New and Noteworthy: Microsoft working with Apple to ensure Boot Camp/Vista compatibility?; First EV-DO ExpressCards launching;

Microsoft working with Apple to ensure Boot Camp/Vista compatibility? In a recent column for the New York Times, Robert Cringley speculates that Apple and Microsoft are working together to ensure that Windows Vista will run on Intel-based Macs. "Word in Silicon Valley is that another reason Microsoft wasn't surprised by Boot Camp is that the company has been quietly working with Apple for months to make sure that Windows Vista (the next generation of Windows, which is supposed go on sale next January) will run on Macs with Intel chips. If that is true, we can expect Apple to make it possible to run Windows Vista alongside its own operating system by putting an improved Boot Camp into the next version of OS X (which we can guess now will also ship next January). I don't know if the folks at Apple would then actually sell copies of Windows Vista preloaded on their hardware, but it is hard to imagine why they wouldn't, since it would be an easy source of revenue and be popular with business customers." More.

Novatel to Launch First EV-DO, HSDPA ExpressCards PC Magazine reports that Novatel Wireless announced the first EV-DO card in the ExpressCard/34 format used by Apple's new MacBook Pro, ending a drought of wireless cards for Apple's new machine and for other Intel Core Duo laptops. "Many Intel Core Duo laptops, including models from Dell, Apple, Lenovo, HP, and Gateway, include the new ExpressCard format, which isn't compatible with the older, more popular PC Card format. Novatel is developing the new Merlin X620 card for both Verizon's and Sprint's networks, according to Novatel President Brad Wienert. According to Novatel's naming scheme, that would make the Verizon card the XV620 and the Sprint card the XS620." More.

Who Will Support Your Graphics Software Running on Boot Camp? Publish takes look at the issue of support for Windows applications running on Macs. "While Apple is explicitly endorsing the use of Windows on its hardware, the company won't be supporting the software. And it looks like major creative software vendors, such as Microsoft, Autodesk and Adobe, don't yet have plans to test their software on Intel-based Macs running Boot Camp. Officials at Microsoft, of Redmond, Wash., declined comment, except to say that they are pleased Apple customers are excited about running Windows and that there are no plans to test any software on Boot Camp. A spokesperson at Autodesk, based in San Rafael, Calif., said that she was surprised at the announcement and that support questions haven't been settled. 'Nobody really has much of a plan yet,' the spokesperson said. 'This just happened the other day; it's too soon to tell.'" More.

Previously on MacFixIt

• Mac OS X 10.4.6 (#5): Energy Saver issues; More on problems accessing Mac OS X 10.4.6 servers from Windows 98; more
• Boot Camp (#6): Using a Windows XP upgrade CD; More on slipstreaming a Windows XP SP2 disc; Use of Control-Alt-Delete; more
• Parallels Workstation (#2): Selecting the optical drive; Using function keys; Problems mounting disk image

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