Anyone run Windows on their Mac?

[Saladsamurai]

I am going to purchase Windows for my Mac to rum some Engineering software and was curious as to whether I should get XP or Vista... Home or Pro?

Do the "Pro" Versions offer anything that you think makes the extra two hundred bucks worth it? What kind of amenities are we talking here? Is it stuff anyone uses.. or just "business stuff"?

Thanks!

 

[CRGreathouse]

The major extra features of Vista Business (vs. Home Basic) are networking and shadow copies.

Note that with XP on a Mac (not sure about Vista), you can't upgrade from basic to SP1, SP1 to SP2, or SP2 to SP3.

 

[Saladsamurai]

SP1 and so on, those are the service packs right? I am not sure what that means. Are the service packs the means of upgrading?

Seems odd that I cannot upgrade at all. :(

I am also thinking of upgrading OS X from 10.4.11 to Leopard. Seems worth the $129. Anyone running this?

 

[Saladsamurai]

The major extra features of Vista Business (vs. Home Basic) are networking and shadow copies.

Note that with XP on a Mac (not sure about Vista), you can't upgrade from basic to SP1, SP1 to SP2, or SP2 to SP3.

I was just at a Mac Forums site and was poking around and it looks like you can upgrade to SP3 from SP2...

 

[Porthos]

I assume you're going to run Windows through Bootcamp rather than an emulator? I'm running XP with SP3 on my MacBook. I had some trouble installing Windows in the first place, but, since I got the issue with the install disc figured out, everything has run smoothly.
If you're running Bootcamp, your Mac is functioning as a Windows machine, so, it really comes down to whether the software you want to run performs better on XP or on Vista.
Additionally, the upgrade to Leopard is totally worth the money. I've run every iteration of OSX, and Leopard is certainly the best, as you would expect.

 

[Saladsamurai]

I assume you're going to run Windows through Bootcamp rather than an emulator? I'm running XP with SP3 on my MacBook. I had some trouble installing Windows in the first place, but, since I got the issue with the install disc figured out, everything has run smoothly.
If you're running Bootcamp, your Mac is functioning as a Windows machine, so, it really comes down to whether the software you want to run performs better on XP or on Vista.
Additionally, the upgrade to Leopard is totally worth the money. I've run every iteration of OSX, and Leopard is certainly the best, as you would expect.

Thanks for the input! Is Leopard the same as Leopard Snow? Or is that something new coming out?

Does Vista have these "service packs" yet? Are they inevitable? And will I be able to upgrade via them?

 

[jtbell]

Windows Vista is already at SP1. If you buy a current Vista package it includes SP1.

I'm starting to think about installing Windows on my Mac (a fairly new Mac Pro). I'll probably do it using Boot Camp first, then later install Parallels or Fusion so I can run it without having to reboot.

But first I want to add some more memory. I've got only 2GB right now.

Leopard Snow is the forthcoming revision of Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard). I understand it's not going to add new features (or at least add only a few), but instead will be focused on improving performance by rewriting and streamlining existing code so it takes better advantage of Intel processors. I think it will be only for Intel processors and won't run on PowerPC machines.

 

[Saladsamurai]

Windows Vista is already at SP1. If you buy a current Vista package it includes SP1.

I'm starting to think about installing Windows on my Mac (a fairly new Mac Pro). I'll probably do it using Boot Camp first, then later install Parallels or Fusion so I can run it without having to reboot.

But first I want to add some more memory. I've got only 2GB right now.

Leopard Snow is the forthcoming revision of Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard). I understand it's not going to add new features (or at least add only a few), but instead will be focused on improving performance by rewriting and streamlining existing code so it takes better advantage of Intel processors. I think it will be only for Intel processors and won't run on PowerPC machines.

Cools. When does snow come out? Also, I am trying to figure out why CRGreathouse said you can't upgrade to the newer service packs when it comes time to??

Has anyone upgraded successfully?

 

[jtbell]

Apparently there have been recent rumors of Snow Leopard being released earlier than expected:

Apple's Snow Leopard prepares to show off its spots

 

[Saladsamurai]

Apparently there have been recent rumors of Snow Leopard being released earlier than expected:

Apple's Snow Leopard prepares to show off its spots

Cool, maybe I'll sit tight then instead of buying the current Leopard.

 

[Porthos]

What I've read about Snow Leopard is the same as above; it may be out sooner rather than later. Some have suggested it'll be out at Macworld 2009, but the Apple website still says "in about a year" (that was posted in June of 2008). It probably wouldn't hurt to sit tight though, Saladsamurai.

As for your question about upgrading, well, I started with SP2 and upgraded to SP3. As long as you have the necessary discs, you should be able to upgrade. As far as you're concerned, when you're running Bootcamp, your computer is a Windows machine, so, you should be able to install anything you would be able to install on any other Intel-based machine.

 

[Saladsamurai]

What I've read about Snow Leopard is the same as above; it may be out sooner rather than later. Some have suggested it'll be out at Macworld 2009, but the Apple website still says "in about a year" (that was posted in June of 2008). It probably wouldn't hurt to sit tight though, Saladsamurai.

As for your question about upgrading, well, I started with SP2 and upgraded to SP3. As long as you have the necessary discs, you should be able to upgrade. As far as you're concerned, when you're running Bootcamp, your computer is a Windows machine, so, you should be able to install anything you would be able to install on any other Intel-based machine.

Good point. Do you run XP Home or Pro? Is there much advantage to Pro? Or is mostly things that people never use?

 

[Porthos]

I run XP Home, as I'm a teacher and am allowed a copy through my school board for free. For the advantages and disadvantages in relation to Pro, you'll need someone more versed in Windows than I am.

 

[Saladsamurai]

Gotcha thanks! I will probably need to pick up some anti virus software too now

 

[Nick M]

I have a Macbook and Mac Pro. I use Boot Camp to run XP Pro on both machines - but only for the rare piece of software that is PC only. Image editing, 3D Modeling, Word/Excel/Powerpoint, Mathematica, and internet/eMail is all done in OS-X Leopard.

 

[Saladsamurai]

I have a Macbook and Mac Pro. I use Boot Camp to run XP Pro on both machines - but only for the rare piece of software that is PC only. Image editing, 3D Modeling, Word/Excel/Powerpoint, Mathematica, and internet/eMail is all done in OS-X Leopard.

What do you use for 3D modeling?

 

[CRGreathouse]

I was just at a Mac Forums site and was poking around and it looks like you can upgrade to SP3 from SP2...

OK. The iMac I had to service at work wasn't able to be upgraded from SP2 to SP3. Your experiences may vary, but Apple says it can't be done. There may be ways around, but they're unsupported.

 

[Nick M]

What do you use for 3D modeling?

I've been learning Maxon Cinema 4D
https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=247868

 

[harborsparrow]

I have been running Windows XP on a Macbook for a couple of years. I use Apple Bootcamp and like it a great deal. However, it requires a reboot to switch between operating systems.

My friend uses VMware instead; it works well for the most part, but sometimes there are issues. For example, she cannot run the Novell networking client at work on her version of Windows, and she has had trouble tunneling into my work network. So if you're doing arcane networking, maybe Bootcamp is a better alternative.

Good luck!