Running Windows on a Macbook?
 

I've been in the market for an ultrabook and recently saw the 11-inch Macbook Air on sale at FS for $899. I've always been interested in a Mac but largely stayed away because my office runs on a PC environment plus the cost of Macs vs PCs.

But now most ultrabooks are in the same price range now as Macs. Considering I love the size of the Macbook Air and at $200 cheaper than the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro (the other option), I jumped on the Macbook.

The only question remains is if I can still use Windows when needed and work in OS the rest of the time. I would prefer to use Windows when working from home and accessing MS Office and Outlook. But for the rest of the time, I would use OS for web surfing, videos, and whatever else.

Has anyone else been running Windows 7 on the MacBook air using Boot Camp? Does it work out ok? If not, I may just return the Macbook.

I went from Windows to OSX... never looked back.

Just FYI...

But as for bootcamp... yes, it works well if you don't mind restarting every time you want to switch OS.

A friend of mine had the air and used it just like you want to use yours. He said it worked well but eventually just bought a windows 8 ultrabook. All he did was use the web browser and excel anyway.

If you're just editing a document with Word/Excel/Powerpoint and not doing anything fancy there is Office for Mac. If you're using Outlook for work where you need really good Exchange integration you can use Bootcamp or Virtual Machines. You can set up VM by getting VirtualBox (free) or VMWare ($) to run windows within your Mac operating system. It's slower but for basic stuff like word processing and e-mail it works fine. Just don't use it for games or photoshop.

Bootcamp pros: Fast, easier to set up

VM pros: No rebooting, you can flip back and forth between OS quickly, you can suspend your windows environment and flip it back on after. Can also move a self contained Windows to an external drive if your hard drive fills up.

I use bootcamp on my 11-inch air (to play Steam games no doubt). Works great, no problems at all, hell it works faster than an ultrabook running native Windows 7.

Also if you're only worried about MS Office/Outlook, I assure you the Mac client works perfectly and you won't need to bootcamp if thats the only Windows-y thing you need.

There are ways to connect to your work pc using teamviewer and such...personally i would stick with osx ...

I have a Macbook Air running Windows 7 on bootcamp since I bought it. I use the windows side about 99% of the time and it never give me any problems.

I have an Air 13" that I had planned to use for certain things, but ended up simply leaving it stored next to my desk. But that's more due to the fact that I needed a laptop with a more powerful processor and far more ram. That said, OSX is fully capable of running Microsoft Office programs if you need to use it. You can also use Microsoft's Cloud to transfer files between OSX and Windows if you need to use different operating systems between home and work.

you could've saved more by buying an actual windows laptop

Thanks. I've done more research and agree with your suggestions. I think VM will be the way to go for me.

I'm just so used to MS Office in Windows that I find Mac Office an exercise in frustration. Especially working with PowerPoint and Excel.

Feeling pretty good about my purchase now. All I need is UPS guy to hurry up and deliver my Macbook.

I don't find this to be the case anymore like it used to be. Windows Ultrabooks are pricey. The days of getting a Windows laptop and equivalent Macbook for 2x the price are more or less over. Since my last laptop purchase 3 years ago, I have noticed Windows machines have increased in price to become closer to Macs.

Sure there will always have $500 - $700 laptops on the market, but if you're lookinf for ultra portability, touch screens and Core processors, you're now in the Mac price range.

Excel on OS X isn't as powerful as Excel on Windows, so depending on how advanced you need it to be, it may or may not be sufficient.

I don't use the other programs often enough to notice a difference outside of the shortcuts.

Buy a license for VMware Fusion or Parallels if you're going to virtualize Windows. The free solutions suck.

I have a 2013 top of the line 15" MacBook Pro. Runs win 7 beautifully on bootcamp. Use that for games and OSX for anything else. I didn't think I would but I like OSX better then windows.

i got a question (too lazy to make new thread), im looking to buy a macbook (something in the future) & i really like the white macbook

any thought on that as im not hardcore apple guy, nor do i want to spend crazy money on it (i just like it for what it is)

You'll have to buy used, since the white MacBook isn't produced anymore.

You can get them for $300 :troll:

or buy a current one and put a white skin on it :pokerface:

^
yes i know i have to buy use, which is why im asking if there is anything i should be looking for (as i heard there were recalls for some of them)

I would just get an Air and call it a day (Yes, I'm aware you like the white one).

^
i cant afford an air sigh

Go for the newer aluminium bodied ones... At the very least better processors

I've successfully got Windows 7 installed using Fusion 7.

Someone told me I should set the disk space for Windows to be dynamic. I can't figure out how to do this. Any guidance?

-edit- I think I figured it out. I assume it just means to make sure the "Pre Allocate Disc Space" box is unchecked. Is that correct?

Why not get the new dell xps?