Expert: Bobbert - 12/7/2009

Question
Hello,

I want to buy a laptop for my self, and i am confused which one to buy mac  or other brands.
I'll be using this for my college, business and personal use.

What i want is to have access to every thing like i have from my PC. But i have heard that not every thing available for mac which is as for PC.

is it possible to install windows 7 OS on a mac laptop.

why i like mac is because of its design. i like mac book air.
i need your help.

thanks  

Answer
Yes, you can install Windows on an Apple product, such as Windows 7, or Windows Vista, you can also run the operating system via emulation, using Parallels Desktop from Apple (I would suggest this if you're merely running Windows for compatibility with legacy applications, such as Microsoft Office). Generally all of the software you're likely to need will either have an OS X compatible version, or there will be an OS X compataible analog (For example you can get NeoOffice for OS X, or OpenOffice (which is multi-platform), for web browsing, you can get Safari (from Apple) or Opera (which is multi-platform)), and generally most Microsoft software does have an Apple version (such as Microsoft Office).

If you like the MacBook Air, I see no problems, aside from price and assuming it meets the requirements of your program of study (if you are unsure what these requirements are, contact your department advisor). If you find that you need Windows for a given purpose, you can then purchase a licence for Windows (be it Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7) and install that in whatever manner works for you (either as a dual-boot, where you select at start-up if you'd like OS X or Windows, or via Parallels Desktop, where you open an application within OS X and have a Windows environment).

-bob