14 DAY TRIAL // The public beta of Boot Camp is one piece of software that should have been dead a long time ago, but is still alive and kicking. Originally scheduled for termination around the beginning of the year, when Leopard was initially supposed to launch, the end of the Boot Camp beta was pushed back again and again. Now it looks like Apple is getting ready to finally pull the plug.
The Boot Camp party is almost over and Apple is walking around, turning on the lights and telling people to start leaving. Numerous people that have downloaded the dual boot solution for Apple have started receiving the following mail:
Dear Boot Camp enthusiast:
We hope you've enjoyed the opportunity to preview an exciting new feature of Mac OS X Leopard.
With the introduction of Leopard, the Boot Camp Beta program has ended. The Boot Camp Beta software will expire on December 31, and Apple won't offer further updates of Boot Camp Beta for Mac OS X Tiger.
If you'd like to continue using Boot Camp, Apple invites you to upgrade to Mac OS X Leopard. Learn more.
Thank you for your participation in the Boot Camp Beta program.
Now everyone was expecting this sooner or later and the company was very clear about what would happen once Leopard was released. The real question many are asking is exactly what will happen come December 31. Will dual boot still be possible, but no longer be supported at all on non-Leopard machines? Will Dual Boot stop working altogether, and if so what will happen to all the information one might have had in Windows? Those planning to upgrade to the latest version of the big cat, specifically to continue using Boot Camp will be glad to know that the procedure is very simple and the Windows boot will survive the upgrade intact.