Should I put Windows on my Mac mini?

[twomiracles]

I just bought my first Mac and at this point, I go back and forth between it and my PC by switching my monitor and wireless keyboard/mouse between them...yes, it's a huge PITA. BUT, at this point I can't afford to go buy all my programs again so I'm doing it.

Now, I own a licensed copy of 98, but I'm not exactly sure where the number is. I own an upgrade copy of XP, I DO know where it is. But, whenever I've had to reinstall Windows (a couple of times now), I've just taken it to the shop because it was too much for me to work through and it seemed that something always went wrong. So, to install Windows on the Mac will probably be just as difficult and I get the feeling that my usual PC shop isn't really Mac friendly .

Then there's the issue of Windows itself. By putting Windows on my Mac, am I opening it back up to viruses and spyware, the apparent culprits of my problems on the PC? At what point do you make the decision to do this? For one or two programs or for several? What happens if at some point I do purchase all the programs again and don't need Windows anymore?

Sorry for all the questions, I'm a total newbie to Macs, but am trying to make the switch as painless as possible .

Thanks!

 

[ero87]

putting windows on your mac won't hurt Mac OSX. even if you get viruses on windows, they can't just "become" mac viruses.

personally, i would never install windows on my mac - that would feel so dirty! but if you need to, why not? go for it.

 

[Father Jack]

I am running Windoze on my Mini, but have installed PC anti-virus software.

You should treat it exactly as you would a "real PC"


FJ

 

[balamw]

What programs are you running on your Windows box?

As long as you're not gaming, you'd probably be best served by running 98 (or XP) under Parallels or VMWare. The performance is surprisingly good and it makes switching between environments much more seamless than Boot Camp. Plus, it's really easy to have your Windows environment on an external drive if you use virtualization.

I found my Parallels installs much easier than any native install, essentially because the machine is still functional during the install and you can go off and surf the web while it gets done.

B