What can’t my Mac do now?
March 6th, 2007
I’ve been hearing a lot about Parallels for Mac, which allows Mac users to run a Windows virtual machine. After reading this article on installing Vista with Parallels and the companion installing Ubuntu with Parallels, the Coherence feature and learning that the friendly folks at Parallels offer a 15 day free trial I gave it a try with Windows XP. This is my story, from a sort-of-techie-but-not-so-much-anymore point of view. I use Mac because ‘it just works’ but can get around Windows and Linux systems with some level of competence if that is any indication of my skill level.
This may have been the easiest Windows install I have ever completed. The annoying habit XP has of rebooting 3 - 4 times during install is really not an issue with a virtual machine - I just kept going through my Google Reader and using my Mac as usual. But I’m getting ahead of myself. I installed build 3170 of Parallels, as of tonight it looks like build 3186 is available. I don’t know about the differences between the two, but I don’t think there is anything huge.
Installing Parallels was as easy as installing anything else on a Mac - takes two or three clicks and entry of admin password. Once Parallels was installed I launched the application and it immediately popped in to a wizard. There were pre-configured options for Windows XP and Vista. I’m not ready for Vista yet, but XP is a go - the wizard offered just a few options and the defaults seemed reasonable. After hitting ‘go’ we popped in to the virtual machine window and the (long) installation process began. Anyone who has installed Windows knows this part of the show takes about an hour of CD-ROM drive spinning and watching the progress meter slowly advance. Blah blah blah blah blah.
OK, done. A few ‘reboots’ in the VM and Windows is running in a nice little Window. I created a simple Notepad document and dragged from the Windows desktop to the OSX desktop - Parallels asked if I wanted to share files between the two - and clearly explained the implications of my choice. Easy. Then Coherence - really cool. Copy and paste between Windows and Mac apps (as you can see in the screen shot, sort of), no problem.
This worked amazingly well - I haven’t played with everything yet, but so far, so good. I’m running only 1 gig of RAM, and I think I’ll want 2 if I’m going to use this much. I think the $79.99 is a great deal for this software, especially for anyone wanting the rock solid and stylish Mac but still just has to have some actual Windows software. Now I just need to find some Windows software I actually want to use.
Categories: Science/Tech |
Just a friendly reminder to resize your images before posting: it does not render in IE, Safari, and Google Reader (latter doesn’t work even in Mozilla).
Love,
Tech Support
Photo renders just fine in Firefox…
Thank you for your story - it’s interesting to read of others’ experiences, virtually integrating OSX & XP. I’m about to take delivery of my first Intel iMac & have never been within interactive cooeee of any kind of Mac, neither am i any kind of a techie, although i configure & maintain my own PCs, so have been wondering how i’ll handle the learning curve associated with the total platform/hardware changes, let alone the software. What future does my beloved 5-button optical mouse have in this scenario? If i can successfully run XP on this new machine, hopefully it’ll serve to gradually wean me away from Windoze (except for the laptop!), as i gradually become familiar with the new setup. The thought of having to configure my ADSL connection in this environment intimidates me, although i’ve been voraciously reading as many forums & hints on the subject that i can find! Guess i’ll just play it by ear - & follow the guidelines - when it arrives & see how i go…
Cheers from OZ
@croweater -
I’m sure the switch from PC to Mac will be easier than you think. There are so many great Mac apps out there that do what your Windows apps do, and the Unix OS is really easy to pick up. On top of that, Parallels can run any OS you want, so you can try Ubuntu or any flavor of Linux you want.
I use both a PC and a Mac daily, and I am also not a techie in the traditional sense, but I have no trouble switching between them, I’m sure it will b e easy for you. One thing about the Mac, it just works, more often than not.
If you have any problems, send an email, and nice to see someone from OZ.