just seen that apple have released 'boot camp' http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/ which enables you to install windows xp, has anyone installed it on a mac?

I have a Mac and a PC. I never use the gates machine anymore. Why the hell would you want to run a inferior operating system anyway? :confused:

Chris

I have a Mac and a PC. I never use the gates machine anymore. Why the hell would you want to run a inferior operating system anyway? :confused:

Chris

Err......Because you've got a piece of incredibly bespoke software that has been designed to run on windows and with a stupidly small user base globally, it's not worth dedicating the time and staff resources to developing a Mac version......

Not to mention that the Intel Mac's won't run a few bits of "Mac" software, like virtual pc - which I was majorly annoyed about.

I didn't fancy doing the hack that was released a a week or so ago, so it's nice to see Apple seem to have taken that and built-in partitioning etc so you don't have to reformat the whole thing and start from scratch.

I have a 20" 2GB intel imac

Err......Because you've got a piece of incredibly bespoke software that has been designed to run on windows and with a stupidly small user base globally' date=' it's not worth dedicating the time and staff resources to developing a Mac version......

Not to mention that the Intel Mac's won't run a few bits of "Mac" software, like virtual pc - which I was majorly annoyed about.

.[/quote']

zactly that reason! plus I could probably blag getting a power book for work

Still prefer mac os than windows!

Must admit the Mac hardware is great, very quiet (I've got the non-Intel mini Mac, bought it for a laugh).

Sure it's nice but it doesn't run what I need beyond the web browser. It's main job was to remote desktop onto windows machines....

We may be looking at getting a second laptop - does a MAC connect easily to a standard WiFi router in the same manner a Windows machine does?

We may be looking at getting a second laptop - does a MAC connect easily to a standard WiFi router in the same manner a Windows machine does?

yes i should think so... what u going to get a mac book pro?

I love the way the mac mini's don't have fans and therefore silent.

Just something for SWMBO to use for web/email and she's always wanted a Mac. An ability to write word compatible documents would be nice too.

How compatible are the file systems? Can you easily save/open files via a USB memory stick etc?

How compatible are the file systems? Can you easily save/open files via a USB memory stick etc?

yes, mac can read and write windows format. There is a version of ms office for the mac also.

I've had the mac for 3 months now, great bit of kit, if only i could use it

iworks is ok for .doc conversion in text only if the page has been formated by word then you need to get office for mac which is a pain, unless i can find something else.

It's more about forgetting about windows and starting again, as trying to do what you did with windows becomes very frustrating.

If you get a laptop with built in airport then it picks up wireless networks very easily.

well, i've got office for mac, seems quite alright really. also loaded up with macromedia studio 8 and to be honest, it's quite a mover (Mac Mini Duo, 1gb ram)

Only time it's "noisy" is when the optical drive spins up on lead-in/lead-out sections.

But, right now, I'm installing XP Pro after having run Bootcamp.

pain-free so far, but will have to see how it runs in practice.

I also thought about office for mac but the price put me off. Cheaper to buy an old laptop to run office apps than buy office from Apple.

You do wonder whats going on, first intel macs, now Apple releasing bootcamp to allow XP to run on a Mac ?

I also thought about office for mac but the price put me off. Cheaper to buy an old laptop to run office apps than buy office from Apple.

You do wonder whats going on' date=' first intel macs, now Apple releasing bootcamp to allow XP to run on a Mac ?[/quote']

Market pressure? Or just toying with the biege-box-pc makers?

Let's face it, if you want a small-form factor PC, you've got two choices:

Shuttle XPC - smaller than your normal mid-tower unit, but still have a fan or two and have you seen the price of those things? :eek:

Mini-ITX - horribly underpowered in my experience, and still not small.

or.....

Apple Mac Mini, which can now be had with the advantage of running all your windows software, if you happen to need that sometimes.

How much is Office for the mac? I haven't the stomach to go and check, but if you know a teacher/student........get them to buy it for you and & slip them

you could always run openoffice from Sun, its free...

But' date=' right now, I'm installing XP Pro after having run Bootcamp.

pain-free so far, but will have to see how it runs in practice.[/quote']

what resolution does it run in windows?

Ive got OS x running on my PC if that counts

couldnt figure out what made it better than windoze tho??

As far as it being a better OS - yes and no.

It has a fundamentally better underlying design in some regards, but I still managed to crash the Mac using the software that was installed 'off-factory' both before and after applying all Apple's fixes to it.

There are many things wrong with Mac OS X imho, but that's from a Windows user's perspective. Similarly there are tons of things wrong with Windows too.

You can buy mini-ITX form factor boards which take a P4 and are still nigh-silent. the Mac Mini isn't fanless when it's the Intel model, only the original one is. It is still very quiet however admittedly.

As for beige boxes - there is a large variety of cases out there, some are rubbish, others are excellent quality and finish.

The bigger problems with windows are the support of allsorts of hardware/software combinations, a level of popularity and common knowledge use about it, causing an interesting target for virus writes etc, combined with a distinct lack of security responsibility shown by M$ in the past.

That said Windows has enabled a LOT of the world to have a GUI experience rather than a green screen. I know 'X' existed for unix based systems WAY before windows came along, but that wasn't within 'Joe Bloggs' budget.

The one thing Macs do oose is styling, and now they finally have a proper mouse to work with the blasted thing I can get on with using it

resolution - whatever resolution the Intel GMA950 chipset supports.

My limitation is the poxy tft's at work that max out at 1280x1024.

You are correct, the intel mac mini isn't fanless, but it's inaudible unless you want to stick your ear within a foot of the unit - on;y hear the optical drive, and as it's a little laptop affair, more than acceptable.

Interestingly, the air vented from the rear is cooler under XP than OSX. I guess that's the the windows install isn't doing anything.

Wind'ohs has been fine. I screwed up my anti-virus s/w install, so have had to go back.

Biggest problem I've got so far is that I keep looking for Mac drivers & versions of software for things like mobile phone etc, but of course, if i've got the option of windows, that's not really required.

Funny how it's dragged Virtualisation software back into the spotlight - Parallels Workstation - currently a free beta, looks good, sandboxed environment you can switch between rather than reboot

Virtualisation software will become more and more important - we use it a LOT at work to allow for lower hardware cost overall (generally we extensively use about 4 images concurrently, but have another 5..6 running 'ready to go'. Having virtual server 2005 R2 means we can do this on a couple of servers and the concept of 'try it and chuck it after it's messed up' are now possible

Might end up with an Intel-based mac mini at some stage too, I'm sure it's still quiet as you say & it is nice and compact

I bought a MacBook Pro while on holiday in the US last week.

It's a lovely bit of kit and I made a significant saving by buying abroad even though it was retail at an Apple store. Only cost about $50 more than an equivalent spec Sony Vaio.

I had an early PowerMac a few years ago and OS X is a massive improvement. The supplied Intel coded apps run very fast and Office via the emulation mode for the PowerPC apps runs just fine.

I installed Boot Camp on it the day it came out as it had me intrigued. I was expecting someone to sort out a friendly method of dual booting XP with proper drivers sometime in the next few months but I wouldn't have guessed it would be Apple and this soon. XP works flawlessly and everything apart from the iSight camera works fine. Proper ATI graphics drivers for playing games as well. There's the odd oddity with the keyboard mapping and ejecting CD's etc but nothing major.

I was banking on keeping my faithfull old Dell laptop to run some XP stuff on but it's redundant now so it's going on eBay in the next couple of days.