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March 22, 2008

windows

MacBook Air survives the ultimate stress test: Windows Vista

Posted Mar. 22, ’08, 2:25 PM PT by Aayush Arya
Category | Windows

MacBook Air - Windows VistaIlya Gavrichenkov, over at X-bit labs, bravely went where no other reviewer has ever gone before and took the MacBook Air for a different kind of spin. They stripped off Mac OS X from the notebook and installed Windows Vista on it (ignoring its weepy eyes and silent protest).

So, how does a Mac fare when subjected to Windows (specially Vista)? It turns out, pretty well. Once you get past the installation itself, which requires an external optical drive (Apple will gladly sell you one for $99, but third party drives should work too), it turns out that Apple has taken care of all potential issues by including a magical CD full of Windows drivers, which even makes Vista play nice with the alien concept (in the Windows universe) of Multi-Touch trackpads.

The performance wasn’t quite as speedy as you’d expect from a Mac notebook, but given its less than stellar performance in its native Mac OS X environment, that does not come as a surprise. The fact that it does not have an optical drive or a better range of expansion options also does not sit well with the reviewer.

However, if you plan to run Windows on it and are considering whether you should buy the notebook or not, you’ve probably already made your peace with its shortcomings and only want to know whether it runs Windows well or not. And, you’ll be glad to know, that it passes that test with flying colors. Plus, hey, it’s the only way you can experience Multi-Touch on Windows. That alone would make it worth the price of admission for me if I was a Windows user.

[Via Engadget]


3 Comments

DCJ001 said:

Toward the end of your article, you wrote:

"Plus, hey, it (the MacBook Air) is the only way you can experience Multi-Touch on Windows."

Actually:

"Multi-Touch meets MacBook Pro.

Multi-Touch technology from iPhone, iPod touch, and MacBook Air comes to MacBook Pro in an amazing new Multi-Touch trackpad. Now you can pinch, swipe, or rotate to enlarge text, advance through photos, or adjust an image."

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/features.html

March 22, 2008 11:33 PM
Aayush Arya Author Profile Page said:

The "it" in that statement was supposed to mean "any Multi-Touch enabled Mac notebook". My point was that we now know that the Multi-Touch trackpads work with Windows too, so if you want to have some Multi-Touch action while you're using Internet Explorer or Windows Photo Gallery, you'll can go out and buy a Mac notebook, comfortable in the knowledge that it will work.

Since this story featured the MacBook Air, it might have sounded like I was talking specifically about it. I hope it's clear now. :)

March 23, 2008 6:35 AM
GizmoDan said:

Does the external Ethernet port gadget work with Windows?

March 23, 2008 6:57 AM

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