It's been about a week since I installed Windows 8.1 on my 'Late 2011' 13" MacBook Pro. Here's a little review.
First let's clear up some confusion. Basically, there are two ways to install Windows on a computer: a fresh, new install which requires a full version of Windows, or the cheaper 'upgrade' version which requires you to have a licensed, compatible version of Windows already installed on your machine. If you don't already have Windows installed on your Mac, you'll need the full version. I paid about $126 for the full version of Windows 8.1 at Best Buy.
To add to the confusion, the last few versions of Windows (going back to at least XP) have been broken up into a basic consumer version called 'Home' or 'Premium' (or something similar), and a version called 'Professional'. The 'Professional' version costs about $200 and according to the comparison chart, it didn't really offer anything extra that I couldn't live without. Contrary to what your Best Buy salesperson may tell you, the installation of Windows on a Mac does not require the Professional version. Buyer beware!
The other thing I needed for the install was a USB stick for installing Windows hardware drivers. I never did find any minimum size specs listed for the USB stick but mine only had 2 GB of free space and everything worked fine. The first thing that you'll need to do is plug the empty USB stick into your Mac and format it to the FAT filesystem (this will allow both OS X and Windows 8.1 the ability to read/write to the stick).
Now go online and find instructions for installing/running Boot Camp and Windows on your Mac. Read Apple's tips before beginning so that you'll understand the process and know what to expect. The short version is that you'll use Boot Camp to partition your Mac's hard drive, download and install the necessary driver files onto the USB stick, and dedicate space for the installation of Windows. Once the Windows installation is complete, you'll hold down the Option key during reboot or power-up to choose whether you want to run OS X or Windows.
As far as installing Windows goes, this was one of the simplest installs I've ever done. All of the hardware drivers were on the USB stick so there was no barrage of third party installers competing to get their stuff installed and set up.
The bad news...
If, like myself, you'd planned to install Windows 8.1 on your pre-Retina MacBook primarily so you could take advantage of Windows' ability to adjust your display's DPI settings to do a system-wide increase of the size of icons, text, etc, forget about it. The option is grayed out. This option is only available when the MacBook is connected to my 24" 1920x1080 external monitor.
The Thunderbolt port does work on the Windows side but it isn't hot-swappable (it requires a reboot to begin working).
Battery life isn't quite as good on the Windows side. The MacBook's fan runs a bit more as well. Display brightness seems a little harder to adjust. Same for the keyboard backlight.
The Boot Camp Control Panel (in the bottom right next to the clock) is essential for adjusting settings for things like the built-in keyboard and trackpad.
After digging around in Windows 8.1's settings, I have yet to find a button or icon to turn off (or on, for that matter) the Bluetooth radio. It says it's on and searching for devices but gives no option to switch it off when not needed. I haven't had a chance to try using Bluetooth or the FaceTime camera, so I can't comment further on these options.
All in all, Windows on a Mac is interesting to say the least. The new Start Screen (it's not just a Start Menu anymore) takes some getting used to. Had I known that like OS X, Windows 8 wouldn't allow me to adjust the built-in display's DPI setting, I probably wouldn't have bothered. There a few minor things that prevent me from giving up Windows entirely but my biggest disappointment with OS X is how small it renders buttons and text throughout the OS. Seriously, trying to read a fine-print EULA on a Mac is like trying to read the last line on an optometrist's eye chart... from the parking lot!
In the past, there were two reasons someone might want a bigger computer display: to increase space on the desktop for multiple windows, or to increase the size of everything on the screen. Sadly, it seems that us folks in the latter camp have been abandoned. Oh well, live and learn. At least I'm once again able to batch-rename files without the need to google a refresher on how to create a Workflow.
