Over at Computerworld, headlines warn that Boot Camp users are find themselves in a “tight spot with Leopard delay.” Indeed, the article accompanying the headline paints a grim picture:
By the licensing terms of Apple’s still-in-beta Boot Camp— the software that allows them to run Windows on Intel-based Macs—users’ rights to the program expire Sept. 30, days or perhaps even weeks before the new operating system ships.
However, I think such a warning—inspired by news that Apple won’t release Leopard until October —is much ado about nothing. While Apple acknowledges the current license will expire on September 30, 2007, the article ignores an obvious fix.
In a statement provided to Macworld , Apple said current “Windows installation on a user’s Mac will continue to work after the Boot Camp license expires.” The company also said that “the Boot Camp Assistant beta software will not work after the expiration date and Apple will not offer driver updates to beta users.”
The Computerworld article warns that without Boot Camp assistant, “Mac users won’t be able to easily install Windows, resize the Windows’ partition or remove a Windows installation from their system.” What it doesn’t mention: Apple could very easily release an entirely new version of Boot Camp before September 30 with a new expiration—that avoid the problem altogether. And, technically, Apple wouldn’t be releasing a driver update if it did that.
I’ve never known Apple to intentional hang its users out to dry and I don’t expect that it would start now.