Hello! I have a Mac, which I love deal, but the evil people at the MBA program I will be attending next year are dead set on me having a PC (They have a "special deal with Dell" that isn't a deal). The compromise is that I can just add Windows to my Mac. I know that this is possible through Parallel, but am really concerned about performance issues and viruses. I have the entry level computer, not the Pro, so I'm very concerned about this proposition. I'm hoping to fight them on this issue, so I'm really looking for your adding Windows to an entry level Mac horror stories.
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Help Please Adding Windows to a MacBook - Grad School
- Thread starter Illinidiva
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Boot Camp. Use the cd included with the MacBook and a copy of XP, Vista or Windows 7 RC1. Painless process. If you use Parallel or anything else that virtualizes Windows you would suffer from some preformance issues because your MacBook would try to be running two OS at once. Stick with Boot Camp IMO.
+1 - install Windows via Boot Camp. If you choose to use Fusion or Parallels, be sure to install Windows via Boot Camp ONLY, then install your virtualization app, and point that app to your Boot Camp install of Windows. That way you're only maintaining one Windows installation.
You mentioned viruses et al - when you're running Windows, either through virtualization or Boot Camp, you'll need to use whatever virus/spyware/malware protection you would use on a PC.
Otherwise, there's no horror story to tell - it should work just fine.
You guys don't seem to get where I am going with this. There is no way that I will add Windows to the computer that I'd like to last for awhile here and I'm actively looking for arguments as to why this would be a bad thing. I had a Windows-based PC and after a year it was so slow, that it took forever to boot up the computer. I have no doubt that the same thing would occur if I added Windows to my Mac. I think that they are being silly on this issue and would like to arm myself with some facts.
Btw, the school has a "deal" with (Dell). A quite bad one at that, so my spidey sense suggests that this has more to do with capitalism than computer requirements.
Btw, the school has a "deal" with (Dell). A quite bad one at that, so my spidey sense suggests that this has more to do with capitalism than computer requirements.
The problem is, no one really has problems with this. You could ask why they need a PC. Tell them you have Office (for Mac), and are prepared to run Windows using BootCamp as a last resort. I doubt they will need any specific software. If they do, BootCamp may be your only option. There are no performance issues, so I can't see why your so hesitant.
Exactly what "MBA Program" are you talking about? What do they require from Windows that your mac can't do? (Even without bootcamp).
This is like an employer saying you need a specific model of car just to get to work on time. If they demand you drive a Pinto, then let them buy you one.
OTOH... If you just need a computer for network communications, intranet stuff, virtual classes, MS Office document exchange like most universities... then any machine will do.
I don't know of any academic institution that can dictate a particular operating system - unless your MBA involves writing code for Microsoft or your courses will be using windows specific software. Otherwise, it sounds to me like they just need to peddle enough Dells to qualify for academic pricing.
But I suspect there's something you're not telling us. Macs have a lot of penetration in the academic community and no institution could get away with demanding that windows be used just for the sake of using it.
This is like an employer saying you need a specific model of car just to get to work on time. If they demand you drive a Pinto, then let them buy you one.
OTOH... If you just need a computer for network communications, intranet stuff, virtual classes, MS Office document exchange like most universities... then any machine will do.
I don't know of any academic institution that can dictate a particular operating system - unless your MBA involves writing code for Microsoft or your courses will be using windows specific software. Otherwise, it sounds to me like they just need to peddle enough Dells to qualify for academic pricing.
But I suspect there's something you're not telling us. Macs have a lot of penetration in the academic community and no institution could get away with demanding that windows be used just for the sake of using it.
In my MBA program I DID have to run specific software. Most of it was provided either by my professors or with the textbooks, and it was indeed Windows-only.
I'm not talking about PowerPoint presentations or PDF's, either - I'm talking about accounting software, SAP modules, statistical analysis software, etc. Sure, you can do things like that on a Mac with different software, but they're going to want everyone using the same thing.
Exactly what "MBA Program" are you talking about? What do they require from Windows that your mac can't do? (Even without bootcamp).
This is like an employer saying you need a specific model of car just to get to work on time. If they demand you drive a Pinto, then let them buy you one.
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I don't know of any academic institution that can dictate a particular operating system - unless your MBA involves writing code for Microsoft or your courses will be using windows specific software. Otherwise, it sounds to me like they just need to peddle enough Dells to qualify for academic pricing.
But I suspect there's something you're not telling us. Macs have a lot of penetration in the academic community and no institution could get away with demanding that windows be used.
Several of your points are way off-base. An academic institution can dictate the software you use, the same as they can dictate the textbook you use or what time your classes meet. If it's part of the curriculum, then so be it - this is neither the time nor place to instigate an OS holy war.
In my IS classes we had to use the development software we were told to use, and it was Windows-based. Yes, I know you can develop Java and C++ on the Mac platform, but as a student you don't get to make those decisions; if the prof says to use Product X, then you use Product X.
Like I said, there's a lot more to graduate school than Word and Excel. There are very specific programs they want you to use, and in most cases they're Windows-only. That's the world we live in.
The facts are a Windows computer will work just fine if you take care of it - keep your spyware/virus/security software up-to-date, stay away from questionable sites, etc. Don't bog it down with a bunch of unnecessary software. Windows runs as well on Mac hardware as it does on PC hardware, so that isn't an issue, either.
It's also important to remember that no matter what happens to your Windows installation on your Mac, your OS X installation remains unaffected - the two OS's are on different partitions, so the problems of one don't affect the other.
Many of us (myself included) have Windows on our Macs without any trouble at all. If you're looking for some hard-and-fast reasons why it's a terrible idea to put Windows on your Mac, you're going to have a hard time finding some.
Exactly what "MBA Program" are you talking about? What do they require from Windows that your mac can't do? (Even without bootcamp).
This is like an employer saying you need a specific model of car just to get to work on time. If they demand you drive a Pinto, then let them buy you one.
OTOH... If you just need a computer for network communications, intranet stuff, virtual classes, MS Office document exchange like most universities... then any machine will do.
I don't know of any academic institution that can dictate a particular operating system - unless your MBA involves writing code for Microsoft or your courses will be using windows specific software. Otherwise, it sounds to me like they just need to peddle enough Dells to qualify for academic pricing.
But I suspect there's something you're not telling us. Macs have a lot of penetration in the academic community and no institution could get away with demanding that windows be used just for the sake of using it.
I wish I was withholding information from you but I'm not. I've been trying to get a straight answer as to why with Windows, but I'm not getting anywhere with them. The IT Office just gave me some vague information regarding why it is necessay (i.e. that it might be difficult to share documents with teammates.. which isn't really the case). If Windows is going to crash the school's network or make it impossible for me to do any schoolwork, then I'm all for adding it to my Mac. But if it is going to only present the possibility of perhaps causing me a few headaches, then I'm really confused.
Just suck it up and put Windows in BootCamp. Take your classes, do what the school and professors ask you to do, and in the end when you have your MBA, you can use whatever software you want and argue till you're blue in the face that no one needs Windows and no one can make you use it.
Is it really worth the trouble to fight with the school over something you're obviously not going to win? I look forward to you getting to your classes and finding out you have to use something like SPSS or some other software that is indeed Windows-only.
Is it really worth the trouble to fight with the school over something you're obviously not going to win? I look forward to you getting to your classes and finding out you have to use something like SPSS or some other software that is indeed Windows-only.
Like everyone says. Load any version of Windows onto Bootcamp, and tell me what's up period. If you need Office, well you can work under OSX, if it's Windows based program only, then you'll have your copy of Windows. Don't worry, the big Windows NIGHTMARE (/sarcasm) won't come to your beautiful machine ....Just have to use some common sense, which should be easy for a MBA student
....Just have to use some common sense, which should be easy for a MBA student
Businesses are the same way - they support what they support, and they don't support what they don't. They generally want everyone using the same mail client, the same word processing software, same CAD or design software, same accounting software, etc. Don't take it personally. It really does eliminate some headaches if everyone is using the same thing.
You almost sound paranoid of Windows. Most of these kinds of problems (crashing a network, really?) are caused by users, not by an OS. Yes, I know that Windows doesn't have the built-in stability and security of OS X, but when it's used and maintained properly it doesn't cause these problems.
My Vista installation on my iMac is just about a year old and it runs as well today as it ever has. I keep Onecare up-to-date, download and install my updates and security patches, and avoid installing a bunch of garbage on it - and I don't have any trouble with it.
I use VMWare Fusion. I have two gigs of RAM, so there aren't really any performance problems. I plan on continuing on like this when I get into my MBA program in the fall. I have been using different stats programs like this, and even Solver in Excel. So far I haven't come across anything that I can't run. BTW, VMWare comes with antivirus software included. Others might as well, I'm not sure.
However, I do recommend installing via Boot Camp first, and then using a virtual machine. If you need a free VM, try out VirtualBox.
The fact that you have a MacBook and not a MacBook Pro is no biggie. Your computer is faster than mine (I have the very first model from 06).
Installing a VM or using BootCamp won't slow down your Mac (in the way Windows cruds up). Windows isn't naturally slow, per se (please everybody, don't rant on this). It just needs to get reinstalled about once a year to keep it fresh. You ran into that problem.
Don't worry, things will go fine.
However, I do recommend installing via Boot Camp first, and then using a virtual machine. If you need a free VM, try out VirtualBox.
The fact that you have a MacBook and not a MacBook Pro is no biggie. Your computer is faster than mine (I have the very first model from 06).
Installing a VM or using BootCamp won't slow down your Mac (in the way Windows cruds up). Windows isn't naturally slow, per se (please everybody, don't rant on this). It just needs to get reinstalled about once a year to keep it fresh. You ran into that problem.
Don't worry, things will go fine.
Sounds like a load of crap to me. Maybe years ago, when Mac was utilizing more Appletalk vs. straight TCP/IP. But I have NEVER heard of a Mac bringing down any networks. I work/maintain a 25 server Windows network, and I have the only Mac on it, and I've NEVER had any issues. However, the Windoze machines [Thank God, they pay me to take care of them!]???
I share documents with all of my peers, and co-workers [MS Word/Excel] and have never had any problems.
Get your MB and enjoy getting your MBA!
I share documents with all of my peers, and co-workers [MS Word/Excel] and have never had any problems.
Get your MB and enjoy getting your MBA!
I agree with the other posters. You can also install Windows 7 RC1 since it's free for a year. Use it and see what the deal is, if what you're doing doesn't require Windows then simply delete your Bootcamp partition and use your Mac, they can't refuse you if Windows is not really necessary. Some people are uninformed about Macs and immediately dismiss them due to ignorance. But again, if you have to use Windows, install version 7 RC1 and suck it up, finish your classes and move on to the real world afterwards.
Businesses also provide you with computers for business use. In this case they're demanding that I use a certain system just 'cause, when my current system is perfectly compatible.
I'm rightly paranoid about putting Windows on my computer because I dealt with PCs for years. My last Dell was literally so slow by the time that I upgraded to the Mac it was literally taking me 15 minutes to load MS Explorer. I'd come back to after it had been booted up for fifteen minutes, so I'd be shocked if Windows would affect my overall Mac performance in the same way. My father's PC is acting much the same way.
However, my point was about the Mac, not Windows. If the Mac is so foreign to the school's network, that I'm going to crash the system or there is something that I must have on my personal laptop to pass a certain class (rather than using a school computer lab, then I'm not going to fight it), but the responses that I'm getting are very vague (which isn't really helping resolve the situation). As I said above, my spidey suggests that this is about capitalism, not computer science.
What did you do with your old computer? I maintain that if you reinstalled Windows it would be fast again. Or maybe I could refresh it for you if you wanted to sell it. The fix is the same for your dad's computer. Can I have it? I have friends that need computers for real. But I could help if you want.
Your Mac will not crash anyone's network. If the school wants you to have a PC, then it is because they want you to run specific software. You can run Windows on a Mac to solve that problem.
And it's true you can use Windows 7 RC1 for free. I have it.
Your Mac will not crash anyone's network. If the school wants you to have a PC, then it is because they want you to run specific software. You can run Windows on a Mac to solve that problem.
And it's true you can use Windows 7 RC1 for free. I have it.
There are computer labs in the school, so that really isn't a problem is it and I'd be shocked if they were going to make me run some fancy, smancy software in a general MBA program. (I'm an accounting grad, and I didn't have to run any sort of advanced software in my classes.) Most schools don't teach you any software other than MS Office, because companies use all different sorts of accounting systems, marketing systems, etc. They don't even teach SAP despite the fact that that is becoming a pretty standard system.
As for the school, there is no way to think that I wouldn't win. And I'd think that they at least owe me an explanation other than just 'cause they said so. I stopped doing things just 'cause people said so when I was about 11.
Dude... you can't read. I said, "Operating System".
I know a school can dictate which specific applications to use if they only work for a specific OS, but not the freaking *brand* of computer they run on. The OP is saying they want everybody to use Dells.
If their only reason is to share mainstream documents then it's bunk.
It would help of the OP would tell us what his graduate studies are in.
UIUC MBA program... I'm a graduate of the accounting program there (hence the nickname). I'd get having a specific operating system/ computer if it was an engineering program, but I'm racking my brain trying to figure out what advanced software you'd use in MBA classes. I have an accounting degree and I didn't use any accounting software, and I don't think that half of my classmates are even proficient in Excel or have much knowledge of computers.
No offense to the OP but, if you are saying that your Windows was running slow its either three probably situations for most users:
1.) hardware was ill suited for the OS / software
2.) lack of maintance
3.) bloatware was never removed and again - lack of proper care.
you aren't really going to find an argument as to WHY NOT to install windows xp or windows 7 because there really aren't any issues. Most issues really aren't from Windows end but, the user himself.
1.) hardware was ill suited for the OS / software
2.) lack of maintance
3.) bloatware was never removed and again - lack of proper care.
you aren't really going to find an argument as to WHY NOT to install windows xp or windows 7 because there really aren't any issues. Most issues really aren't from Windows end but, the user himself.
I'm certain it's not "just 'cause." If they didn't have a reason they would never have even addressed it with you.
I beg your pardon, but that's user error, not Windows. If Explorer wasn't taking 15 minutes to load when you first got the computer, then it was software and/or configurations you made or added to the computer that was slowing it down. Computers don't "get slower" over time; they can get bogged down, and that's absolutely 100% preventable on any OS.
I'm familiar with the relationships between colleges and PC/software manufacturers. The school isn't making any money by offering Dell hardware. Dell is likely offering a nominal discount in return for the hope of increased volume, but the school isn't profiting from it.
Prepare to be shocked. You may not have used any advanced software in your classes, but you're in grad school now. It's a whole new world.
I took a general MBA program at a public school. Among the programs I was required to use (either on my own computer or a computer lab) included a financial accounting program, a Java and C++ based software development (NOT programming) application, a statistics program, software that came with my Production/Operations Management textbook, SAP modules (these were more or less glorified tutorials), and proprietary software I used for taking exams online for one of my finance classes.
There were several times I needed to use Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or Acrobat in classes as well, but nobody cared what platform I used for those. And when I took C programming, I was told I could use any compiler I wanted, but if my code wouldn't compile and run on the Unix-based compiler on the university's system, I wouldn't get a passing grade.
Dude, I can read. If the school dictates that you use an application that's Windows-only, then they're dictating that you use Windows. I never said anybody was dictating any hardware choice. I submit you should read more carefuly.
The OP is saying they have a "deal" with Dell. They're not gonna care if it's Dell, or HP, or Apple - as long as it runs the applications they need you to run.
See above. Interestingly, when I was an engineering undergraduate, most of the proprietary software they made us use was Unix based, so we either had to use the computer lab or dial into their system. Aside from that, if you were using a word processor or spreadsheet for assignments they didn't care what platform you used. I don't imagine your MBA program will, either.
I've heard that there are viruses which can end up wiping the whole drive, regardless of partitions.. Is this true?
But it isn't a deal... The same computers were being offered for less on the Dell home page, so I digress.
As for the rest of your points, UIUC isn't really that great a program as I remember some of the MBA students taking the same classes that I did my last year of undergrad. I highly doubt that they are going to go with fancy software programs.
You may be right, but software doesn't have to be "fancy" to be Windows-only. Go to Target, Walmart, or Best Buy and scout those disks that come with 1001 games or whatever. They're about as rudimentary as they get, but they still only run under Windows.
I do wish you luck, however. If it were me, I'd keep the Mac and run Boot Camp/Fusion.