Off topic WindowsXP going going gone

[Gerald A]

The approaching death of Windows XP may upset you, but it shouldn't come as a surprise. Microsoft Corp.'s product life-cycle guidelines have foretold the fate of XP since 2001. In fact, Microsoft has been killing off one version of a product as it is replaced with another for years now. But this time around, the approaching demise of XP is getting more attention than, say, the final passing of Windows 2000.



Full information. Link http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=windows&articleId=9070119&taxonomyId=125&intsrc=kc_feat

Gerald

[Brenden S]

now who has a ligit copy of XP now?

[Nigel C]

I do, for one.

It still works fine for all my applications, so I don't feel the need to upgrade just yet.

[Hugh Jarse]

Who cares? I purchased my first Apple a few months ago.

I wish I'd done it YEARS ago!:D

[Mark Grima]

What did you get Hugh? I bought a 24 inch imac for the girl friend a month or so ago, its an AWESOME machine. Even her old PowerBook that I am on now runs great and its the better part of 4.5 yrs old now :)

Gotta love macs!

Cheers

M

[Hugh Jarse]

Gidday Mark,

I bought a 15" Macbook Pro. I think a 2.4 Intel. What a fantastic bit of gear.

Unfortunately, I had to keep a link with Windoze for my logbook and home financial software. I use Parallels for that, but not very often.:D

As we replace the various computers in the family, they will all be Macs.;)

[Mark Grima]

Oh cool, so you have to run "windoze" as you put it haha, off the mac. How does that go? I am need of a new notebook and was looking at the very computer you purchased, however I need windows for uni. I'm just a little nervous with it just because I don't know anyone who has actually had to use it before.

Cheers

M

[Kelvin R]

Hi Mark,

There are multiple ways that you can run windows on a Mac. The two most common are Parellels and VMware Fusion. Keep in mind that you will still need a licensed copy of the Microsoft o/s and any Windows apps, so this double up can get expensive.

I have the same model machine that Hugh does and I hate it. I understand why people like the Mac but for me as someone who works mostly with Outlook and Office it really isnt for me. It is too hard to do some really simple things in the Mac, like take a screenshot or flick between applications.

[Hugh Jarse]

Mark, I'm really a novice with the Mac. I also use Outlook etc, but still love the Mac. I purchased a copy of Office Mac 2004 through the company in Dec, and it's brilliant. I just ordered Office Mac 2008 via work ($37.00) and got a call from Fedex telling me it's arrived (I'm away on hols at the moment). I migrated all my Outlook stuff across to the M$ Office Mac equivalent (Entourage) and it is actually easier to use than Outlook (IMHO).

As Kelvin wrote, there are a few apps that will allow you to run Windoze. I never tried VMWare so can't comment on it. MAC OSX also comes with Bootcamp which allows you to boot an Intel Mac into Window$. Parallels and VMWare allow you to run both concurrently. I chose Parallels mainly because a lot of guys at work use and recommend it.....

I have a licensed version of Win XP so the only cost to me was the Parallels software (about $99.00) All the Win apps that I run on the Mac are licenced copies, so no additional cost to me :D

I can only give you a subjective response on its performance, but XP seems to run a lot faster on the Mac then it did on my old Toshiba notebook.

Hope this helps.

[James K]

Hi Mark,

There are multiple ways that you can run windows on a Mac. The two most common are Parellels and VMware Fusion. Keep in mind that you will still need a licensed copy of the Microsoft o/s and any Windows apps, so this double up can get expensive.

I have the same model machine that Hugh does and I hate it. I understand why people like the Mac but for me as someone who works mostly with Outlook and Office it really isnt for me. It is too hard to do some really simple things in the Mac, like take a screenshot or flick between applications.

You don't use Expose for switching quickly between apps? It's really fast for me anyway to do it this way. There is a great app called Skitch that is excellent for screen shots and a heap of other stuff. The other way for screen shots is as follows.

Command-shift-3 for the whole screen. Command-shift-4 to select with the mouse an area to capture. Command-shift-4 then press the spacebar then click on a window to capture

Hope thats of some help.

[Mark Grima]

Thanks guys,

Fusion is what I was thinking of. I have not come across Parallels so will have to investigate that one. I am aware of the software just don't know how good it is. I think it will get the job done for me as I will need to both OSX and Windows at the same time.

I use Office mac now on both our macs with Tiger on the Powerbook and Leopard on the imac and it works great on both.

Cheers

M

[Kelvin R]

The cheapest way to get Fusion at the moment is direct from the Vmware website ($79.95 USD) rather than buying box product in Australia.

James K. In windows to do a screen shot I can use the Snipper tool under vista or hit one key Prt Scr, compared to the complicated key sequence under a Mac. Likewise for switching apps I can just Alt Tab under windows which is ideal for doing cut and paste. There are a few things like that, including clipboard history for pasting items which are just far easier under a windows machine. Most of the work I do is in Word, either responding to RFP's or writing Uni assignments which is just easier in Office 2007 than a Mac and Office 2008. I don't have anything against a Mac, they are just not for me.