Macbook vs PC Laptop for school use

I will say, I've got the MacBook Pro that is use alot, and it works very well using "windows".

I've got boot camp installed and running very well (even plays HL2). So that is obviously a windows option. But the other option I have installed is Parallel's Desktop and it works wonders. You can't drag and drop or copy paste between the Windows "window" and OSX. But it runs very smoothly as it runs windows natively instead of emulated. I have MS Office installed on it, Paint Shop Pro, Swishmax, and even OCTGN and it works with the Airport, the USB ports, mouse, DVD drive, everything. It's a great option for a situation like yours (powerpoint audio, or WMV/A playback) or for testing (html in IE, etc.) because you just run the PDesktop Windows, open the program you want, and go. Easy as pie.

I highly recommend the Apple stuff. Once you go Mac, especially the MacBook lines, it is hard to go back. There are alot of upsides to the MacBook line: the power adaptor, OSX, Front Row + Remote, great battery life, small/light formfactors, the sweet iSight camera, two finger scrolling... Everything on them seems to be so much better thought out then most laptops. After using it, the only reason to stay with Windows PC, is because of some of the incredible programs available. If they were all on Mac as well, I wouldn't even boot windows. But having the options of PDesktop and Boot Camp makes it that much easier to make the Mac decision.

I would recommend checking Apple's refurb list for better prices as well. You still get the same warrenties, so its a great deal. The laptop I got is a refurb, and not a issue with it yet!

Oh yeah, you do know about the Free iPod Nano deal for students buying a new MacBook/MacBook Pro?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Parallel's runs very well. It's obviously not "fast" but in general terms it is fast. Windows runs best when it has less installed, and that usually happens when you run a PDesktop on mac, you only put on what you need... so your windows install stays nice, clean and bog free. Let's put it this way, I would say it runs at about 2/3's to 1/2 the speed of my P4 3.0ghz. So, when I run a photo filter, it takes like 2-3 seconds, not 1. Also, the interface is just a touch laggy. Kind of like if you were only seeing 15 frames/second, like when you move your mouse quickly, it just kind of appears there instead of moving there.

This all might sound bad, but really it's not. I mean, I use it to do my photo editing right now, big stock photos too (2500x1800ish), and it doesn't feel slow to me. Excel, word, others feel fine.

Some of the things it can't do. I have had trouble with anything that runs on cmd line (such as LAME, and x264). It doesn't seem to want to work with those particularly. Also, some of the registry stuff seems screwy. Like FFdShow won't install into the registry. It's kind of weird. You can trade files back and forth from the virtual drive to your Mac THROUGH A NETWORK. In other words, you can't just access the virtual drive of your PDesktop windows like you would if it were a were just another drive. You have to go through a network, just like if you were going to exchange files between your MacBook and your home PC (sign in the drive, have permissions set, etc). So, for any basic functionality stuff it works great, just dont expect wonders.

The best thing about PDesktop is that it doesn't seem to bog down OSX at all. You can Expose out of it or use the hot keys. Heck most of the time I have it minimized and run Final Cut Pro without a hitch. About the hot keys, right click is emulated through a user set hot key (I have mine as shift+control+mouse). Scrolling works with the two fingers just like OSX too. You can set the resolution of Windows to change the window size. You can set custom sizes via the PDesktop interface before boot up.

About the MPC in PDesktop, since I've never gotten FFdShow to install, ive never tried it. I wouldn't recommend trying this though. PDesktop is great for anything that doesn't need "real-time". Like I said it seems a touch laggy, so I imagine twitch gaming is not the best idea. Also, I've not tried ZNES or anything in it, but I would imagine that emulating inside a virtual desktop is not going to work, or be worth it if it does work.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Mucknuggle

Seems like Bootcamp is the way to go for my needs. Thanks.

Bootcamp works pretty well. You lose a bit of functionality when you go to Windows (as of Bootcamp Beta1). The newer version has the iSight which is good. The Beta1 also doesn't have right click simulation which sucks if you dont have a mouse handy. It drains the batteries MUCH faster, like I'd say twice as fast. This might get better as Apple writes the drivers for each laptop better. So far, the keyboard shortcut keys (volume up-down, etc.) don't work in Bootcamp either.

Overall, it doesn't seem to have too many issues. Like I said, I have Steam installed and have tried most everything else successfully.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.