
If you use Apple Mac OS X Tiger (10.4) with or without Boot Camp, be warned. Apple will be discontinuing support, updates, and new downloads of the dual-boot software on December 31. The installation software will no longer function, though existing users will continue to be able to use their Windows partitions.
Apple made the announcement yesterday, saying that they “hope you’ve enjoyed the opportunity to preview an exciting new feature of Mac OS X Leopard.” The announcement comes as an apparent marketing move to push users to the OS X 10.5 upgrade, which offers built-in Boot Camp.
I call foul on this one. Not supporting previous generations of its products is a major factor in my dad’s dislike for Apple, and I agree with him. Discontinuing support for an older operating system mere months after releasing the upgrade is, to me, reprehensible. Look at Microsoft’s Windows life-cycle. Users have years to update when a new version is produced. Sure, take the old version off of sales floors, but continue supporting it, please. Is it too much to ask for companies to be customer-friendly? I’m no Microsoft fan, but I have to say they’ve covered older product versions a lot better than Apple.