For Mac users who can’t escape Microsoft’s hold, OS X Boot Camp now supports Win 8

By Mariella Moon March 14, 2013

Win-7-Boot-Camp-on-iMac — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The newest version of Mountain Lion has arrived, now that OS X 10.8.3 is available for download from the Mac App Store. It comes with a number of new fixes and additions to your system, one of which will make platform agnostics happy – official Boot Camp support for Windows 8.

Boot Camp is a tool that makes it easy for Mac users to install and use Windows operating systems on their Mac laptops and desktops. You can use it to easily switch between OS X and Windows by pressing the option button while your Apple computer is booting up (although your computer can only boot into one or the other). While a lot of people have already been using Windows 8 on their Mountain Lion computers, this development means there’s now better Windows 8 driver support on OS X and that you can use Windows 8 trackpad gestures on your MacBook.

In addition, OS X 10.8.3 features Boot Camp support for Macs with drives larger than 3TB, as well as a number of bug fixes, including a fix for the file URL that causes apps to crash. It also comes with the new Safari version 6.0.3, and a new feature that you can use to redeem iTunes gift cards via your computer’s iSight camera, which sounds mighty convenient.

Head over to the 10.8.3’s official release page to see its full list of improvements.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Mariella loves working on both helpful and awe-inspiring science and technology stories. When she's not at her desk writing…

Computing

Mac OS X is 20 years old today. Here’s why it was so revolutionary

Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced the new Mac OS X at the MacWorld Conference in San Francisco

Today marks the 20th anniversary of Mac OS X, the Mac operating system that changed everything. Arriving only a couple years after the first iMac, it helped forge Apple’s image as the king of cool -- and changed computing forever.

At the turn of the millennium, Apple was the talk of the tech world. The company had nearly gone bust before Steve Jobs’ dramatic return in 1997, but just a year later, it launched the playful, colorful iMac G3 to massive acclaim. While the hardware felt downright space age, the operating system looked dated, full of dull grays and boxy windows.

Computing

Windows 10 can run better virtualized on Apple’s M1 Macs than on Surface Pro X

everything apple announced at its one more thing event m1 macbook pro 13

Windows 10 and some ARM-based Windows 10 apps can perform better when virtualized on Apple's new M1 Macs than it can when running natively on a native ARM-device like the Surface Pro X. That's according to a new video posted on YouTube featuring a benchmarking experience.

In the tests, Windows 10 on Apple's new M1 Mac Mini benchmarked with a 1,515 Single-Core score, and a 4,998 Multi-Core score when virtualized. That's well ahead of what's recorded natively with the Surface Pro X, which picks up a 764 single-core score, and a 2,983 multi-core score.

Computing

What Microsoft can learn from Apple’s Mac on ARM transition

Apple MacOS Big Sur design

Microsoft has tried to transition toward ARM chips multiple times in the past 10 years. All of them have been failed attempts.

But at Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, Apple announced its own plans to switch away from using Intel processors to its own custom ARM-based chips, starting later this year. But in Apple's case, it just might work.