OS change = Loss of applications???

[CrazyNyx]

Hi. good day to everyone. im new here so please bear with me lol

Anyway, I just recieved MBA 11' as a xmas gift. i liked its applications (ie garage band, ical, dashboard etc.) but because i have been using Windows (XP,vista and windows 7 at the moment) ever since i had my first pc, i am not really comfortable on navigating my way through this laptop.

question: i know i can change my os, but by doing so, will i lose those applications mentioned? and if i will, can i ever get them back (but with windows still installed)? also, is there any way to marge the two and get the best of both worlds (windows os + MBA applications)?

thanks in advance for the help guys.

 

[MacDawg]

You can run Windows on your MBA with OSX either with Bootcamp (booting natively) or virtualized with Parallels or Fusion

You can't run the OSX applications in Windows, but you can run them at the same time

 

[Isair]

You can find mac counterparts for most if not all types of software you used on windows. If you still insist that you are not yet comfortable with using OS X you can partition and install windows as a second operating system or use a virtual machine to run windows on OS X like MacDawg suggested. There is no way to run OS X applications on windows (different executable formats and literally tons of other reasons). Also there is a project called wine which is a reimplementation of Windows APIs for Unix and Unix-like systems that lets you run windows PEs.

EDIT: It seems that you are confused with something. You are not limited to using only 1 operating system on a computer, you can install as many as you want as long as that OS supports the instruction set your CPU uses. Though they will require their own partition.

 

[SHADO]

My suggestion would be to get Parallels and install Windows and use it in coherence mode. This allows the windows applications to 'display natively' for lack of a better term. They act like OSX windows and can be moved around in expose, spaces, etc. And you still have all the functionality of Windows and can install/uninstall programs. Here is a nice video detailing the different aspects of Parallels.

 

[CrazyNyx]

thanks guys. apreciate it. im having a very hard time understanding those jargons but im trying my best. ill research on that 'parallels',than you very much.

also,i know about partitioning with regards to OS but my space is not that big and i know that housing diffrent OS is not really advisable for laptops that are not built for space. but thanks for the advice. ill look into that.

 

[Isair]

If you find parallels to be too performance-crushing, there is also wine as I mentioned. Provides lower compatibility than running windows on an emulator like parallels but I find it's compatibility enough and the performance gain is huge.

 

[shinji]

you'll get used to os x within a week. It's intuitive when you give it a chance.

windows explorer -> finder
outlook express -> mail
IE -> safari/firefox
notepad -> textedit
control panel -> system preferences under the apple menu
find -> spotlight

etc.

I use Launchbar for launching apps instead of relying on the dock but whatever you feel more comfortable with.

 

[CrazyNyx]

thanks for all those advices guys...totally appreciate it..will look on it very closely. thanks a lot.