New Macbook pro owner.. few questions

jeezy85

jeezy85

jeezy85

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20 Feb 2010
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Hi all,

i am a proud new own of a macbook pro retina just moved across from windows :D

i have been doing some research and have a few questions regarding installing windows..

would you recommend to install windows via boot camp or via vmware fusion 8?

i just need to use windows for work purposes i.e outlook, using few windows network programs for work etc..

would appreciate some advice

Thank you:cool:
 
If you're simply using it for that, I would just go down the VMware Fusion route. To be honest, most of the time I would go down that route, rather than having the boot camp partition.
 
Windows via Bootcamp ruins the Mac experience, the touchpad (no matter what apps and drivers you install) is just .. rubbish.

You can get office for Mac, you can also use Wine/Wine Bottler to run certain windows apps. Personally I tend not to use virtualisation unless it's bare metal as it's always sluggish.
 
I personally love Bootcamp, takes seconds to boot if you've got an ssd and it's nice having both OS's running at full speed and Windows 10 works like a dream ;)
 
No. Parallels is super fast on a modern MBP and you would not notice it's being virtualised.
 
With the speed of virtualisation, I simply wouldn't bother with bootcamp. I never shut down my MacBook, simply close the lid, then come back and resume where I left off. I can pause my VM's and work on multiple OS's at the same time. These are features that make virtualisation a significantly better option than bootcamp.

As you can get free trials of both Parallels and Fusion, I'd give them both a go.
 
When it comes to Parallels and Fusion, the answer honestly is whichever is cheaper, unless you absolutely need the marginally better performance of Fusion (though at the expense of stability some may find, it generally is a little more cutting edge).

Fusion licensing is per user, whereas Parallels licensing is per system, if that makes a difference to you (and unless they've changed this).
 
I use both - Fusion & Parallels - regularly. For desktop type OS virtualisation (I.e. Windows 10) I much prefer Parallels. Just seems better integrated, and nicer to use.

Server stuff is easier in Fusion though.

Also, Parallels is locked to a single install (so machine based as per someone's point above). It's a physical lock too - you can't run it on multiple machines. Irritatingly expensive.

Both VMWare and Parallels seem to be in a virtualisation arms race and to be honest I don't really think the users are benefiting - all it seems to be benefiting is their bank balances through constant upgrades....not that you *have* to buy the upgrades of course.

Parallels do a subscription model too - may want to look at that.
 
Also I rarely bother bother with BootCamp now either. Used to use it a lot for UC/RealTime voice & video stuff. Don't have to any more, works fine in Parallels.
 
You can also install windows via bootcamp and then mount it virtually through parallels. So you can just boot into windows, or boot into OSX and then run windows.
 
lamboman said:
When it comes to Parallels and Fusion, the answer honestly is whichever is cheaper...
Click to expand...

I'm surprised VirtualBox isn't getting mentioned considering it's free and it ticks the boxes of the average user. Arguably Parallels/Fusion is better in terms of performance (especially GPU performance) but i can't say i've noticed much difference using VirtualBox for the occasional Windows app.

Either way, it's worth trying VirtualBox as you haven't got a lot to lose.
 
Thanks for the replies all...

just another question... why do you all prefer mac to windows? Still trying to get justification out the price i paid (£1500).. I'm still within 14days so i still have the option to return it..

everything seems so weird to me lol at the moment
 
jeezy85 said:
Thanks for the replies all...

just another question... why do you all prefer mac to windows? Still trying to get justification out the price i paid (£1500).. I'm still within 14days so i still have the option to return it..

everything seems so weird to me lol at the moment
Click to expand...

Buyers remorse kicking in? If you don't like it or you're having to ask a forum why they prefer mac to windows it might be best that you send it back!
 
-Mike- said:
Buyers remorse kicking in? If you don't like it or you're having to ask a forum why they prefer mac to windows it might be best that you send it back!
Click to expand...

To be fair, the change can be quite a big one when you've never used anything like this. Once you get used to it, the user experience is fantastic, and just takes a bit of time to get out of Windows habits.

I've introduced a few people to Apple hardware since I switched to having a MacBook around 4 years ago. I at least had linux experience, so I knew how to handle the backend side, just took time to get used to the GUI.

Now going back to Windows is a pain, I miss the trackpad more than anything, but overall the experience is just nicer on OSX. Just takes a bit of time to get used to.
 
Ghosteh said:
To be fair, the change can be quite a big one when you've never used anything like this. Once you get used to it, the user experience is fantastic, and just takes a bit of time to get out of Windows habits.

I've introduced a few people to Apple hardware since I switched to having a MacBook around 4 years ago. I at least had linux experience, so I knew how to handle the backend side, just took time to get used to the GUI.

Now going back to Windows is a pain, I miss the trackpad more than anything, but overall the experience is just nicer on OSX. Just takes a bit of time to get used to.
Click to expand...

I'll try it at some point, right now I'm going to replace my sofa surfing laptop with an ipad air, may try mac desktop sometime but I'd miss my games!
 
jeezy85 said:
Thanks for the replies all...

just another question... why do you all prefer mac to windows? Still trying to get justification out the price i paid (£1500).. I'm still within 14days so i still have the option to return it..

everything seems so weird to me lol at the moment
Click to expand...

I was PC 100% of the way. I worked in IT, I had multiple at home, I discounted OSX completely. Until I got my macbook. It just.. works. My mid-2013 air hasn't skipped a beat, I still get 8+ hours battery, it's powerful enough to use Premiere Pro/After Effects/Photoshop, it's well built etc.
 
jeezy85 said:
Thanks for the replies all...

just another question... why do you all prefer mac to windows? Still trying to get justification out the price i paid (£1500).. I'm still within 14days so i still have the option to return it..

everything seems so weird to me lol at the moment
Click to expand...

It will feel a bit weird because it's a totally different operating system. You're used to working with Windows and it's not Windows!

Why do I prefer OS X to Windows? I know it's corny to say it but in my experience the phrase "it just works" is accurate. I don't have to faff about with regular maintenance, I don't have to worry about viruses, if I want to install something, all I need to do is drag it into the Applications folder and it's done. To uninstall something, I just drag it from the Applications folder into the bin and it's done. Overall it's just a more satisfying experience than Windows and far less frustrating.
 
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