Should i put windows on my Apple MacBook Pro?

Question

I'm going to be taking online classes and the program they use requires Internet Explorer. Are there any programs that i can download that would allow me to use Internet Explorer? Or is it worth it to put windows on my 2GB 160 RAM laptop? Does it make it slower and take up a lot of space doing that? Or should i just return it and get a windows laptop?

Answer 1

- Yes, you can use Virtualbox (free software) to install Windows on your Macbook Pro. You'll need a copy of Windows though.



- You can use Bootcamp to reboot into Windows, or Virtualbox which lets you run Windows inside MacOS. Both require you to have a Windows install disc though.



- Best to only run Virtualbox when you need it. It will use some RAM (depending on what you allocate to it) and hard drive space (depending on how big you choose your Windows C: drive, 20Gb is what I use).



- No don't return it and get a Windows laptop. One of the nice things with the Mac is that it can run both Windows and MacOS.

Answer 2

I used BootCamp with Windows XP for AutoCad and my C++ compiler and didn't notice any slowing of the computer at all. I've heard mild slowing using Parallels and it's not recommended to be actively running applications in both systems.



Talk to your IT department to see if you can get the OS, anti-virus, or even BootCamp or Parallels at a discount.

Answer 3

Be ready, but try these classes with other browsers in OS X first, like Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari, etc. If this online course really requires IE then their web developers need to be fired. There's no excuse for that kind of lazy crap.



Ask your school about it first, though.

Answer 4

Why put up with Office 2010 when you could have Office 2011?

Answer 5

download VMware Fusion or Parallels desktop. those applications allow you to run mac os x and windows at the same time side-by side without having to actually reboot, install it on your hard drive, partition, etc.

Answer 6

Return it and get a PC and let that be a lesson to you.

Macs are only compatible With Steve Jobs' Wallet...