Windows eXPeriment
by Volker Weber
Inspired by Ruth Keys' new Powerbook I also got a few boxes from the shelf and finally installed them. Not exactly in the enviroment they were supposed to run though. :-)
So Windows XP Professional finally got a home, running under Virtual PC on Lucy . I never thought I would become a real Mac-head but you only have to see this sorry piece of software and how Microsoft touts it as the latest and greatest multimedia platform to really feel sorry for those people who have to put up with it every day.
I am going to put it to good use when I need to run some "legacy" Windows app. But first let me burn it on a CD so I never have to do this install again when something trashed this still plain vanilla system.
Comments
Yes, I have to say, Virtual PC runs very well on the Powerbook - Win XP really behaves exactly like it does on the real thing! (Which means the installation takes ages, of course :-)
If, unlike vowe, you have to buy a copy, not having it already on your self, save money by getting the PC DOS version. They also sell versions with Win XP, Win 2000 and so on, but all you are paying for extra is the license for Microsoft.
Once you have loaded the DOS version, just put the Win XP installation CD in the slot and it will boot from CD and install as usual - no hassles with having to install CD drivers under DOS or anything first - it really does emulate the PC 100%. As vowe implies, you can take snapshots of the drive image at any time, so if an installation of the latest and greatest Windows app screws everything up, you can set right back to where you were before you installed it.
Recommended.
I just heard about this free application from Microsoft last week when talking with our Mac Lab guy -- Remote Desktop Connection Client for Mac.
Some of the guys in the lab stash a PC in the corner running Win whatever and then use RDC when they need to run a Windows app. At home, I'm planning to dump our old PC in the basement and hook it up to the network so only our good looking eMac is out to see.
Now that I think about it, I'm not really sure why we still need the PC. We've only had it on once in the last month to pull off image files for the eMac. I guess I should keep it to install R6 Designer or Groove for fun at home? ;-)
Michael, thanks for the hint. I did not think of this since I don't believe in Windows as a mainframe. :-)
Read the requirents on the Windows side. It does not work with any version of Windows. You need a server version or Windows XP Professional (not Home!)
However there is something really nice and easy for you that is also free: VNC (Virtual Network Computer). Go to vowe's choice and find TightVNC there for the Windows side. On the Mac you use Chicken of the VNC to connect to the Windows machine.
I use this on all my machines and in our lab to control remote machines.
