Macs do Windows, too. But not without limitations. In fact, both Windows Vista and Windows XP will have a tough life on Macs. Apple has made sure of that. A tough and short life. Apple's Boot Camp is a solution designed to help with the transition of Windows Vista and Windows XP on Mac computers.

At the end of March 2007, Apple has made available a new free public beta of Boot Camp. Up until the March refresh, Boot Camp delivered compatibility only with 32-bit Windows XP. While the Cupertino-based company is laboring to wrap up Mac OS X Leopard by the end of Spring 2007, it has also added support for Windows Vista. Still, the Vista support is limited only to 32-bit editions of the Microsoft operating system.

Still the release of Boot Camp build 1.2 beta is not synonymous with a smooth ride for Mac users that wish to deploy Vista or XP. "The term of this License shall commence upon your installation or use of the Apple Software and will terminate automatically without notice from Apple upon the next commercial release of the Apple Software, or September 30, 2007, whichever occurs first. Your rights under this License will also terminate automatically without notice from Apple if you fail to comply with any term(s) of this License. Upon the termination of this License, you shall cease all use of the Apple Software and destroy all copies, full or partial, of the Apple Software," reads a fragment of the Boot Camp beta License.

In fact, Mac users will only be able to run either Windows Vista or Windows XP on an Apple computer until the end of September or the day that the Cupertino company will make available the commercial version of Boot Camp. Apple has revealed that while overall Boot Camp will not lose functionality following expiration, certain parts of the solution such as the Boot Camp Assistant software will stop working. Currently, Apple plans to deliver Boot Camp in the "next major release of Mac OS X Leopard."