Using an Apple Macbook at BCIT for CST

As most of you know, I am in my 2nd year here at BCIT in their Computer Systems Technology (aka CST) program. What people might not know is, you can use a a Mac to get all of your school things done, but it is a bit tricky at first. At least it was tricky, there are some nuisances but I am sure I will overcome them.

Recommended Computer Specifications for CST

One of the more popular questions is, “What type of computer do I need?” Well you really don’t need anything powerful to be able to keep up to the whirlwind of lab excerises, assignments and whatever else we have going on. What BCIT typically recommends is to pick a computer that has similar specifications to that of the lab computers. In this case, the lab computers have the following:

• Dell Optiplex 990 Desktops
• Intel i5-2400 @3.1GHz
• 8GB of DDR3 Memory
• Windows 7 (64bit Enterprise)
• Intel Onboard Graphics (the ones built into the i5 CPUs)

Now to some, that might seem like a lot. But we definitely do not utilize the power that these new (bought over the summer) desktops have. The previous specifications had just Intel Duo-Core CPUs. You definitely do not need the best-of-the-best computer/laptop to do anything in this 2-year program.

In Steps the Apple Macintosh Laptops

When you walk around campus you’ll notice a large amount of Apple Macbooks that people seem to have, yes even I myself have a Macbook Air. At first faculty recommends against getting a Mac, though the question is Why?

Microsoft is a big player here at BCIT. When you enrol as a Full-Time student in the COMP department (such as CST or CIT) you also get access to the MSDN (Microsoft Systems Developer Network) where you can access a plethora of software. Software such as

• MS Windows 7 Professional
• MS Windows Server 2010
• MS Exchange Server 2010
• MS VisualStudio 2010
• MS Office 2010 (Project, Visio and others are also included)
• and a lot more

One downside is that there are no Macintosh versions of the above software available, it is strictly Windows only. Granted, you don’t need MS Word to do you assignments, but some instructors will demonstrate useful things within Word to help your better organize your assignments. If you’re using something else, you’re on your own. I actually was able to purchase a legit copy of MS Word 2011 for the MacOS for only $11! Typically, student pricing is $100.

When you get into Win32 programming, obviously you cannot do it on your Mac as is, as the variety of libraries you require are under the Windows platform.  Also depending on which Option you choose for your 2nd year of CST/CIT, you might require a .NET language (C# for instance). Again, you would probably have to use MS VisualStudio and for obvious reasons, there is not Mac version.

BootCamp / Parallels & Virturialization

Now, I am not going to go into the steps to installing Windows onto a Mac-based machine. You will need access to a legitimate copy of Windows (such as the one you can get from the MSDN with your BCIT account). For me, it was a bit trickier to install as the Macbook Air (MBA) has not optical drive. Essentially, I created an ISO image of the Windows 7 installation disc, transferred if over to my MBA and then had BootCamp create a USB install for me utilizing a 8GB USB key and the ISO image I previously created. A small downside to having a MBA is that I have only a 128GB SSD which I partitioned 40GB for the Windows partition, might sound like enough but wait till you start installing MS products on it.

Awesome, now that I have had BootCamp successfully partition my drive for a MacOS and Windows configuration, you will need to look at getting some sort of visualization software. It isn’t need, but it will really make your life much easier at BCIT. Unless of course, you boot only into Windows while at school. I myself do not do that because I like using the terminal (it’s BSD right?) of the MacOS for doing my C and C++ programming outside of the Windows environment. I also take my notes using the terminal (aka Shell).

Parallels / VMWare and Others

Now, I have only used Parallels (Student pricing is $40 instead of $80), which is a Mac-based virtual-machine (VM) sort of application. It allows me to stay in MacOS but access Windows and my Windows applications easily and effortless. One thing I knew previously about VM is that any changes were not saved when you shut-down whatever you were running in that particular VM. Now, I don’t know if that is really the case with most VMs, but at least my experience is with Parallels, whatever I change while using it, stays changed on the Windows partition, so that in case I have to boot directly into Windows, I know  that nothing will be missing.

The main reason for running Windows in a Parallel session is I need access to MS VisualStudio for my Data Communications course (COMP 3980) as well as my Win32 Programming course (3770). There is also no MacOS version for MS Visio or Project which we have been using as well, so from time to time I have to access them without booting directly into the Windows environment.

Performance wise, I see no issues. My MBA has the Intel i5 core CPU and 4 GB of memory which I dedicate 1.5GB for the Windows Parallel session. There are no slow-downs or hiccups that I have noticed so far. In fact, fellow students are impressed at how well it handles when I move back and forth between the two operating environments. As I previously mentioned, since I gave the Windows partition 40GB, I have about 5GB left. That is after installing MS Windows 7 Professional, MS Project, MS Visio, MS VisualStudio. MS VisualStudio actually took up 7GB of diskspace, guess I choose to install everything I possibly could for it.

After Thoughts

I’ve been in my 2nd year now for about a month, which means I have been using my Macbook Air for just a little over 1 month and I am still getting used to it. Though when I do go into the Windows environment, I do find myself using various MacOS commands save as Cmd-S, Cmd-C etc, but thankfully, Parallels must have some magic and converts the keys to their Windows equivalents. Cmd-S in MacOS is Ctrl-S for Windows. I try and keep using the keyboard short-cuts environment specific, but doesn’t always happen.

Why did I buy a Macbook in the first place? I wanted something with ultra-portability. The Asus U36 I was looking at wasn’t released/in-stock in time and after adding what I wanted to it, it was the same price as this Macbook Air. With my commute to and from school is roughly 1-hour 40-minutes each way, I wanted something light enough for the backpack, but had some decent power in it for photo-editing when Robyn and I go on our little excursions (and our big 3-month trip next year). I still have my Asus 15.3″ i7 gaming laptop, which I am slowly moving things off of it. I would eventually like to sell it. It’s an awesome, stylish, yet powerful laptop! Great for those who want portability and good gaming experience.

Anyway, since I am fairly new to MacOS, I am always looking for tips, tricks and suggestions etc (this includes general usage stuff too). If you have any, let me know! If I find any that might make people’s lives easier at BCIT in a Windows dominated environment, I will be sure to share them too!

I am enjoying using the Mac and I am sure others can easily adapt to using a MacOS based machine in the CST/CIT program.