Computer Requirements

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beebee0

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Has anyone noticed that most schools require you to purchase a laptop PC before getting to school? They say that the school requires software that Macs are not compatiable with. I hope that I'm not the only person who uses a Mac. Windows just has a lot of trouble and I don't have the extra money to spend to buy another laptop. What is everyone else doing in this situation?
 
Windows is the standard in enterprise and business world. You'll have to get used to it.

On Apples, you can virtualize Windows 7. Use something like VMWare Fusion or Parallels. Keep in mind, you'll have to buy both the virtualization software + the Windows license.

You could also skip virtualization all together and dual-boot Windows. Macs are nowadays no different internally than PCs (x86-64 processors and whatnot).
 
Should be no problem beebee0. At the Yale open house, the IT guy gave a presentation and told us it is no problem running SAS on a mac while running windows in Bootcamp: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3777. He said this is what he does himself 🙂 He even went as far as saying he would set it up and give us a Yale version of windows for free. Personally, I cringe at the idea of running windows on my mac...the things we will do for public health, ha. I am sure wherever you end up there is an IT guy who can help you if needed 🙂
 
Hopkins says Macs are fine there. I'm very happy with my trouble-free Macs, and want to keep using them in school.
 
Hopkins says Macs are fine there. I'm very happy with my trouble-free Macs, and want to keep using them in school.


That's so nice of them. I am fine using Windows, but I hate having to worry about viruses and spyware all the time =(
 
That's so nice of them. I am fine using Windows, but I hate having to worry about viruses and spyware all the time =(

Big misconception about Windows. People who don't get the latest updates are vulnerable (and running specific applications). As long as you update, you're fine. I've run Windows-based machines for over 15 years (since 3.1) and have had 1 virus in that entire time.

Viruses often happen because of user error. Don't be using software or running programs or downloading things that you don't know.
 
The most reliable way to avoid contracting any virus to which a species is vulnerable, is simply to not be a member of that species. To be completely invulnerable to Windows viruses, a Mac is a sensible option. Also, there are relatively few Mac viruses. I know that I may need, or want, to buy a Windows machine at some point to run software that isn't Mac compatible.
 
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