Gonna get a Mac. A couple ?'s

[mothergoose45]

Im gonna get an Imac when Leopard drops but a couple ?'s.

My wife is used to windows and needs it for her work (teacher). Will it be easy to have Leopard and Vista running on my Imac?

Can you open office (word) docs from Vista to Leopard?

Will Adobe Designer with bootcamp work well on an Imac? Prob a 24" with 2 Gig ram.

How well will I expect Vista to run on the mac?

Looking forward to a mac.

 

[iMetroid]

Can't answer the first question.

Yes, you can open Word documents in OS X. You can either buy Microsoft Word (on Apple's website), or download Open Office (free, but Word works better for Word documents).

Anything that works in Windows will work with boot camp.

You can expect it to run as fast as it would on a PC. Remember - now that Apple uses Intel processors, it runs natively.

 

[clevin]

Im gonna get an Imac when Leopard drops but a couple ?'s.

My wife is used to windows and needs it for her work (teacher). Will it be easy to have Leopard and Vista running on my Imac?

Can you open office (word) docs from Vista to Leopard?

Will Adobe Designer with bootcamp work well on an Imac? Prob a 24" with 2 Gig ram.

How well will I expect Vista to run on the mac?

Looking forward to a mac.

there are several ways to run vista on mac, u will need to do some research to decide which way u want to go.
there is office for mac, so you should be able to open word docs made under vista, but Im not sure if the format will be 100% preserved.
about Adobe Designer, I can't think of any reason it won't be able to run.

 

[Chundles]

Im gonna get an Imac when Leopard drops but a couple ?'s.

My wife is used to windows and needs it for her work (teacher). Will it be easy to have Leopard and Vista running on my Imac?

Can you open office (word) docs from Vista to Leopard?

Will Adobe Designer with bootcamp work well on an Imac? Prob a 24" with 2 Gig ram.

How well will I expect Vista to run on the mac?

Looking forward to a mac.

1. It's difficult to say how well Vista is going to work on a Mac because the details of the new Microsoft OS haven't really been too forthcoming. I would assume that using Bootcamp to partition your HDD and then install Vista will be just as simple as an XP installation is today. That is, the final version of Boot Camp which will come with Leopard. The current one is a bit tricky because it's primarily designed for helping install XP SP2.

So, for number one I would say yes.

2. Word docs (so long as they aren't full of odd formatting and fonts) will be fully compatible between Office:mac and Office:Windows. I am unsure as to whether Vista will be able to read or write to the Mac's HFS+ format (I very much doubt it will) so you will have to copy your file from one HDD partition to the other by way of a USB thumb drive or similar.

3. Just some information about Boot Camp before I go on to answer question 3, Boot Camp is not an emulator. When you're running Windows on a Mac in dual-boot mode, you're not running it "in Boot Camp" you are running it completely natively.

Boot Camp is a small program that uses a GUI and non-destructive method to suitably partiton (or, in the case of a Mac Pro with multiple HDDs, select) your HDD for an installation of Windows and to create a driver CD for the specialised Mac hardware (iSight, keyboard etc.). That's it. Once you run Boot Camp, you install Windows and you now have a Windows PC in a very nice enclosure. You could delete Boot Camp from the Mac and everything would continue to run perfectly because now your Mac is, to Windows, just another bog-standard run of the mill PC, albeit with some high quality hardware.

So, that being said, any Windows program running in Windows on a dual-booting Mac will run as well as it would on any other PC with the same specs as the iMac (ie bloody quick) so yes, Adobe Designer will run just as well in Windows on your iMac as it would on a HP or a Dell with the same specifications.

4. So long as they get all the kinks in the installation process worked out, Vista will run (in Dual-boot) on your iMac exactly as it would on any other PC with the same specs. Considering the specs of the iMac are pretty damned good I would say Vista will run pretty damned well. The public releases have all run pretty well on the current iMacs and with Leopard lobbing after Vista, Apple will have plenty of time to ensure that the final release of Boot Camp which will come bundled with Leopard will have the ability to prepare your iMac fully for a Vista install.

 

[mothergoose45]

Thanks Chundles.

So Adobe designer (which I need for work) will run fine as long as I have bootcamp? It will not run at all on a Mac OS as of now.

So I will basically have a nice new Mac and a PC?

Also what size of a HD do you suggest I get for such a setup?

Was looking to get a 1 TB MYLIFE external HD also.
If I put the vista Partition on there would I sacrafice speed?

Sorry for all of the questions, like I said I have never had the pleasure of owning a Mac. I cant wait.

 

[mothergoose45]

Also when you switch from Windows to Mac OS do you have to reboot?

 

[clevin]

Also when you switch from Windows to Mac OS do you have to reboot?

if u are using bootcamp, yes, u need to reboot

 

[Chundles]

Thanks Chundles.

So Adobe designer (which I need for work) will run fine as long as I have bootcamp? It will not run at all on a Mac OS as of now.

So I will basically have a nice new Mac and a PC?

Also what size of a HD do you suggest I get for such a setup?

Was looking to get a 1 TB MYLIFE external HD also.
If I put the vista Partition on there would I sacrafice speed?

Sorry for all of the questions, like I said I have never had the pleasure of owning a Mac. I cant wait.

1. Is Adobe Designer a Windows app? Because then yes, you will need Windows and if you want Windows to run at full speed then you will need to use Boot Camp to prepare your computer for installing Windows in a dual-boot set up. There is a program called "Parallels Desktop" that allows you to run Windows within a window in OSX - you cop a bit of a performance hit because it's virtualising a separate computer (still bloody quick though) but you don't get full graphics support nor access to all the hardware. That all could change though but for most people I think dual-booting Windows is the best and easiest option.

2. Yup.

3. As big as you can afford. Don't spend the money on boosting the processor, spend it on RAM and storage. You won't notice the increase in speed from the extra GHz but you'll notice the increase in "smoothness of operation" from the extra GBs of RAM and, well, more HDD space never went astray.

4. I really can't say, I don't know whether Boot Camp will prepare an external drive for a Windows installation. I don't own an Intel Mac so i can't try it out for you. The external will be very handy when Leopard comes along with the Time Machine automated backup program - that looks very handy indeed.

Also when you switch from Windows to Mac OS do you have to reboot?

Yep, that's why they call it dual-boot. There are programs that allow you to run Windows without rebooting (essentially as just another window in OSX) and they work very well but for full access to your hardware, especially the video card, I'd stick with dual-booting OSX and Windows. The iMacs reboot very quickly (most people report around the 20 second mark) so it's not too much of a hassle. Most of the time, unless you're using very specified software I'd just stick with OSX. You can do pretty much everything you need with OSX and it's just a much nicer experience than ol' Windows.

Questions are great, we can't recommend anything to you without you asking what we think can we? And, unlike some, a lot of us won't force the Mac down your throat, if we think you'll be better off on Windows we'll tell you - mind you, there aren't too many people in that boat.

Just as a point of reference, there are some fantastic guides on this site and over at apple.com especially for switchers to help them get their heads around OSX and the Mac - don't let people kid you, there is a learning curve but if you read up on how things work now you'll be fine and ready to go when you turn your Mac on for the first time and hear that lovely "dooooonnnnnggggg."


When are you thinking of buying? Because your posts mention Leopard a lot so I presume you're looking towards around March/April next year when it's expected to lob. If so, keep a close eye on these forums because that's right around the time that the iMac should be upgraded so you could end up waiting a week or two longer but getting a brand spanking new system with both Leopard and iLife '07 (due for release early January) pre-installed. If you buy now you'll have to pay for both, if you buy after iLife '07 is announced then you'll just have to buy Leopard, if you wait till Leopard is released you'll have all of it pre-installed.

 

[bryanc]

One point that I don't think has been made clear is that MacOS can read and write to the Windows partition, but not the other way around.

So you don't need a USB key or anything else to share files between the OS X side and the Windows side... just put the files on the Windows partition, and you'll be able to access them from either OS.

Another point is that, while Bootcamp will certainly work, and will give you a machine that is in every respect a Windows PC (and which will therefore run any windows application), it may not be necessary to go the dual boot route if all you need is access to Adobe Designer. If Designer runs adequately under Parallels, VMware, Crossover or other virtual machines, you won't need to re-boot, which would save some annoyance.

At any rate, the bottom line is you will be able to do everything you want with your Mac. The only question is weather it will be necessary to boot windows occasionally.

cheers

 

[Chundles]

One point that I don't think has been made clear is that MacOS can read and write to the Windows partition, but not the other way around.

So you don't need a USB key or anything else to share files between the OS X side and the Windows side... just put the files on the Windows partition, and you'll be able to access them from either OS.

Another point is that, while Bootcamp will certainly work, and will give you a machine that is in every respect a Windows PC (and which will therefore run any windows application), it may not be necessary to go the dual boot route if all you need is access to Adobe Designer. If Designer runs adequately under Parallels, VMware, Crossover or other virtual machines, you won't need to re-boot, which would save some annoyance.

At any rate, the bottom line is you will be able to do everything you want with your Mac. The only question is weather it will be necessary to boot windows occasionally.

cheers

Yep, all very good points. Hopefully mothergoose45 can get the answer he or she needs from all our advice.

Parallels still amazes me as does Crossover. Running Windows within a window in OSX? Amazing. Running Windows programs in OSX without Windows? Amazing. The way the IR sensor on my Universal Dock is bang smack in the centre? Amazing.

The fact that my last few posts were quite coherent despite it being 4am? Bloody amazing.

 

[mothergoose45]

Thanks for all the help fellas.

Yes, I will be waiting until the new Imac comes out preinstalled with ILife 07' and OS X. I am fine with waiting and saving up some x-tra cash to get what I want.

Should I upgrade and get a N router? Doesn't Imac have N router cappabilities?

Will Imac burn Dual layer DVD's? What are the chances of a HD-DVD burner in the new Imacs.

Anyone know of software for the mac that will unprotect DVD's so I can back them up on a DL-DVD?

Also what predictions do you guys see changing (adding) for the new Imac next year. This thread has made my mind up to get a mac. I bet that 24" screen looks sweet.

 

[Chundles]

Thanks for all the help fellas.

Yes, I will be waiting until the new Imac comes out preinstalled with ILife 07' and OS X. I am fine with waiting and saving up some x-tra cash to get what I want.

Should I upgrade and get a N router? Doesn't Imac have N router cappabilities?

Will Imac burn Dual layer DVD's? What are the chances of a HD-DVD burner in the new Imacs.

Anyone know of software for the mac that will unprotect DVD's so I can back them up on a DL-DVD?

Also what predictions do you guys see changing (adding) for the new Imac next year. This thread has made my mind up to get a mac. I bet that 24" screen looks sweet.

1. Who knows. 802.11n won't be ratified until 2008 so anything out now is based on a number of different draft versions. Next year there will be a Draft 2.0 version released. Currently no Macs support 802.11n (although the new cards do) and as such won't be able to take advantage of any speed boost from using it. There is also no guarantee that the router you buy will work with the 802.11n chipset in the Mac because they may be using some different proprietary stuff that won't communicate with each other. I'd just stick with 802.11g for the time being until we know more about the future of 802.11n.

2. This is something you can find out on the iMac webpage. I would very much doubt that a HD-DVD burner will appear in a Mac. Whilst Apple is behind both technologies they are on the Blu-Ray board of directors so I think that's where Apple will be taking us.

3. Yes, MacTheRipper will do the ripping, a good investment you can make is Toast Titanium which will allow you to then burn that ripped DVD onto another DVD that will playback in standalone players.

4. Next year? The Santa Rosa chipset will bring a faster (800MHz) front side bus, Robson caching (using some flash memory to store commonly used parts of the OS to allow super-fast booting), Draft 2.0 802.11n and a bevvy of other enhancements. It will still use the Merom Core 2 Duo processor that it does now but I'm unaware of any increases in speed in the near future. It could even get a brand new design, nobody really knows until it happens - Apple are masters at keeping secrets, that's why these sites exist.

The 24" screen is incredible.

Just back to previous topics, I hope you're aware that whilst you won't need any anti-virus or anti-spyware/adware software for OSX, you will still need it for Windows. Running Windows on a Mac is the full Windows experience in every way. Windows viruses won't affect the OSX partition because Windows can't read or write to HFS+ formatted drives but they will still effect your Windows partition just as they would any other PC. You can get around having to worry about breaches of security by working in OSX as much as possible.