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# re: Got myself a MacBook Pro

Dual-booting gets old very fast, so i'd use one of the virtualization solutions if i were you. For raw CPU power, Parallels is the better option. Though in my experience VMWare Fusion seems to be more stable and is fast as well.

And seeing as how you're a launchy-addict, you'll probably want to try quicksilver as well ;)

Office on the Mac is ok, but depending on how much of an advanced office user you are, you might be better off sticking with the windows version.

Congrats on getting the mac... you can now start using Windows the way it was originally meant to be used: as a shell to host Visual Studio in and nothing more than that :p

# re: Got myself a MacBook Pro

I can only agree with Davy. Dual booting is not the way to go and Quicksilver is a must-have.

On the hardware side, if you use a lot of virtualization it's worth considering upgrading your mac to 4 gigs of ram and maybe a 7200 RPM hard disk. Speeds up things a lot and both are quite reasonable in price.

# re: Got myself a MacBook Pro

Yeah, I am going to disagree. The Mac was created for hardware, but OS X is a bore. I always feel like a alien when I am using that OS, and their definition of freeware is $19.99.

I currently have my Unibody MacBook Pro 17 configured have 5gb free space for the Mac partition and the rest dedicated for Windows Vista. I only go on the Mac-side to get updates and test websites. My iPhone, Apple HD Display, Apple Mighty Mouse, and Apple Bluetooth Keyboard all work perfectly in Vista.

# re: Got myself a MacBook Pro

OK - I have done both. I have a MacBook Pro fully pimped, and use it every day. Every day using Windows 2008 Ent server that is.

So, first of all - get your Bootcamp partition all sorted out. You have a new toy, so don't waste it straight off the bat. Jeff has used his MacBook for a while and doesn't miss his MacOSX much - but I would recommend you give 25% of your disk to MacOSX, the rest to BootCamp. This allows you to familiarise yourself with your new toy and play with GarageBand and the Apple Development Environment (iPhones etc.) :) - I was caught out by giving MacOSX too little space and ran out of space very quickly after applying some heafty updates.

Next, I recommend you install a x64 version of whatever OS you choose - I am Windows 2008 Server. Don't have ONE complaint with regards to compatibility.

You will need to go to this site in order to get your Bluetooth working though (http://www.harbar.net/archive/2008/06/13/Enabling-Bluetooth-on-MacBook-Pro-and-Windows-Server-2008-x64.aspx). Very straight forward instructions from a fellow Scottish Developer.

So, once you are up and running, how do you want to use you macbook? Boot straight into windows all the time, or as you already know have a hybrid effort through VMWARE or Parallels.

I have always been a Mac-Guy ever since the MacPlus days so I don't mind using MacOSX. I believe it comes down to how inpatient you are. Your mac will boot into MacOSX much quicker than it will (in my experience) into windows. I loved Parallels during my evaluation and found that I could get Visual Studio up and running quicker when I went via the Mac Route rather than the bootcamp partition.
Yes, booting MacOSX (hold down ALT key to get a boot partition choice) running Parallels, Booting my BootCamp Windows 2008 partition, and opening Visual Studio - all quicker than booting into my BootCamp partition (2008 sticks at 'Applying Computer Settings' for at least 5mins).

That said, I have not stumped up the cost for a licence yet. So I have obviously chosen that booting straight to Windows is OK for me, regardless of how long it takes to boot.

Hope this will be of some interest...

# re: Got myself a MacBook Pro

You have to think why you have bought the mac. Only because of the hardware? Or also because of the OSX? If the last is the case I would definitly prefer VMWare. I run it on an external screen in fullscreen and it feels like a normal PC (with very rare 3d ability I admit), but with the mouse you can easily brake the border of the screen and be in osx again and can use the full functionality there - like e.g. time machine (i love it). Connected are the machines across shared folders, which works pretty good