Computer Recommendation For College Student - Apple Running Windows XP?
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Each Sunday our local rag has a column in which readers post questions which are answered by the technology guru for the newspaper. This Sunday a reader asked which computer they should purchase for their son who was heading off to college. They were undecided whether to get a laptop or a desktop, whether Dell was a good brand, if they should get Vista since they were leary because of the bad press it has received and the difference between the Intel or AMD processors and which was the best.
After reading what the reader was asking, I kind of laughed to myself. This should be interesting since no matter what the guru said, there were sure to be varying opinions in computer land. The first question was easy. Laptops for a college bound student would most likely be the best because of its portability. The student can take it to class, use Wi-Fi to connect from anywhere on most campuses and bring it home to do work on during semester breaks. The guru from the paper agreed.
The Vista question. This is a tough one. I’d worry about software not being compatible with Vista. Some of those college programs can get very expensive. I’d lean towards a Dell laptop which is still available with Windows XP. You would be pretty safe doing this. The newspaper guru stated a big NO to Vista as well. Stating that Vista will need at least one year to mature and get the bugs out. The paper guru also stated that Dell was a OK machine and didn’t recommend any other brand.
Intel - AMD question. To me it comes down to personal preference. I have used both and both have performed well. The paper guru ran around in circles citing claims and dubious test results, which to me really don’t amount to a hill of beans. But in the end stated they were both good processors.
But towards the end of the story, the paper guru stated why not just by an Apple? Than went on to state since Apple was now using the Intel processor, you can install a copy of Windows XP on the Apple system. Though it wasn’t specifically stated my guess was that this was in reference to Boot Camp that Apple provides so the system can dual boot the Apple OS and Windows XP.
So this is my question to you. Has anyone out in computer land tried doing this? How well does it work?
Comments welcome.
9 Comments
Guy
May 29th, 2007
at 1:13pm
I have been using an Intel Apple since their appeance. I now have 3 Intel macs and use them with Parallels and Boot Camp. Both excellent. I will never buy a purely PC again. There is no point in buying a generic PC anymore. I use the OS X operating system exclusively for myself - however my wife needs to use a PC to access her VPN at work and I write code for PC based programs from time to time. Best of both worlds - one box! Eventually I will have 2 iMac 24’s, a iMac 20″, a MacBook Pro, and a quad core (next generation) Mac Pro with 3 - 30″ screens (lots of video editing) in the house. I also see the day that my 2003 Windows server will be turned off and replaced with an Apple server with lots of hard disk space. The recent growth in market share of Apple (albeit fairly small) clearly points to people finally getting it. Computers should be truly generic and operating systems a choice!
Mikeezee
May 29th, 2007
at 1:50pm
I have not had any issues and have several faculty members that utilize this configuration. To push it one more notch, why not add Parallels to the solution. With XP you can access the Bootcamp partition without having to reboot the laptop. This has been the best option unless you need the brute speed of the laptop for MS Access or 3D programs.
Ron Schenone
May 29th, 2007
at 2:49pm
Hi Guy and Mikeezee,
Thanks to you both for the information and your comments.
Ron
Matt P.
May 29th, 2007
at 10:24pm
“Computers should be truly generic and operating systems a choice!”
Isn’t this a quip against Mac OSX then for not supporting general architectures?
Petr
May 29th, 2007
at 11:50pm
Hi,
I use MacBook Pro with MAC OS X and MS-Windows XP. No problems excetpt only one button on trackpad ! I did not find any solution, how to make a right click in native Windows on the Apple trackpad. I do have to use an external USB mouse, which is a bit of pain in the a..
Parellels works also excellent, but I have had to decide and choosed native Windows. Anytime I tried to run Parallels, Windows required a new license for registration, because under Parallels the HW configuration of machine seems different than booted to native Windows …
I can live with this, considering the ease of using only one machine for everything. But if anyone have any solution, it would be most welcome !
Petr.
Ron Schenone
May 30th, 2007
at 4:44am
Hello Matt P and Petr,
Thanks to you both for your comments. They are appreciated.
Ron
Sergio
May 30th, 2007
at 7:07am
first this:
Petr!! If you want to press a right click on a MacBook using XP simply put two fingers on the trackpad and CLICK the button!! Magic, this works for both OSX and Windowz!! Another tip, if you use two fingers at the same time on the trackpad you can scroll!!
I’m a new Mac user and I’m using bootcamp because I need windows for work ( I write .net code)! It’s a really good experience, I use Osx for everything else and windowz for work!!. I recommend everyone this setup either with parallels or bootcamp.
Wayne Whitfield
May 30th, 2007
at 10:11am
I’m leary of anyones advice that would recommend a dell.
Google dell sucks
Ron Schenone
May 30th, 2007
at 11:46am
Hello Sergio and Wayne,
I appreciate you both taking the time to post your thoughts and comments.
Ron