And, some of you may have seen leaked BIOS builds. Unfortunately, many of those wound up frying Aspire One units when tried. I avoided them for that reason…

Well, Acer just posted a new BIOS (version 3304) on their support web site. Just go here and select the Aspire One as your system to see the update.

Now, here’s the kicker… you have to use an old-style DOS boot to update the BIOS. Good luck with that, I may post a guide if folks post in the comments that they are stuck on that. And, to rub salt in that wound… Acer neglected to post any kind of change list for the update.

This is actually a huge paradigm shift for PC markers. For the first time, Apple is updating all the drivers for all their systems in one payload. And, the software that is on every Mac will update the Windows drivers automatically.

It’s a bit unfortunate that it took Apple to come up with an installer that ensures that their Windows PC get every last driver update available. No other PC manufacturer I’m aware of comes close to doing that. Tools like HP Update and Dell Support don’t even scratch the surface of installing their own drivers consistently.

It will be interesting to see who catches up to this trend… if any of the PC manufacturers are smart enough to do so. This is one move that makes me more inclined to replace my PC hardware with Macs, even if they’re only going to run Windows. Drivers are one of the main reasons why Windows is so unreliable, so updating them is paramount in my opinion.

Under the new version, released alongside Safari 3.1.1, Apple Software Update 2.1 for Windows now separates new software and updates.

As you’ll see in the image below, the update properly lists Safari and QuickTime installed on my MacBook Pro as needing to be updated, but lists iTunes as new software which I haven’t chosen to install yet.

Enjoy, Mozilla.

Anyways, the one feature I’ve really pushed for since iPhone’s release, was to enable the ability to use Wi-Fi without the GSM radio turned on. This turns the iPhone into an iPod touch, but I was asking for it before there even was an iPod touch.

Why? As I’ve explained in the past, the GSM buzz is one of the reasons why I love CDMA technology. Be it W-CDMA or CDMA2000… there’s no buzz bizz buzz buzz that ruins my speakers, and interrupts what would be an otherwise enjoyable clearance-priced HD DVD movie.

So, I’m happy to announce on Apple’s behalf, that as of version 2.0 of iPhone firmware, you can turn Airplane Mode on, and then go right over to Wi-Fi settings and turn it back on. The iPhone will no longer demand that you turn the GSM radio back on.

Which reminds me… I’ve been wondering for awhile, why is it referred to as Wi-Fi in iPhone. I could understand AirPort (Wi-Fi), or even the terribly confusing AirPort on its own. But just Wi-Fi? Could it be, Apple will eventually scrap AirPort branding on the Mac. Nah… that would be… downright logical.

And yes, I know my Tune-Up tracker for Mac updates is woefully out of date. Unfortunately, it won’t be updated this week… CTIA consumes all.

Many fear Service Pack releases. I don’t know why. Some claim they horribly ruin their Windows experience each time, only to upgrade months later and act like nothing bad happened. It’s that kind of perpetual fear of service packs that I won’t ever understand.

However, I will say that Vista SP1 is rock-solid in the stability department. This is one area that folks really didn’t have much to complain about in regards to the XP-vs-Vista debate. Performance? Better. Does everything feel as snappy as XP? No, but the big gripes have been addressed. File transfers are up to speed, as is deleting files.

So, what’s new? Well, not much you’ll see. There’s a lot of under-the-hood stuff like EFI support, major networking improvements, and all those hotfixes you weren’t given access to. But, in terms of sweeping user interface changes, sorry… the changes are so subtle, most won’t notice them (and that’s coming from a perfectionist myself).

Should you update Vista to SP1? Absolutely, the moment it gets released… update to SP1. Should you upgrade from XP? I can’t answer that for you. I will say that I find Vista to be an acceptable upgrade to XP, and this service pack takes out most of the complaints. Still, Vista is a glossy version of XP with Media Center, DirectX 10, and all those Ultimate Extras… which will come out some time before Windows 7… hopefully.

The state of Windows got a little bit better, but I suspect SP1 won’t woo over those who have already pledged loyalty to XP over Vista. Microsoft still should take action to win those users over. SP1 still doesn’t have an XP-style interface (the basic interface is designed to pressure people to upgrade to Aero, and Aero is bloated and un-friendly to the XP loyalists). SP1 still doesn’t have Live integration (even XP allowed you to associate a Passport with an account). SP1′s under-the-hood improvements will have to be demonstrated to those already bitter to Vista, not a winning proposition.

My personal favorite feature in Vista SP1? No more forced activation! Granted, I have a black-screen-of-unactivatedness until I do activate Windows, but never again will I be locked out of my computer. That may be the start to win back some of those that have found Microsoft in violation of the law, for locking them out of their computer on the eve of an important deadline… like me.

You do have to register the GPS unit online to get the download, but it’s straightforward after that.

Navigon Software Downloads

So, HP this month has issued drivers for those systems with a proper Leopard installer. My Photosmart 2610v was updated to version 5.3.1. And, 5.3.1 has some nice perks, like a unified utility that lets you troubleshoot all the HP Photosmarts on your network (I happen to have two units in different locations).

Now, how did HP botch this release? They forgot to issue 5.3.1 for all the Photosmarts that did get a Leopard installer initially. They’re still stuck with version 5.3.0. So, you’re actually now better off having an older Photosmart since they have the newer driver.

HP could fix this easily… come up with a unified Photosmart driver. Older printers out of support would be prompted that they aren’t compatible with the latest unified installer, and be directed to the older version. This is what both ATI and Nvidia do with drivers on the PC, so it’s not a stretch that this would be the optimal situation for HP.

I was sitting with an Apple engineer having lunch, and we were debating what was the absolutely worst Mac app out there. We both agreed that HP Software Update was the worst… it never worked, continued to not work. Well, after years of not working, I was presented with the item below after updating. It works, finally!

The XPS 410 & Dimension 9200 have received BIOS 2.5.3 to correct the nasty Gigabit Ethernet blowout problem introduced in the last update (which was subsequently pulled).

The Inspiron 530n has been updated to BIOS 1.1.0. Dell isn’t saying much about the update other than it is a “critical stability update”. Whatever that means… but I can assume it might involve chipset and processor compatibility updates to keep the 945 chipset in-sync with Intel’s latest standard code… which might explain the lack of a full change list. Either way, just update.

To be completely nerdy, since I am out of town on vacation, I updated my Inspiron 530n via Remote Desktop. Logged into my WHS remote access page, opened up my 530n via Remote Desktop (WHS lets you access all the Remote Desktop-capable systems behind the network), and ran the update. No problems.