Apple announced yesterday that it was disabling installation and withdrawing support and updating for the Windows-enabling feature in Tiger called Boot Camp effective December 31, 2007.

Boot Camp allows Mac users to install and double-boot to Windows from their Intel Macs. But before you Tiger users panic, don’t worry, your Windows partitions will be fine and usable past the 31st, just don’t count on Apple updating it or supporting your use any more past the deadline, and you won’t also be able to install it again anytime in 2008 or beyond.

At least in Tiger, anyway. This is because in Mac OS 10.4, Boot Camp was just in beta, and the beta period is expiring at the end of the year. Of course, in 10.5, or Leopard, Boot Camp is a full-fledged, fully enabled feature that is part of the OS, so if you want to continue your travails with Microsoft Windows on a Mac, now would be a great time to upgrade. Apple says

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.”

Just a heads-up.

Reports are surfacing that a number of Intel-processor Macs, mainly MacBooks and MacBook Pros, are experiencing inoperable keyboards when using the new version of Mac OS X, Leopard.

AppleInsider is reporting that users on their forums are complaining about the glitch, and that a lot of other user groups (even Apple’s own) are getting posts about the problem, which has surfaced after installing Leopard. The keyboard freeze seems to occur randomly with both older and newer laptops, and relaunching Finder or restarting the system sometimes fixes the problem but not always, while drastic solutions like PRAM resets don’t do anything for it.

External keyboards and onboard trackpads remain unaffected.

Apple’s released the first update for the newest version of OS X, which fixes over two dozen bugs (that one we wrote about that nukes folders when their moving is rudely interrupted by a disappearing destination volume, and a bothersome one about Time Machine losing track of where it puts the archived folders are thankfully repaired).

With all the fixes, Mac OS 10.5.1 is hefty - a 109MB download. Those among us finicky about not getting a first release can take the plunge now and finally get Leopardized. (Yes, Bernie, this means you; waiting for 10.5.3 is a bit too psycho, isn’t it?)

Just run Software Update to get it. Full shopping list of improvements, and additional info, can be found here.

Tiger users who haven’t yet gone Leopard can take heart; you’re not that obsolete yet.

Apple has just updated (for one last time?) Mac OS 10.4.10, better known as Tiger (the last version before the release of Leopard 10.5 last month) to 10.4.11. We’ve about accepted that Tiger had effectively dead-ended, but it seems we were a bit wrong. Versions of 10.4.11 exist for both PPC and Intel Macs. Just run Software Update to get it. What does it do? In brief:

Mac OS X Update 10.4.11 (PPC: 46.1mb)

The 10.4.11 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Tiger and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility and security of your Mac.  This update also includes Safari 3, the latest version of Apple’s web browser.

For detailed information on this update, please visit this website: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306297.

On another note, iPhoto has also been updated to 7.1.1, and this one “supports compatibility with Mac OS X 10.5, improves overall stability, and addresses a number of other minor issues.” This update on my system weighs in at 10.8MB). Your mileage may vary.

No word yet if these updates bite after the fact. We’ll holler if we hear anything. (After I post this, I’m updating both. Just wanted to make sure I wrote about it before I do in case it hoses my system.)

“…ask what you can buy for Vista!”