Questions about MacBooks...

[redsoxunixgeek]

My girlfriend recently bought a black macbook, and I really enjoy it. Infact I am thinking about getting one, there is just one drawback...

I am an IT Manager for a company that is all windows.... And I need to be able to run some windows programs that I use every day, and still be able to maintain my domain.

I helped her install bootcamp, and I know some programs do not like running on it, so I am wondering if anyone here has any experience with the following programs running on a mac:

* Visual Studio 2005 - Pro
* SQL Management Studio
* Office 2007
* SQL Enterprise Manager
* Deltek Costpoint, and Impromptu Reporting
* Cognos Reporting
* Avaya IP Phone Management Tools.

Any help would be appreciated because she seems to think the Macbook would fit me better because I do use some programs, like Adobe Creative Suite, and Acrobat Professional.

Thanks in Advance!

 

[baustromverteil]

Hi redsoxunixgeek,

take a look at paralells, I prefer it over bootcamp ...

www.parallels.com/

cheers, Max

 

[reflex]

I helped her install bootcamp, and I know some programs do not like running on it

What kind of programs? I haven't had any issues yet. Though I can imagine programs that need low-level access to harddisks and such would probably not work (think Partition Magic).

When it comes down to it, Windows doesn't really run any different on a mac than it would on another pc.

 

[KipCoon]

I'd say anything other than hard core rendering, should run beautifully on the MB. The only weakness it has is the GPU, and that is all dependant on what you plan to do with it.

use the Windows side at work, and enjoy something better at home on OSX

 

[crees!]

Hi redsoxunixgeek,

take a look at paralells, I prefer it over bootcamp ...

www.parallels.com/

cheers, Max

And now the newest beta of Parallels lets you use your BootCamp partition within Parallels, no reboot required

 

[redsoxunixgeek]

I'd say anything other than hard core rendering, should run beautifully on the MB. The only weakness it has is the GPU, and that is all dependant on what you plan to do with it.

use the Windows side at work, and enjoy something better at home on OSX

Why is the GPU so affected? (I dont do rendering I am just curious)

Thank you everyone so far for your help! I think I am about to come a mac owner again

 

[mr_matalino]

Why is the GPU so affected? (I dont do rendering I am just curious)

Thank you everyone so far for your help! I think I am about to come a mac owner again

Again? What happened? (if it was in the early '90's I don't blame you)...

 

[KipCoon]

Why is the GPU so affected? (I dont do rendering I am just curious)

Thank you everyone so far for your help! I think I am about to come a mac owner again

The Macbook has integrated graphics so its not a rendering machine.
It can still do some, but you won't be playing Half Life2 on it anytime soon

 

[redsoxunixgeek]

Again? What happened? (if it was in the early '90's I don't blame you)...

i worked for HP in their Macintosh Unit for a few years, and then I moved to Northern Idaho, and started running windows again for the Job, and so I got rid of my old powerbook.

 

[FFTT]

If you go for a MacBook, I'd select the 2.0 GHz model configured with at least
1 GB RAM and preferably 2 GB RAM.

You'll also want at least 100 HD space if you plan to partition the drive for dual booting.

My neighbor just purchased a MacBook Pro for work and needed to run
some very specialized custom Windows applications and reports no problem
at all running under the latest build of BootCamp.

I would take a good look at the refurbished Mac Book Pros before making any final decision.

You should also call Apple directly at 1800MYApple and inquire about
savings under a corporate or developer discount.