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| October 8 - October 15 |
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 by Alessandro CancianA friend of mine once told me that Macs were great computers, but "the problem is they dont do Windows." Even at that time, the answer was emulation, and several ways were available for obviating that handicap, ranging from hardware solutions based on the installation via a PCI slot of a card carrying an Intel processor, to software tricks. The latter were definitely cheaper, but they were limited by the capabilities of the processors of the time. Nowadays emulation software is surely a product to keep under close consideration. The market leader in emulation is Connectix, offering a wide range of products for everybodys needs. The company, also known for its famous and controversial Playstation emulator, Virtual Game Station, recently released the new version of its top product: Virtual PC 3.0. This is a complete range of products in itself, because today Virtual PC can run DOS, Windows 95/98, Win 2000, and as if that were not enough, Linux as well. For the occasion I tested the Win 2000 version and I was absolutely enthusiastic. Installation on a 500 MHz PowerMac G4 went smoothly, and in about half an hour I was ready for system configuration. Setting Virtual PC preferences, thanks to a set-up assistance and configuration manager, was just as easy. Upon completion I jumped right into Win 2000 with no further delay. Any OS, be it Linux or Windows, comes pre-installed and pre-configured, so users can begin working immediately. Virtual PC can be set in window mode or in full screen mode, and I found the latter setting more suitable for my needs. In terms of performance, Win 2000 looked quite good, despite the fact that Intel instructions must be translated in order to work in a PowerPC architecture. After about one month of intense use, Virtual PC has yet to create a problem, on the contrary printing via USB port on an Epson 740 and using a DSL Internet connection seemed even easier than the first time around. Of course nothing is perfect: in some cases procedures such as copying files or accessing the virtual disk created by the Connectix software can significantly slow down the system. Virtual PC 3.0 offers good support of the new USB standard, and in my case the various peripherals tested, such as a Zip Drive and a digital camera, were immediately recognized. Internet access did not require any new IP or connection protocol, and the program was able to recognize and share the previous Mac settings, so a simple click enabled me to use the browser. The only less-than-positive note concerns the minimum system requirements: for Win 2000 they include a 350 MHz G3 processor with at least 128 MB RAM. This is mostly due to the fact that Microsofts top-of-the-line system needs a lot of space to work. Virtual PC with Win 95 or 98 have lower requirements, especially in terms of cost, and for home use theyre probably to be preferred. All in all, Virtual PC 3.0 represents a perfect product for those who do not want to give up their Macs but need to run some Windows software. The cost of the version I tested, Win 2000, is about $249 (US), while other flavours are more affordable and range from $79 to $179 (US) according to the desired OS. For certain this is the simplest and cheapest PC solution if you dont want to give up your favourite fruit. For further information please visit Connectix web site at www.connectix.com |
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