Bull_D

I have been primarily a Mac user for some years now. Owned a couple of version of the Air, with my current being a mid 2013 and still going strong. I have an old, heavy thinkpad that I have been using to do my data work on. This is my quandry......do I get a newer, smaller PC just for data work (which then requires me to carry two laptops while on the road working) or is it possible to use the Mac for my data work? When I got my first macbook, I tried using parallel's, it was a bit of a clusterf*ck and I never tried it again. Is there an easy to use, functional option to get i2 to work on a Mac?

38D

I use a MacBook with VMWare Fusion. Works great for Motec. Have used this setup on a C187, C125, ADL2 and a really old ADl. All work fine. Also works to drive the Windows based CNC software I use.

I found Parallels to not be as stable.

ProCoach

I’ve used i2 and dash manager on Windows under boot camp since 2006 on almost two dozen Macs.

Still prefer their hardware at the track.

dave-C2

+1 for bootcamp

ProCoach

While I see a fair number of professionals at the track with Toughbooks and Dells, I went to the track almost two hundred days a year for a decade with the original MacBook Airs (SD card slot for the win) and Unibody MacBook Pros using the latest version of Windows under Boot Camp with NEVER a blue screen, maximum multi camera video side by side playback performance in i2 Pro, without hesitation and it worked well. I did cycle them out twice a year, usually brought a backup just in case, but never needed it.

Be aware the M1 Apple models most recently introduced can NOT run Boot Camp.

I bought this week the top of the line 16” MBP 2.4 GHz Core i9 with a 2 TB SSD and a 5600 video upgrade, as this is likely the last, best Intel Mac laptop made, just so I can keep using Windows natively on a Mac.

Bull_D

Excellent. +1 for the SD slot on my MBA. Couple silly questions......
what kind of virus issues can you run into? It is nice to not deal much with the long boot up times on a Mac. Do you run anti virus stuff on your “pc side”?
I’d need to get a W 10 software download license as well I assume?

ProCoach

I do. Both the Windows Defender, which is pretty good, and Avast. I’m paranoid about viruses.

Yes, you’ll download an ISO file for Win10 and save it to your Mac side, then follow the directions on setting up Boot Camp from Apple. Depending on the age of your MBP, you may need a USB stick of 8 GB or more for the support software from Apple to be downloaded and loaded after the Win10 install.

The license is $99 for Win10 or $199 for Win10 Pro (no reason for the Pro version except if you do VPNs or more security with remote servers in Windows, which most folks don’t do). It is a little time consuming, but I just did it in my 16” MBP and it worked perfectly

I would reserve more partition space for Windows than you think you ought to....

Bull_D

Thanks Peter. Regarding the lack of an SD card slot on newer models, do you just use one of the thunderbolt adapters i have seen online? it is super convenient to just take my SD card out of my SCHD and plug it into my current MBA and play.

ProCoach

Yes, the $39 one from Apple works really well. FAST!

Bull_D

Ok, so I bit the bullet and am getting a new 13 inch macbook pro. my current macbook air has been outstanding....it is a mid 2012 model. never an issue. it runs high sierra. is anyone running new maOS(big sur), if so, was it pretty seamless setting up to use windows in bootcamp? I am generally not a first/early adopter because of the inevitable unexpected hassles with new/old compatibility issues. Once you fight through those and get yourself sorted, I tend to not try to "fix" things that ain't broke. For example, I still use a time capsule as my backup. They discontinued them, but it is the single best thing I've found in switching to mac years ago. It has saved me on several occasions (stolen laptop, beer swilling laptop....) It was easy to set up, and just works away in the background. A tad concerned what issues I will run into when I try to connect the new laptop to that setup. Anyway, eventually one must crawl into the newer tech. Once this is all sorted, I know it will make things much easier. Thanks for everyones input so far. Sorry for the dopey questions.

ProCoach

Darn, I could’ve given you a smoking deal on my loaded, top of the line 13” MBP touchbar, Core i7, 1 TB SSD. Oh well. You’ll like the new one.

I have updated my iMac Pro and my two MacBook pros to Bug Sur. The Boot Camp partition was unaffected in the one I updated, and I installed Boot Camp just last week on my new 16” 2 TB SSD MBP.

After doing twenty-plus Boot Camp installs on my own computers, plus a bunch on client computers, the installation procedure in my new 16” MBP was the easiest, least problematic EVER. They’ve made it simple, just follow the directions. Oh, and did I tell you to err on the larger partition size when making the Windows partition? Can’t change later easily at all.

Time Capsule (which is still use, too) does NOT backup the Windows partition or installation:

Kein_Ersatz

MBA with Samsung T7 500 GB SSD with Bootcamp W10 (can be set up for free), for AiM and MoTec, working fine.

38D

Personally I like VMWare better than bootcamp because you can seamlessly switch back and forth between the Windows & Mac environments. So I can use Motec i2, then swap right back to Mac to edit the video of a specific lap. The only downside is the battery life is definitley lower when running VMWare.

ProCoach

When I want to fully leverage the graphics and processing power of a Mac, I use Boot Camp. Runs better than any PC and I can stream six 1080p 60fps side by side video and data without the fan even coming on. Good stuff!

Bull_D

Many thanks for all the info an advice. I have my new macbook pro on its way. i have windows installed, working and also dash manager, i2 and R3 for my smartycam. One thing I wanted to be able to do with this is import iRacing telemetry and use that as an exercise in getting more skilled at manipulating data. I have read/watched a bunch on how to do that. I was just told by a Motec rep that you can only view/use iRacing data using i2 Pro? Is this true?