Fusion, parallels or boot camp?

[spick]

PART ONE:

I just got a macbook a couple weeks ago and am absolutely in love with it.

I have a class that I'm taking that requires me to use photoshop CS3, Java JDK 6.0, tomcat, and Netbeans, so I was wondering which route should I choose to install xp to use these programs?

I read all about fusion, parallels and boot camp. But the thing is I don't know how heavy duty these programs are, so I don't know which should I go with.

So can you guys give me some advices on which should I choose?

PART TWO:

I also have trouble connecting to my college's wireless connection. When I tried to connect to it, I just get a message saying "error connecting" or something close to it.

Any advice how I should approach this?

Anything is helpful since I'm still relatively new to Mac.
Thank You

 

[mBurns]

Spick...

I have a MacBook Pro (see signature) and have been using Parallels since day 1. I'm currently using the newest version of Parallels. I've never tried Boot Camp or Fusion. I run Windows Vista Ultimate via Parallels for internet and basic PC games and find the speed reasonable -- considering what it was like using Virtual PC! With this in mind, if I was going to use these programs for serious work on a daily basis.. I'd go with Boot Camp. Virtualization can't take the place of the real deal. I'd want the most speed I could get out of a program if I seriously needed to use the thing. Others may disagree. The major benefit of Parallels is that you can run Windows and OS X at the same time. Although I love this feature, I never find myself going back and forth. When I'm in an OS.. I use that sole OS.

 

[macridah]

I have fusion and I think it's great. The main benefit of fusion compared to boot camp is that you get to run both OS's at the same time. I run Linux on my fusion to run Oracle 11g.

The performance is great, too (if you have 2 GB of ram)

 

[RaceTripper]

I've used both Parallels and Fusion from a Boot Camp partition on my MBP.

Boot camp is pretty much like running a normal Windows machine. You boot into Windows. As for running Windows in a VM, choosing between Fusion and Parellels is -- for the most part -- six of one vs. half a dozen of the other. I've used both and have settled on Fusion, but mostly because it works better with some proprietary VPN software I need to connect to a corporate network.

If you can use jdk5, you might be better off just using Mac OS and not worry about Windows since all the other software you mention runs on it. Tomcat implies you'll be doing webapps (with Netbeans as your IDE), so I can't see why Java 6 has to be required. Java 5 should work fine. And of course there is a Mac version of CS3 (Photoshop was a Mac program long before there was a Windows version). I'm a software engineer and do much of my java development on MacOS using Java 5 and Eclipse. There is a prerelease of java 6 at the Apple Developer Connection, but I haven't tried it.

 

[Nermal]

As mentioned, all of those apps should run natively under OS X with the exception of Java 6. However, if you need to use Windows then I personally recommend VMware.

 

[RaceTripper]

... I'd go with Boot Camp. Virtualization can't take the place of the real deal. I'd want the most speed I could get out of a program if I seriously needed to use the thing. Others may disagree.....

Don't knock it until you've tried it. Other than DirectX 9 games, it works fine for me -- using Outlook connected to Exchange via VPN, developing and testing Java apps with Eclipse, and C++ development with MS Visual C++.

 

[spick]

I realized that some of the programs do run on Mac os X, but the thing is my class and lab is going to be using windows version of it so I don't want to run a different version where I might run into trouble if I have to transfer the files to a windows computer.

For those who have boot camp, how much space does it take up to install xp so I can calculate how much space to partition.

 

[John01021988]

I run bootcamp and only use 20gb. 5gb for the OS and the rest just to install a game, run office 2007 and normal apps. Most of the time I don't even go to the darkside, I stay in the Mac World, where everything is almost perfect

 

[jcoop]

PART ONE:

***

PART TWO:

I also have trouble connecting to my college's wireless connection. When I tried to connect to it, I just get a message saying "error connecting" or something close to it.

Any advice how I should approach this?

Anything is helpful since I'm still relatively new to Mac.
Thank You

Does your college use a virtual private network on its wireless network? I teach on a university faculty, and our wireless network is protected; I have to make a VPN connection. Check with your institution's IP department.

 

[kolax]

I also have trouble connecting to my college's wireless connection. When I tried to connect to it, I just get a message saying "error connecting" or something close to it.

I know my university requires me to enter proxy settings to access their WiFi. I enter these in System Preferences --> Network --> Airport --> Proxies.

You might have to do a similar thing.

 

[mainomega]

You CANNOT run real games under Parallels or Fusion.

Install bootcamp (1.4) and then run Parallels or Fusion by using the bootcamp partition. If we need to run anything windows we just load parallels but if I want to play a game I boot into XP (faster that vista for games.) I'm currently playing Bioshock and C&C3 on the 17" 2.4 SR MBP and it looks and runs amazing.

 

[RaceTripper]

I realized that some of the programs do run on Mac os X, but the thing is my class and lab is going to be using windows version of it so I don't want to run a different version where I might run into trouble if I have to transfer the files to a windows computer.

For those who have boot camp, how much space does it take up to install xp so I can calculate how much space to partition.

You're doing Java right? here are no issues with moving java files (source, jars, etc) from one platform to another. And if you're writing webapps, there are no UI considerations either. Just make sure you create clean, compliant HTML and not crap that renders only in IE correctly.

I'm not really trying to keep you from using Windows; rather, just showing you all your reasons for 'needing' Windows don't stack up. I'm currently developing a Java Swing application on Mac OS, and it's used on Windows XP and IBM AIX. I don't have to do anything special with one exception. I use Nullsoft Scriptable Install System to create a windows installer package, so I run the release build from Windows.

Personally, I much rather do development on Mac. It's a better development platform, IMHO

For boot camp and what you want to do, 20 GBs should be plenty, and 15 might even be enough. Unless you need to keep some big ass local database or other data files for testing. I have 30 GBs allocated and it's a waste of the extra space.

BTW (re: netbeans): I have a team of 17 Java developers. 16 of them use Eclipse (with MyEclipse), 1 uses IntelliJ IDEA. Not one ever uses Netbeans out of choice. When I started supporting my current client 4 years ago all the client's developers I work with used Netbeans. Now all but one use Eclipse. Just some food for thought.

 

[RaceTripper]

You CANNOT run real games under Parallels or Fusion.

Install bootcamp (1.4) and then run Parallels or Fusion by using the bootcamp partition. If we need to run anything windows we just load parallels but if I want to play a game I boot into XP (faster that vista for games.) I'm currently playing Bioshock and C&C3 on the 17" 2.4 SR MBP and it looks and runs amazing.

Exactly how I do it (but with a 2.33 GHz 17 MBP). I play an occasional Half Life 2, but it only works under boot camp (and works pretty well). I have been able to run Java apps that use Java 3D under Fusion, but that's not quite the same as playing a game.

 

[spick]

Thanks for the input guys. I'm gonna take RaceTripper's advice for now and not install windows yet and see what happens. I doubt I need 30GB of space since I'm only gonna use it for these programs if I decide to install it. It's only a beginning Java class.

As for wireless, I'm pretty sure that it doesn't require me to enter proxy to connect. I know that once I connect to the wireless network I have to enter my school email and password in the web brower in order for it to work. But the thing is I can't even connect to the network.

It happen with my home router when I first start the macbook, so maybe I'll just mess around with it some more to get a feel of it.

Fortunately I was able to connect to some of the school buildings' routers.

I go to san francisco state btw.

 

[RaceTripper]

Thanks for the input guys. I'm gonna take RaceTripper's advice for now and not install windows yet and see what happens. I doubt I need 30GB of space since I'm only gonna use it for these programs if I decide to install it. It's only a beginning Java class.

Yup, for a beginning Java class at college it really is not worth going through the trouble and expense of installing Windows. If the class really does make some assumptions about using Windows for Java development (which would be stupid IMHO) then you can always install it later. Your Java source files (and any jar file libraries you're using) can just be copied over as they are, even if they don't use Windows retarded newlines.