Decisions, Decisions, Decisions – Non-Mac Apps on Macs
By Robert Pritchett
Do I keep the perfectly running iMac G5 64-bit or move to Mactel systems? Yes or No. For me for now; Yes. Do I have Windows-based apps that I can run on my iMac? Yes, but it requires VirtualPC to run Windows-based apps, which we reviewed 2 years ago - http://www.maccompanion.com/macc/archives/january2005/software/VPC7.html
Do I run Microsoft Operating Systems and applications on a Mactel box to keep up with technology? Yes or No. Do I even need another non-Mac operating system on my Mac?
I’m going to need to use a portable, so the Mactel-based MacBook Pro looks like a possibility. And if/when I go that direction, will I need to include XP Pro/Vista to support clients? Would my old VirtualPC version of XP Pro work on a MacTel box or do I have to buy a new license?
Or I could break the law according to Apple and get a non-Mac system and run Mac OS X on it – unsupported and illegal today. And then there is al the overhead associated with protecting the box from all kinds of malware… This one is a no-brainer. No non-Mac portable for me.
So which “emulator” do I choose to run to use Windows-based apps on a Mac? Hummm…
MacWindows has some interesting fodder to plow through - http://www.macwindows.com/winintelmac.html
Once I get the latest Apple portable I can afford, the next step is to decide how to run Windows apps on my Mactel box:
Which App to run Windows on a Mactel box?
I can dual-boot with Apple’s own Boot Camp. Not the best way of doing stuff I suppose, because I’m still at the mercy of malware and I still have to own Windows-based protection to play safely on the Internet.
Ted Bade discussed last May about running Boot Camp on his Mactel system - http://www.maccompanion.com/macc/archives/May2006/Software/WindowsonanIntelMacintosh.htm
So with either Tiger or Leopard, Boot Camp is also a possibility.
I also already have a copy of Parallels Desktop, which we happen to sell on our own website at http://www.maccompanion.com and Ted Bade did a great job reviewing it last July - http://www.maccompanion.com/macc/archives/July2006/Software/PD.htm
Parallels Desktop for the Mac is available here - http://www.parallels.com/en/products/desktop/
Besides Parallels Desktop for Mac, there is VMWare’s Fusion. Bob Roudebush took a first look http://www.roudybob.net/?p=328 and linked to a video created by Richard Garthsthagen at http://www.run-virtual.com/?page_id=141
Fusion is downloadable from here - http://www.vmware.com/products/beta/fusion//
As of this writing, both Parallels and Fusion are still beta products.
And just when we started to get comfortable with the whole Windows-on-a-Mac idea, up pops CodeWeaver’s CrossOver that Chris Marshall reviewed for Tim Verpoorten’s SurfBits at http://myapplestuff.com/crossover-mac-60/
CrossOver is available here - http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxmac/
It started out as Darwine, but became commercialized as CrossOver.
I like this one, because then I don’t need to wonder if my new system will run the old XP Pro OS I have gathering dust.
What-Ifs
All this effort is pre-Leopard and who knows what surprises we will see when that is released. It sure would be fun if Boot Camp did more than just Windows or if Parallels was included directly or if Fusion was included or CrossOver were part of the package from the get-go. I am leaning heavily in the CrossOver direction. Then I wouldn’t have to make so many decisions…
Dig Deeper
http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=252
http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2007/2/9/6983
http://www.macnightowl.com/2007/02/23/running-windows-on-a-mac-let-me-count-the-ways/
http://gracefulflavor.net/2007/03/06/windows-virtualization-war-on-osx-escalates/
