Windows on your Mac

Need to run Windows on your Mac? Yes you can. And fast.

In the world of Mac, we're accustomed to a virus free, spyware free, highly stable environment in which we go about our jobs. PC users are not, and never really have been. Windows 7 - (basically a remodelled Vista), is better but after testing not great by all means. PC commentators out there shout about how Touch screen integration in Windows 7 is super-cool and all new for Windows - but who has a touch screen home PC at the moment?. Yes, it's new to Windows but has been part of the MacOS for some time now and was thrown into the forefront with the iPhone. Thing is, Apple dosen't  shout about it. They led the way in touch screen technology years ago and have already built it into the MacOS and moved gently towards integration with touch screen Macs with the multi-touch technology that has been used in the laptop oversize Trackpads for some time now. Bare in mind, this article has been published on our website for years now with the introduction of the first iPad.

Apple identified the need for touch screen and the general drive towards the technology ages ago...Of course, many still champion the many things a PC might have been able to do that a Mac couldn't.. the same applies, of course, vice-versa for the Mac. However, for years now Macs have performed the same tasks as PC's. The working environment is transparent and Macs do, and always have integrated seemlessly into PC networks, connected to PC printers and done all of the same day-to-day stuff that we all do with our computers. You do NOT need to buy special devices that are 'Mac only'.. pretty much all mainstream printers, Multi-function devices, scanners, Blackberrys, PDA's etc all work perfectly with Macs as do more complex Windows based Network environments such as Microsoft Exchange networks. All of this integration is built into the MacOS as standard and has been for some time. In OS 10.6 and above, calendars, contacts etc are all completely cross-compatible and integrated with Exchange and Outlook and the Mac Mail program seemlessly integrates with Exchange.

Of course, that sounds great..., but it really has taken a long time for dedicated PC users to realise that there truly is an alternative, and that they can in fact, have the best of both worlds. Not the 'Mac' persé, but a stable platform, built on UNIX that is the only consumer computer on this planet who's hardware and software are programmed and built by the same company to 'just work' and that use a virus and spyware free business level operating system as its foundation. The Mac will now do pretty much ALL of the things your PC can do and is, contrary to continuing instilled beliefs, totally cross compatible - from Microsoft Office documents, images, music, video - everything. There are the odd exceptions of course, but unlike the PC which is not able to read some Mac files or run mac Applications, the Mac can run Windows - properly and therefore ALL of your PC Apps. And if that's not enough, you may think, 'okay, I do want to take the plunge (if you can call it that) and get a Mac, but my I.T. department dont support Macs or perhaps you're worried if things go wrong you wont know what to do'.. Well...

Not here. On the first point, and we get this all the time, some companies - mainly Telco's and some smaller corporates don't bother training or telling their I.T. support staff that there is NO technical difference between the way a Mac accesses a Network - and that's largely to do with training and exams that broadly qualify techs in one way - or the other.. not from experienced I.T. personnel who have learnt 'on-the-job' and who's experience is gained actually working with Macs and PC's.. which is what ZeroThree have been doing for 19 years now. - The Internet, email, Web Browsing, no technical differences AT ALL.... None. Sure, the menu's are much easier to use on the Mac and some screens don't look exactly the same as Windows, but that's it. That is the ONLY difference. I.T. departments can get very very lazy and very Windows-Centric... with some support staff so set in their ways, they will simply say 'sorry Mac's don't work and we don't support them' as they feel that it takes them out of their comfort zone, or simply have never used one (as per comments above). Buy your Mac from ZeroThree and you get our 24/7 tech support. Call us next time and find out how good your new Mac really is - even if you are putting it into a Windows environment.

And on point 2, we'll help you through any transition, so it really is not an issue at all. We've helped heaps of people across Australia and have had not one single customer or company regret it - and that speaks for itself. Software you choose (below) such as Parallels and VMWare Fusion help you very easily migrate your PC in its entirety to your Mac... it will look the same, you'll have all of your Data, and it'll work in the same way - only faster.

Running Windows on your Mac

It's important, to note that although both OS's work astoundingly well on the Mac (way faster than most PC's on the streets today largely due to the across the board introduction of Intel's latest offerings immediately into all Macs), it is in no way supported by Apple. And quite rightly. The Mac OS on it's own will do pretty much everything Windows will... people rarely believe that, but it does. The MacOS is stable, secure, far more efficient and so much easier to use. There are exceptions - if you have some obtuse or old, or perhaps bespoke software for a PC that is not available for Mac, then the Dual OS solution is perfect for you.
 
Now, we know Mac's dont suffer from Viruses and Spyware ( a note here, a Mac CAN carry a virus - the language that the Mac speaks called 'UNIX' doesn't understand traditional Windows Viruses as they are pretty much always .exe files that are hidden in emails, or links etc that PC's do understand, hence the problem - so you can click on as many of those silly emails as you wish on a Mac and if they contain Viruses, you may be able to email them onto a friend who has a PC without knowing it, but your Mac will remain unaffected and your PC user friends Anti-Virus software should pick it up.) The common misconception here then, is that many people install Windows on their Mac and assume therefore, that it will remain Virus free.. not so. If you install Windows on your Mac, it actually opens your Mac up to the same problems that plague the Windows world. Any Viruses and 'malware' won't in any way touch the Mac side of things naturally, but if you catch an evil virus that takes your hard drive out, then of course, there goes your Mac as well.
 
Bootcamp or Parallels / VMWare Fusion
You have 2 choices with all of our Macs if you want to install Windows. You can choose Bootcamp, which is part of OS 10.6 and above and enables you to install Windows on your Mac. You then choose at Startup, which you want to run and need to restart to switch back. If you want to run both at the same time, choose VMWare Fusion or Parallels that enables this. If you start with Bootcamp and change your mind, no problem, VMWare and Parallels allows you yo 'Migrate' your Windows install whenever you'd like. That's your choice. If you're going to install Windows on your Mac, talk to us first so that your Mac is properly configured to run Windows and Mac as fast as it possibly can.
 
Okay, Great. How do I get going?
Many people ask us if we can just do it all for them. We will happily do that. - and a good idea as each Mac needs to be optimised based on lots of variables - RAM, procesors type and cores, Hard drives etc etc... All you need to do is pick your Mac from our website and once you 'SELECT', you are taken to our customisation page where you can choose from your version of Windows and VMWare Fusion / Parallels. If you also select our Windows Install Service, we'll install everything for you and give you one neat Apple that does everything you could ever imagine - it's fully patched, up to date in mac and Win and anti-virused on the Windows side plus specifically optimised for your particular choice of Mac. Just contact us here or call us on 1300 03 MACS (1300 03 6227) anytime.
 
We know some bits of this article are a little confusing and too techy, so if you are unsure of anything, just call and we'll talk normal English, French or German to you! - Call 1300 03 6227 anytime or eMail us - hello@03.com.au