4 ms·

I'm just curious why you wouldn't simply install Windows on Apple hardware.

Nursie 11y ago
In IBM's case it's because they want to reduce their reliance on MS. They have suites of IBM packages that can be installed on top of Redhat, SuSE, Ubuntu or Debian to make IBM-styled linux. But they also have Notes etc for Mac OS now, so no need to shy away from it.
brianwawok 11y ago
Because osx is better than Windows 10?
- WorldWideWayne 11y ago
  Every version of Windows is better than running an OS that locks you into one brand of crappy, featureless overpriced hardware. Speaking on the software itself though, Windows certainly has got better, more logical window management and better tools built in for multi-display. Windows also has a logical and consistent keyboard acceleration system compared to the ridiculous hidden functionality that plagues OS X. Pretty much the only good thing about OS X is that it's Unix. Otherwise nobody around here would be using it.
UnoriginalGuy 11y ago
Because Apple's drivers are insanely terrible. Windows runs well in Parallels, but fortunately when you run Parallels you're also running either generic drivers or drivers developed by the Parallels team. Thus the experience is solid. When you run Windows using Bootcamp you're forced to run Apple's own drivers to power a lot of things. But Apple has left their drivers buggy, unoptimized, and just bad. I think Windows has shown that with good driver support you CAN get solid battery life, but on a Macbook/Pro/Air you get terrible battery life because Apple doesn't support their own hardware going into lower power states. I've tried to run Windows in Bootcamp, I honestly wonder if the people who constantly tell others to do so actually ever have themselves? The experience was most unpleasant, even graphics switching wasn't supported, the touchpad broke every few weeks, it ate through battery life, got extremely hot, and Apple's updates to the Bootcamp drivers took months. I'd happily recommend running OS X and Parallels w/Windows. I'd still warn caution if your productivity relies on Bootcamp working and working well.
- narrowrail 11y ago
  I didn't get too specific because it didn't seem the how was relevant to the idea of using Apple hardware with Windows, but I do have experience doing so with VMware Fusion. I had no idea about the problems with bootcamp, good to know!
- ninkendo 11y ago
  As a boot camp user (only for PC gaming) for the past 3 years, I'm inclined to agree, actually. I just upgraded the boot camp installation on my retina iMac to Windows 10, and it went off without a hitch except for the AMD drivers, which aren't supported. Except AMD doesn't ship the drivers for it, Apple does. So I have to wait for Apple to ship Win10 compatible drivers for AMD's card, and who knows how long that'll take. Meanwhile this is my primary gaming box (yes, it actually is quite a nice machine GPU-wise) so I guess I can say goodbye to PC gaming until Apple is gracious enough to provide me with an updated driver. (The last driver they shipped was in December 2014, it's been total silence since then. Who knows if they'll ever update it? Maybe El Capitan will have new drivers as part of an updated Boot Camp Assistant? Do they even care?)

In IBM's case it's because they want to reduce their reliance on MS. They have suites of IBM packages that can be installed on top of Redhat, SuSE, Ubuntu or Debian to make IBM-styled linux. But they also have Notes etc for Mac OS now, so no need to shy away from it.

brianwawok 11y ago

Because osx is better than Windows 10?

WorldWideWayne 11y ago
Every version of Windows is better than running an OS that locks you into one brand of crappy, featureless overpriced hardware. Speaking on the software itself though, Windows certainly has got better, more logical window management and better tools built in for multi-display. Windows also has a logical and consistent keyboard acceleration system compared to the ridiculous hidden functionality that plagues OS X. Pretty much the only good thing about OS X is that it's Unix. Otherwise nobody around here would be using it.

UnoriginalGuy 11y ago

Because Apple's drivers are insanely terrible. Windows runs well in Parallels, but fortunately when you run Parallels you're also running either generic drivers or drivers developed by the Parallels team. Thus the experience is solid. When you run Windows using Bootcamp you're forced to run Apple's own drivers to power a lot of things. But Apple has left their drivers buggy, unoptimized, and just bad. I think Windows has shown that with good driver support you CAN get solid battery life, but on a Macbook/Pro/Air you get terrible battery life because Apple doesn't support their own hardware going into lower power states. I've tried to run Windows in Bootcamp, I honestly wonder if the people who constantly tell others to do so actually ever have themselves? The experience was most unpleasant, even graphics switching wasn't supported, the touchpad broke every few weeks, it ate through battery life, got extremely hot, and Apple's updates to the Bootcamp drivers took months. I'd happily recommend running OS X and Parallels w/Windows. I'd still warn caution if your productivity relies on Bootcamp working and working well.

narrowrail 11y ago
I didn't get too specific because it didn't seem the how was relevant to the idea of using Apple hardware with Windows, but I do have experience doing so with VMware Fusion. I had no idea about the problems with bootcamp, good to know!
ninkendo 11y ago
As a boot camp user (only for PC gaming) for the past 3 years, I'm inclined to agree, actually. I just upgraded the boot camp installation on my retina iMac to Windows 10, and it went off without a hitch except for the AMD drivers, which aren't supported. Except AMD doesn't ship the drivers for it, Apple does. So I have to wait for Apple to ship Win10 compatible drivers for AMD's card, and who knows how long that'll take. Meanwhile this is my primary gaming box (yes, it actually is quite a nice machine GPU-wise) so I guess I can say goodbye to PC gaming until Apple is gracious enough to provide me with an updated driver. (The last driver they shipped was in December 2014, it's been total silence since then. Who knows if they'll ever update it? Maybe El Capitan will have new drivers as part of an updated Boot Camp Assistant? Do they even care?)