Windows 7 on your Intel Mac - for free!
(Credit:
CNET)
Most people who read The Download Blog are probably familiar with the coming release of Windows 7. For a full rundown of new features, check out Seth Rosenblatt's hands on post here, but there's plenty of Windows 7 content to pore over.
Judging from many of the comments, people who have used Windows 7 are saying it's the OS everyone hoped Vista would be. So when I read this week that you can easily setup and run Windows 7 in a virtual environment on an Intel Mac, I had to try it out. I can't advise every Intel Mac user to try this, but if you're an experienced computer user and take care to make sure your current data is backed up beforehand, this method for getting the Windows 7 Release Candidate on your Mac is pretty simple. The best part about it? It's free.
To get started, download VirtualBox (Mac or Windows). This free virtual environment from Sun lets you set up a sterile environment to test out questionable apps, experiment with beta programs, and--for our purposes--launch an entirely different operating system. Anyone with VMWare Fusion or Parallels can skip this step; VirtualBox is for people who don't already have a virtual environment. Boot Camp users who install Windows 7 on a partition can launch Windows 7 after a restart, but VirtualBox makes it possible without a restart for free.
Use the dropdown windows to select the correct version of Windows
(Credit: CNET)Once VirtualBox is installed, download the Windows 7 Release Candidate. This is a 2.36GB file--so if you're not on a fast connection (and even if you are) you'll probably want to download it over night. You will need a Hotmail account, MSN account, or Windows Live ID to download the file from Microsoft.
Launch VirtualBox and create a New Virtual Machine. Name the machine "Windows 7" or whatever will be recognizable to you. Make sure to set the RAM to 1GB for smoother performance. The rest of the settings you can leave as default. Start your new virtual machine, and choose to install Windows from CD/DVD (you're using a CD image of the software which you'll choose by browsing your desktop). In the Media Source section of that same window, choose the Windows 7 image file you downloaded.
Select Create new hard disk for your copy of Windows 7 to live in
(Credit: CNET)Next, you will go through several installation dialog boxes which should be mostly self explanatory (Install Now, language choice, etc). When the installer asks which type of installation you want, choose Custom (Advanced) because you are installing cleanly on an untouched virtual system. When the next window asks where you would like to install Windows, install it in the default location (which will be your 20GB virtual hard drive).
From there, wait through the installation process, choose whatever username you want, and Use Recommended settings to start off. Since this is a free release candidate for testing, you can bypass the registration screen completely by hitting Next.
Last, but not least, set the Windows clock to the correct time, choose the type of network your on (if you have a network) and that's it! Windows 7 should start up. The Windows 7 Release Candidate will continue to run through June 2010, when it will begin to nag you to buy the full version.
Windows 7 is up and running in VirtualBox!
(Credit: CNET)Note: If you plan to run Windows regularly in VirtualBox, you will need to take precautions against viruses, spyware, and other common Windows security concerns. At the very least download a free antivirus program and an antispyware program. To get you started for free, I suggest AntiVir and Malwarebytes, though there are plenty of free options available.
Jason Parker writes software reviews and features for Windows, Mac, and iPhone. If he learned to dance, it would make him a fabled "quadruple threat," but we can't get him to do it. 
http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads
There is no $300 box that runs Windows 7 acceptably. Macs have been consistently rated as the fastest Windows machines on the market.
News flash for you, quality costs money.
typical mac user ignorance. what dalmatian most likely implied is that win 7 works perfectly fine on something you dont need to spend a small fortune on.
there is a ton a great high quality hardware when put together (for a heck of a lot less than a mac) will smoke a comparable mac if not get a much more powerful system for the same price of a basic mac pro. i work extensively with both platforms and have for years so i know what im talking about
Running Windows is only for Fun, Most Mac users don't really bother with it
and running both in parallel is quite nice too
I know Mac users who have switched to Win7 near full time
Wonder how VM's cope with the March 2010 shutdowns?
http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/01/15/using-boot-camp-to-install-windows-7-on-your-mac-the-complete-walkthrough/
Mac is pretty like any other apple product, but it's not useful at all.
I have 10 fingers, I think I can use 3 of them and have both left click, right click and scroll wheel which makes the job easier for me. Also I'm intelligent enough to use windows.
Btw my iMac is running windows seven in bootcamp, and I have an XP laptop. I think all of them are great for one reason or another (well actually XP sucks). But I do like 7. Why cant we all get along! Im pretty sure all the ad agencies who are making the new totally aweful PC commercials lately think their Macs are pretty useful lol!
Below is a comment from this address: https://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/whats-new-work.aspx
We know how important it is for the hardware and software you use today to work with Windows 7. So we?re doing several things to help.
We?re working with our partners to help ensure their products will work with Windows 7. You can expect that most of the products that work with Windows Vista to work with Windows 7 as listed below from the Microsoft website,
If you?re buying a new device or application, look for the "Compatible with Windows 7" logo. These products have passed tests that Microsoft designed to install readily and run reliably with Windows 7.
With Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate, you?ll be able to run many productivity and business programs designed for Windows XP. Some additional software will be necessary and it will be available free-of-charge as a download from Microsoft.
It also shares clipboard and drives, so to the user it behaves exactly like a native Win7 app (though it doesn't render in Aero, so you at least get that visual cue).
Drawbacks? Two: won't run on just anything (CPU and mobo both need to have hardware virtualization support; most recent CPUs include this), and program launches are a tad slow if the VM isn't already running. Otherwise, it's fantastic.
Now, Win7 itself is already better than Vista, but having this support for older programs is fantastic. I have a bunch of valuable older software that won't run in Vista, like the original Dreamweaver MX and Visual Studio 6.0. I don't use them much, but I still have lots of reference and training materials for these programs, and I definitely see projects from time to time to fix or update old Visual Basic programs. I used to run this stuff from a VM, but Win7's implementation is WAY easier to work with.
MS' philosophy continues to be: Making the easy annoying.
But I must be stupid, I guess.
We shall see.
http://insentient.net/
ive been using this one for almost 2 years now and it kicks major butt compared to other win expose clones
I am using Windows 7 v7127 x64, running autocad architecture 2010 on a mac intel, and i never had such a stable os. It works perfectly, fluid and efficient.
I have nothing more installed on w7, only the autocad app. I'm not sure if that's the main reason why everything works so well, but it definately does.
cheers
With a little common sense I haven't had a single virus or malware to speak of.
Instead of bogging down your system with virus, spyware and malware protection. Keep your backups current.
Also, I'm amazed at how much I've forgotten about Windows in just the 18 months since I went Mac-only.
Just a warning that this might be a problem. The x86 OS's are on their way out.
- by atomicbomb156 May 14, 2009 7:37 PM PDT
- Quality does not cost money, assuming the buyer is smart and resourceful. Buyers like that are surprisingly rare. If you say quality costs money then what do luxury items stand for? False statement, in most cases, and there are plenty of good options that are free. Usually software or OS, such as openoffice or ubuntu.
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