So, I've yet to find an authoritative source on this one. Boot Camp 1.4 expires when Leopard ships. The official Apple web page says the following:
"The license to use Boot Camp Beta expires when Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard is available to the public. To continue using Boot Camp at that time, upgrade to Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard."
If you trawl the 'net, a lot of people seem to think that this means it's going to just stop working. I can't believe that for one minute, for 3 reasons:
i) Not everyone will be able to upgrade immediately even if they want to. If you're busy around that time, it might take a few days to pick up a copy of Leopard. Apple would have lost their mind if they disabled potentially useful software during this period.
ii) Apple would have to physically push down an update which would modify the bootloader for Macs to disable booting Windows. I can't see how they could do this without the user refusing it. If they tried to update your Mac by stealth it would cause an outcry.
iii) Alternatively, Apple would have had to known about the Leopard launch date when they shipped 1.4, and physically hard coded that date into the Boot Camp to stop it working. I can't believe that they were committed to a firm launch date then -and what if Leopard had a last minute delay?
iv) Boot Camp 1.2 expired on Sept 30th. I was still using it until last week.
So, in essence I think your 'rights' to use 1.4 will be withdrawn on Leopard launch day (if you continue to use it, you will technically be acting illegally), but Boot Camp itself won't suddenly lock up.
Can anyone confirm or deny this?
Addition: I hope the Leopard update is a bit better than the previous ones. Upgrading from 1.2 to 1.4 screwed up Windows so badly I had to completely reinstall.
"The license to use Boot Camp Beta expires when Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard is available to the public. To continue using Boot Camp at that time, upgrade to Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard."
If you trawl the 'net, a lot of people seem to think that this means it's going to just stop working. I can't believe that for one minute, for 3 reasons:
i) Not everyone will be able to upgrade immediately even if they want to. If you're busy around that time, it might take a few days to pick up a copy of Leopard. Apple would have lost their mind if they disabled potentially useful software during this period.
ii) Apple would have to physically push down an update which would modify the bootloader for Macs to disable booting Windows. I can't see how they could do this without the user refusing it. If they tried to update your Mac by stealth it would cause an outcry.
iii) Alternatively, Apple would have had to known about the Leopard launch date when they shipped 1.4, and physically hard coded that date into the Boot Camp to stop it working. I can't believe that they were committed to a firm launch date then -and what if Leopard had a last minute delay?
iv) Boot Camp 1.2 expired on Sept 30th. I was still using it until last week.
So, in essence I think your 'rights' to use 1.4 will be withdrawn on Leopard launch day (if you continue to use it, you will technically be acting illegally), but Boot Camp itself won't suddenly lock up.
Can anyone confirm or deny this?
Addition: I hope the Leopard update is a bit better than the previous ones. Upgrading from 1.2 to 1.4 screwed up Windows so badly I had to completely reinstall.