I am about to start work as a real estate agent. The MLS is searched through a website called mlxchange (http://www.mlxchange.com). However, this site works only with Internet Explorer on a PC. I have PowerBook G4 that is about a year and a half old. I have 256MB of RAM. I am considering purchasing another 256MB of RAM and buying Virtual PC so that I can access MLXchange. Will things run smoothly and quickly enough to be used extensively on a daily basis? Any advice or experiences are appreciated. Thanks.
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Virtual PC Question
- Thread starter ethan424
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ethan424 said:
You will definitely need the extra memory, but once you have that it should be fine. Virtual PC is exactly like a real PC, so it it works in IE on your PC it will work in Virtual PC. Speedwise I can't speak to the Powerbook, but on my PowerMac G4 dual 1.25, IE6 was very usable under Windows 2000 on Virtual PC.
Get atleast another 512 ram. VPC is not fast at all, so you need to increase your machines speed in other ways to compensate for that. Even with a gig of ram, your not going to be running it like a normal pc would run windows. You might wnt to try and build a really cheap pc just for work, you could make a really decent system for under $500.
mactastic said:
definitely stick with Win2000, it will help with the speed for sure, XP is like molasses
I was gonna say the same thing, can't you trick it into thinking you are a IE user on a PC, but I would still go for the RAM upgrade...dontmakemehurtu said:
i tried to trick the site using Safari's debug menu, and it was a no go, and IE for Mac didnt work either, its a strange problem, and i wonder how this site knows what you are running, kinda creepy if you ask me
Definitely go with Windows 2000, it's much faster than XP. If you keep the usage to the basics - IE, email, the basics, you'll find VPC very usable. But don't mistake me, VPC is very slow.
Thank you for everyone's input. I am torn between three options right now.
1)Buy a decent PC laptop for work (I need a laptop), and keep my PowerBook G4 1Ghz, 256MB
2)Upgrade to 1GB of RAM and buy virtual PC so that I can use my Mac at work.
3)Since my Mac is a over a year old spending a decent ammount of money to uprgrade it seems that it may be wasteful. Also, everyone says Virtual PC is slow, so a processor upgrade would help. Therefore, I could buy a new PowerBook at 1.5GHz with 1.25 GB of ram (12 inch), and virtual PC.
I am unsure what to do. I like the idea of having one computer and would like this to be a Mac. However, I am still unsure as to just how slow virtual PC is. I need to use Virtual PC for several hours each day. If I am going to loose significant productivity due to the speed I would just assume buy a PC, as much as it pains me and my Mac heart. Any further input on my threee options is appreciated. I am mainly trying to get a feel for the speed of virtual PC. Thanks.
-- Ethan
1)Buy a decent PC laptop for work (I need a laptop), and keep my PowerBook G4 1Ghz, 256MB
2)Upgrade to 1GB of RAM and buy virtual PC so that I can use my Mac at work.
3)Since my Mac is a over a year old spending a decent ammount of money to uprgrade it seems that it may be wasteful. Also, everyone says Virtual PC is slow, so a processor upgrade would help. Therefore, I could buy a new PowerBook at 1.5GHz with 1.25 GB of ram (12 inch), and virtual PC.
I am unsure what to do. I like the idea of having one computer and would like this to be a Mac. However, I am still unsure as to just how slow virtual PC is. I need to use Virtual PC for several hours each day. If I am going to loose significant productivity due to the speed I would just assume buy a PC, as much as it pains me and my Mac heart. Any further input on my threee options is appreciated. I am mainly trying to get a feel for the speed of virtual PC. Thanks.
-- Ethan