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From: Jim on 7 Jun 2010 10:29
On 2010-06-07, chris <ithinkiam(a)gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Yup. I second no.4. I trialled Win7 during the release candidate stage
> and it worked fine in Virtual Box.
>
> The one downside of going with any of 2, 3 or 4 is memory/RAM usage.
> You'll need to have enough to accommodate OS X + Windows + all the Mac
> and Windows apps you're likely to run simultaneously.

*Very* good point.

Jim
--
Twitter:@GreyAreaUK

"If you have enough book space, I don't want to talk to you."
Terry Pratchett
From: Julian Jordan on 7 Jun 2010 11:06
"John Hill" <nemo(a)erewhon.invalid> wrote in message
news:1jjpysp.1j2qtib7dj9tiN%nemo(a)erewhon.invalid...
> My wife has taken the plunge and bought an iMac. It is new and shiny,
> fully up to date, with a wireless keyboard and Magic Mouse.
>
> Nevertheless there are still a couple of Windows applications she needs
> and we are looking into installing Windows 7 on her Mac rather than keep
> the old PC going for them.
>
> There seem to be three routes for this:
>
> 1. Boot Camp. This would probably do all she wants (the two systems
> could be completely indpendent - there is no specific requirement to
> move files from one to the other). And it is the cheapest option.
> BUT, so far as I can discover from the Boot Camp Support Site, this will
> only work with a USB keyboard and mouse. She could borrow mine to set it
> up, but if these are also required to use it, that would rule out the
> Boot Camp option.
>
> 2. Parallels. I cannot discover whether a USB keyboard and mouse would
> be required, or if it could be set up and used with the wireless ones
> she has. I cannot find anything in the literature that explicitly
> requires USB kit.
>
> 3. Fusion. The same applies here - it there is anything that rules out a
> wireless keyboard and mouse, I cannot find it.
>
> What is more, I cannot find much that tells me how (2) or (3) differ in
> what they offer. Fusion seems to offer a migratory path from the Windows
> set-up to the Mac, but this would not be a consideration - almost none
> of her existing files would need transferring to Windows, and anyway
> they are already fully backed up on an external USB drive (we used it to
> move what she needed to the iMac).
>
> Most important, perhaps, is ease of use. Anne is well practised in the
> use of Windows, but is climbing a bit of a curve in learning where
> Windows XP and Snow Leopard do things differently. We don't want to make
> this any more difficult!
>
> Stability is the second most important. Her old PC had become very slow
> and prone to problems. This triggered the switch.
>
> Thirdly, she will need to be able to use her printer from the Windows
> set up and also use mine over our network (Airport at the moment, but if
> the old PC is decomissioned an Ethernet connection to the router will
> become available). These are Epson all-in-one printers.
>
> Access to the Internet from Windows would be largely for keeping the
> software updated.
>
> I would be very grateful for advice and opinions from any of you who
> have used either of these options - and especially from anyone who has
> experience of more than one!
>
> John.
>
> --
> Please reply to john at yclept dot wanadoo dot co dot uk.



If the legacy windows apps happen to be supported by crossover:

http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxmac/

Then you can skip the windows OS/license and run them pretty much directly

Worth a look

Julian


From: Jaimie Vandenbergh on 7 Jun 2010 11:54
On Mon, 7 Jun 2010 16:06:44 +0100, "Julian Jordan"
<myforename.mysurname(a)bioch.oxdotacdotuk> wrote:

>If the legacy windows apps happen to be supported by crossover:
>
>http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxmac/
>
>Then you can skip the windows OS/license and run them pretty much directly
>
>Worth a look
>
>Julian

Good point. There's also the (free) Winebottler, which produces
standalone apps from Windows programs. Sometimes. They can be a bit
confused about filesystems, though (which also applies to Crossover).

Cheers - Jaimie
--
"Choose the Dark Side... now why would I do a thing like that?"
-- Obi-Wan Renton
From: Andy Hewitt on 7 Jun 2010 11:58
Jaimie Vandenbergh <jaimie(a)sometimes.sessile.org> wrote:


> In case it's not obvious, big recommendation for virtual machines
> here. Virtualbox is by far the least expensive, and perfectly capable.

Seconded.

I got Parallels and VMWare in 'bundle' offers last year, but found that
neither were perfect, and you do get tied into a chargeable new version
upgrade every so often (about once a year).

I now use VirtualBox, it's free, and is getting better all the time,
many things now work well - seamless mode and dual screens now work OK.
It's very stable, and IME no slower than the alternatives (with the
exception of Boot Camp I suspect).

Keyboard, mouse and networking just work, and folder sharing is OK too,
so you can move stuff between the Mac and Windows systems easily. Many
USB devices may not work though.

It's a very cost effective and viable colution for occasional use - it
runs MS Office just fine, and some basic games are OK.

--
Andy Hewitt
<http://web.me.com/andrewhewitt1/>
From: Martin S Taylor on 7 Jun 2010 14:21
Chris Ridd wrote
>> 2. Parallels. I cannot discover whether a USB keyboard and mouse would
>> be required, or if it could be set up and used with the wireless ones
>> she has. I cannot find anything in the literature that explicitly
>> requires USB kit.
>>
>> 3. Fusion. The same applies here - it there is anything that rules out a
>> wireless keyboard and mouse, I cannot find it.
>
> There's also 4. VirtualBox. This is free, unlike Fusion and Parallels.
> In all routes though you'll need to provide your own Windows.

Will any of these run on a pre-Intel machine? Vt is still on an iMac G5.

MST

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