OSX is based on BSD unix? Which was developed in the 70s? wouldnt that make OSX the older OS?

This article is a useless piece of tosh - do some research next time! I thought this was actually going to be useful, but no, it's tripe, with no useful fixes...

Why there are all the warnings about installing to the same partition as Mac OS X? I've done this with the beta, RC, Windows Server 2008 and the final x64 product on 3 different macs.

Clue: when you create the partition on your HD for boot camp in the assistant, remember the size. When you get to the list of partitions in the Windows 7 installer - it's the last partition on the hard disk. every time. If you want to be doubly sure - get this - it's the same size as the one you created in the boot camp assistant...

If you are installing x64 on an NVidia 9xxx based macbook/pro, then when you put the Snow Leopard install CD in after windows has installed, it will fail saying something like "x64 is not supported on this machine". You have to look on the disk, find the bootcamp 64 bit installer, run it as administrator, and set the compatibility mode to Windows Vista (in the properties selection when you right click on the bootcamp setup.exe file).

Then, go to the NVidia website, and get the latest Geforce 9400 mobile drivers - they make the card work really nicely - you get much better performance than with the bootcamp 3.0 (snow leopard) drivers.

Audi, Ford and Prosche.(I too drive an Audi)

All 3 will get you from A to B. Porsche's look great(hardware design), have great engines which are tweaked(by the manufacturer) to get the best performance. Audis have great engines, stability, design and luxury features. Fords are....utilitarian, wont cost you much and you can tinker to your hearts content without worrying too much about ruining your investment.

-Ford=PC(hardware and software, cheep generally decent looking,loose hardware-software coupling for mid-range performance per Mhz)
-HotRod that you build in your garage = performance PC(performance heavy, ugly, next-to-no luxury and expensive + time consuming) Usually people with nothing better to do with their time(like travelling, beach, sports, etc) woukld choose this option.

-Audi = MacBook/iMac (decent hardware, with a great performance/finetunes OS that can take the best advantage of it, with some nice luxury options and a beautiful case)

-Porsche = MacPro/MacBookPro. Awesome performance hardware, great design(system and aesthetic), tweaked to the max(an OS that is best suited to take advantage of the "engine" and use it in ways that are best suited to power users (not gamers...real power users)...and look good at doing it, along with every luxury option and the best service.

@Roger... you own the hotrod, not the Porsche. You might have "better hardware" but the software on your system is...crap, and thus your system is worse(not efficient, no luxury, uglier,etc) than either a Porsche or an Audi.

When you understand that your computer system is not JUST HARDWARE, then maybe then you will end up with a better SYSTEM. WinTel fanboys like yourself buy hardware. Apple users like myself, buy a system.

And as far as the mythical "Apple Tax".... there is enough different between a MacOSX machine and a Windows based PC...
-hardware(backlit keyboards, multi-touch, gigabit ethernet(from 5-6 years ago), thinner, lighter, sturdier, magnetic latches and power chords, etc)
-software (better functioning, better looking, safer, more reliable & stable, user friendlier OS, iLife, etc)
-services(MobileMe, iTunes Music Store, App Store, etc)
-support(Applecare, geniusbar, etc) all under a single roof(company)
To justfiy the difference(if any) in price. While Ballmer(and his minions) might trumpet the "Apple Tax", he seems to forget how much he carges just for his latest service pack....which is based on decade-old technology.

As a person who actually uses computers as opposed to wasting time "tinkering" with it until it's usable.... iLife is reason enough to use a Mac imo. And as a developer it's great to be on a *NIX platform, where i can tinker to my hearts delight(IF I WANT).

It seems like Microsoft makes a crap OS just so those of you, who have nothing better to do, can tinker with it till they get it to work right and that fills you with a sence of acomplishment. Apparently you credit Microsoft for making you feel like you achieved something lol. Get a life, get a real System, which just works and focus on real issues in your life, instead of wasting time and money on inefficient-ugly-old technology.

So your "Apple tax" argument falls apart when you realize that a mac is more than just hardware, like your bargain-basement PCs.

I notice that with limited "real estate" you spend eleven paragraphs explaining how Windows XP is about to be relegated to the trash bin! Windows XP, apart from being one of the best operating systems ever from Microsoft, is nowhere near "dead and gone" yet. I wonder how you would compare the average Linux distro with Apple products?

I think Apple people like to do stuff, and don't especially want or need to care what hardware and software makes that possible.

PC people also like to do stuff, but many of us like to tinker, or even assemble our own systems. Apple's business model is not friendly to tinkering with hardware, while the IBM-PC model is. The PC model has hardware component standards, from ATX to JEDEC, to PCIe. Standards allow manufacturers to make, price, and brand their widgets competitively. Reasonable tinkerers can read the manufacturers' hardware specs, match the hardware at the pricing we can afford, and go to it.

We get satisfaction in successfully assembling a working PC. Of course we then get to do our work or play on it. A bonus for us is that when we have a problem, we can probably diagnose and solve it.

Just some thoughts...........not shooting across anyone's bow.

Why choose Linux over the more versatile Unix Certified Mac OS or Solaris or if like free FreeBSD.

Came here for a guide about installing Windows 7. Got a bloated wall of high school essay trying to hit a word count. Shut up about the operating system wars, it's so childish. I want to run both and don't care which is 'better'.

Win7 (RC, mind you) on my 2007-era Mac Mini works fairly well, unless I do a lot of clicking around the Control Panel. That's when explorer bites the dust and has to relaunch. Hopefully the forthcoming Boot Camp update will correct the minor glitchiness.

Why pay the "Apple Tax" and the "Microsoft Tax" in the first place? Overpriced hardware + overpriced software = zero bank account balance.

Just run your old copy of XP in a VM like VirtualBox, in a host Linux OS. More secure than having Apple or Microsoft's bungled attempts at security holding the reins (and also free, so you don't have to explain to your kids why you are putting them on a diet to pay the Apple/Microsoft Taxmen).

Then I'd have to taint my computer with OSX. No thanks. But good for you Mac folks. You finally get to use what we already enjoy.

Aye right.

Anyway, I give up. Too many Nicks on here, too much spleen, too little reason.

@libtard,

peronally, I find the build quality on the MacBook Pro to be better than any PC laptop I have seen. The unibody is excellent, and looks great.

I suppose the newer, luxury laptops released recently may have a similar build quality (I've not seen them), but they do lack OSX.

This makes a big difference.

@Joinville

I can build a custom PC with an exotic Case and setup with top quality parts I KNOW the brand of and it will cost less then a Mac and run faster.
You may drive that Audi, I will drive that custom built Porsche 911.

"Apple's new Core i7-based iMac might be a performance monster, but it looks like the whole family's having some problems getting out of the gate: in addition to the previously-noted performance issues with the Core 2 Duo models, a quick glance across Apple's support forums and on other Mac boards around the web reveals that some machines are showing up DOA and / or with cracked screens. We're a little more familiar with the DOA issue, since the new i7 we just bought doesn't boot at all, but the cracked screen issue seems to be equally common and mostly affecting the bottom left corner, from what we can tell."
-ENGADGET.COM-

I will stick to my custom made 'Porsche'
you can keep that 'Audi'

Ah, the old "More money for better quality argument". If your Audi had the exact same engine, transmission and suspension as the Ford would you still pay the premium? Macs run on the same components as PCs in a prettier case. You aren't paying for quality as in your car example, just the illusion of it.

"...lickable Apple loveliness."

I was like, "Wait a minute. Who's writing this???"

If Nick sniffs your article, I suggest checking your brake lines, before driving home.

@4TR3X,

I often wonder why this argument about cost only seems to apply to Apple products.

I drive an Audi. I could have bought a Ford for less, but I prefer Audis. Fords will get me there fine, have all the nice gadgets, good engine, but I still bought an Audi.

Why no outcry over folk who buy nice cars?

Wondering if 4TR3X is an acronym of Nick Farrell...

Once I read this;

"Intel's projected roadmap for future chips was way in advance of the competition and Apple boss Steve Jobs had an inkling that performance per watt was going to be the most important factor in the future of modern computing."

Isn't it obvious what Job's had his inkling about?

Plus the simple fact they are the most powerful desktop and laptop based cpus they would have basically not been able to make a Mac with any strength behind it.

But I still stand by the reason, why do you need to pay both Apple tax(cost of the expensive hardware) and Microsoft tax when just one of these can do everything you need (games, engineering, design) when you spend the money you saved on the 1 tax and buy proper hardware.

Guess which...

I've got snow leopard and had no problems installing Win 7 Pro 64bit.

I didn't even to use a secondary partition, partitioned my main boot drive using Boot Camp in OSX, inserted the Win7 64bit disk and it instantly picked it up.

The install process was perfect. No probs at all.

The only difference is that my hard drive runs on IDE mode, instead of SATA AHCI (probably due to boot camp not official windows 7 yet?).

However, the remaining Windows hardware drivers installed perfectly off the Mac Disk, the keyboard lights, buttons, etc all work OK.

I've got a 2.8 17" Macbook Pro with the 500GB HDD. The mobile video drivers from Nvidia also work perfectly.

@Regulas,

it's not officially supported, no, but it works fine.

I've got Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit installed on a MacBook Pro 15", running Leopard. Works great, been playing Dragon Age: Origins on it fine (although the fans get loud).

Me thinks we should wait for Windows 8 (Copenhagen). Win7 still locks up processes, (CNTL+ALT+DEL or TaskManager) don't work.

The icons are 2D, or Windows 3.1 ish.

Still slow on my 2GB Core 2 Duo 2.8GHz.

Have to download Windows Live to get Calendar, Movie, Picture Viewer and so on.

Control Panel. Enough said. Too many icons.

Staying with OSX/XP combo for now.

do you think before you write???

there are several reasons to run windows on a mac.
1 - games
2 - there are some applications you can't run on osx (science, engineering, design...)

i have a mac, some friends of mine have macs and for some reason or the other we have installed xp or vista so we can take the full potential of our machines.

Snafu whats the problem with porting 64bit apps to Mac OS.
Its a fully 64bit OS and 90% of the default apps are 64bit and multi threaded.
The only ones having trouble with making 64bit apps for OSX are the ones that have very large applications written in Carbon which has no 64Bit binary's so them(Adobe and Microsoft) are rewriting there applications using Cocoa which will result in faster applications that take advantage of more OS level features such as GPU acceleration and multi threading.

"Anyone who wanted to install Vista on a Mac, unless they were being held at gunpoint, was definitely in need of a check-up from the neck up in our opinion."

I loved it, LOL

Apple has said they will have bootcamp ready for 7 by the end of this year, last time I looked there is about 5 weeks left. You will need Snow Leopard, Leopard will not officially be support bootcamp for 7.

"…Porting most Windows applications to Mac OSX is now a much simpler affair…"

Unless they are 64bit ones.