This was my suggestion, but my son tells me that they say some of the software required doesn’t run that well on Windows native.
Do you suppose that is factual, or in error? Is there software, (for business applications) that might not run on Windows native?
The reason they said windows pc is that there may have been problems with Mac native windows.
Acer (4th largest computermaker in the world?) makes reliable computers. I have never had a problem with them. Dell, problems, hp, problems etc.
Don’t know if that is factual or not, but there’s nothing really special or proprietary about the hardware components in a Mac anymore. They use the same Intel x64 processors and the same memory types as a PC these days. I don’t see why booting native Windows 10 on Mac hardware would be a problem unless there is not a Windows driver for a particular component in the Mac.
Not factual. Use Boot Camp and install Windows on any Mac and it is Windows. I haven't heard of any serious problems even using VMWare or Parallels, but just dual-booting Windows and OS/X with the built-in Boot Camp resolves any possible issue.
The MacBook Pro 13" is the best college device, IMHO.
I’ve found that old-school IT types are very diehard in their dislike of Apple even in the face of there no longer being any appreciable functional divergence as far as software and network connectivity. So, I’d lean toward thinking it’s error, but depending upon his planned course of study, crossing the poo-bahs might not be the wisest thing to do, just has so often been the case in the corporate world.
Their website explains their reasoning.
https://www2.bus.umich.edu/MyiMpact/technology/need-help/purchasing-your-laptop
I have one Mac bootcamped to run Windows. It works fine except for one application which the firmward on the Mac will not support.
I have run Lenovos for more than 20 years for my business applications.
My son who is an Apple user had to borrow one of my Lenovos for a year for a business application that he needed.
It is more likely that they do not want to gear up to provide any support for a MAC in their environment than anything issue related.
That's a Microsoft bigoted IT department idiot at the college making that claim. You boot a Mac into Windows and the hardware IS a Windows computer. Especially for anything that is going to be required at a business specialized college. I've run into this before.
Many reviewers of hardware for Microsoft Windows specific magazines have reported that the very best notebook hardware to run Windows are Macs.
I would NOT put it past these Windows bigots in the college IT department to have created proprietary college software that checks to make sure what kind of hardware their college software is running on and shut down functions if it isn't what they want to encounter. I've seen that before.
I ran across one bigoted piece of software on a website that would only operate its scripts if you were specifically running Microsoft Internet Explorer on an Windows Based computer with an Intel processor. It would not even run if you were on a Windows computer that used an AMD processor. It checked, and if it didn't find what the software developer considered a "proper computer", it popped up an alert telling the user to buy a real Intel computer using a real browser, with a real operating system: now that's a platform snob! The really strange thing was this was a platform to BUY products from an online retailer! I made a direct phone call to the CEO of the company and asked him if he was in the business of selling HIS products or selling Microsoft's and Intel's products? He wanted to know what I was talking about... and I explained his IT department was insulting and chasing away a very high percentage of his potential customers. He was shocked. He had no clue what was going on in his own business.
If you do have to cow-tow to their IT requirements, don't skimp on a Windows laptop by buying a bottom of the barrel el-cheapo. You'll regret it. Buy one that is just as expensive as a Mac laptop and you should be OK. Any of the namellie brand makers among Dell, Lenovo, HP, Sony (a preference), Acer, etc. in that price range, would most likely do what your son will require and last the full four years.
Have a Windows expert strip out all of the crapware (trialware, etc.) they all come with and get it down to only what he needs to run; i.e. make it a mean, lean machine.