Apple is without any doubt among the privileged crowd that gets to take the first shots at Microsoft's jugular, delivering jabs without hesitation. The Get a Mac video ads are an illustrative example in this context, but at the same time, while its marketing campaigns point end users in one direction, Apple has its own, often contradictory agenda. It is the case of BootCamp and the way the Cupertino-based hardware company is embracing the Windows operating system with open arms and even more open Mac computers. In this regard, Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard is finding Macs powered by Intel processors increasingly crowded as Apple is welcoming Windows XP and Windows Vista into the mix.

Of course, officially Apple is saying that "Leopard is the world's most advanced operating system. So advanced, it even lets you run Windows if there's a PC application you need to use. Just get a copy of Windows and start up Boot Camp, now included with Leopard. Setup is simple and straightforward - just as you'd expect with a Mac."

Unofficially however, Apple is transforming Intel-based Macs into nothing else than equivalents of the PCs. The latest step in this direction is the introduction of Boot Camp Update 2.1. The update to the default component of every Mac OS X Leopard is designed to get BootCamp to play well with both the 64-bit and the 32-bit editions of Windows Vista. Despite the fact that SP1 for Vista x86 and x64 was released to manufacturing on February 4, 2008, with the service pack dropped via Windows Update and the Download Center on March 18, and through Automatic Updates on April 23, Apple is not looking beyond the RTM build of the latest Windows client.

But while it is saying nothing about Windows Vista SP1 (although installations are possible through BootCamp), Apple has rushed to introduce support for the third and latest service pack for Windows XP. In fact Boot Camp Update 2.1, on top of resolving functionality issues and enhancing compatibility with the two examples of the Windows client, also introduces support for Windows XP SP3, even though the service pack was RTM'd on April 21. Our very own Filip Truta has more details on BootCamp 2.1.