Posts Tagged ‘ mac

Why Stick with Windows?

There have always been groups of people who rebel against the norm, who reject the status quo and choose to stand out. Bohemians, Hippies, Mods, punks… and now linux and mac users.

There is a growing number of people who have deserted Microsoft Windows in favour of macs and the likes of Fedora, Ubuntu and Debian. Some regard this group as an elite – true technical power users whose use these ‘better’ operating systems. Some regard them as connoisseurs, whose specific needs and tastes surpass the meagre capabilities of Windows. Some identify themselves as frustrated former Windows users, who have given up trying to make the mainstream work for them. And others treat them as snobs, who just want to be different.

I’m a Windows user, I always have been (since 3.11) and I use Windows all day every day, at home and everywhere I’ve worked. I currently use Windows XP SP2 as my OS of choice on all my desktop and laptop machines. Sure, I’ve tried Fedora, Ubuntu and a few other operating systems, but none of them have really cut it for me.

However, even though I wouldn’t dream of using anything other than Windows as a desktop operating system, there is a big difference in the world of servers. As a server admin, I use Linux on every web server I run, and I wouldn’t dream of using Windows.

With all these disadvantages, why do I still use Windows for my Desktop? One simple answer could be that I’m used to it. I’ve been using it since 3.11, through 95, 98 and 2000, to XP and (reluctantly) Vista… Read more

Windows applications on a Mac

So you love the Mac but for easy and simplicity you work on the more widely adopted windows powered PC? It’s a dilemma many of us have faced but have caved to the dominance of windows.

So today’s announcement that Parallels has updated its Desktop for Mac software might peak your interest. Parallels enables users running Intel-powered Apple Macs to run Windows, Linux or any other operating system, at the same time as Mac OS X, without re-booting.

Anchored by a new feature coined Coherence, Parallels is able to run Windows applications on a Mac as if it was a native to the system. When you switch to Coherence mode, the Windows desktop disappears, leaving Windows applications, such as Outlook and Internet Explorer, running directly on the Mac desktop and from the Mac application dock. Read more