Re: NB 8 (Trial version)

[Harry Binswanger hb@xxxxxxxx]

The recent Apple announcement that new Macs will be able to run Windows
amounts, simply, to dual booting -- and nothing more. You must reset the
machine to change OpSyses. So in other words, the great achievement here is
simply to adjust Mac hardware so that Windows can recognize it. Why can't
they
virtualize a Windows machine under OSX? Small beer. (However, I do see that
Apple finally added a third button to their mouse -- and also a wheel!
Innovative!)
Today's NY Times has a column by David Pogue on a program that does what we
want: Parallels. It is only in beta (and according to Pogue a very rough
beta) now. It allows not only Windows (of whatever version) but ... Ta Daa
... DOS, to run on the Intel Mac, and not as an emulation and without
rebooting.
"The software is called Parallels Workstation for Mac OS X, although a
better name might be No Reboot Camp. It, too, is a free public beta,
available for download from parallels.com. You can pre-order the final
version for $40, or pay $50 after its release (in a few weeks, says the
company).
"Parallels, like Boot Camp, requires that you supply your own copy of
Windows. But here's the cool part: with Parallels, unlike Boot Camp, it
doesn't have to be XP. It can be any version, all the way back to Windows
3.1 ? or even Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, OS/2 or MS-DOS. All of this is made
possible by a feature of Intel's Core Duo chips (called virtualization)
that's expressly designed for running multiple operating systems
simultaneously.
"In the finished version, the company says, you'll be able to work in
several operating systems at once. What the heck ? install Windows XP three
times. If one becomes virus-ridden, you can just delete it and smile.

"The Boot Camp beta feels finished and polished. Parallels, on the other
hand, is obviously a labor of love by techies who are still novices in the
Macintosh religion of simplicity. Its installation requires fewer steps
than Boot Camp (there's no CD burning or restarting the Mac), but even its
Quick Installation Guide is filled with jargon like "virtual machine" and
"image file." (Parallels says it's completely rewriting its guides.)
"The dialogue boxes look a little quirky, too. And to get the best features
? like copying and pasting between operating systems and enlarging the
Windows window to nearly full-screen size ? you're supposed to install
something called Parallels Tools. They ought to be installed automatically.
"Even then, as of the current version (Beta 3), some features are missing
in the Windows side: your U.S.B. jacks won't work, for example, and DVD's
won't play (CD's do). Sometimes, beta really means beta.
"Note, too, that while it's easy to copy text between Mac OS X and Windows
programs, copying files and folders is trickier. You don't actually see a
Windows "hard drive," as you do when using Mac OS X with Boot Camp. To drag
icons back and forth, you have to share the "Mac" and the "PC" with each
other over a "network" that you establish between them. Things sure get
weird fast when you're running two computers in one. "



Harry Binswanger
hb@xxxxxxxx