Hey, I was wondering how compatible a Powerbook would be with engineering software, and is there a programme I can get that allows me to run PC software in general on it.
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Question for all you knowledgeable mac folk (will only take a sec)
- Thread starter Melkor
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wordmunger
macrumors 603
Wait about 6 months and you'll be able to get an intel PowerBook that, if it doesn't run windows out of the box, will certainly be hacked to do so within a month or two.
Thanks for the quick replys guys.
I know very little about mac's, the reason I'm getting one is because they were highly recommended to me by lots of people. I'm just worried that I'll get it and it won't be compatible with anything.
Are there any major downfalls to buying a mac?
I know very little about mac's, the reason I'm getting one is because they were highly recommended to me by lots of people. I'm just worried that I'll get it and it won't be compatible with anything.
Are there any major downfalls to buying a mac?
Josh said:
Ya I know some of the programms I'll be using.
Is OS X mac software? (excuse the unbelievable noobishness)
MacDawg
Moderator emeritus
You will find that most things are cross platform these days (like MS Office and such) and your compatibility will be high. However, in specialty areas, like engineering software, you may find that you have to find creative solutions such as Virtual PC (software that emulates Windows on the Mac).
Woof, Woof Dawg
Woof, Woof Dawg
MacDawg said:You will find that most things are cross platform these days (like MS Office and such) and your compatibility will be high. However, in specialty areas, like engineering software, you may find that you have to find creative solutions such as Virtual PC (software that emulates Windows on the Mac).
Woof, Woof Dawg
Ok that sounds alright. Is Virtual PC expensive to buy and does it run the programme much slower? Also, will it make all pc software compatible (not including games and stuff, I'm pretty sure Steam doesn't work on mac's)
plinden
macrumors 601
Yes, yes and yes. Virtual PC actually runs Windows itself, so you have to buy a copy of Windows unless you have it yourself or get VPC with it.Melkor said:
Are you a student or university staff? You can get most software at a discount if you are, but VPC is still $250 with Windows 2000 and $220 with XP (not sure why XP is cheaper). Check out store.apple.com, scroll to the bottom and choose education store, and when you get there, click on the software link.
Or Office for Mac Professional comes with VPC, but that's $500.
mduser63
macrumors 68040
What engineering field are you going into? I'm an junior in electrical engineering and use Macs almost exclusively. The only snag I've run into is PSpice. PSpice is Windows only, and although there is a good Mac alternative, the way the assignments are written it's a little hard to using anything other than PSpice itself. Other than that, I've been able to find workable Mac equivalents for all the engineering software I need. Also, I find that Virtual PC works fine for my needs (other than the current major kernel panic problem in VPC 7.0.2).