So Apple finally released version 5 of their Boot Camp software, which lets you run Windows on a Mac. Which, in my case, is entirely necessary, due to the failure of the shoddy 10-cent power button on my MacBook Pro.
But guess what? Always one to force obsolescence on people, Apple has raised the hardware requirements and discontinued support for the mid-2009 MacBook Pro (mine) if you want to run Windows 8 (which I am).
Thanks guys. It’s good to know that the hardware still works but the software will never arrive. I guess I’m supposed to buy a new Mac every 3.5 years. So I’m going to install it anyways and see if it works. Maybe they fixed the double-free that was causing their previous HAL driver to fail.
Update: Nope, BootCamp.msi doesn’t like being installed on my Mac. Some of the drivers can be individually installed, but the big-deal stuff in the HAL, like keyboard backlighting, changing the function keys to work w/o having to press Fn, and setting the secondary click on the trackpad (so you get right-mouse functionality), will all remain off-limits. What a shame.