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Psystar's OpenMac Apple clone is close to a Cease and Desist order
If you're not brave enough to OSx86 your own PC, psystar will sell you its OpenMac clone for $400. For that price you get 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo E4500 processor, 2GB of memory, integrated GMA 950 graphics, 250GB disk and 20x DVD burner. Add another $155 and they'll even install Leopard on the non-Apple kit with the help of an EFI V8 emulator. Even at $555 it's still a spec-for-spec bargain compared to the Mac mini (albeit without the mini dimensions). If interested you'd better snap one up quick. Jobs, you'll recall, put a swift end to official Mac-clone licensing when he resumed power at Apple. No reason to think that he (or his lawyers) feel any differently now. [Thanks, Roberto]
MacBook Air Bluetooth EFI Update 1.0
Today, Apple updated the MacBook Air with the Bluetooth EFI update 1.0. Apple has yet to tell in any support notes what this update actually does. However, for those souls that are willing to download and install the latest (un-noted) updates, you can find this update in your MacBook Air's Software Update app (Apple Menu > Software Update). You can also download the 1.2MB update from the Apple support downloads website. Thanks to everyone who sent this in![Update:] Since posting this story, Apple has updated the link information and has taken off the "EFI" on the title of this update. You can find the update information here.
iMac EFI Firmware Update 1.3
In addition to the MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air EFI updates, the iMac EFI firmware was also updated to version 1.3. Apple says that this update "fixes several issues to improve the stability of iMac computers."You can download this update by opening Software Update (Apple menu > Software Update) or by downloading the installer package from the Apple's support website. Please note: To complete the firmware update process, please follow the instructions in the updater application (/Applications/Utilities/iMac EFI Firmware Update.app). The updater will launch automatically when the Installer closes.Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air EFI firmware updates
Today, Apple updated the EFI Firmware for the entire notebook line. MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air all received the EFI update. Here's what Apple says about the updates: This update fixes several issues to improve the stability of [MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air] computers.You can download this update by opening Software Update on your notebook (Apple menu > Software Update) or by downloading the installer package from Apple's support website. Apple also notes: To complete the firmware update process, please follow the instructions in the updater application (/Applications/Utilities/MacBook EFI Firmware Update.app). The updater will launch automatically when the Installer closes.Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
Mac Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.3
Yesterday, Apple gave Mac Pro owners an EFI Firmware update. Here's what Apple says about the update: This update fixes several issues to improve the stability of Mac Pro (Early 2008) computers. To complete the firmware update process, please follow the instructions in the updater application (/Applications/Utilities/Mac Pro EFI Firmware Update.app). The updater will launch automatically when the Installer closes.To download the firmware updater, open Software update or download the installer package from Apple's support downloads website.
Vista SP1 to support EFI booting standard - what does this mean for Boot Camp?
Rounding up on 9 months of Vista being on the market, Microsoft is of course at work on Service Pack 1 which is slated for an early 2008 release. At the official Windows Vista blog, Brandon LeBlanc has offered extensive details on what the focus of Service Pack 1 is, and while much of it is targeted at businesses and independent software vendors, an interesting section outlining some of the fundamentals mentions that support for the EFI booting standard is on its way (under the Introducing Windows Vista Service Pack 1 section; there aren't any anchors I can link in this extensive post, so you'll have to search for that title or simply 'EFI').In their hype and marketing for Boot Camp, Apple makes a pretty big deal about Intel-based Macs supporting EFI while "Windows XP, and even Vista, are stuck in the 1980s with old-fashioned BIOS" (check the sidebar of the Boot Camp page). So what could it mean if Vista catches up to the EFI bandwagon? I'm not quite sure yet. It could likely make the Boot Camp engineers' lives a lot easier, and while I know less about virtualization software like Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion, they might be able to sleep better at night as well. Ultimately, if EFI support in Vista makes it easier for Apple to support running Windows on a Mac, this could likely yield even more sales from swtichers - especially those who need Vista for things like work or gaming. As to speculation on whether this could bring some of the wilder stuff like running Windows apps in Mac OS X without the need for the Windows OS or virtualization tools, I'll leave that to the tin foil hat enthusiasts in the audience.Thanks Adam
Zepto's Znote 6625WD does DX10, HSDPA, and HD DVD
Considering that Zepto isn't exactly "the name" in full-blown gaming laptops, we certainly hope this one won't turn out like ones prior, but the Znote 6625WD purportedly packs a plethora of lavish innards if it proves legitimate. The 15.4-inch machine is based around Intel's Santa Rosa, er, Centrino Pro platform, and sports a WSXGA resolution, Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB of RAM, Bluetooth 2.0, NVIDIA's 512MB GeForce Go 8600 graphics card, DirectX 10 support, an optional HD DVD writer, 802.11a/b/g/n, HSDPA compatibility, and to top things off, an HDMI output. The company will supposedly be taking customized orders in May to satisfy your wildest dreams, and while the bottom-end of the bunch could land at around "$1,100 to $1,200," we imagine that some of the aforementioned luxuries will ratchet that right on up.[Via Laptopical]
Drives that go 'poof' in the night
While revving up a new MacBook Pro and pondering how to get a persistent bootloader, I inadvertently did something dumb: I disconnected a Firewire drive from my laptop while it was at the EFI boot screen. As sometimes is the case, dumbness led to knowledge -- I had never seen the drive 'poof' effect on the startup chooser screen, and I have to say I was pleased at the little 'slide' as the remaining drives shifted over to take up the space. Nice fit and finish there.
A bootloader for the rest of us
Chalk this one up to a colleague's complaining. One of my cohorts was the mostly-happy recipient of a shiny MacBook Pro today, and he was setting up Boot Camp (with the eventual intent of configuring Linux as well as OS X & Windows) and griping that he wanted to see the EFI bootloader on every restart. "What's wrong with holding down the option key?" we asked him. "Nah," he said, "I want it to ask me each time. I reboot so infrequently, chances are when I do it's because I'm switching OSes." Or something like that. I tend to tune out when people complain; it helps get through the IT day, if you know what I mean.Well, I couldn't let the challenge sit unsolved, so here's one option for eliminating Option: the rEFIt project. This open-source alternative bootloader for Intel Macs will allow you to choose between your installed OSen at boot time, among other helpful features (and was mentioned in the comments to a TUAW post back in August). I'll get my colleague to install it and make sure it doesn't cause his MBP to detonate nearby cable modems or anything else antisocial.
Apple Firmware Restoration CD 1.2
The Apple Firmware Restoration CD 1.2 will restore your Intel-based Intel-based Mac to original factory condition. It can only be used to restore the Firmware after an interrupted or failed update.If your computer is already bricked, you'll need to download the update and create the CD on another Mac computer (PowerPC or Intel), or take your Mac to your local Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider and they'll do it for you.If any of you had a problem with yesterday's firmware update, you might want to try this restore CD before you panic. Let us know how it goes!
Boot Camp can run Vista, too
Some might say that using Boot Camp to run Windows XP on a Mac is so last week. Some enterprising hackers at the OSx86 Project seem to agree, as they have successfully gotten a preview version of Vista - Microsoft's upcoming Windows upgrade originally slated for 2003 - to run on an Intel iMac. Apparently there's some odd install hiccups to tinker with, as Engadget notes, so it sounds like this might not exactly be for the for the faint of heart Boot Camp Mac user.Nevertheless, if you are the lucky owner of an Intel Mac and have either a desire or a need to play with Windows Vista, check out this OSx86 Project thread.
Another Roadblock in Dual-Booting Mac OS X & Vista
Those hoping to be able to dual-boot the Intel Macs once Microsoft ships Vista (late this year?) may have to wait a bit longer. Today, Dan Warne of APC Magazine reported that Microsoft has announced that the first version of Vista will not have support for computers that use EFI firmware and that Microsoft may include EFI support at a later date for Vista.Why on earth would Microsoft do this? I suppose it could be for technical reasons that we're not aware of, but I don't see why Microsoft couldn't just ship Vista without BIOS support instead, and anyone who wanted to upgrade to Vista would just have to buy a new PC, which is what most people will be doing anyway. Why willingly block machines with EFI to run Vista? But I suppose it might be that Microsoft is afraid to let users see Mac OS X and Vista side-by-side on the same computer.It's quite clear EFI is the future and BIOS is the past. Apple is embracing one while Microsoft seems chained to the other.
Intel Mac tweakers having trouble, kill iMacs in process
An interesting thread has popped up over at the Nakfull Propaganda blog regarding getting Linux or Windoze to boot on the new Intel iMac Core Duo's. Since the new Intel Macs don't have Open Firmware and instead have EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface), some enterprising people have been trying to munge around in EFI to get other OSes installed.So far, no one has managed to get Linux or Winblows to run on the iMac Core Duo, but some people have managed to irreversible kill a few iMacs (and are returning them to Apple without mentioning how they butchered the machines). The entire thread makes for fascinating reading, vacillating between the religious:"THIS IS A CHALLENGE. WE SHALL NOT REST UNTIL ALL 3 OSs HAVE BEEN INSTALLED SUCCESSFULLY ON THE NEW MACS."and extremely poetic geek-speak:"And this is with the entire contents of the Vista 5270 32-bit EFI installation DVD copied over to either its own Mac OS Extended partition or a FAT32 partition on a GPT volume."[via Slashdot]
The Good News for Mac Lab Admins
With the release of new Intel Macs yesterday, the people who manage labs and classrooms full of Macs started asking questions.Does this mean I need to have a PPC image for my PPC machines and an Intel image for my Intel Macs? What about NetRestore and NetBooting? Can these new Intel Macs even NetBoot? What about the lab management tool/tripwire Radmind?There's some good news to report. Apple has shipped new Mac OS X 10.4.4 Server Admin Tools, in which there's an updated System Image Utility.app that can create NetBoot and NetInstall images for Intel-based Macs. Also, Mike Bombich has told us his most recent version of NetRestore 3.1.1 is a universal application that'll work on both PPC and Intel Macs.From a mailing list post made by a Sr. Product Line Manager for Server & Storage Support at Apple:The new Intel-based Macs use a next generation pre-boot technology developed by Intel called EFI. EFI provides a superior booting experience and includes features such as a larger ROM, richer graphics support, full IP stack, dynamic boot volume picker, quicker startup times and even some cool feature such as the ability to an Apple Remote to remotely control boot options.One of the benefits of EFI is dramatically faster boot times for NetBoot systems. Our internal tests show that in most situations booting of an Intel-based Mac is 2-3 times faster than the older Open Firmware-based systemsTo NetBoot or NetInstall an Intel-based Mac you need to deploy Mac OS X Server v10.4.4. Mac OS X Server v10.4.4 includes an updated System Image Utility for creating NetBoot and NetInstall images of Intel-based Macs. Separate disk images are required for PowerPC-based Macintosh computers and Intel-based Macintosh computer. Some other tidbits:%uFFFD the open firmware password tools still work on Intel Macs that use EFI. And firewire target-disk mode should also still work. So, all our essential image-making and image-distribution tools still work. Yes, we'll have to separate Intel-Mac image, but that's not a bad chore. It's certainly better than image-making in the PC world, where sometimes every model computer requires its own image.
