Hi Lisa,
I have no hands-on experience with Macs to speak of, but I recently accompanied a relative to one of the Apple stores, where she had arranged a one-hour appointment with one of their advisers. Many questions were answered, and there was quite a bit of direct instruction given on how to do certain things. If I understood correctly (and that's definitely an IF, but you should be able to find out), they seem to have had some policy changes in this regard, and it _may_ be possible to arrange a series of such sessions. What the limits are -- one per week, one per month (?) -- I do not know, but it shouldn't
cost anything to find out. You already have at least the basic Mac familiarity, so you would be starting from a better place.
If I was following this path, I would seek out staffers at one of the Apple stores who were well-versed in Parallels, and see just how much (preferably free) help could be expected on installs, app transfers, etc. If any promises are made, see if you can get them in writing, from the manager. In this situation, that is the sort of thing that would motivate me to do a purchase there -- especially in view of the price levels that Apple manages to maintain, in their proprietary
world.
Personally, I think I'm too set in my ways with PCs to seriously consider a changeover to Mac. Then again, if Win 8 is a harbinger of even worse Win to come, I suppose I could be pushed in a Linux or Mac direction. But, that decision should not come up until Win 7 support is close to its end.
Jordan
From: Lisa Kleinholz
To: "xywrite@xxxxxxxxxxxxx"
Sent: Friday, February 7, 2014 8:02 AM
Subject: Re: Win 8 v. Win 7
Can anyone recommend whether to try to find a new Windows 7 machine or to buy another Mac and run DosBox or Parallels. Still not sure how to get XP onto a Parallels set up on Mac, though I've had fairly good luck with DoxBox/Boxer (but lack ability to have more than 2 windows).