How usable is Windows XP in Bootcamp on the Macbook Pro Unibody?

[iFanboy]

Need some Windows XP apps (sorry, not interested in Windows 7) despite trying hard to use Mac alternatives - it's professional, niche XP software that has no mac equivalent

I'm wondering whether to use Bootcamp on Windows XP and have some concerns.

1) That it won't be stable and will crash more often
2) That the trackpad has rubbish XP drivers that make two finger scroll and right clicking a usability headache after a while (I read somewhere that you may even need three finger click to right click....ergh)
3) That it will run really really slowly.

Can anyone help alleviate my fears, or confirm that it indeed won't be worth it and i'm better off getting a cheap XP laptop for my niche windows software?

Help very much appreciated!

 

[G4DP]

Need some Windows XP apps (sorry, not interested in Windows 7) despite trying hard to use Mac alternatives - it's professional, niche XP software that has no mac equivalent

I'm wondering whether to use Bootcamp on Windows XP and have some concerns.

1) That it won't be stable and will crash more often
2) That the trackpad has rubbish XP drivers that make two finger scroll and right clicking a usability headache after a while (I read somewhere that you may even need three finger click to right click....ergh)
3) That it will run really really slowly.

Can anyone help alleviate my fears, or confirm that it indeed won't be worth it and i'm better off getting a cheap XP laptop for my niche windows software?

Help very much appreciated!

My wife has the exact same MacBook Pro and XP runs perfectly fine on it. Runs very fast nd smooth, hasn't had it crash yet.

 

[Jason Beck]

Install it and see for yourself. Windows XP isn't very demanding. Go for it.

 

[balamw]

How resource demanding are your apps?

1 and 2 are far better in a Virtual Machine (Parallels, VMWare Fusion, VirtualBox) environment than Boot Camp, and 3) only takes a small hit unless they are quite demanding apps. The stability is an issue of the OS you are running, not the hardware per se, and the trackpad drivers in a VM use the OS X drivers so they work a bit better than the native Boot Camp drivers.

As the poster above me says, just try it.

If you do go Boot Camp, there is an option in the boot camp control panel to assign a corner for right click. Try that as a backup for two finger click.

B