Engadget

Windows 8 ain't fussy: runs on Macs, Surface, 128MB RAM, banana peel (videos)

Sharif Sakr — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 19:59:00 EST

Downloaders of the Windows 8 Developer Preview have been proving their mettle the best way they know how: by getting it to run on systems it was never really intended for. Brent and the folks at Codesnack win the Real Utility trophy for their successful Boot Camp installs. Josh Blake gets the Damn I Look Good By Candlelight trophy for making the OS run on the MS Surface in his living room. Meanwhile, Marcin Grygiel has awarded himself the I'm HARDCORE!!! title for somehow getting it to run on a PC with just 128MB. Treat yourself to some intimate video evidence after the break.

[Thanks, Prashanth]

Continue reading Windows 8 ain't fussy: runs on Macs, Surface, 128MB RAM, banana peel (videos)

Windows 8 ain't fussy: runs on Macs, Surface, 128MB RAM, banana peel (videos) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Sep 2011 19:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VMware Fusion 4 brings full Lion support, wants to make Windows act less like Windows

Dana Wollman — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST

Leave it to VMware to put the spotlight back on Lion when this is, without a doubt, Windows 8's week. The company just announced Fusion 4, the latest version of its virtualization software, and, as you'd expect, it pledges to play nice with Apple's newly minted OS. In addition to fully supporting Lion features like Spotlight, though, it makes Windows look more like, well, a Mac. The software includes improved support for Expose and Spaces on the Windows side, and adds the ability to use Mission Control and launch Windows apps from Launchpad. Additionally, you can run Lion as a virtual machine within Snow Leopard and VMware makes vague claims about improved performance, 3D graphics and resource-hogging. It'll cost $50 through the end of the year, with the price jumping up to $80 in January. Fittingly enough, VMware picked up on the fact that Apple's moving away from optical drives, and instead chose to ship the software with a USB drive (you can also download it and do the whole drag-and-drop installation thing). Oh, and if you bought the last-gen version of the software on July 20th or later, you'll get the new version gratis. Lots of screen shots below, and full PR after the break.

Gallery: VMWare Fusion 4

Continue reading VMware Fusion 4 brings full Lion support, wants to make Windows act less like Windows

VMware Fusion 4 brings full Lion support, wants to make Windows act less like Windows originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chinese addicts escape from Internet 'boot camp,' invade Farmville

Tim Stevens — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 07:32:00 EST

Is the internet an addiction? Absolutely not, we can totally quit whenever we like, and so we honor the spunk and spirit of 14 dedicated World of Warcraft grinders, Starcraft APM masters, and social networking gurus who escaped from their "rehabilitation center" in China's Jiangsu province. These so-called boot camps have been described by various outlets as being a little too close to torture camps, and while shock therapy has been banned, this 14 had still had enough. They captured their supervisor, tied him to his bed, and then hopped a (presumably large) taxi to get out of Dodge. But, there was one problem: none had any money to cover the fare. The police were called, all were apprehended, and they're presumably back to the "monotonous work and intensive training" they came so close escaping. Don't give up, kids. Let Andy Williams be your inspiration.

Continue reading Chinese addicts escape from Internet 'boot camp,' invade Farmville

Chinese addicts escape from Internet 'boot camp,' invade Farmville originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Jun 2010 07:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mac virtualization face-off: VMware Fusion 3 vs. Parallels Desktop 5 (video)

Tim Stevens — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:11:00 EST

With Steam officially hitting Mac in just a few weeks many Apple gamers have suddenly lost their need to emulate. But, for those who are hoping to get busy in a little Command & Conquer 4 under Snow Leopard this week -- or any of the other myriad of PC-only gaming options -- virtualization is the only way to go -- short of rebooting into Boot Camp, of course. Parallels is the most commonly used solution, but how does VMware's Fusion 3 stack up for gaming? Not too well, as it turns out. MacTech sat the two down together on matching Mac hardware and ran them through a number of benchmarks, including 3DMark. The results of that test fall heavily in the favor of Parallels, offering better framerates and far more consistent visuals, which you can see for yourself in a video below. Most of the many, many other tests run favor that option as well, but we won't spoil all eight pages worth of results just waiting for you on the other end of that source link.

Continue reading Mac virtualization face-off: VMware Fusion 3 vs. Parallels Desktop 5 (video)

Mac virtualization face-off: VMware Fusion 3 vs. Parallels Desktop 5 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple finally brings official Windows 7 support to Boot Camp (update: 27-inch iMac fix)

Darren Murph — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 17:53:00 EST

Either Apple isn't operating on the Gregorian calender, or these updates are just straight-up late. Either way, we're pretty stoked to see the suits in Cupertino finally wise up and allow Microsoft's best OS ever to work on its machines, as it has today issued new Boot Camp software (v3.1) for both 32-bit and 64-bit users of Windows 7. The updates add native support for Win7 Home Premium, Professional and Ultimate, and in case that wasn't enough, they also fix "issues" with the Apple trackpad and add support for Apple's wireless keyboard and Magic Mouse. You'll also find model-specific drivers floating around to add even more support, and the Boot Camp Utility for Windows 7 Upgrade is said to "safely unmount the read-only Macintosh volume on Windows Vista" when upgrading from Vista to Windows 7. Hit those links below for all the bits and bytes that you've been so desperately waiting for.

Update: we're hearing reports that the 27-inch iMac is responding to Windows 7 with the Black Screen of Death, so make sure you use this tool from Apple before installing Windows 7. Too late? Then you'll have to manually remove the offending default ATI drivers by starting from point 4 on this page (hold down Option key while booting up to select the Windows install disc, by the way), and then try the Boot Camp update again.

Apple finally brings official Windows 7 support to Boot Camp (update: 27-inch iMac fix) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Jan 2010 17:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Windows drivers for Apple's Magic Mouse conjured from the ether

Thomas Ricker — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:53:00 EST

Hey Windows users: what would you risk for a mouse of such mystical persuasions that it has the word "magic" right in the product name? How about $69 for the mouse followed by a few sleepless nights after installing a .exe found in the murky shallows of the internet? That's what it'll take to install some hacked drivers, said to enable Apple's Magic Mouse gestures, on your Windows rig. The drivers were extracted from the latest Bluetooth update targeting Mac owners running Windows under Boot Camp, but now there's nothing stopping you from trying them too. Let us know how this dark elixir works out in the comments below.

Windows drivers for Apple's Magic Mouse conjured from the ether originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple will officially support Windows 7 in Boot Camp before end of year

Paul Miller — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:59:00 EST

Of course plenty of folks have Windows 7 running in Boot Camp just fine, but if you're one of those crazies that goes in for Apple's seal of approval you'll have to wait a little bit. The official support is coming "before the end of the year" to Snow Leopard and will obviously require an update to the Boot Camp software. Unfortunately, Apple's excluded a lot of its 2006 Intel-based computers from this forthcoming update, and we're getting the vibe that this is a Snow Leopard-only affair. Basically, par for the Apple course.

[Via Mac Rumors]

Filed under: Software

Apple will officially support Windows 7 in Boot Camp before end of year originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple halts Boot Camp downloads ahead of Leopard's release

Nilay Patel — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 18:32:00 EST

With just three days to go before Leopard hits the scene, Apple's gone ahead and made Boot Camp unavailable to download -- a move that shouldn't surprise anyone, because we knew it was coming the day Leopard was announced. Tiger users with Boot Camp partitions who aren't ready to make the leap to Leopard can rest easy, however, since existing Boot Camp installations will continue to work fine -- but you'll still be riding dirty since the beta license technically expires on Friday with Leopard's release. Again, none of this is a surprise at all, but it still would have been nice for Apple to let people know they'd be pulling the download -- if you haven't snagged a copy by now, you're stuck paying the $129 for Leopard.

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Apple halts Boot Camp downloads ahead of Leopard's release originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2007 18:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple said to be prepping Boot Camp fix for 24-inch iMacs

Donald Melanson — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 14:28:00 EST

It looks like those that took advantage of the now-discounted 24-inch iMac's upgradable graphics only to be stymied by problems with Boot Camp may finally be getting a fix courtesy of Apple, although that's apparently still far from a sure thing. According to AppleInsider, Apple has in fact been "secretly testing" a software patch for the problem, which prevented users with certain graphics cards from booting into Windows using Boot Camp, but an actual release will depend on whether testers can isolate a few "remaining bugs." As AppleInsider points out, however, that process could well be pushed down the list of priorities for the company, what with another little piece of software supposedly nearing a release.

Filed under: Desktops

Apple said to be prepping Boot Camp fix for 24-inch iMacs originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Oct 2007 14:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple's Boot Camp 1.2 supports Windows Vista

Darren Murph — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 07:38:00 EST

Although we were already informed that Leopard wouldn't be postponed for Vista support, it's always comforting to have just a tad more proof, and you really can't ask for much more than the latest iteration of Boot Camp (v1.2) now playing nice with Redmond's newfangled OS. Aside from allowing Intel-based Macs to load up Microsoft's latest operating system, the latest beta also includes updated drivers for the "trackpad, AppleTime, audio, graphics, modem, and iSight," and you can even control the action in Windows Media Player (and iTunes, of course) with the Apple Remote. Additionally, Apple is now invading your Windows system tray by adding an icon "for easy access to Boot Camp information and actions," and finally, you'll find Apple Software Update within both Windows XP and Vista environments. So while we can't exactly announce that Leopard is ready to pounce just yet, it's fair game to say that a new OS is most definitely available for your beloved Mac.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Apple's Boot Camp 1.2 supports Windows Vista originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Mar 2007 07:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Parallels to turn it around, help Mac OS onto generic PC boxen

Paul Miller — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 17:25:00 EST

With the popularity of software like Apple's Boot Camp and SWsoft's Parallels, it's no secret that people want to run Windows and Mac OS on the same box, but who says that it has to be an Apple box? Well, Apple does, and the company has staunchly defended itself from the porting of OS X into the mad world of PC generics (not with total success, of course). But with mounting pressure from users and increasing software support from VMware and SWsoft, Steve Jobs might have to let go of his tight grasp on his shiny blue OS -- or at least turn the other way as OS X makes its way onto those vile, inferior, and cheaper x86 machines without his blessing. On that front, there's good news on the horizon: it turns out an upcoming version of Parallels just so happens to "make it easier to run Mac OS on a non-Apple computer," by some unknown but welcome means. VMware's own upcoming virtualization software for the Mac has been hamstrung by the trouble VMware has gone through trying to get Apple's blessing, and SWsoft's Parallels has been "crippled" in particular ways to make it more difficult to get Mac OS onto a non-Apple machine, but it seems like it's only going to get harder for Apple to have it both ways, and Intel's inclusion of virtualization in its own chips just compounds the "problem." Michael Dell has also reconfirmed his desire to pre-load Mac OS onto his own boring boxes "if customers wanted it and Apple would license it on reasonable terms," but that tantalizing offer doesn't seem to have swayed Apple yet.

[Via Techmeme]

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Parallels to turn it around, help Mac OS onto generic PC boxen originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Jan 2007 17:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple planning to charge Tiger users for Boot Camp?

Evan Blass — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 20:38:00 EST

It was perhaps one of the most significant events the PC industry has seen in the last decade: Apple opening up its hardware to Windows operating systems through its proprietary Boot Camp software. Not only did it allow Mac owners running Intel-powered machines to dual boot XP at will, it did so completely gratis (well, save for the cost of a Windows license). Unfortunately, the honeymoon may soon be over for Tiger users accustomed to the free boot loader: according to a report on MacScoop, Steve and friends plan to begin charging about $30 for the software once OS X Leopard is released and Boot Camp leaves beta for the greener pastures of commercial. For those Macheads planning to upgrade to Leopard, this wouldn't be an issue, of course -- the new OS will offer Boot Camp as one of its standard features. Still, if you're planning on keeping the old Tiger and your draft-N router around for awhile longer, it sounds like there's a good chance you'll need to squirrel away about $32 for the future: $30 for Boot Camp, and two bucks for the privilege of unlocking your wireless card's dormant 802.11n functionality.

[Via Slashdot]

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Apple planning to charge Tiger users for Boot Camp? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 21 Jan 2007 20:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple's 17-inch MacBook Pro reviewed

Thomas Ricker — Wed, 24 May 2006 08:40:00 EST

You know, for all the talk about those greasy-hot, overclockin' MacBook Pros and their mysterious firmware updates, only now has PCMag completed a full review of the 17-inch flavor MBP. Alas, you won't find any real surprises in the review of this "astounding" 6.8-pound, easy toting 17-incher. Yeah, it does indeed get "too hot" by the reviewers standards, though apparently not as hot as the 15-inch model due to larger surface area to dissipate heat. And since this is PCMag, they installed Boot Camp, as you'd expect, "without a hitch" giving them the same "impressive" (for a Mac) gaming results in XP seen on the 15-inch sib. The reviewer calls the move to the 17-inch MacBook Pro a "no brainer" if you're a creative professional working heavily in graphic design or movie editing. However, if you're just looking for a "cool multimedia laptop" with plenty of screen then there are plenty of Windows-only systems available giving more bang, for that $3,099 as-tested, buck. Yeah, Mac ~~fanboy~~ enthusiasts, they're calling you out with that one. Still, PCMag slaps on a 4/5 editors rating which ain't too shabby, right?

Filed under: Laptops

Apple's 17-inch MacBook Pro reviewed originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 May 2006 08:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget Podcast 075 - 04.12.06

Randall Bennett — Wed, 12 Apr 2006 14:33:00 EST

We're a day late, but definitely not a dollar short this week. Just when we thought last week's trip out to Vegas for CTIA was going to be a bit of a bust, Apple goes and drops a bombshell on the industry in the form of the dual-bootin' Windows-enablin' Boot Camp beta software. In the mean time while we weren't pontificating what Apple's big scene-stealing news meant for the industry, we were poking around various handset makers' booths in search of such devices as Samsung's new T719, those Intel-based UMPCs, and the slew of sweet knockoffs TechFaithWireless had to showcase. We'll let you know how all that went (and more) on this week's show, so let's get to it!

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[Vote] Vote for us on Podcast Alley!

Hosts
Peter Rojas and Ryan Block

Producer
Randall Bennett

Music
J J J - 'Suits' in Japan

Format
41:51, 24.1 MB, MP3

Program
01:30 - Boot Camp lets Macs run Windows ... officially
14:09 - Hands on with some UMPCs
11:54 - A look at TechFaith's Moto Q knockoff
18:44 - Hands on with the RAZR V3m
22:01 - Samsung's T719
29:34 - Listener voicemail
36:15 - Engadget's involuntary entry into retail, and the week ahead

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Contact the podcast: 1-888-ENGADGET, Engadget (Gizmo Project) or podcast at engadget dawt com

Filed under: Cellphones, Podcasts, Portable Audio, Portable Video, Tablet PCs

Engadget Podcast 075 - 04.12.06 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Apr 2006 14:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Switched On: Boot Camp - The Miffing Manual

Ross Rubin — Wed, 12 Apr 2006 13:38:00 EST

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a weekly column about the future of technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment:

"All right! Listen up, maggot! Welcome to Fort Dragg. I am your Commanding Microsoft Office-er Sgt. Pepper! How do you like that for trademark infringement, Apple Corps? I bet you came here today because you wanted to serve your computer company by beta testing Boot Camp? Well, let me tell you something. It ain't gonna be easy, you puke!

"Over the next 50 minutes, I will become your father, your mother, your Apple Specialist, your third-tier tech support person, and your best friend! Your heart may belong to Apple but your butt belongs to me! Your precious vendor won't support other operating systems, so you better be quicker than a FireWire 800 port, because if you ain't, you just may blow your disk up with your laser mouse.

"You come here as a sack of rotting apples unfit to touch a scroll ball! But I will tear down your hard drive into partitions until you cry. You will feel the burn like a driver CD. You will break like compatibility with classic Mac applications. Your identity will be so far gone that Spotlight won't be able to find it. Remember, there is no Windows ME in 'team.' If you can reset your system clock, you will leave with a time-killing, dual-booting, PC game-running machine! Do you hear me!?"

"Sir! Yes, sir!"

Continue reading Switched On: Boot Camp - The Miffing Manual

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Switched On: Boot Camp - The Miffing Manual originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Apr 2006 13:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vista successfully installed on a Mac

Ryan Block — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 02:37:00 EST

It was only a matter of time, but hey, for those closely monitoring the progress of Windows on Macs, it looks like peeps on the OSx86 Project forums have fully done the deed with Vista on an iMac. We're not going to get into the nitty gritty right here and now, but it sounds like the trick is to get Vista to stop trying to kill the OS X partition when installing with Boot Camp -- an urge in the installer that seems to be kept at bay by taking out the 200MB EFI partition. But if you're the type of person how wants to go for the gold and not just read about this stuff (which you probably are if you've gotten this far), we suggest actually looking into this a little further before knocking around partitions on your Mac just to get a beta Microsoft operating system up and running, mkay?

[Thanks, Mike and Jon]

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Vista successfully installed on a Mac originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Apr 2006 02:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mossberg goes to Boot Camp and survives unscathed

Marc Perton — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 15:25:00 EST

While some early message-board reviews of Apple's new Boot Camp software -- which was announced earlier today -- seem to show that there are at least some hazards to running Windows on a Mac (see the pic at right, which is apparently one of the first Boot Camp-assisted Mac BSODs), The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg has given the new boot manager a thumbs up. According to Mossberg (who was able to sneak a copy out of Cupertino a few days ago), after installing Boot Camp and Windows on an Intel iMac, Windows ran "blazingly fast," and all of the apps he tested ran "flawlessly." Mossberg put the install time -- including both installing Boot Camp itself and running the usual Windows installer -- at 57 minutes, 40 of which were claimed by the Windows setup program. Despite being generally pleased, Mossberg did find a few glitches, including having to reset the clock every time Windows is booted (apparently the system clock used by the iMac isn't recognized by Windows) and not being able to use Apple's iSight camera. All in all, however, Mossberg summed things up with what may soon become Apple's new tagline: "Whether you want to run Mac or Windows programs, an Apple computer may be the only computer you'll need."

Read (sub reqd)

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Mossberg goes to Boot Camp and survives unscathed originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Apr 2006 15:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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