“I have compiled a short, opinionated list of software that I used to use on WinXP and the comparable software that I now use on Mac OS X. Of course some of the feature sets are not 1 for 1 on the switch, but the tools I have found for Mac OS X have been sufficient in letting me leave Windows behind,” Miguelito Buzzard blogs for Blather.org.
Buzzard reports, “The real enabler for me was when Parallels release 3170 dropped, which allowed me to load my legacy Boot Camp partition inside of Parallels. This gave me a sense of comfort in that I didn’t have to completely rebuild my Windows VM on the Mac side, but instead I could load my ‘comfort zone’ OS inside of a new VM and everything would be just as I left it. The reality here is that I almost never load Parallels, but the idea that I easily could geve me enough confidence to make the switch.”
Full article and Buzzard’s list here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “RadDoc” for the heads up.]
MacDailyNews Take: Embrace and Extinguish.
Related articles:
Apple Boot Camp’s ‘Windows Insecurity Blanket’ helps buyers decide to switch to Macs – May 19, 2006
Longtime Windows sufferer switches to Apple Mac: ‘I’ll never buy another PC’ – April 09, 2007
Smart business owners migrate to Apple’s OS-unlimited Macs – April 09, 2007
IT manager for Fortune 500 company seriously considering OS-unlimited Apple Macs – April 06, 2007
WSJ: Apple makes inroads with Macs that can run Mac OS X, Linux, Windows – March 20, 2007
Network World: Need a new PC for Vista? Switching to Mac may cost less and give you more – March 16, 2007
Windows expert dumps Windows, switches to Apple’s Mac OS X, finds software plentiful – March 12, 2007
InfoWorld: 9,000 people switch to Apple Mac every day (plus testing ‘Embrace and Extinguish’) – February 28, 2007
Netscape founder Marc Andreessen switches to Apple Mac – February 28, 2007
Computerworld: Windows expert dumps Windows, switches to Apple’s Mac OS X – February 08, 2007
Microsoft’s Windows Vista: Five years for a chrome-plated turd – January 30, 2007
Those unfamiliar with Apple’s Mac OS X may be impressed with Windows Vista – January 29, 2007
A Windows expert opts for a Mac life, finds the experience ‘superb’ – December 07, 2006
15-year Windows vet tries Apple Mac: ‘My God! This is amazing!’ – December 04, 2006
A Windows expert opts for a Mac life – November 06, 2006
Apple Macs can run more software than Windows PCs – October 30, 2006
Top Windows developer dumps Microsoft’s ‘pile of crap’ for Apple’s Mac OS X – September 12, 2006
Dude, you got a Dell? What are you, stupid? Only Apple Macs run both Mac OS X and Windows! – April 05, 2006
Embrace and Extinguish in action: TechIQ’s ‘The VAR Guy’ dumps Windows, switches to Mac OS X – September 25, 2006
Apple Macintosh simply does more and costs less than Windows PCs – February 14, 2006
Intel-based Macs running both Mac OS X and Windows will be good for Apple – June 10, 2005
Not only are Windows users getting a Mac… So are Linux users.
http://blogs.unixfu.net/2007/04/14/switched-from-linux-to-mac.html
welcome onboard,
I am in the process of moving by business to Apple. One of my guys now has an iMac but he has been hard to convince… However, I got him to download Parallels a couple of weeks ago. Now he has bought a Macbook for his Dad and he says he will buy a Mac for himself in the next month or so…
I doubt if he will run Parallels very often – but its the comfort of having it that has made all the difference…
Kudos to Parallels and VMWare for making the installation of Windows so simple on a Mac. I think Apple definitely owes them a lot of gratitude.
What is this ‘Windows’ you speak of?
EVERYONE should read the article that ken1w linked to. especially the part about mac users are just ordinary people!
I just installed remote desktop on my mac so now i can program c# in visual studio in a window on my mac and compile on my 2.87GHz c2d all from the comfort of os x.
In all fairness, Visual Studio and .NET is a very nice IDE and platform but requiring Windows to run the product is a major downside 🙁
Great Cafeine
How right you are
Last July, running windows was my safety net, now I only run windows to check out changes I make to my web site.
Thats another story, I couldnt find anyone to do a web site for me, (live in Mexico, and do not speak spanish) wanted to find someone who spoke english, so I started playing around with iWeb and did myself!
question, wouldnt Entourage be a closer replacement for Outlook?
Mac OS 10.5 will blow virtualization off the road completely
Imagine Codeweavers, yea running Windows apps in Mac OS X without Windows what so fscking ever!!
Apple has given free advertising/exposure to Parallels and I think both sides are very happy with how it’s going. Hard-working folks, Parallels.
@hotinplaya: Entourage is indeed a closer alternative to Outlook.
“…Imagine Codeweavers, yea running Windows apps in Mac OS X without Windows what so fscking ever!!…”
If thats so … it would prolly be the final nail in the MicroCrap coffin !
Can you say …”wither and die ?”
Entourage is lousy. Doesn’t feel or work like a native Mac app whatsoever, but then again, very few MS products do. Kind of reminds of how everything you buy at McDonalds has their signature greasy taste to it, even if it didn’t go anywhere near grease.
10.5 will not have native virtualization built-in. Boot Camp may see further integration, but no way does Apple want to infect OS X with all those garbage Windows apps out there.
wiseguy, andy, macdude, whoever-you-are, please don’t speak about matters that you don’t know about. Go back to your trusted computing circle-jerks.
Windows was a temporary dead-end computing solution that the biggest conmen of the 20th century (Gates and Ballmer) put on the world…
@ken1w:
That is a really good article, and as a Linux user myself (primarily: I still have to boot up in to Windows for Flash and some games) I know what it’s like to have to tinker with things – to get them to work. This was fun at – at first. I can’t wait till I get my MacBook! Although I will probably at least keep a few livecds around, I am looking forward to OS X.
What is this ‘Windows’ you speak of?
Windows is a now archaic computer operating system developed by Microsoft that provided some of the basic functionality of modern, user-friendly operating systems like Mac OS X, but was not nearly as reliable, secure or easy to use as OS X.The widespread popularity of Windows began to decline in early 2006 when Apple introduced a line of Intel-based Macintosh computers that were capable of running Windows alongside OS X on the same computer. Once consumers were able to compare the two operating systems side-by-side on the same screen, they soon began to appreciate OS X’s many advantages over Window. This was the beginning of the end.
Hey everybody, super-duper DIPSH!T here.
Macs are blah-blah-blah and Apple’s never gonna jiggedy-jiggedy doo.
Just checking in.
Still a douche.
Whatever you say Mindless.
You are the man.
Welcome.
No computer is perfect yet, but the Mac is well on it’s way.
Embrace and Extinguish.
Apple: Even for Mindless, Brainwashed, Morons. We Guess…. more money for apple = better macs for those of us that will truely appreateate them.
Don’t underestimate the “comfort” factor, even if it’s never relied on.
I did the same thing when upgrading my small office to OS X. I was scared of transitioning to an all-new OS, had been a 10-year user of Word 5.1, and wanted the ability to load OS 9 to run all my old (and paid for) apps.
The number of times I actually worked in Classic since I purchased my G5s: Zero.
os x = comfort indeed
Don’t underestimate the “comfort” factor is right.
I am comfortable not using any Microsoft software at all. Very comfortable.