Windows on a Mac??

[jcampi]

My friends daughter is planning on getting a new Mac laptop for college. She plans to get the laptop with an intel cpu. She is concerned about the laptop being able to run Windows based software and needs to know if there will be any compatibility issues. If a file is created on a PC will she be able to read/edit it on the Mac laptop? If she creates files on the Mac will she be able read/edit them on a PC? Can the Mac run Windows XP?

[kelly]

Well, this depends on the software and the file types. MS Office is available for Mac and works very well. Some say it's better than Office on Windows. I use Office on both platforms. Office files created on either platform will open on the other platform without any problem. Macs don't come with Office, but they come with Apple Works which is pretty good at opening Office files. Additionally, pickup Open Office for Mac, a free Office product. Works great on Mac. The Windows version is also excellent. I've installed Open Office on customers' machines when they don't want to spend the $$ for MS Office. After using Open Office, I see no reason why the typical home, office, student user would need MS Office.

Photos (jpg, gif, others) open fine on Mac with iPhoto or Preview, both come with new Macs. MP3's play fine on Mac.

I went thru college to get an IT degree using a Mac. The only time I needed a Windows machine was to run Access and C++. You can't run Access files on Mac OS. There's probably a C++ compiler for Mac but I didn't look into it.

I run Mac at home and in the office. Your friend's daughter will probably be fine using a Mac without even loading Windows. But we don't know until she know what she's going to be doing with it. Also check with the school. They may have a standard platform that they require students to use. I know someone in Villanova, he has to use the leased Dell the school provides. He has a better machine, but they insist that he use (and pay for ) the Dell laptop.

-td

[jcampi]

Kelly, thanks so much for your actual experience and response. I really appreciate the detail you provided and your advice.