Windows 7 or 8 on new MacBook Air ?

I would go with windows 8 simple because I like the way it looks. I also like having the latest and greatest operating system.
I think it's mostly personal preference. I can't think of anything I can do in windows 8 that I can't do in windows 7. Yet again, I'm not a super power user.

I would stick with Windows 7.
I think Windows 7 is as loved as Windows XP was, and Windows 8 is as hated as Windows Vista was. As a matter of fact.... online or in person, I have NEVER heard anybody (other than the one other response you got, lol) recommend Windows 8 over Windows 7. I'm pretty sure it's generally considered a frustrating hot mess.

I personally have windows 8.1 on bootcamp on two computers, and I like it. It is really almost 100% personal preference. If you are currently a windows 7 user, you will probably want to stay with that. If you don't use windows very much, check out 8.1. I think it has a simpler UI, and is more similar to OSX. Backwards compatibility is typically pretty good, but they got rid of windows xp compatibility mode on windows 8 (you can still vm windows xp for free if you really need it). They are very similar functionally, but it can be a bit annoying upgrading from windows 7, based on what I have heard at least.

Either one will work, and I'm almost certain that every post here will be personal opinion. It is really up to you.

Edit: Also note, the 2013 Mac Pro only supports Windows 8. Any system that comes pre-installed with bootcamp 4.0 or above will be hard to install windows 7 on, if it is at all possible. I don't know if the new MBAs come with 4.0, just a fair warning if you are planning on buying a new MBA.

Best,
Matt

Glennster said:

Anyone know if Office 2007 works with Windows 7?

Click to expand...

It must because I'm running Office 2003 on a Windows 7 machine.

Glennster said:

Anyone know if Office 2007 works with Windows 7?

Click to expand...

Yep.

Windows 7 is much more enjoyable than 8 for me

mad3inch1na said:

Edit: Also note, the 2013 Mac Pro only supports Windows 8. Any system that comes pre-installed with bootcamp 4.0 or above will be hard to install windows 7 on, if it is at all possible. I don't know if the new MBAs come with 4.0, just a fair warning if you are planning on buying a new MBA.

Best,
Matt

Click to expand...

Not sure where you got your info. First off, the current version of bootcamp is 5.x.x, and it still DOES allow you to install Windows 7, depending on the machine. Every mac model needs Windows drivers that make it work on the Windows side.

The problem with the new mac pro is that Apple decided to only write drivers for Windows 8.

I use Parallels for running Windows XP and 8. Unlike Bootcamp, Parallels is an emulation app that runs under OSX which makes it easy to switch between Windows and OSX apps and also to share the clipboard and drag/drop files.

I looked at the mixed advice about Windows 7 and 8 but the main factor in choosing 8 was the cost. 8 was much cheaper and readily available.

I highly recommend W8 in its current incarnation over 7. However it will be interesting to see what they do with w9 next year.

Glennster said:

Anyone know if Office 2007 works with Windows 7?

Click to expand...

I run Office 2007 in Windows 7 on my MacBook Air. Everything works great.

I'm confused by the win 8 bashing. If you disable metro, it's virtually indistinguishable from win 7, and reputable reviewers report that win 8 actually manages memory and resources better than win 7. I researched the questions on PC forums and came to the conclusion that win 8 was generally recommended over win 7 and you should just use a start menu instead of metro.

robeddie said:

Not sure where you got your info. First off, the current version of bootcamp is 5.x.x, and it still DOES allow you to install Windows 7, depending on the machine. Every mac model needs Windows drivers that make it work on the Windows side.

The problem with the new mac pro is that Apple decided to only write drivers for Windows 8.

Click to expand...

Sorry, I was writing that late last night, and I am writing this pretty late as well. I just remembered reading a post on MR saying that the nMP only ran Windows 8 on Bootcamp. I don't remember where I got 4.0 from, but yeah it is 5.

This is the article I was referencing, and I wasn't sure if Windows 7 would work or not, just thought it was worth checking out.

https://www.macrumors.com/2014/03/17/mac-pro-drops-windows-7-support/

Edit: Oh, and here is the official Apple link. It says that the nMP only supports Windows 8 drivers. The 2014 MBA is not listed yet, so I just thought that maybe Apple was moving towards that trend. Like I said before, I don't know if Windows 7 would work on the nMP or the new MBA, just mentioning it.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5634?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

phositadc said:

I'm confused by the win 8 bashing. If you disable metro, it's virtually indistinguishable from win 7, and reputable reviewers report that win 8 actually manages memory and resources better than win 7. I researched the questions on PC forums and came to the conclusion that win 8 was generally recommended over win 7 and you should just use a start menu instead of metro.

Click to expand...

I agree. With the changes in Win 8.1 and the recently released update, there is no reason to go with Win 7. The ability to boot directly to desktop, and the ability to close Metro App from the new top bar make it much better.

If you want a real start menu, just install Classic Shell. Job done.

Mal67 said:

I highly recommend W8 in its current incarnation over 7. However it will be interesting to see what they do with w9 next year.

Click to expand...

Windows 8. Better then windows 7 and much much better than windows vista

My preference is windows 7 as I really don't like the interface that 8 uses.

Its a personal preference. i would choose windows 8.

I'd go with 8. The modern UI is a bit of a calamity but it is a better OS than 7.

Does it matter if the Windows I use is 32 or 64 bit?

watson10 said:

Does it matter if the Windows I use is 32 or 64 bit?

Click to expand...

Huh? If you have a gas engine, use gas, if you a diesel engine use diesel, don't mix! What is your processor? 32 or 64 bit, answers your question.

----------

Since 8.1 as one can boot directly into desktop bypassing Metro, doesn't look like any difference by staying in 7. The only misgiving I have whether all that Metro stuff, even when unused, takes up lots of my precious SSD space.

Mrbobb said:

Huh? If you have a gas engine, use gas, if you a diesel engine use diesel, don't mix! What is your processor? 32 or 64 bit, answers your question.

Click to expand...

So it does matter? If I put diesel in the tank of a petrol car, it breaks the engine. My processor is 64 bit so if I use Windows 32 bit it won't run?

On a straight Windows machine a 64 bit processor will run either and not break (albeit not as sufficiently) is that the same when using Windows on a Mac?

Thanks.

watson10 said:

So it does matter? If I put diesel in the tank of a petrol car, it breaks the engine. My processor is 64 bit so if I use Windows 32 bit it won't run?

On a straight Windows machine a 64 bit processor will run either and not break (albeit not as sufficiently) is that the same when using Windows on a Mac?

Thanks.

Click to expand...

If your mac has 4GB or more RAM, then you will want 64-bit. With 32-bit you won't see any more than 4GB (actually less than 4GB) in Windows.

Use 64-bit anyway, not many reasons to go with 32-bit nowadays.

As for disk space, I think an install of Win8 actually uses less space than Win7

I have windows 8.1 running on an external. The only downside is updating is a bitch. Anyways, you're gonna put windows 8 on a mac why buy a mac, get a windows equivalent.

With the latest updates to Windows 8.1 it is getting easier to stick with it. Prior to the updates I would say stick with windows 7. But now i believe windows 8.1 is a good choice.