As OS X 10.4.6 dropped, the computer world went nuts with the whole Boot Camp thing.  But amidst the incredible news, an interesting item was overlooked by most.  You see, Boot Camp makes it possible to dual boot to Windows XP (unless you've been living under a rock, you know this already).  In order to do that, a Partition needs to be created on your hard drive for XP to live on.  Has it clicked yet? 

So a partition had to be created to boot XP from - which meant you needed to create a partition on the drive you were currently using without disrupting any of your currently working files.  That's a nifty trick.  Obviously Apple has streamlined this process so the folks who get queasy about these sorts of things don't have to lose their heads.  But the capability is there, and it's pretty significant.

Luckily, Mac Geekery has a little run down on how to try this for yourself.  It's surmised that the capability is only evident on Intel Macs.  I tried it on an external hard drive of mine (I'm running a G4 PowerBook) and it didn't work for me.  BUT.  I'm not all that savvy when it comes to technical partitioning and such.  I can get a vanilla partition or RAID setup going, but this stuff was admittedly, over my head.

Let us know if you've tried it, and what your experience was.  Of course, back up, back up, back up before getting started.

According to the Inquirer.net, Intel's Core Duo chips are slated to plummet in price in June of this year.  The planned announcement of a handful of new CPUs is expected to cause the slide in pricing - as much as about 30%.  The Inquirer advises waiting on that new Intel Macintosh purchase until early June, in hopes of saving a little bit of money.

Unfortunately, this writer is doubtful that Apple will pass those savings to the rest of us.  As chip prices have fluctuated in the past the consumer hasn't been on the benefiting end.  Of course IBM's Power CPU departments weren't releasing new chips at such a rate as Intel typically does.  Perhaps this will be one more bonus for the Intel-based face of Apple Computer.  But I won't be holding my breath...

There is currently a lot of speculation going around Mac tech circles at the moment concerning Apple's predicted renaming of the iBook. According to AppleInsider , the iBook will be renamed the MacBook. Apple has trademarked the tradename "MacBook", and Mac geeks expect the re-branding of the iBook to occur when Apple reveal their new Intel Core Duo chipsets at the end of May.

The new MacBook's are expected to have a built in "i-sight" webcam, along with other technologies. Apple are also expected to launch their flagship 17-inch MacBookPro notebook soon. The last few months have been exciting for Apple software, with Windows running on Intel Macs, the new Intel Core Duo processors on the horizon, and now an i-Book redesign, it only seems a matter of time before Microsoft go watching its back more. We'll keep you informed on all the latest Apple developments as they come in.

Early numbers comparing Mac's running XP via Bootcamp to Mac's running OS/X and Mac's running XP to PC's running XP have produced a few surprises but nothing Earth shaking. On the head to head benchmark test with a Mac running XP vs one running OS/X there was little difference in speed, with a slight edge going to XP in the hardware score, but little advantage in the overall score (these results were gained using Cinebench testing).


As expected the Mac stacked up well against the PC in most configurations, with a few exceptions due to some obligatory translations that were needed to make certain applications work with Tiger. Overall the results tend to give a slight advantage to PC's and are a reminder that PC's and Mac's were built to have different capabilities.

Raise your hand if you're sick of hearing about Boot Camp already.  Ok, who cares.  I think Boot Camp is awesome, and represents a lot of great things to come on the Apple horizon.  But I've got a vision of what Boot Camp could be.  I mean, this is Apple we're talking about, right?  Boot Camp is new and revolutionary, and all that, but that real Apple genius isn't quite there yet.

While the ability to run OS X and Windows - both natively - on the same machine is totally new, people are quick to complain.  "Well that's great and all, but I still have to shut down OS X and boot up Windows."  Geez - give them an inch, and the immediately want a mile.  There have been rumors about Apple working on some technology to run Windows - or Windows based applications - within Leopard, or another future release of OS X.  Interesting, but we're not there yet.

So here's how I see it playing out:  You're working in OS X on some iMovie project and your boss calls needing you to VPN into the office and do some Windows-only work.  No problem, Just hit the 'Fast OS Switching' button and watch that snazzy cube effect bring Windows into view.  Take care of that work for The Man, and 'Fast OS Switch' back to your iMovie project of the kids.  Slick, huh? 

And there you have it - Nerd Computer Lust at its best.  Possible?  Who knows - but if it is, I expect Apple to be the company to bring it to us.

The folks over at Power Page are warning users curious in trying out Apple's newest update for the Macbook Pro to wait until all the bugs are worked out of the release, or risk frying their computer dead. The writer warns his readers to stay as far away as possible from the Mac OS 10.4.6 update or the 1.0.0 firmware update for the Macbook.

Ignoring his own advice to wait three days after the release of all patches and updates before pulling the trigger on installing it, the writer went ahead, swept up in the excitement of the Boot Camp release and said he is now paying the price for it. While no widespread reports of any problems have been made, he nevertheless warns people to hold off on the update.

He writes: After installing 10.4.6 the trouble began, slow application launch times, disk images wouldn't open and some applications wouldn't launch at all. Although MacBook Pro (early 2006) Firmware Update 1.0 seemed to install properly (after I dutifully followed Apple's explicit instructions) when I restarted my MBP it got stuck on the grey boot screen with the black Apple logo and the spinning sunshine cursor. A friend told me that 10.4.6 made his PowerBook G4 (Aluminum) hang on the blue startup screen or the desktop for five or six restarts before it finally booted. Be cautious and wait. You have been warned.

Well after a day full of events, all due to the release of the Boot Camp software which allows users to run XP on Intel Macs, it seems that one faithful individual by the name Speedeye has gone about taking pictures for us to gaze at showing the processes that Boot Camp takes you through. The screens were all sourced from Flickr, and we've compiled about 10 of our favorite screens from the 34 for you to have a look at. They all show an individual step in the process, from creating partitions to actually running Windows Update in XP. Enjoy.

Were you one of those people who felt let down by Apple's lack of expressionism in their products? Did you feel lost without your iPod Video not suiting your older silver iPod Mini? Well since about the year 2000 a company based in Winona, MN called ColorwarePC have decided to take it upon them to push the art of professional and clean customization to the max. Their result? A fine range of products mainly involving Apple, which can be coloured to suit your needs and your preferences.

This comes at a cost; for their most popular products, most likely a 60GB iPod Video, customization costs a further $95. However the line doesn't just end at iPod Video and Nano's, no my friends, you can now get your Intel Laboured iMac's and Mac Mini's changed, as well as your iBook and PowerMac. These services once expanded further, including consoles, but they have since ceased this opportunity.

As a product, I think this is a very unique opportunity in that you can own a piece of modern life, safely in the knowledge that no one around you will be able to dazzle you, but instead you can woo the crowds with a special item. Get this too, the company also color codes all your accessories, now that's just amazing! I'm thinking about one of the iPod Video's, but only as soon as I can foot the bill for shipping to the UK, but still, those in the US can get a much cheaper incentive.

Maybe I'm alone here, but Steve Jobs' revelation that OS X had been compiled to run on Intel processors since it's inception was a huge surprise.  What an amazing bit of information to keep quiet for 4 years!  But they did it, and they did it well.  Now we're seeing the fruits of their labors as they release new Intel Macintosh computers.

So everyone's been caught up with getting the Intel Macs to dual boot Windows.  But how does the other half live?  They're trying to get their current PC boxes - Dells in this case - to run the Intel versions of OS X.  Good idea, as the hardware can be cheaper - heck, you can build it yourself! 

There's a nice write-up of what it takes to get this to work.  If you're interested in the how-tos and the whats-its, read the link below.  Personally, I think Apple has steered-clear of a lot of the issues Windows has experienced by limiting the hardware the OS runs on.  That way, Apple can insure that their code isn't bloated, the hardware needs to meet certain requirements, and everyone's happy.  I truly believe this accounts for a large part of Apple's success.

More power to you if you can run OS X on any old beige box.  But me, I'd rather pay a few bucks more, have a pretty piece of hardware, and something I know is going to perform at the top of it's game.

Dual Processors were long the drool-inducing thing of nerds.  But anymore they're pretty common to come by.  The latest move has been to go the route of Dual Cores.  Is there a real difference?  Does one setup perform better than the other?  What exactly does all this mean, and does it apply to the everyday Joe?

A terrific article at Puget Systems discusses just this topic.  It explains things for the average consumer, while providing benchmarks and other tidbits that will be of interest to the bit-heads out there.

Quickly: DualCore means putting two processors on a single chip.  It's cheaper since it only requires 1 slot on the motherboard, one chip, etc.  The flip side is to have 2 processors, each taking their own space on a more expensive motherboard.  The outcome?  (Look away or click the link if you don't want to spoil the surprise.)  The dual core systems that are becoming a standard in the computer industry are not only cheaper, they're also slightly faster.  So it's a win-win for everyone!