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when will mac be accepting pc software?

M

morty77

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 31, 2009
3
0
we want an imac ,but my wife spent so much
money on a new pc since she spent thousands of dollars
on software programs for the pc over the years so thats whats holding her back for the mac.
if these programs could be loaded on the new imac
we'd be very interested in purchasing one, this is whats holding us back, she doesnt want to put out all that money a 2nd time. Anyone have any news about the transistion
process?

thanks
steve
 
You can put Windows on a Mac, and thus use all Windows software on a Mac. It has been like this for a long time now.
 
When will Mac programs work on Windows? The answer, probably never.

You can install Windows on a Mac, and can get a program that lets most programs run under Mac OS X. It's called Crossover, research it a bit and see if it would be good for you.
 
-you can install and run windows on a mac using what is called bootcamp. during start up of the computer you select if you want to run windows or mac OS.

-you can use softeware called Parallels or VMware Fusion to let Windows run within a window on the mac.

-you can use crossover to run some windows programs directly on the mac.

none of these options are expensive. you can run windows programs on a mac without problems. it has been like this for many years.;)
 
There are also many good, free programs that can probably replace most of the ones you have already bought. The only software I've actually bought is iWork, but there are plenty of other free office suits out there, like NeoOffice.

Are there any particular applications that you are thinking about?
 
Also, depending on what software she purchased, she might be able to get a Mac version from the company for little or not additional cost. Adobe, for example, offers cross-platform licenses for Lightroom and Photoshop, so if you bought the software for PC but switched to Mac, Adobe will send you the Mac version for the cost of shipping.
 
If booting back and forth is no problem I can vouch for Bootcamp, it's part of the Max OS X.

Threads like this make be look back to 10 years ago and trying to run Virtual PC, I can't help but smile at how far things have come on the Mac side.
 
when will mac be accepting pc software?

it has been possible for quite some time, to run windows software on a mac.
as far as i know, there is no "transition" taking place, or any plans to, for that matter. apple recognizes that some people are stuck with some old software and they have made it possible for you to run that on your mac. that is the whole point of buying a mac....so you don't have to run windows only programs, but if you must, you can. i have some older programs that are windows only, that i run on my macs, through bootcamp, which is included with leopard but i have mostly replaced or transitioned most of them out. i have tried some virtual options, but prefer bootcamp if i have to run windows, since i don't usually switch back and forth that much. most, better software companies like adobe, etc. make their software to run on both systems. even microsoft has a version of office for mac systems, called macoffice, if you just have to have that software, but there are better options out there in my opinion. most companies are now developing multi-platform software, which is where the market is going and is how it should be.
buy your mac, enjoy, and see what you have been missing. you will be glad you did.
 
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