product called MacDrive from Mediafour competently takes care of this oversight, but it still is very much an oversight.)
  
• Mac's adherence to a one-button mouse directly clashes with Windows' right-click requirements. This isn't the problem it once was, though, due to the fact that OS X supports two-button mice, and besides, a right-click function of sorts does exist in OS X, as any Mac guy worth his salt knows - hold down the 'Ctrl' key while clicking. (Software applications do exist to make up for this, too.)
  
• OS X and Windows interpret the system clock differently. The clock gets thrown off when switching between the OSs - in Brandenburg's case, by five hours (!). It's the easiest issue to solve, though, as users just have to sync with a network time server to fix it.

Brandenburg finds these glitches merely minor annoyances, though, and says that they'll hopefully be dealt with once and for all when Boot Camp's officially launched with Leopard in 2007.

On the whole, Brandenburg's negative experiences with Boot Camp didn't detract from the ease and convenience it afforded him. He found himself leading some sort of a dual life with his MacBook Pro, running Windows for corporate applications during the day and OS X for personal stuff afterwards. He concludes by saying that Boot Camp "works like a champ to bring the true Windows environment to Mac machines", and adds further that "if the final release straightens out a few quirky driver issues, Apple will have a real winner on its hands." I can't agree more - I'm very much looking forward to Leopard's release to see just how much better Boot Camp will be once Apple's ironed out all its kinks.

In an earlier article, we showed you how some of the features of the upcoming Windows Vista Beta 2 looked suspiciously like their Mac OS X equivalents. Now the good guys at AnandTech have put one Vista feature through its paces - Flip3D, which like Expos?ries to help users see every open window at once - and have found that not only is it 'heavily influenced' by Mac's Expos?it's inferior to the program it copies.

Unlike Expos?which presents all open windows evenly around the main window once activated, Flip3D works like a Rolodex. Through rotating the mouse wheel or repeatedly pressing the TAB key, the user can flip through the active windows. Problem is, though, because of the way the windows themselves are organized, not every part of each window can be seen at once (just have a look at the screenshot). Also, having to use the mouse wheel isn't very smooth and is less easy than using the mouse. Finally, the AnandTech testers say that this view of the windows creates aliasing, which makes Flip3D both "ugly to look at and ugly to use".

In conclusion, they have this to say:  "Microsoft simply would have been better off not implementing Flip3D than using this. We like Expos?and a version of it in Windows would be very nice, but Flip3D is a second-rate copy at best, and ultimately does not function nearly enough like Expos?o be useful."

Back to the drawing board, Microsoft?

We've already posted reviews of the new Apple MacBooks and some of you may have been tinkering with your MacBooks for quite a while now. Ever wondered what's the difference between a white and black MacBook? Did it ever cross your mind? Aside from the obvious color difference, the only difference between the white and black 2GHz MacBook is the hard drive - 60GB 5,400-rpm drive in the white model and an 80GB, 5,400-rpm in the black. Scores on over all system performance testing tool, Speedmark have backed that up.

James Galbraith of MacWorld discovered some other differences that you might be interested to know:

The differences in some of the individual tests that make up Speedmark were big enough that we rushed the black the MacBook back from its offsite photo shoot to run some more tests. After testing the white 2GHz MacBook and comparing the results to the published scores of the black model, we saw small performance differences in many of the tests, with the edge going to the white model in most cases. Retesting leveled out a few tests (though I canÂ?t explain why), but still shows the white 2GHz model performing better than the black model, most notably in our Compressor MPEG-2 Encoding test and our iMovie test applying the Aged video effect to a clip.

With the systems shipping with identical processors, RAM and graphics, we focused our testing attention on the hard drive. Thankfully, switching hard drives between the MacBooks is fairly painless, because we did a lot of it and found that the results in question followed the drive to whatever system it was installed in. We bought and installed a 100GB, 7,200RPM Seagate drive in the black MacBook and saw its performance benefit immediately, reducing the gap between white and black on many of our tests, like Compressor, iMovie and iTunes, while whipping the white in the more drive-intensive tasks like zipping, unzipping, and duplicating files.

Read the full test results by clicking on the "Read" Link

With Steve Jobs being a powerhouse of ideas and inspiration for Apple, it's nice to see their hard work go rewarded with lots of media coverage - and, of course, praise. This cannot go much higher than attention from one of the largest and respected publications, Time Magazine. They've just selected the 13" MacBook as their gadget of the week, and Apple are so proud of this feat that they've listed this award under their hot news section.

Reviewing what the writer Wilson Rothman says about the laptop, I can't even help but smile. He explains that the unit is one of the perfect contenders for students and anyone who pretty much wants a unit that is easy to use, good looking and fairly priced for what it is. He states that it is nice for a lot of the technology which was already in its Pro counterpart to go into the MacBook. As we already know the base unit lacks some features, such as the large screen, lit keyboard, 2.16Ghz Processor and dedicated graphics card. However it makes up for these by including a media remote, iSight, MagSafe connections, Bluetooth and of course a relatively lower price.

Wilson furthers his strong argument for the unit by showing how his wife was pleased with a work obtained one. Her only complaint was of the lag she experienced in Rosetta (Apple's background PowerPC emulator), however even this was justified by explaining that it was a matter of milliseconds. Further arguments for the unit included its overall look and the options available for upgrade. He noted that if you wish to purchase a MacBook with the 'Black' high end specifications, do so by upgrading the white base model, in this instance, the overall price is cheaper for some reason. Again concerning options, he develops his point and advises us to upgrade at purchase and not after, as again it would be cheaper and for the RAM, upgrades mean throwing your old sticks away.

Ending points were based on the OS. The unit is perfect at dual booting, and the problem of right click can be avoided by an external mouse. Otherwise you have a future compatible laptop even capable of running Vista in requirement specification. A winner in anyone's book.

If you plan to run Sims 2, Quake 4, Doom 3, or the upcoming Civilization IV on the Mac Platform, pass on the Macbook.  Anything that relies on accelerated graphics will not run optimally on this machine.

On the other hand, the MacBook is still very nice in terms of affordability. If you don't mind not having the "latest and greatest," there are plenty of good games that are quite playable on this machine. Just make sure you've maxed out your RAM. A recent test using games based on the Quake 3 engine demonstrated this quite clearly. On a "medium" setting with 512 MB of RAM, a typical game played at 52 frames per second. However, installing the maximum 2 GB resulted in a doubling of performance, with a rate of 98 frames per second.

Other titles that work well on the MacBook are Jedi Knight II and Jedi Academy, X-Plane, and Railroad Tycoon 3. There is also a new Universal version of Quake II that plays quite well, although the full retail version of the game is required to use the Universal version. Generally, these games work better on the MacBook (which "borrows" RAM from the motherboard for graphics applications)  than on the old G4 using an high-powered graphics card.

Again, if you're thinking about running Quake 4 or Doom 3, find a different machine. MacBook may run these games at their lowest screen resolution with image quality and details at their lowest settings - but if one must do that, why bother? If it's a quality gaming experience you're after, stick with the Xbox 360 or Playstation2 - they're cheaper, and the graphics are amazing on a  high definition television. If, for whatever reason, you must do must gaming on a Mac however, you should at least purchase the MacBook Pro - and this may still be underpowered for most of today's games.  For the best Mac gaming experience, spend a nickel and get the Quad 2.5GHz PowerPC G5. The ultra Intel-based machine will be coming out soon, so you could probably get a heck of a deal on a Power PC G5 on an auction site.

If, on the other hand, you're just an occasional gamer,  the MacBook will probably work for you. Just remember to install the maximum RAM, and understand that the machine has limitations that game-specific consoles do not.

We've been waiting so long for Apple's newest MacBook to come out, and now that it's here, we're going to dive right into it and see how good this 13-inch MacBook is.

CNET has provided the first review of the Apple MacBook. We've all been expecting this new product from Apple to Â?marryÂ? the full functions of a PC and the portability of a laptop, and with this version, Apple has finally done it. And we're really happy.

The size and weight of the MacBook are what makes this notebook portable Â? it weighs 5.1 pounds and dimensions are 12.275x9x1 inches. The MacBook is glossy on the outside and matte inside. With these physical attributes alone, this notebook is at par with the Sony VAIO SZ Â? better even.

The MacBook's keyboard is different from the usual Apple keyboards. The keys are more rounded and has a flat top and gives a firmer typing experience. The touch pad is relatively bigger than the 15-inch MacBook Pro's, but it still has the two-finger scrolling functionality that makes it easy to use.

The 13.3-inch display has a 1,280x800 resolution which offers a really bright and clear straight-on view of all your windows, but when viewed from the side, the level of brightness drops. Also, when used outdoors, the MacBook picks up glare from ambient light sources, but when used in a dimly-lit environment, the display is just perfect.

The 13-inch Apple MacBook that is being retailed for $1,299 has a 2.0GHz Intel Core Duo processor, a 60GB 5,400rpm SATA hard drive and 512MB of RAM. So far, all these features are making us think that this latest MacBook from Apple is worth lining up for.

Click the link for the full CNET review of the Apple MacBook.

The newly released MacBook appears to have issues with its keyboard. Earlier, Appleinsider remarked that the MacBook's keyboard design could be a costly disaster waiting to happen.  Being built-in as part of the MacBook's enclosure, damaging a key could lead to the replacement of its entire bottom casing and trackpad.

Well, another reviewer has something to say about the MacBook's keyboard's performance. It's not what Apple had in mind. "My main complaint is what I want to call a lack of travel followed by a lack of bounce. The stroke just feels too short and too firm Â? itÂ?s somewhat jarring," says David Zatz. "The other problem I have is the unfamiliar feel of the keyboard; the keys arenÂ?t very concave and IÂ?m a little too cognizant of the edges or space between them. For comparison, I like the feel of the MacBook Pro keyboard. I want to love the MacBook and it suits my purposes perfectly, but the keyboard just isnÂ?t working for me... having spent about 30 minutes exploring it, I may have to pass. IÂ?m not sure I will gamble $1200 on getting used to the keyboard."

Different strokes for different folks? Maybe but better test drive the MacBook just in case.

    

There was a time when once your laptop's hard disk has reached its data saturation point, you had limited two options: delete files, transfer it to another storage device, or take it (laptop) to the shop and have a professional do an HDD transplant. With the newly designed MacBook consumer notebook, however, upgrading or replacing the computer's hard disk is as simple as adding more memory. It's so simple even you can do it:

1. Flip the MacBook upside down and remove its rectangular lithium-polymer battery to show two RAM slots at the base of the battery cavity.
2. The MacBook's hard disk drive is located below the two RAM slots. Without disassembling the notebook, remove some protective aluminum shielding and lift the drive out of the computer.
   

The iBook requires an authorized service provider to perform hard drive replacements that may take technicians some 10 minutes to do. But that may translate to possibly days in turnaround for the owner. This do-it-yourself HDD replacement design is a must  for those who feel helpless as kittens in a pitbull arena without their computers. 

But before you purchase the new Macbook, there are few things you might want to know. The MacBook has a tendency to produce a significant amount of heat - higher than the iBook G4s but within national and international safety standards. The keyboard is built-in as part of the MacBook's enclosure and if you damage a key or two you might have to replace the notebook's entire bottom casing and trackpad.

The black-colored MacBook will cost you $200 extra for a mere 20GB of additional storage bringing the total cost to $1499. (For only $1299 you can have all that but in white. Black paint must be so much pricier.) The Macbook consumer notebook features Intel Core Duo processors, a new 13-inch glossy widescreen display, and the elegant design reminiscent the professional line of MacBook Pro notebooks.

Down at iLounge they reviewed the Griffin Technology iTalkPro for 5th Gen iPod's, interestingly enough they have now made a 5 part recording of the mic at work. It shows the different recording modes; high and low quality for indoors and outdoors, and finally 4th Gen recording quality. Future products will be released by Belkin and XtremeMac who will talk advantage of Apple's decision to provide CD quality recording on the go. The sample is in 192Kbps quality.

"For the technically inclined, here are some details and caveats on our recording samples.

1. Segment 1: Outdoor introduction in 5G High Quality Mode: 44.1kHz stereo, low gain - bumped 15dB because volume level was low.
2. Segment 2: Outdoor comparison of 5G Low Quality Mode: 22.05kHz monaural, low gain - bumped 15dB because volume level was low.
3. Segment 3: Indoor comparison of 5G on Low Quality Mode: 22.05kHz monaural, low gain - bumped ~15dB.
4. Segment 4: Indoor comparison of 5G on High Quality Mode: 44.1kHz stereo, automatic digital gain.
5. Segment 5: Indoor comparison of color 4G iPod on its only recording mode: 8kHz monaural, automatic analog gain."

Download: [iTalkPro 192kbps Sample]

Just yesterday I was chatting with a co worker about the Apple Boot Camp news.  Not an Apple user [yet], his initial impression was that Apple had sold out.  To which I explained my view and the related benefits of this news.  Most notably, "What other computer is capable of running both OS X and XP?  That's 2 mainstream operating systems on one laptop."  His face lit up a bit.  Later he asked about the speed and capabilities, figuring slower results - no doubt considering the previous requirement to run under emulation.  Well Macworld comes to the rescue with benchmarks which pit the Intel Macs against similar HP and Dell machines.

You may notice the Mac Mini is not shown in these results.  There were apparently some issues that precluded it from being listed here.  Interestingly - in my opinion - is that the MacBook Pro beat out even the desktop based iMac.  The MacBook Pro takes the crown in 4 of the 6 tests used.  The 2 that it gave up were by a point or two, and the iMac was just a hair behind the MacBook Pro in just about each result to boot. 

Very impressive showing for the new kid on the block, eh?