Get a laptop or desktop with four i7 CPU cores.
From the boot time set up (BIOS, EFI, etc) ...
Turn on hyperthreads.
Turn on turbo boost.
Turn on Virtualization support.
I would disable secure boot for the Linux system, as it’s not really needed. Not yet.
Install Linux - RHEL, Fedora, Ubuntu, Mint, whatever. You can configure the new Gnome3 desktop to work like and even look like the Apple desktop. I’ve never done it, but one guy I know has.
Install W7 or W8 in a virtual machine running on your Linux system. I use VirtualBox, because it provides a “seamless desktop”. You have the Linux and Windows taskbars and apps sharing the same desktop.
Thoroughly firewall the Windows machine and run it without virus software. It’s only a virtual machine, so you can reinstall if by some chance it gets infected. Keep your data in a separate partition. There are tools to clean up your data if your Windows OS partition gets infected.
Best of both worlds.
If you want a trifecta, get an Apple. Big money, yes, but you can have virtual Windows AND Linux systems on the Apple, if you need to do development on those systems.
I am not an Apple fanboi, so please don’t flame me. I despise the fact that they do not allow you to buy their OS and run it as a VM on any other platform.
Good advice. Nothing beats a Virtual PC for surfing the web.
Install MS Virtual PC 2007 or some other virtual box. Install your favorite operating system as a Virtual machine; put all the antivirus stuff and all you favorite aps in it and then close it. Make a copy of the virtual machine and boot up the copy. If anything nasty happens while you visit some website, then erase the copy and make a new one. You can have anything as a virtual machine or you can simultaneously run several. Linux, Win XP, Win Vista, Win 2000, even Dos 6.2. They all run fine and with no worry of contaminating your system.
“If you want a trifecta, get an Apple. Big money, yes, but you can have virtual Windows AND Linux systems on the Apple...”
I run Windows 7 in a VM (Parallels 8) on my Mac.
It’s a Mac Mini and very reasonably priced. An entry level Mac Mini runs $599 - $509 when you find one at the Apple Refurb store. I purchased mine at B&H Photo and they threw in Parallels 8 for free.
I post this to you as many, I feel, are unaware of the reasonable price point of the Mac Mini.
I, like you, am not an Apple fanboy. I needed to replace my 8 year old XP laptop which could not keep up with my needs. All that was available at the time were computers offering Windows 8. PHEW!
I was thinking of getting a MacBook Pro but balked at the $1,200 price.
I needed to do something clever and the Mac Mini was an easy route and reasonably priced. I had two monitors, a mouse and keyboard so all I needed was a computer.
Since then I’ve added a 16” USB monitor and I have travelled with the Mac Mini and it fits in my old laptop case - I did buy a 15’ AC cord to keep me plugged in.
Thought you might appreciate the heads up...
PS - it’s the single easiest machine to upgrade RAM on - flip it over and unscrew the base - like a peanut butter jar - POP! out come the RAM and in goes 16 GB of RAM upgrade. And you can add a second HD with a disk doubler kit. It’s a very useful machine if you are into setting up VM machines.