<p>Ok, here’s the deal… I know there are about 600 computer threads but mine is a tiny bit different.</p>
<p>Down the road a bit, I’m trying to get into a physician assistant program for grad school. While I was just skimming through the requirements and such, many of the schools list laptop requirements and they generally say Windows blah blah blah. Well I’m an avid Mac user and I couldn’t imagine going any other way. Has anyone else been able to work around a requirement like this or is Virtual PC a good option for the required software?</p>
<p>I don’t see why you couldn’t use a mac… but that’s just me. do some of the computer programs you need only work on pc? By the time you get to grad school the new mac’s will be out with intel processors, so it should be more compatible by then.</p>
<p>Yeah the macs with linux will be out mid-2006. You will either be able to dual boot with windows or run something like Wine which will almost certainly be ported, I’m not giving up my mac either :p</p>
<p>Contact the school that you’re interested in attending and ask if using a Mac is acceptable for your program. Frankly, most medical technology software is written for the Palm OS/Pocket PC PDA market and for Windows. </p>
<p>You could use Virtual PC, but it’s generally slow and requires upgrading your system resources. When Apple moves to an Intel platform next year, you may be able to boot into Windows and run your Window’s software. </p>
<p>You will most likely have to invest in one of the new MacTel machines when they come out next year. Bear in mind that the IT environment in most hospitals is Windows (at least here in the Midwest). The UMich Hospital system runs on Windows and Dell. Patient treatment and records are kept on PDA’s or Window based laptops or Tablet PCs.</p>
<p>Shouldn’t be a problem with the new macs coming out. I absolutely agree with not wanting to go back to windows - I couldn’t stand it. I say, with everything moving so fast, that it’s pointless to worry about it until the time comes. It all will have changed anyway.</p>
<p>True true. Forgot about the new macs coming out, and what’s another $1500 on to the $40,000 tuition! (ha…). I know technology moves so fast that I shouldn’t worry. It just seems like I have no time to fit anything in that this also is just going to pop up sooner than I think.</p>
<p>RefreshF5: What the heck are you talking about? “The macs with linux […]” First of all, Linux runs on PPC already and has for a good while. Second, Apple has unveiled new DRM technology to stop users from installing other operating systems on their soon-to-be-released x86 Macintosh computers. Cracking it is a) ilegal and b) an exercise in futility, as Apple releases patches that break your cracks. Third, Wine doesn’t have to be ported to the operating system it was developed for. Wine has already been packaged for osX/Darwin. No, it doesn’t work perfeclty. No, it well not work perfectly in the future. Suck it up.</p>
<p>So, let me ask this again: What . . . what are you SAYING?</p>
<p>NO, MacIntel machines won’t run Windows automagically. NO, Joe Schmoe will not know how to configure a machine to dual boot. NO, your Mac hardware will not function the same in Windows as it does MacOS.</p>
<p>I second getting a PC in addition to your Mac. I have a cheap PC laptop that I use when I can’t do my work on my Mac and it seems to work well for me.<br>
If you can hold out until Black Friday there should be some good deals.</p>