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Parallels Introduces 'Switch to a Mac' Edition
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Instead of paying for the Apple Tax, a copy of Windows, and a copy of parrallels, why don't you just buy a Windows PC and be happier and richer?
Richer possibly, happier no.
I think I probably would have bought this when I first switched. I wouldn't now but at the time I had a lot of fear about whether I would like OSX, and whether I would be able to use it. Of course bootcamp took away a lot of that fear, but this would have felt like an extra security blanket. But the thing with security blankets are that in the end they are completely unnecessary.
google OS X 86 project and check out the anandtech forum. some Dell models will take OS X with no problems. same with some home builds. others you'll have to do some hacking, but almost every PC can be loaded with OS X.
ironically the dell minis can take OS X with no issues and they are some the cheapest computers Dell sells
I did have a version of windows vista on my mac but deleted it as it made startup take longer.
I watched the video to parrallels yesterday and saw that programs worked alongside mac apps and inside the mac desktop etc.
Does parrallels allow me to keep it completely separate without having to restart each time. So basically the windows desktop on top of mac?
I watched the video to parrallels yesterday and saw that programs worked alongside mac apps and inside the mac desktop etc.
Does parrallels allow me to keep it completely separate without having to restart each time. So basically the windows desktop on top of mac?
A gamer wouldn't use a virtualised environment. A virtualised OS is much much slower than booting to it natively. Games would look like slideshows on a virtual machine.
It's a crutch
Of course it's a crutch, but I wouldn't have made the switch without having access to Windows OS. I'd spent a ton of money on software for Windows that I didn't want to toss away, and frankly, the project of learning a new OS and a new set of tools was more than I wanted to tackle all at once. Besides, I still have to support Windows for work, so not having access to that particular pile of errors wasn't really an option.
True, Bootcamp is an option, but rebooting to switch OS is a pain, and why spend the money for a Mac but then not use the OS?
And in fact, after about six months I'd pretty much stopped using Parallels. But that's the point of the "switch to Mac", isn't it?
Of course it's a crutch, but I wouldn't have made the switch without having access to Windows OS. I'd spent a ton of money on software for Windows that I didn't want to toss away, and frankly, the project of learning a new OS and a new set of tools was more than I wanted to tackle all at once. Besides, I still have to support Windows for work, so not having access to that particular pile of errors wasn't really an option.
True, Bootcamp is an option, but rebooting to switch OS is a pain, and why spend the money for a Mac but then not use the OS?
And in fact, after about six months I'd pretty much stopped using Parallels. But that's the point of the "switch to Mac", isn't it?
iPedro said:
The idea is to be able to ditch your PC while you learn the new Mac environment while not losing any of your previous Windows experience as you go through the transition.
Eventually, you wean yourself off Windows, learn about how to do things on OSX and transfer your files from your old PC without having to keep your old PC around.
This isn't for power users. It's for the general public that is interested in switching to Mac but knows nothing about virtualization, about having to install Windows on your virtual drive (not to mention having to own a copy) and then deal with somehow porting all your stuff over all while learning a new OS. This simplifies it for those people. There's a market for it.
I'm not going to flame you, but for you to say "you can't run much without running Windows" is pretty inaccurate for a lot of people, myself included. The only thing I use my Windows VM for these days is the VMWare VI3 client, which still isn't available on OS X yet. Everything else, Office, RDP, SSH, XMPP, etc all is done in OS X. I do all video and audio work in OS X. I'm buying CS4 for OS X.
Granted, this is anecdotal, and for many people they'd run so much Windows-only software that it wouldn't be worth it, but for me (and many others) OS X suits the needs just fine.
Of course I could nearly "live" in Linux too, due to great alternatives in OSS to Windows apps.
People still pay for it?
Last place I admined all the end users were running VirtualBox without any problems; the latest virtual box is plenty feature rich enough to run pretty much anything you want to throw at it.
But Macs are shiny and pretty!
...and thin and cool with complimentary towelettes of smugness and arrogance. Aren't we special.
Both parallels 4 and vmware fusion has its advantages for me.
I can play 3D games in parallels that lag in vmware
I get the stability in vmware that lacks in parallels.
I can play 3D games in parallels that lag in vmware
I get the stability in vmware that lacks in parallels.
Instead of paying for the Apple Tax, a copy of Windows, and a copy of parrallels, why don't you just buy a Windows PC and be happier and richer?
Happier? Without a Mac? I don't think so.
The only mild interest I have in OSX is my children use it at school and windows at home. I haven't decided what is better for them to learn and become efficient in. OSX will help them through school, Windows will help them through a future career in everything but the arts. If the Effix chip supports Core i7, I might go that route and dual boot my Quad Core 2.66hz machine.
They do projects in Office for Mac, and Office for PC is so much different (Pallettes in OSX Vs. The Ribbon in Windows).
The jury is still out.
With Parallels you have to install a copy of Windows. either XP, VIsta, Win 7. Personally I have Win XP professional. Once done that, You can work, on your mac, with any win programs you want, just installing them. For instance, I have to work with several VBA Excel macro that only work under Excel XP. I thus installed Parallels, Win XP and Excel XP, together with those macros. I can open a virtual window inside my mac, run my macro and save the graphic output. Then I can manage that with Illustrator or any other program I need in mac environment.
The advantage is that you don't have to restart your mac. You can work in...parallels! with both OS. Oh and for some reason, this is much faster than running the same macro on a PC.
It is quite useful, also, during migration. I migrated to mac about a year ago after 15 years of Win. I had many, especially graphic, file that I often open to modify and integrate. They were done with Corel 11 (win). Because I also migrated from Corel to Illustrator, so I keep a copy of Corel 11 installed under Parallels, So I can export my graphic files to Illustrator and open them in CS3 (which is unable to read Corel 11 files).
This is the PC I just purchased:
Intel i7 Quad core @ 2.66ghz
9 gb DDR3 ram
1TB hardrive
Nividia GTS 250 (just a hair better than the 9800+) w/1gb ram
DVD writer with lightscribe
BlueRay player
802.11N wireless built in
Built in card reader
Mouse/Keyboard
$1,100.
How much would this have cost at Apple?
One 2.66GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon
8GB (4x2GB)
1TB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB
One 18x SuperDrive
Apple Mighty Mouse
Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad (English) and User's Guide
AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi Card with 802.11n
$3,099. No Bluray, no card readers, I have more ram, better video card, & core i7 is faster.
I'm very much happier saving $2,000!
How about getting Snow Leopard for $29 with support for Exchange 2007 OUT OF THE BOX!!!! do not buy Parrallels, and the money saved from not buying a PC!!! get another iPod
My most important apps are windows only. There is no Apple solution that I can use unless Windows is a part of it. I like OSX, but it isn't completely functional for me.
My sentiments exactly. I switched to VMware a long time ago.
But recently I installed Parallels 4 on my MacBook.
Whenever the Mac falls asleep and I wake it up again, the Windows VM has crashed. Plus Parallels still doesn't have a way to run a VM in the background, without a GUI attached to it.
well at least they're trying something. and if they are able to transfer everything from their pc with a usb cable, then this might be a good deal