iMac w/ windows questions

[Im_Ace]

Needed to get a new 'puter at home. The wife uses it more than me so I had to sit back and let her select.

She likes the look of the iMac.

::: rolling my eyes ::::

So, I got one.

I have to put windows on the machine because there are a couple of areas of the internet that only are accessable (for my purposes, not hers) with windows only.

Here's my questions:

1. Is it best to use Boot Camp, or should I get one a software that allows both operating systems to be loaded at the same time without having to reboot each time a different OS is needed?

2. The areas of the internet I need to access with windows are spam free and virus free. The machine will only access web pages using Safari. Is it necessary to use an anti-virus program? (I've heard that virus authors don't waste their time to attack Safari, since users represent such a small number)

3. I have absolutely no experience with Macs. Is there anything else I should be aware of?

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

GO URANUS !!!!

[15QuestionsAway]

You have other options for a browser on the Mac besides Safari. Firefox for OS X works great. If your sites are accessible via Firefox on the PC, they should work for Firefox on the Mac.

There is another option besides Boot Camp if you need to really run PC-based programs on the Mac. It's called Parallels Desktop. It will allow you to run Windows applications directly in OS X, unlike the dual-boot situation you have with Boot Camp.

[goongas]

1) It is your preference. Virtual Machine software requires more RAM than normal because two operating systems would be running at the same time. If using a virtual machine, supposedly Vista does not perform well. For Boot Camp it doesn't matter.

2) You don't need any anti-virus programs for the Mac currently. It isn't because of Safari, it is because virus writers don't yet target OS X. Supposedly Firefox is better than Safari for the Mac.

I don't own a Mac, but this is the advice I hear on one of the podcasts I listen to all the time.

[lilyvonschtupp26]

I'm a Mac user, and got one for my daughter to go to college. Bootcamp works fine if you occasionally have to run a Windows base app, but most stuff works on Mac now because of the new integrated design. You do have to choose your OS and reboot to get to Windows when you use Bootcamp. Parallels works well if you have to switch back and forth frequently because you don't have to reboot. We're running parallels w/o incident on daughter's laptop.

I second the motion on Firefox i/o Safari. Some web pages just don't like Safari. I switched to Firefox as my default browser. Hope you like your choice and not just cuz they're pretty!

[Im_Ace]

Thanks for the responses so far.

I'm bringing this forward in hopes that someone else may decide to put in their 2 cents in.

I will be converting over this weekend.

The areas of the internet that I need access, which only use windows, are not web pages. They are internet "areas", I guess would be a better name.

All are "gaming" areas. Fish, Kusch and a few others and I have spoken a bit about the main one I need access to.

(Hey? I gotta do something in the middle of the night when I'm not sleeping, besides choking the chicken, don't I? )

(A reputation is a terrible thing to waste)

( )

[kusch]

Thanks for the responses so far.

I'm bringing this forward in hopes that someone else may decide to put in their 2 cents in.

I will be converting over this weekend.

The areas of the internet that I need access, which only use windows, are not web pages. They are internet "areas", I guess would be a better name.

All are "gaming" areas. Fish, Kusch and a few others and I have spoken a bit about the main one I need access to.

(Hey? I gotta do something in the middle of the night when I'm not sleeping, besides choking the chicken, don't I? )

(A reputation is a terrible thing to waste)

( )

I have to use a Mac when visiting Margaret's sister in CA. I do not like it. And I will have to use it in early June as we are heading out that way for a family reunion in Chula Vista. I will be in CA from 6/4-6/11 and would have time for a BB thing maybe sometime Sunday the 8th--late afternoon to early evening or Monday or Tuesday.

Hey Ace, do you EVER play bridge anymore? I have not seen you for quite some time. I am usually playing on BBO, but I do play some tournaments on OK--not the ACBL ones. Look me up some night when you are done choking the chicken.

[goongas]

Two of those "areas" now have Mac software, so you should be in good shape.