Really Need your Opinions

First I will apologize for the length of this post but please take the time to read it because I really need your help and opinions! Thanks.

In the Fall I am going to be going to college as an ECE student and there are certain windows programs that I must have some of which include:
-Microsoft Windows 7
-Microsoft Windows Project
-Microsoft Windows Expression
-Microsoft Windows Visual Studio 2010
-Microsoft Windows Visio 2010

Now I have a MacBook Pro 2 GHz Intel Core i7 Processor with 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 Memory. I am not looking to buy a windows computer so my options are to either dual boot my system into Windows or run Windows as a Virtual Machine.

Before doing some research I had no idea what either of those meant, but now I do thanks to the Sticky on this Forum.

To me it seems like running Windows as a Virtual Machine is the best option, but what do I know. This is why I need your guys help, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me know which option is best in your opinion. I really do take your advice to heart and could really use it now.

I am going to copy the email I received back from my school just so you guys can see what they said exactly incase i am forgetting something.

This is the email:
"As an ECE student you are allowed to download MSDNAA software at no cost. That includes Windows 7 of which you are allowed one license. The cost of this service is part of the fees you pay to take classes within the department. All PCs and MACs run on x86 back-ends so the differences are aesthetics and software. If you have a MAC you might be required to either dual boot your system into Windows or run Windows as a virtual machine. Some of our packages don't have a port to the MAC but there is always a way."

Another Question I have is all the virtual Machines seem to ask for a hassle to install, it is possible to download the programs online and then just install it from the computer?

Again sorry for the long post but i really need your guys opinions on this.

Thanks!


P.S.
If a Virtual Machine is the way to go what program should I use? and what exactly is a "Port", stated on the last line of the email?

Hi, In my limmited experiance of running windows on a mac i have always found it more stable and reliable to use boot camp and duel boot. The machine will act exactly like a windows machine, no porting or alike needed.

However I'm sure people with more experience of virtual machines will post soon for a more rounded opinion.

Parralels seems to be popular for running virtual environments though if you want to try one out before you go splitting your drive.

Good luck

Thanks for your help!

If I do end up splitting up the hard harddrive will have have access to my mac osx hard drive at all while in the windows one or is there absolutly no way to receive that content while on the Windows Drive

Please take the time to look through our Sticky post about running Windows on your Mac. It's a rather long thread but a worthwhile read. You'll find it at the top of this forum. After reading through it if you have any questions, ask them in this thread.

chscag said:

Please take the time to look through our Sticky post about running Windows on your Mac. It's a rather long thread but a worthwhile read. You'll find it at the top of this forum. After reading through it if you have any questions, ask them in this thread.

Click to expand...

I have read through the Sticky like I said in the original post, I am not asking about the different options I am just wanting to see which option do you guys think is better for what I am going to be using it for.

Thanks

The reference to "port" in this context is translated thusly: "... don't have a MAC version of their software, but there is always a way."

I've run Windows in virtual machines for years. Simpler to install, no need to reboot every time, you can run the Windows software side by side with your Mac applications, fewer things can go wrong and easy to restore. Sun's VirtualBox is free, but Parallels and Fusion have somewhat more features even though they cost $$.

Whether a dual-boot or virtual machine is better for you depends on how graphics-intensive Visio, Expressions and Visual Studio are. Project will run just fine in a VM. My advice to you is simple - download and install VirtualBox. Create a Win7 virtual machine on it and load up your software. If it all works to your satisfaction, then just stick with it.

If it doesn't work well enough, then reinstall Windows under Boot Camp and try again. Ultimately, the key point to know is that all of these products will work in a virtual machine, it's just that products using native graphics hardware will work better in a dual boot scenario.

But I will tell you - the vast bulk of the posts and threads here are from Boot Camp installations that went wrong. It is never simple to muck about with partitioning your hard drive. Virtual machine installs are much easier.

Good luck.