MacBook Air for non-retina compatible Windows app

[md550]

Hi all,

I'm in a bit of a predicament at the moment, and I'm hoping you can help me out.

I currently have an Early 2013 15" MacBook Pro Retina. The retina screen is fantastic, however this is causing problems with a certain Windows application.

I use a financial application which only runs on Windows. I've been using a Windows 7 virtual machine on VMware Fusion 6.0.4 successfully for some time, connected to a 27" Thunderbolt Display. I now need to use this application while on the move.

Unfortunately, I've discovered that this application is not fully compatible with the retina display on the MacBook - I have to either use it with a blurry non-native resolution, or deal with very small text. The DPI scaling within Windows doesn't seem to help either as this causes some elements of the application to render incorrectly. I've also tried this on Windows 8 and unfortunately it didn't help.

I've been considering the purchase of a MacBook Air, specifically because of the non-retina screen. I was about to purchase one today, but I decided against it because of the rumours regarding a refresh in the next month or so. I understand it is probable (however not certain) that a 12" Retina MacBook Air will be released in the near future, but with the future of the current non-retina models in doubt, should I purchase one now? If necessary, I can probably delay my purchase for about a month.

Purchasing a Windows ultrabook is also an option, however the design and battery life of the MacBook Air really does appeal to me.

Any thoughts/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks very much.

 

[RightMACatU]

Have you tried VMWare in all modes inc. Unity?

On the Windows-based ultrabooks front, there are several options that rivals the MBA. It's just sad to have to buy a second laptop for one app.

 

[md550]

Have you tried VMWare in all modes inc. Unity?

On the Windows-based ultrabooks front, there are several options that rivals the MBA. It's just sad to have to buy a second laptop for one app.

I've now tried all VMWare modes - unfortunately no real improvement.
I'll have to consider my options further - as you said it's not really a good solution to have to buy another laptop for a single app.

Thanks very much for your suggestion though.

 

[mad3inch1na]

I've now tried all VMWare modes - unfortunately no real improvement.
I'll have to consider my options further - as you said it's not really a good solution to have to buy another laptop for a single app.

Thanks very much for your suggestion though.

You may want to consider BootCamp. I do not know if this would work, but it may be worth a shot if your only other option is to buy a second computer.

 

[nexus4life]

First of all - I know there's a lot of Rumors going around, but there's been talk of a retina macbook air for a long time. It simply doesn't make a whole lot of sense for Apple to release a new macbook air after they just refreshed it less than 3 months ago. Definitely go ahead and buy a MBA if you really want one; if nothing else, they hold their value so an easy resale and just a bit of cash will get you a retina model - if one comes out.

Regarding your issue, buying a whole new computer seems a bit drastic. Are you sure there isn't a mac version of this software, and have you tried a trial of Parallels just to be 100% sure it isn't some obscure issue with VMware? Lastly, like mentioned before - have you considered bootcamp? I recommend making a Time Machine backup of your entire disk, then installing windows in bootcamp, because it can't hurt to try - if both VMWare and Parallels don't work, and with the backup it'd be an easy way to get you at least where you started.

 

[md550]

Thanks very much for the advice all. I will try Parallels and BootCamp when I get a chance.