Why would you install Windows on a Mac?

[palexandridis]

More of the same - gaming. Not only that, but I got an eSATA card so that I can install windows games to my external. OpenGL is good and all, but DirectX has a polish to it I don't feel when I play games on a Mac. And they run faster. I am a Mac gamer, but I have to admit that Mac gaming kinda sucks.

 

[ThunderSkunk]

I've wanted to switch to a Mac for years, but since AutoDesk gave up on writing AutoCad, Inventor, 3DStudioMax, etc for Mac many years ago (insufficient demand at the time), I've been stuck in PC-land.

Then one day, the sky cracked and split in two, and...

Mac: The simple stuff, mail, calendar, web browsing, itunes, etc... runs everything smoother, prettier, and just plain old more enjoyable than windoze.

Parallels: Low priority Win stuff like playing .wmv video, .asp web stuff, accessing MS Notes & Journal docs, (I came from a (an admittedly missed) Tablet PC & all my vector sketches are stuck there), and my nice shiney HP Print/Scan/Copier which strangely can't be made to work in OSX.

Boot Camp: High thread priority heavies: http://usa.autodesk.com, plus Sony Video camera (which also can't be made to work in OSX)

16g iPhone: Mobile backup of design archive


*

Anyone who doesn't install drivers or software updates is either not using their system for anything more than a web browser, or has a highly selective memory.

 

[nikopolidis]

There are my reasons for running Windows on my Mac:
- To run some Windows only apps that I get used to when I was a PC-user (IE7, AutoCad, Visual Studio)
- To play PC-games
- To get used to Mac environment gradually after PC environment
I use Parallels Desktop and BootCamp in combo to do all this.

 

[Supaklaw]

Because torrent apps and downloading is significantly faster on the windows side. Azureus is probably the only app on the mac side that gets close in terms of control over download options. But on average I download 50-80 kps on my Mac... using Windows, 100-200 kps.

 

[Diaresi]

Nokia Software Update/Nokia Maps Downloader
Playstation Store
4oD
iPlayer
Office 2003
Windows Live Messenger (occasionally)

The list can go on and on, because Windows has a crucial thing over OS X: Compatibility (which, granted, isn't entirely Apple's fault)!

 

[hodgjy]

I need to run two programs:

SigmaPlot
NCSS

And it never hurts to run my Office 2008 documents through Office 2002 (Win) for a definitive formatting check.

 

[yellow]

To be specific (besides the games):

Remedy
Active Directory Users & Computers
Remote Desktop Connection
A whole host of IE specific sites/web apps.

 

[dgdosen]

developer tools, developer platform, developer environment.. I like .Net

 

[Pigumon]

ZBrush

Pixologic, the makers of ZBrush, are notoriously slow in updating their app, and even worse when it comes to making the Mac version updates...

So I was lucky enough to add a parallels purchase to a recent job, just to get Zbrush 3.0 going.

If I didn't HAVE to, I probably wouldn't.

I do gaming on consoles, they're just way better!!

 

[palexandridis]

Because torrent apps and downloading is significantly faster on the windows side. Azureus is probably the only app on the mac side that gets close in terms of control over download options. But on average I download 50-80 kps on my Mac... using Windows, 100-200 kps.

And I thought I was imagining things when I first noticed that.

 

[BrianKonarsMac]

Windows works just well enough for many people, especially those with little tech knowledge, gamers and those who just need a machine to use Word and check email. Another point,.. believe it or not, many people don't "get" OS X. Thats fine by me, the point that OS X approaches 30-40% market share, security goes down the tubes on the Mac.

I would have to say that windows is not really for people with little tech knowledge in my experience.

Let's look at my parents for example. I gave them my old mac and they love it because if they buy something like a mouse or a printer, they can plug it in and use. Even easier is networking, basically no setup required, plug and play.

On Windows you need to generally install drivers to get more than basic functionality (or to get any functionality in some cases) and to add your machine into a network can be a bit more of a headache in my experience. I'm not a "windows guy" so maybe establishing networks and installing drivers has become easier in Vista, but every person I've spoken to about vista has not given it a positive review (a guy came in to give a presentation to our company a week or two ago, and had a background of Calvin peeing on the vista logo...on his dell laptop). I use windows at work (in an office environment with IT guys doing regular maintenance), and can say without a doubt it is an extremely aggravating experience. You really need to work to maintain your PC and avoid spyware/adware/viruses.

That's just my personal experience, I'm sure a more windows savvy user is laughing to himself somwhere.

Back on topic: The only reason I could see to install windows on a Mac is for 1) business apps that are windows only 2) games that aren't available for OS X. When I bought my most current mac, it was an upgrade from a PPC. I thought sweet, I can dual boot Windows XP! Six months later, I have yet to even bother installing it and the only reason I've come up with as to why I would want to is ...to say that I can .

 

[UltraNEO*]

I am a long time Windows user. I know of most of the problems with Windows. Why would anyone EVER want to set up Windows on a Mac? Isn't Mac OS superior to Windows? Why would you put yourself through all of the headaches that come with Windows?

Umm well, I have a few reasons.

1. 3DStudio
2. Games
3. MagicISO and applications like that... (can do it in vm, but slow)

 

[wkw]

I use windows vista on my imac so I can run exact audio copy. I use EAC to burn superior sounding discs from the huge collection of bootlegs I have amassed. (around 3tb of FLAC/SHN files)

 

[lugesm]

I posted a response earlier stating that I installed Fusion/WinXP on my iMac so that I could use Quicken/Windows and Quicken/TurboTax.

The differences between Quicken/Win and Quicken/Mac are depressing.

I expected the differences between TurboTax/Win and TurboTax/Mac would be equally disappointing, but having just run my 2007 return on both programs I find that the Mac version of TurboTax is almost as good as the Windows version. Guess Intuit is not comfortable in shortchanging a Federal Government document preparation program.