I installed Red Hat Linux 7.1 and 7.2 without difficulty, though the drag and drop functionality does not work in Linux. In fact, other operating systems can be installed. Virtual PC for Mac isn't limited to the OS Packs. Connectix sells OS Packs for Windows 2000 ($199), Windows ME ($149) and other flavors. In one neat feature, text and icons from one operating system can be simply dragged and dropped into another. Neither are included in Microsoft Office for the Mac. With the software, I was able to use Microsoft's Access _ its database program _ and FrontPage, its Web editor. Saving a file, for instance, works the same way on a Virtual PC as it does on a real one. Network and printer connections piggyback on top of the Macintosh operating system, so there was no need to make any configuration changes inside Windows.ĭocuments are stored on a virtual hard disk on the Macintosh drive. (DVDs can be used only for storage, however. CDs and DVDs were recognized, and I had no problem installing Microsoft Office for Windows, WinZip and other software. It was first released for the Macintosh, in 1999, after being previewed at Macworld/iWorld the same year by Steve Jobs and Phil Schiller. The PC desktop appears within a window on the Mac desktop. The Virtual Game Station (VGS, code named Bonestorm 2) was an emulator by Connectix that allows Sony PlayStation games to be played on a desktop computer. (It also works in the classic Mac OS 9.1 and later.) A software utility pegged the Virtual PC's speed between 530 MHz and 630 MHz.Īfter less than 10 minutes _ considerably less time than it takes to install Windows on a PC _ I had Windows 98 up and running on the Power Mac running OS X. The Power Mac system I used to test Virtual PC has two G4 processors running at 800 megahertz. But for business programs and simple games that do not require 3D hardware acceleration, it works very well. That's not to say all PC applications, especially games, will run smoothly on a Mac. A version that runs Windows XP ($199) is expected early next year. In the latest solution, Connectix's Virtual PC for Mac 5.0 offers both reasonable speed and relatively low cost ($199 for Windows 98 $249 for Windows 2000) in an easy-to-install software package. Software emulation tends to be very slow and can fall short in supporting networks, printers and drives. For years, companies have offered hardware- and software-based products that create a Windows-Intel environment within Motorola-powered Macintoshes.īut there's always been a price to pay. It's never been an insurmountable problem. Yet there's still a big obstacle for would-be Apple owners in this Windows-dominated universe: Some programs simply aren't made for the Mac. And the number of programs that run on the platform is growing by the day. Apple Computer's OS X operating system is fast, stable and secure.
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