This will single handedly help me decide whether I should get a mac or not. I'm a Windows addict but would like to buy a mac just to experience it for the heck of it. The most important thing is I want to have Windows 7 to work on it just incase I'm not happy with OSX.
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Does Windows 7 on mac works exactly like how it works on a PC?
- Thread starter wannabelean
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If you run it via BootCamp then yes, it's the same.
If you already know you're happy with Windows 7, though, I don't know why you'd pay the premium for a Mac.
If you already know you're happy with Windows 7, though, I don't know why you'd pay the premium for a Mac.
Just to experience the OS. I have old business win 32 apps which I need to run which is why I need Win 7.
Yes. Works fine too, but you lose the ability to address all of the RAM in most modern Macs due to 32 bit's 4GB limitations.
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You mean if its more than 3GB it will not able to allocate the memory right? Isn't that a limitation even with the windows machines nowadays?
32 bit Windows has a limit of around 3.5GB.
If you only need to run a few Windows apps you should consider installing VirtualBox which is free and will run Windows in a VM which should be ample for your needs. I have been using VB, Parallels and VMWare Fusion lately - settled on VMWare Fusion because I needed full 64 bit capabilities for a Linux VM I'm using and the upgrade from my old Parallels 4 only cost $9.99. Other than the poor 64 bit support, VirtualBox is very good. I see no reason other than possibly gaming why you would want to run Boot Camp although I did pass on my iMac recently to someone who works in the office and they wanted Windows 7 installed since that is all they needed. I left Snow Leopard on there but it defaults to Windows. Works well and they're happy since they didn't want to mess with OSX.
If you know iTunes, you'll get a similar feel with OS X Snow Leopard. Not my taste. Win7's explorer is nudging over in the same direction. I have preferred using a third-party, dual-pane explorer, xplorer², since my XP days.
So far the only program I've had a problem with on the Win 7 side is Adobe Reader -- unable to install.
Does foxit or cutepdf work? Does this even mean the distiller will have a problem?
Thanks
Sounds like you will like OS X if just for it's native PDF handling. Anything you can print can be sent to PDF, and the built in Preview.app can let you extract/merge PDFs, annotate etc... (Basically the equivalent to Windows GDI is PDF in OS X.
FWIW I have Adobe reader 9 installed happily on my MPB W764 and MB W732, so I don't know what Baby Mac ran into.
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Which one is the popular way to do it? VMWare/ Parallels/ Bootcamp?
Thanks for all your input peopl
Thanks for all your input peopl
Depends. What exactly are the "win 32 apps" you have "old business" with?
From the little you've said in the thread, a VM might well be sufficient for your needs. Heck, even Crossover Office might work.
Both VMWare Fusion and Parallels offer free trials, and you can use Windows 7 without a product key for up to 30 days (extendable to 120). So, depending on your applications you could create the VM, mess with the settings and all until you are satisfied that it will work, or not and move on to the next option.
VMWare and Parallels are not exclusive of Boot Camp as they can boot your BC Windows install and provide tools to allow activation to keep working.
Note: There is also a third, free, VM option: Virtualbox.
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Thanks man. They are custom private apps tailored to our business. I have a copy of Win 7 home premium new so that wont be a problem. I'll try parallels/vmware and see how it goes.
BTW a year back when I wanted to maximize the window screen of safari/word on the mac I could not. Is this possible now? When I mean maximize I mean the usage of the full screen barring the taskbar area like in Windows.
BTW a year back when I wanted to maximize the window screen of safari/word on the mac I could not. Is this possible now? When I mean maximize I mean the usage of the full screen barring the taskbar area like in Windows.
I prefer running Win7 in VMWare Fusion rather than Boot Camp. I can hot-key between my Mac and PC environments, copy/paste between them, etc. It's just so nice to have my Mac be a Mac... and also a PC.
If you do heavy gaming in Windows, you'll want to give it all the resources of your machine (meaning: Boot Camp), but in my development work I do not notice a performance hit.
Battery life of a laptop will be somewhat reduced by running a virtual machine, since the processor is working harder. But again, the impact is small.
A major benefit of going virtual machine vs. Boot Camp: Time Machine will back up your virtual machines. It won't touch a Boot Camp partition.
What I do: I keep a bunch of virtual machines on an external hard disk, one of those cool little USB affairs. That way I can keep my projects separate, avoid version-itis, etc. Works really well. (Actually, my main VM pocket-drive is a speedier little FireWire-equipped unit, but the firewire connector is so easily dislodged from the side of my Mac that I really can't recommend it unless you're really really careful. Honestly, whoever designed that connector really needs to be taken to the woodshed. It needs to be several mm deeper to provide a solid connection. You do NOT want your drive disconnecting in the middle of using a virtual machine!)
If you go the external-drive route: first format the drive using Mac OS X Extended (journaled) format. (Don't use the silly crapware utilities that might come bundled with the drive. They're universally terrible.) This allows Time Machine to back up the drive, which is a good thing. External drives are excluded from Time Machine backups by default, so go into Time Machine's preferences and un-exclude it.
I've had better luck with VMWare than Parallels. For one thing, though neither company is a champ in customer support, few are as abysmal as Parallels. There is a free alternative, VirtualBox from Sun/Oracle, but it's not really ready for primetime in my experience, lacking graphical and USB support.
VMWare lets you clone an existing PC, which is very nice, too. I think Parallels has this capability as well.
Enjoy! Virtual machines are great for exploring other OSes. I've got a collection of Linux and other VMs too... even tried Android!
If you do heavy gaming in Windows, you'll want to give it all the resources of your machine (meaning: Boot Camp), but in my development work I do not notice a performance hit.
Battery life of a laptop will be somewhat reduced by running a virtual machine, since the processor is working harder. But again, the impact is small.
A major benefit of going virtual machine vs. Boot Camp: Time Machine will back up your virtual machines. It won't touch a Boot Camp partition.
What I do: I keep a bunch of virtual machines on an external hard disk, one of those cool little USB affairs. That way I can keep my projects separate, avoid version-itis, etc. Works really well. (Actually, my main VM pocket-drive is a speedier little FireWire-equipped unit, but the firewire connector is so easily dislodged from the side of my Mac that I really can't recommend it unless you're really really careful. Honestly, whoever designed that connector really needs to be taken to the woodshed. It needs to be several mm deeper to provide a solid connection. You do NOT want your drive disconnecting in the middle of using a virtual machine!)
If you go the external-drive route: first format the drive using Mac OS X Extended (journaled) format. (Don't use the silly crapware utilities that might come bundled with the drive. They're universally terrible.) This allows Time Machine to back up the drive, which is a good thing. External drives are excluded from Time Machine backups by default, so go into Time Machine's preferences and un-exclude it.
I've had better luck with VMWare than Parallels. For one thing, though neither company is a champ in customer support, few are as abysmal as Parallels. There is a free alternative, VirtualBox from Sun/Oracle, but it's not really ready for primetime in my experience, lacking graphical and USB support.
VMWare lets you clone an existing PC, which is very nice, too. I think Parallels has this capability as well.
Enjoy! Virtual machines are great for exploring other OSes. I've got a collection of Linux and other VMs too... even tried Android!
Thanks for that. I'm not developer. All I use the PC is for MS office work, browsing, movies, music, watching tv rips and running two of my work's win 32 applications.
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I'd try running everything but the custom apps in OS X. Wait for Office 2011 and try that.
Depending on how complex they are you may even be able to use winebottler to package them as a standalone OS X "app" I did this for a custom Win32 app from my work and it was much nicer than using it in a VM or Boot Camp.
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wannabelean said:
I'd try running everything but the custom apps in OS X. Wait for Office 2011 and try that.
Depending on how complex they are you may even be able to use winebottler to package them as a standalone OS X "app" I did this for a custom Win32 app from my work and it was much nicer than using it in a VM or Boot Camp.
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I purchased Nuance PDF Converter 7 Pro which just came out, works with Windows 7, and is equivalent to Adobe Acrobat (editing pdfs with similar tools and menu structure) but MUCH cheaper.
I did not try those other programs you mentioned. I figured I'd give the Nuance product a shot, since I also have their latest Dragon. While Nuance has upset many customers with recent versions of their products, their latest stuff works great for me. I left a more detailed review @ Amazon
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I just thought why not get a Mac mini with extra RAM. I have an unused monitor with an HDMI connector.
depending on the keys you use it can be a pain running in vm mode. I had a hell of a time with my cad software. finally gave up on it it it was not worth the hassle. I still prefer a pc at work it is easier using windows 7 with with windows apps then doing it on a mac. faster and smoother and the keyboard fits.
Exactly what they are intended for. Folks who just want to try out OS X and already have a desktop PC. In general though, you get a lot more band for your iMac buck.
Note though that my earlier comment still applies. To fully try OS X out, you need to try to do everything you would do in Windows on it, not just a few things or you won't get the full experience.
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I have noticed that W7 on my sig MBP runs better than any PC i have ever owned (and i built gaming PC's!)