Windows 7 on Macintoshes: What Works, What Doesn’t

Apple finally has information on running Windows 7 under Boot Camp. Alas, not all Macs are compatible with Microsoft’s new operating system. Here’s the scoop:

All iMacs and MacBook Pros dubbed “early and late 2006 ” are incompatible, and a singular Mac Pro, (Mid 2006, Intel Xeon Dual-core 2.66GHz or 3GHz) is also incompatible. No real details yet on why.

Actual driver and Boot Camp support for Windows 7 is coming before the end of the year, but Apple hasn’t said when. But if you’re the antsy type, or you have a lot of time on your hands, the Internet is full of people who have already been running Windows 7 on  Boot Camp without any help from Apple. A word from the wise, however: be careful with which version of Windows 7 you’re installing on your Mac. You’ll always be safe with the 32 bit version, but check your Mac’s EFI and see if it’s 64 bit before going down that road.

On a related tangent, Apple has launched three new Mac Vs PC ads. One of them mocks PC by ‘flashing back’ through the years with PC saying each successive upgrade to Windows wont have the problems of the past. The other two detail people who are excited to “make the move” — which seems to be Windows 7 — but then state that if they’re going to move all their data around, they may as well just go with a Mac. To be fair, I’ve heard good news from friends and colleagues who’ve used the Windows 7 migration tool. But it seems to show you that no matter what, Apple will find a way to spin the hype back to them.

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