And it's true that running contemporary software within the VPC environment is slower than running it on a real PC. Now, you'd think that doing anything with a PC emulator would be slower than using a real PC. If I decide that the latest and greatest isn't for me after all, I won't have affected an existing, stable system in any way. IF I CHANGE my mind about configuration options, or find my installation not to my taste for any reason, I can just delete the hard drive image, and start fresh.
RUN VIRTUAL PC ON MAC INSTALL
I take a CD image of the OS I want to install (like a hard disk image, a CD image is a file that contains a CD's data), create a new virtual PC and attendant hard disk image on my Mac, boot the virtual PC from the CD image, and I'm off and running. Nor do I have to trash a perfectly good OS configuration on the off-chance that a new rev will work better. If I want to check out Gentoo Linux or the latest OpenBSD and FreeBSD releases, VPC lets me do so without razing an existing PC hard disk. I spend a lot of time checking out all sorts of operating systems. Surprising as this may sound to the Wintel contingent, I often find myself using it in favor of a real PC.
īUT RUNNING WINDOWS-ONLY apps is just one reason I use VPC. Until device manufacturers have their platform-centricity beaten out of them by the marketplace, this approach is a usable workaround. I can then reconfigure, flash, and wrangle the boxes to my heart's content.
RUN VIRTUAL PC ON MAC MAC
I can also configure the virtual PC to use an IP address that's entirely different from the Mac that it's running on. VPC uses such disk images to create faux C, D, and E drives, saving you the hassle of actually repartitioning your hard drive to accommodate the pseudo-operating system. (Disk images, aka "soft partitions," are simply large files containing everything a real disk would: partition maps, file systems, etc.) When faced with such platform intransigence, I launch VPC, fire up my WinME disk image, and away I go. The same goes for my Lucent/Agere 802.11b access point, which only wants to be managed and upgraded from Windows. But there's invariably some function or other that requires a Windows app. Most of these firewalls can be talked to via a Web interface. (Which makes me question whether or not Linux is really making inroads in the hearts and minds of IT managers.but I digress.) A number of them require Windows-based software, either for management or for software upgrading. That's why Apple should thank its lucky stars that Connectix's Virtual PC (aka VPC) exists, is solid and stable, and continues to evolve and improve.įOR EXAMPLE: Over the past few weeks, I've been experimenting with a bunch of different firewall devices. Whether you're a PC user contemplating that switch, or you're a longtime Mac user, the ability to run PC apps on the Mac is critical. The company knows that growing market share means converting customers, not just winning over first-time buyers.
Scathing deconstructions aside, that effort is completely in line with Apple's newfound pragmatism. COMMENTARY-Apple's latest ad campaign focuses on getting Windows users to switch to the Mac.
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