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Opinion: MacBook, or iMac + iPad?

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The announcement of the iPad has done a lot of things: it’s stoked up excitement in the Mac using community, it’s got a bunch of developers feverishly coding exciting new stuff, and it’s got retailers and cell phone companies the world over drooling over the money they can make from it.
And it’s also somewhat upset [...]

In Depth: 30 Days with the Nexus One

It’s been a month since my review of Google’s “SuperPhone”, the Nexus One. Since that time, we’ve surfed, updated facebook, navigated, called, played endless hands of cribbage and even tried to freeze it to death on a trip to Dayton Ohio. Follow me after the jump to find out does the “SuperPhone” stand the [...]

Apple second only to Microsoft in cash and investments… and that’s about to change

Silicon Insider posted this interesting graph putting into perspective exactly how large Apple is, compared with the other big three tech companies out there. And it’s all about cash.
Essentially, Apple is the second most cash rich company out there, with a little under $39.8 billion in cash and short and long term securities to call [...]

Review: InfiniteScope, Another Fun Free Photography Toy For iPhone

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Welcome to the “iPhone photography toy of the week” slot. Today’s toy is: InfiniteScope.

This little app could not be simpler. All it does is grab what your iPhone’s camera is seeing, and copy it infinite times, one copy overlaid atop the next, each one getter smaller and smaller.
Hmm. That description is hardly snappy, is [...]

Vista on a MacBook Pro

Vista on a MacBook Pro

There was some debate a few weeks ago whether Intel Macs would boot Microsoft’s upcoming operating system, Vista, because of conflicting boot-up systems. While the Intel Macs use EFI, a new boot system from Intel, initial versions of Windows Vista will use the old BIOS system.

Well, in the comments to the blog post below, reader RLPM posted a link to a Flickr photoset showing his MacBook Pro booting off a Vista disk image, thanks to Apple’s new Boot Camp software.

RLPM says he didn’t try a full install because he hasn’t backed up his MacBook, and presumably doesn’t want a disk error to wipe everything out.

He writes: “After installing the firmware update and boot camp (didn’t run boot camp assistant), it booted off the most recent Vista. I haven’t had time to backup my system, so I didn’t install vista, but it boots from the latest image!”

So I guess Apple’s Boot Camp software makes the whole BIOS/EFI firmware issue moot?

About the author

Leander Kahney

Leander Kahney is the editor of Cult of Mac, and author of three books about technology culture: Inside Steve’s Brain, the New York Times bestseller about Steve Jobs; Cult of Mac; and Cult of iPod. Leander has written for Wired, MacWeek, Scientific American, and The Guardian in London. Follow Leander on Twitter @lkahney and Facebook.

Email the author | Read more posts by Leander Kahney.

5 comments

    “So I guess Apple’s Boot Camp software makes the whole BIOS/EFI firmware issue moot?”

    From Apple’s Boot Camp page:

    http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/

    EFI and BIOS

    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.

    This from a sidebar on the Boot Camp page:

    EFI and BIOS
    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.

    Gotta love the passive-aggressive marketing tactics.

    The installation CD is not booting Vista; it is booting Windows Preinstallation Environment 2.0 (Beta), a cut down version of Vista/Longhorn. The boot manager used by Win PE 2.0 supports both BIOS and EFI booting, although only BIOS booting is officially supported. For more information, search for “Boot Configuration Data Editor Frequently Asked Questions”.

    Given that the Vista installation CD has booted this far, it is a good indication that Vista itself will install. But I wouldn’t fancy running the current betas on a PC using shared graphics.

    The bios thing have nothing to do whit bootcamp.
    Intel is so smart that they have implanted both the new and the old bios.
    They have made the memory for bios bigger. The old bios is loadet from low memory and the new from upper memory. And thats how you can install any OS you like on new Intel boards ;-) Clever !!! If the OS ask’s for EFI then it will get it.
    XP / Vista: I need the old bios ! no problemo her it is !

    Can anybody let me know that how I can setup VISA in my Mac Power Book G4 Laptop? Please send me some info about that throue my mail..

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