Intel iMac Notes: Windows XP and Me
25 May 2006, lunch time
I installed Windows XP on my iMac two nights ago. I didn’t have a particularly good reason for doing so, beyond just wanting to see what it would be like. Using Bootcamp, the process is actually very straightforward. There is no real geeky challenge in installing Windows on a Mac—at all. Even on a Mac, Windows XP just isn’t that nice. There is just something about Windows that irks me I suppose. I installed World of Warcraft, and I think it runs a bit better on Windows then on my Mac, but not enough to warrant booting in to XP to play. There are however countless games that never make it to MacOS X that I now can play. What would you recommend? (And, for that matter, what are some applications I should get for Windows XP that will make the experience less craptacular.)
In the end, if you don’t really have need to use windows xp, or any other os for that matter, then it’s sort of a waste to keep a special windows partition around for the heck of it. Especially since you’re playing WoW, and everybody knows, you can’t play an MMO and still play other games. It’s just not allowed.
Windows stuff I never (or rarely) run without though:
powertoys (tweakui, dos prompt here)
unix utils)
putty/psftp
emacs
vim
StrokeIt
allSnap
ACDSee
Then a bunch of changes I usually go through and make to make things easier to use/look simpler.
Hmm…
Beyond Compare is pretty good too if you need to use that.
by Iluvitar on May 25 2006, 2:09 pm #
The one thing that I desperately wish I could play on my iMac that would require Windows is Halflife 2. Sigh.
by Ben on May 25 2006, 2:15 pm #
EditPlus, Visual C# & Delphi…that’s about it…Windows-dependant.
There’s a bunch of utilities and doohickey’s that build up over time and I forget about. TaskSwitchXP is pretty good, as are “Real Alternative” and “Quicktime Alternative” w/ the bundled Media Player Classic.
I gotta say, for what I do with my computer, I find Windows no more or less limiting than a Mac. That being said, it definitely doesn’t feel as polished or tight.
by Haran on May 25 2006, 3:25 pm #