Running Windows on a Mac

[Paul Barton]

I am debating whether to get a Mac for my next main computer. My main issue is that some of the software I use will only run on the Windows operating system.

 

I have seen solutions such as Parallels desktop that allow you to run windows and the apple OS at the same time, which appears to be a good solution - if it works!

 

Does anyone have any experience of using this or similar?

[Tom D]

I have parallels, it is handy if you need it but it does slow the mac down. best to shut down windows altogether when not in use, don't have it running in the background, and don't allow it to have access to the internet. I bought it in order to run my sage accounts software but the accountants now have an incompatible version of sage so I don't use it at all. It does work though.

[Paul Barton]

Is it noticeably slower? I would pretty much only need to fire it up to work on CAD drawings, but if CAD runs really slowly then I don't think it would be worth the bother.

[renewablejohn]

Is it noticeably slower? I would pretty much only need to fire it up to work on CAD drawings, but if CAD runs really slowly then I don't think it would be worth the bother.

 

Can you not get a Mac version of your CAD programme. MAC's have always been the computer of choice for CAD and Publishing.

[AcaciaRental]

You can get a mac version of most windows programmes, including office. The Mac version of CAD is available, and is compared to the Windows version here:

 

Compare AutoCAD for Mac vs AutoCAD

 

Hope that helps!

 

- Acacia Groundcare Team

[Paul Barton]

Can you not get a Mac version of your CAD programme. MAC's have always been the computer of choice for CAD and Publishing.

 

Nope, unfortunately not. I don't use a normal Autodesk version of CAD - it's developed by a separate company especially for landscape architects and arborists. It's too good to part with unfortunately, so I am stuck with Windows.

[Steve Bullman]

Parallels may slow down your mac but it will still run faster than a windows PC....that's my experience anyway. I use parallels daily

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

[peatff]

You can get a version of Wine that runs on Mac.

[Gardenmac]

I use the MAc for everyday and have also kept my windows laptop which is really getting on now to run my Map Info GIS programmes. I didn't want to slow the Mac down as one of my sons use it for his photo editing.

I moved to Mac to stop having to pay for new hard drives for the Windows machine caused by Trojan viruses.

Sounds like Parallels works faster on the Mac anyway.

[Steve Bullman]

Sounds like Parallels works faster on the Mac anyway.

 

It does. Everything opens instantly on windows parallels, no whirring of the hard drive and tapping of the feet. My Mac was pretty high end when I first got it 4 years ago so I would have expected that to be the case anyway. But 4 years on it still runs as quick as the day I got it. I've had several pc's over the course of the past 20 years, and I can't say that for a single one of them.