Lauren Ramsey

In all the hubbub surrounding the release of new Macs you may have missed the Windows 7 release. Well, if you're one of those people who needs Windows for work but prefers to use a Mac, maybe you do. Yeah, yeah, we're Mac users and so who cares? In order to use Windows on your Mac you require either Apple's Boot Camp or some variety of virtualization application.

The major players in this market-VMWare and Parallels-have released new versions of their applications and Rob's spent time with both. And it's just those applications that are the focus of my interview with senior editor Rob Griffiths. Tune it to hear his opinions. Apple has closed a security hole in a recent iPhone update and that's forced jailbreakers to seek other means of entry. After a word from Macworld Superguides, senior contributor, Ben Long, and I discuss the state of iPhone jailbreaking. Ben and I talk about whether jailbreaking is safe and still worth the bother.

Or you can point your favorite podcast-savvy RSS reader at: http://rss.macworld.com/macworld/weblogs/mwpodcast/ You can find previous episodes of our audio podcasts at Macworld's podcasting page. Download Episode #174 AAC version (21.3 MB, 43 minutes) MP3 version (20.4 MB, 43 minutes) To subscribe to the Macworld Podcast via iTunes 4.9 or later, simply click here. Got any feedback on this podcast? You can also leave us a message at 415/520-9761 if you'd like to have your comments included in a future podcast. Send me an e-mail or an audio comments in the form of an AAC or MP3 file. Show Notes I begin the episode with a reading of my Eight Steps to Internet Unpopularity.

Rob's taken a look at both Parallels Desktop 5 and VMWare Fusion 3. He also reviewed Sun's VirtualBox 2.1.4 last spring. If you're a troll, nitpicker, endless promoter, grudge holder, or simply clueless, you'll want to give it a listen. We touched on Boot Camp, but failed to mention that, according to Apple, Snow Leopard isn't yet ready to tackle Windows 7. During my talk with Ben I mentioned that the App Store has 100,000 apps. I also plugged Ben's book, Complete Digital Photography for good reason. I wasn't making that up.

It's outstanding. This episode is sponsored by Macworld Superguides. You'll absolutely be a better shooter after reading it. Follow this link for a discount on the just-released Total Snow Leopard Superguide.

Some users trying to upgrade from Windows Vista to Windows 7 have seen their PCs crippled by an endless series of reboots, according to reports on Microsoft's support forum. They reported a message on their machines that claimed the upgrade had been unsuccessful and that Vista would be restored. A Microsoft engineer writing on the same forum said the company was investigating users' problems, but downplayed them as "isolated issues." Users began posting messages about the endless reboots Friday, saying that the Windows 7 installation would hang two-thirds through the upgrade.

Instead, their PCs again booted to the Windows 7 setup process, failed, then restarted the cycle. "My upgrade failed in [the] last step," said a user identified as "Manjigani" in a thread titled "Windows 7 - Install Message - Upgrade Unsuccessful" on the Windows 7 support forum. "And now it is in continuous loop. I am stuck in limbo." "All the promises of stability and simplicity, and now there are so many problems with installation," bemoaned another used, "Derrty," on the same thread. "I can't even access my laptop nor do I have the ability to roll my system back to Vista. I let it run overnight hoping that it will fix itself, but no luck. All indications are the install removed any trace of Vista." Other than trying to upgrade from Vista to Windows 7, there did not seem to be any common characteristics of the computers or the users' actions. Users vented their rage online in scores of messages. "How on earth is Windows 7 so poorly manufactured that there even NEEDS to be a solution to installation issues?" asked "Chimaera717," who later reported receiving a marketing message from Microsoft while struggling with the endless reboots. "I just got an e-mail from Windows, titled 'Windows 7: Your PC, Simplified.' I really want to e-mail them back and say 'Windows 7: My PC, Crippled'." Microsoft support engineers entered the thread Sunday, asking for information from affected users, such as the version of Vista running before the Windows 7 upgrade attempt, and what, if any, antivirus software was on the machine. Some said that they had purchased a Windows 7 upgrade electronically from Microsoft's online store, others said they had downloaded the upgrade from Digital River, the Minneapolis-based company that fulfills Microsoft's $29.99 offer to college students, while still others said they had bought a retail copy of the new operating system at stores like Best Buy.

Sunday afternoon, a support engineer named "Keith" said that some users' problems may be related to the optical drive speed when creating an install DVD from a disk image downloaded from the Microsoft store or through Digital River. "Make sure you are burning the image at the slowest speed possible to avoid corruption on the installation disc," said Keith. "Digital River and Microsoft are investigating reports of this issue," he added. "This appears to be a series of isolated issues that are often related to the user's Internet provider or installed third-party software." Students, who have faced other problems with their downloaded Windows 7 upgrades, were told by Microsoft to seek help from Digital River through a special request-help page . One user pointed others to a document published last July on Microsoft's support site. This is not the first time that a Windows upgrade has crippled computers with endless reboots. The document outlined the endless reboot problem . "When attempting to upgrade from Windows Vista to Windows 7 the upgrade attempt may fail with the message 'This version of Windows could not be installed, Your previous version of Windows has been restored, and you can continue to use it'," the support document stated. "However, the next reboot of the machine will launch the upgrade process again only to fail with the same message." The document included steps users could take to try to regain control of their crippled computers. In February 2008, updates meant to prepare PCs for the release of Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) brought machines to their knees with reboot after reboot. Microsoft blamed computer makers for the XP snafu. In May 2008, the upgrade to Windows XP SP3 did the same.

IT network companies are still struggling to secure investments from venture capitalists, but an "insatiable demand" for Internet bandwidth could fuel an eventual recovery in the market. "Capacity for bandwidth is being absorbed at huge rates as people continue to offer more and more things over the Internet," says Tracy Lefteroff, a global managing partner of Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC). "When capacity gets constrained again they're going to have to add to the backbone and that ultimately is going to create demand for these products." The latest MoneyTree Report from PwC and the National Venture Capital Association illustrates a continuing struggle for networking companies, particularly start-ups. As recently as 2007, network companies were pulling in about $3 billion per quarter. In the third quarter, network vendors secured $1.2 billion in venture investments, slightly less than the second quarter investment level.

Only about 7% of third quarter dollars went to start-up and seed companies. A recovery probably won't happen this quarter, but the market should ultimately rebound, Lefteroff says. "If you look at the business cycles, I think we're through the worst of it," Lefteroff says. "We're somewhere on the upward slope. Just a dozen start-ups secured venture funding, while 209 early stage, expansion and later stage companies were able to find investors. It's just a question of how quickly we're going to progress. What the industry needs, Lefteroff says, is increasing numbers of acquisitions and good valuations on these purchases to encourage investors to start putting money back in the networking space. I do believe the insatiable demand for bandwidth on the Internet is ultimately going to drive the demand for products in this space." Good news for the mergers and acquisitions market includes Cisco's recent buying activity as well as Oracle's purchase of Sun, even though the latter has hit regulatory hurdles.

Hottest Tech M&A deals of 2009   Here are the top 10 venture capital deals in the IT networking market for the third quarter. Facebook secured a $100 million investment in the third quarter but is not included in this list. 1. Meru Networks Location: Sunnyvale, Calif.  Description: Develops converged Wi-Fi technologies. Network companies, as defined in this MoneyTree data cut, include computer software, hardware, peripherals and services; data, Internet, satellite and wireless communications; Internet software, e-commerce, digital imaging, computer graphics and other network-related technologies. Funding: $57.5 million Investors: BlueStream Ventures; Clearstone Venture Partners; D. E. Shaw Group; Evercore Partners; Monitor Venture Management; NeoCarta Ventures; Tenaya Capital. 2. Calix Networks Location: Petaluma, Calif. Funding: $50 million Investors: Azure Capital Partners; Foundation Capital; Menlo Ventures; Riverwood Capital; Sprout Group; St. Paul Venture Capital. 3. SecureWorks Location: Atlanta   Description: Provides network security services.

Description: Develops products designed to accelerate fiber-based service deployment. Funding: $31.5 million Investors: Noro-Moseley Partners; undisclosed firm. 4. Convey Computer Location: Richardson, Texas  Description: Develops hybrid-core computing products, which combine x86 technology with hardware-based, application-specific instructions to accelerate high-performance computing applications. Funding: $24 million Investors: Battery Ventures; DCM; Globespan Capital Partners; Trinity Ventures. 6. Greenplum  Location: San Mateo, Calif.   Description: Develops data warehousing and analytics technology. Funding: $24.2 million Investors: Braemar Energy Ventures; CenterPoint Venture Partners; Intel Capital; InterWest Partners; Rho Ventures; undisclosed firm. 5. Amalfi Semiconductor Location: Los Gatos, Calif.  Description: Operates as a fabless semiconductor company. Funding: $22.1 million Investors: Mission Ventures; Sierra Ventures. 7. VeriVue Location: Westford, Mass.   Description: Develops networking technology for distribution of digital media services.

Funding: $20 million Investors: CMEA Capital; Menlo Ventures; Redpoint Ventures. 8. (tie) Tremor Media Location: New York City  Description: Develops an online video advertising technology. Funding: $20.1 million Investors: Accel Partners; Comcast Interactive Capital; Matrix Partners; North Bridge Venture Partners; Sigma Partners; Spark Capital; undisclosed firm. 8. (tie) Schooner Information Technology Location: Menlo Park, Calif.  Description: Provides data access appliances for Internet data centers. Funding: $20 million Investor: SAP Ventures. 10. Teachscape Location: San Francisco   Description: Operates a Web-based application platform for delivering teacher development courses. Funding: $18.3 million Investors: ABS Capital Partners; Sprout Group Follow Jon Brodkin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jbrodkin

An explosion of HD movies rocked the iTunes Store this morning without much apparent fanfare from Apple. Headlining iTunes Store's newly-stocked HD shelves are Wall-E, a pre-order for Star Trek (which was only available in SD until now), Hero, The Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, Knowing, Bolt, and many more. There are now hundreds of new and classic films available to rent or purchase in HD from iTunes Store. Plenty of classics have arrived in HD as well, including both Kill Bill movies, Short Circuit, Zoolander, No Country for Old Men, and what is probably my favorite B-budget sci-fi film: Cube.

Unfortunately, most HD films-old and new-are listed at the premium $20 price point. Most of the new HD films are available for purchase, though some are bizarrely limited to rental only. Terminator 2 is one of the few exceptions, as it's been available in HD  for $13, at least since iTunes Extras arrived. It first arrived as a handful of rentals for Apple TV in January 2008, then expanded a couple months later to a few HD movies for sale in March 2008. Now I count over 280 HD movies for purchase or rent in the iTunes Store's Featured HD Movies section (which I think is all of them). This may get panned by some as an underwhelming release, but considering that movie studios have struggled to get on board with the digital-distribution age, this is a major step forward for completing the iTunes Store's trifecta of mainstream content. Top Gun is $18, but almost all the other new HD arrivals, no matter how old they actually are or whether they have iTunes Extras (most do not), are $20. It's been almost two years since HD video came to the iTunes Store.