Ever since the release of Apple's Boot Camp, Mac users have been able to use those Windows programs that just don't have a Mac companion. The only problem was the fact that you had to reboot your system to do it. CodeWeavers have changed that.

CrossOver is a program by CodeWeavers that allows Mac users to install and run windows applications natively on any Intel Mac. But it gets better: with CrossOver you don't even need a copy of windows.

We've mentioned CrossOver before but they have recently come up with a new version of the beta. If you're not into using experimental software, you'll have to wait for the official release. There's only one bit of sour news to report on this product: you're gonna have to pay eventually, but it's cheaper and easier than Boot Camp and a copy of Windows XP. By the way, before checking out the read link, keep in mind that right now it's only for a 60-day free beta.

Download: [Codeweavers' CrossOver 60-day free beta]

The news is out that the latest build of Microsoft's upcoming operating system, Vista, now works on all Intel Macs running Boot Camp v1.1. In case you haven't heard, Boot Camp allows Intel-based Mac users to run Windows on their Macs using an original copy of Windows to install.

The new build is Vista Pre-RC1 (5536) and the installation is the same as it is was with Windows XP SP2, although it is important to note that not all the drivers in Boot Camp will work under Vista at this time - including the iSight and Apple Keyboard.

Reports are out that the new build is a significant improvement over the Beta 2 that was made available some months ago. It has even been reported that the bells and whistles are supported for both the MacBook Pro and plain MacBook.

Apple has released version 1.1 beta of their world-famous software that allows Intel-based Mac users to run Windows on their Macs. Boot Camp lets you install Windows XP without moving your Mac data, though you will need to bring your own copy to the table, as Apple Computer does not sell or support Microsoft Windows. Boot Camp will also burn a CD of all the required drivers for Windows so you don't have to scrounge around the Internet looking for them.

Boot Camp 1.1 beta includes:

• Support for the latest Intel-based Macintosh computers
• Easier partitioning using presets for popular sizes
• Ability to install Windows XP on any internal disk
• iSight camera support
• Support for built-in microphones
• Right-click when pressing the right-hand Apple key on Apple keyboards
• Improved Apple keyboard support including Delete, PrintScreen, NumLock, and ScrollLock keys

Apple advise current users yo Boot Camp to update to the latest version. You don't need to partition your hard drive again (unless you want to change its size) or reinstall your Macintosh and Windows software or documents, but it's very important to update the Boot Camp Assistant software, create a new Macintosh Drivers for Windows CD and install the updated software it contains on Windows XP.

You can find the 202 MB download over at Apple's dedicated Boot Camp site.

From the Nimble company blog comes the story of an employee that used the Microsoft line of operating systems from the very beginning of his career only to make the switch to OS X after the years of frustration became too much for him to bear.

From DOS 2.1 to Windows XP he continued to suffer through instability, insecurity and lack of functionality. Finally, after losing one too many machines to a build up of malware, he decided to go Mac and not look back!

I may have been exaggerating his suffering (in a poor attempt at humor) but the underlying problems that pushed him away from Windows are real and cannot be ignored. The Nimblogger goes on to detail some of the differences between the two operating systems, along with some of the deficiencies that he found in Windows.

Many of the negative points that he makes about XP are legitimate but, he seems to have developed a permanently hostile stance toward Microsoft that cannot be changed. Although most of his assertions are common knowledge and their validity is not in doubt, some of his assertions simply express his now soured opinion of Microsoft.

The number of viruses floating around in the wild facing XP users, the level of style and design savvy apparent in the machines and the "it just works" factor are but a few of the reasons the author gave for making the switch.

Having been a Mac and a PC owner myself, I can attest to the fact that Macs actually do work out of the box better than PCs, and the Nimblogger seems to agree with me. Either way you look at it, more operating systems would benefit everyone; prices would likely be lower, consumers would have more systems to chose from and the competition would foster advancements in technology.

Regardless of what OS you use, learning about the causes behind an experienced computer users decision to switch operating systems can give you more to think about the next time you need to decide on a platform to use.

If you're living on planet Earth, regardless of whether you are a Mac fanatic or not, you most probably have heard of Boot Camp. If you haven't, well, welcome to planet Earth and let me brief you on what you've been missing.

Boot Camp lets you install and run the Windows XP operating system on Mac. This ingenious application will burn a CD with all the Mac-specific drivers for Windows - graphics, networking, audio, AirPort wireless, Bluetooth, the Eject key (on Apple keyboards), and brightness control for built-in displays. This CD will also install a Startup Disk control panel for Windows.

Now that you have knowledge on what the community has been buzzing about for a while, here's another news for you and the whole Boot Camp lookers-on as well: Apple has just released a new Boot Camp public beta installer.

Sadly, Apple did not divulge what was new in this release. If you do get to try this out, please be kind enough to share the updates with us all via the comments below.

Needed to run Boot Camp are the following:

• Mac OS X 10.4.6 or later
• Intel-based Mac
• The latest firmware update for your Intel Mac
• A genuine installation disc for Microsoft Windows XP, Service Pack 2, Home or Professional (no multi-disc, upgrade or Media Center versions)
• A blank recordable CD

Download: [Boot Camp public beta installer]

You read that right. At least that's what CNET's Daniel Begun says. He ran a series of tests comparing the performance of Windows XP SP2 on an Intel Mac using Apple's Boot Camp Public Beta (which gives users a dual-boot system), Windows XP on Parallels Desktop for Mac (which allows users to run both OSs at the same time and seamlessly switch back and forth between them), and Mac OS X Version 10.4.6. All these were installed on a 17-inch MacBook Pro with a 2.16GHz Intel Core Duo processor, 2GB of DDR2 SDRAM and an ATI Radeon X1600 graphics chip.

The CNET labs ran a few of their own benchmarks on the MacBook Pro to see how the three compared in terms of how the applications ran on each. Their test comprised attempting to process images using Photoshop CS2, running Microsoft Office 2003, encoding iTunes, playing Quake 4, and just plain booting each of the systems up.

I'll spare you the gory details; suffice to say that XP-on-Parallels only beat the others in the boot time test. But as Begun says, "This also just goes to show the danger of drawing too many conclusions from this type of testing... If we spent more time tweaking Parallels, we probably could have beefed up its overall performance." Begun and the lab testers were won over by Parallels' overall stability, usability and the ease of switching between OSs it affords users - its performance shortcomings were negligible given its advantages. Sounds A-OK to me, what do you guys think?

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Now that we have the equation, let us give some equivalents to the variables.

Parallels Desktop = A desktop and server virtualization solutions provider. It allows one physical machine to run numerous operating systems simultaneously as completely isolated, independently functioning virtual computers. That means that you can use Windows programs at the same time as Mac applications.

Boot Camp = Lets you install Windows XP without moving your Mac data, though you will need to bring your own copy to the table, as Apple Computer does not sell or support Microsoft Windows. That means when you hold down the "alt" key you can choose between the Mac OS and Windows. Simply restart to come back to Mac.

Now that Apple on their Get A Mac campaign acknowledges the use of third-party software solutions such as Parallels Desktop for Mac, is the equation correct? Is it really greater than the Boot Camp?

FireBall-PC is a free music file sharing software that works on both Mac OSX and Windows XP computers. The application allows the Fireball Media Manager to share music files stored in Mac and PC systems without moving the files. Instead, it shares files across the any standard wireless or wired home computer network. The application automatically adds new music to FireBall's music guide complete with metadata support for genre, artist name, album title, track name, and cover art. FireBall-PC's complete product features are listed below:

• Allows FireBall to browse and play music stored on a PC or Mac
• Provides Storage expansion for FireBall
• Provides music storage for DVDM and MP Series via the PC or Mac
• All music appears in the Music Guide at the same time regardless of physical location
• Reliable, fast, integrated Escient FireBall Protocol
  
• Allows access of Multiple FireBalls to the same FireBall-PC server
• Automatically scans and adds new music to FireBallÂ?s music guide
• Supports MP3, WMA, and FLAC files
  
• Provides complete metadata support for genre, artist name, album title, track name, and cover art
• Its FREE!

FireBall-PC requires Mac OS X 10.3 or later and Microsoft Windows XP.

It seems that ExperCom is the place to go if you want to buy a MacBook Pro and run Windows XP on it. Especially if you're the non-techie type, or just plain don't want to fuss with all the Boot Camp process. ExperCom will pre-install Windows XP with Service Pack 2 using Boot Camp depending on the configuration of MacBook Pro that you order from them.

They are sure to point out that they don't support Windows, nor does Apple. There's also a reminder that Boot Camp is still beta software, so it's ultimately at your own risk. A base MacBook Pro with XP installed runs $2029 which is a pretty killer deal, considering it's only $30 more than you'd pay from Apple directly, and Windows XP Pro is like $200 or something like that. Not to mention they're partitioning and installing the Microsoft OS for you too.

This is the first I've seen of this service being offered, but it only seems logical. Especially once 10.5 ships, and Boot Camp [type] functionality is fully supported, and not just a beta situation.

An engineer from Apple Computer pointed out that we should not put much hope on easily running Windows on Intel Mac.

Although the Mac fans have been hoping that the incoming Windows Vista would be able to run on a Mac easier than the Windows XP, since Vista will be introducing the support of EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface) besides the normal BIOS support, Apple Senior Software Architect Cameron Esfahani said he only know that the EFI will be present only in 64-bit versions of the Windows Vista. However, the current Intel Macs are all equipped with 32-bit Intel CPUs. Also, he pointed out that the implementation of Mac's EFI doesn't have much legacy support for the Windows system.

Apple won't stop users from trying to run Windows on Macs, but users should not put any hope on Apple's support on this. And on the other hand, Microsoft has stated that the initial release of the Windows Vista won't have EFI support at all.