Wndows plus Mac operating systems on one desktop computer
Written: Jan 30 '09 (Updated Jan 30 '09)
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Pros: Mac, sound
Cons: Windows, Windows installation, only one USB port not tied up by norman operations
The Bottom Line: Get help if installing Windows on an iMac!
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| Ricardo_Ramos's Full Review: Apple Z0FD 20 in. (Z0FD-2GB) Mac Desktop - with Fr... |
I hate VISTA, I hate XP, I hate Windows, I hate Microsoft. Unfortunately, there is software that does not run on my Macs, especially Internet Explorer, so about a year ago I got a 20-inch screen iMac that can run Mac OSX or Windows. Buying a Windows disk was painful to me. I've bought two laptops with VISTA preinstalled, so that I didn't have to directly confront that some of my money was going to Microsoft for a product I despise.
Worse was yet to come. When I tried to install Windows with bootcamp, it rendered my Mac environment inoperable without making the Windows environment operable. I had to take it to a Mac shop that recovered the files (about which I didn't care, since all were copied from my iBook) but not some of the software that had been added for me. The Mac shop loaded the Windows disk that I'd bought, and I could see a Windows partition/environment. But nothing much would run.
It took the visit of my computer guru all the way from Singapore who has an iMac with Windows to get it operable, though there is still a weird step, so that I cannot just choose Windows and let it come up with the slow pace of Windows booting. I have to select an option when it comes up or start over.
Does this establish a lack of expertise on my part? I don't claim expertise but it took two professionals to get it more or less working. (My Mac guru has written Mac software that has been marketed.)
My advice to someone who wants to run Windows sometimes is to ensure having the help of someone who has successfully installed Windows on a Mac around.
Beyond that, the Mac environment is satisfyingly swift and once it gets going the Windows environment is not slow.
This iMac has the best sound of anything in the house -- not only my three other computers, but the alleged "sound system" and the digital tv. The sound system in the car has eight speakers, otherwise I'd say that the iMac produces the best sound of anything I own.
Things look good on the 20" monitor, though a number of web sites fill in dead space on both sides rather than fill the way my tv does.
What most annoys me now is that the iMac only has three USB ports. The mouse uses one, the keyboard another, so for practical purposes, there is only one. I know that I could get a wireless mouse, but I feel that I have enough signals bouncing around me. And my most recent laptop has four USB ports, so why should a desktop have fewer?
Since the utter initial failure, the desktop has not crashed or frozen in either environment. I have largely recovered from the trauma, but feel more comfortable with my iBook on which I have worn down many of the key characters.
The iMac has a 1GHz Intel core 2 duo,
1 GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
250GB Sieral ATA
a Dvd+/Dvd- "super" drive (vertical, with no mechanical way to eject)
ATI RadeonHD 2400 XT
iSight
Firewire 800
AirPort Extreme
Bluetooth 2 +EDR
S-Viedeo
Apple Remote, Apple Keyboard, Mighty Mouse,
QuickTime, PhotoBooth,
iTunes, icAl etc.
and a built-in iSight camera
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1300
Processor speed: 601-700
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50
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Epinions.com ID:
Ricardo_Ramos
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Member: Ricardo Ramos
Location: Daly City, CA
Reviews written: 104
Trusted by: 65 members
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