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Virtual PC 6 Review
My Windows needs are few. I am a perl developer; I work on perl and release perl software. Occasionally, I want to test on Windows. Further, I am a Slash developer, and sometimes our users complain about certain bugs that only show up on certain browsers, so I want to test that on Windows too. And every once in awhile, there is some software I need that is Windows-only.
All of these needs are rare, but when I need them, I need them. Virtual PC has always been helpful to me for these purposes in the past, though it's been slow. So on to version 6.
The first thing I did was upgrade from version 5, and just play around. Everything is noticeably faster. Viewing multimedia is nicer, opening apps is quicker, moving around the filesystem is zippier (I am running out of adjectives here, bear with me).
I was overdue on some updates, so I ran the Windows Update app. They downloaded and installed much more quickly, though I still prefer to download via Mac OS X and drag the files over to Windows.
I updated Cygwin and ActiveState's Perl Development Kit and Komodo, which I use occasionally; they work fine, but are still too slow to be bearable for everyday use, but I would not want to use Windows for everyday use, so it's all good.
Now, on to the new features. Version 6 has a more refined interface for defining preferences and organizing multiple guest PCs (I've got Windows 95 and Windows 2000). You can now mount those PC disk images, which is nice, but only when the PC is shut down. Since I leave the PCs running all the time, to make startup faster (using the Save State feature), I never have much opportunity to mount the disk images. Although, when I did try to mount the Windows 95 PC (more than once), it crashed. It worked fine for the Windows 2000 image.
Another new step toward integration is the addition of some items for the Mac OS X Dock: a Start menu application, and the ability to place Windows applications in the Dock. The Start menu application is nifty; you get the Start menu from your Windows PC, but in the Dock instead. It's more responsive and looks better. The Windows applications in the Dock seems slightly less useful; clicking on them does not bring the application to the front, it only launches it (which I'd just as soon do from the Start menu).
Supposedly, there are some significant improvements to printing, including automatically detecting USB printers. My USB printer, however, is connected via Mac OS X printer sharing on another Mac, and so I can't print to it directly from Windows (at least, not that I could figure out). Instead, I need to print through the host Mac OS X from the Windows OS. Sounds simple enough, right?
To do this, I still needed to use the right driver for the printer, and it wasn't included with Windows, so I needed to install it. I downloaded the drivers from Canon's web site with a Mac browser, and just copied them to the Windows desktop. When I ran the installer, Windows reported an "access violation". Thinking that perhaps the file was not downloaded properly, I tried downloading it via Windows instead. It takes longer, but maybe it will work. But no, I got the same error. It's good to know that Virtual PC maintains the Windows Experience, that these problems weren't Virtual PC's fault.
I pulled out the CD that came with the printer and installed the (somewhat out of date) drivers from there; this time, it worked fine. But then, when I tried to print, and the Virtual PC app hung on "Printing page number: 1", with a spinning pinwheel and an unmoving progress bar. Force Quit was my only way out. I tried several times, as I did with mounting the Windows 95 image, and each time, it hung. When I would start Virtual PC again, I'd get the Print dialog, and try to print again, and it would hang. At least it's consistent.
I finally decided to give up on printing this way, and did direct printing. I plugged my printer directly into the computer, told Virtual PC to use that USB device for Windows, and Windows detected it automatically and set it up for me. After that, printing worked fine.
But, in fairness, none of these problems are related to my normal uses of Virtual PC, and if I really needed to accomplish the tasks of printing or mounting I'd probably be able to figure it out. I just didn't care enough, so I dropped it and moved on to more interesting things.
I have a Kyocera QCP 3035 cell phone. I am going to be on the road some this summer, so I wanted to use it as a modem for my PowerBook G4/867. I got the cable and the Mac OS X modem drivers and scripts (I had to email tech support to get them), and it works fine as a modem, but I also wanted to use the cable to upload contacts and ringers. The problem is, the Kyocera software is Windows-only. Virtual PC to the rescue?
I installed the Windows drivers and software and plugged in the cable. It took me a couple tries to figure out that I needed to select the cable in Virtual PC's Serial Ports preferences (assigned it to COM1), but when I did, the software recognized the phone and everything just worked. I uploaded ringers, I controlled the phone with the software. So now for the contacts.
I converted my contacts from the Mac OS X Address Book vCard export to a CSV file the Kyocera software could read. I dragged the file from the Mac OS X desktop to the Windows desktop. I imported the file into the Kyocera software and synched it with the phone. It worked. There's not much else to say here, which is about the highest praise I could heap on the test.
I was also thinking about using some Windows software I have to control my motorized Meade telescope; but frankly, if I am going to be investing the time into getting the cable and setting it all up to use software like that, I'd rather spend the extra money to get the Mac version of the software. It'd be much better to use.
All in all, Virtual PC does what -- for me -- it should. I can run perl and various web browsers for testing; I can communicate with serial devices; I can even play Windows-only multimedia files.
For completeness, I was going to play around with Bochs, but after reading various reader reviews bemoaning poor performance, and not being able to find straightforward instructions, I gave up.
You may recall, gentle reader, that Microsoft has purchased Virtual PC from Connectix. Does that mean people should invest more into Bochs, or look for alternate solutions? Will Virtual PC mean the end of Office for Mac? I don't really know; but as I am not a Windows user, I don't really care, as long as I can keep using the very few Windows products I need.
Ya know it was kinda odd to see an 'apple' story with with bill gates borg head icon on it. i was confused for a moment:)
A lot of us Mac true believers would probably cringe at the thought that Microsoft is getting its grubby hands all over a cherished Mac product. I freaked out at first, I'll admit it. But after I calmed down I started to think rationally.
What could be better? I think MS would be crazy to kill it off. So that leaves only better support for the product and smoother operation (we hope). I had loads of trouble with version 5. Hangs, freezes, and everything. Maybe now (and I know that a lot of hardcore Macers will freak out when I say this) Macs and Windows will finally start to get along.
Just think positive.
Mr. Bond, they have a saying in Chicago: Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time is enemy action.
Interestingly, I was talking with a Windows developer on the plane about a year ago and he was telling me that using Virtual PC on the Mac for Windows development was actually easier than developing on a dedicated Windows machine because in VirtualPC, Windows is an image that can be readily backed up and restored with a drag and drop should you do something really stupid with the registry or kernel.
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I run OSX 10.2.4 on a 700 mHz iBook with 384MB of RAM. Not, a "loaded" machine at all, but quick enough for web dev. and some light multi-media work. I ran VPC with Win 98, and the results were pretty pathetic, I'd click on a window to move it and would have to wait five seconds for the system to even respond, it was basically unusable.
Enter VPC6. I upgraded to VPC6 and installed Win 2000 Pro, (which has always been the best of the worst in my opinion), and was pleasantly suprised to find it runs pretty smoothly, apps are actually useful now, I use Nokia's WAP development toolkit, and while it's not setting speed records on my computer, it works for what I need it to do.
So, all of you familar with the scientific method are now asking, "So was it the upgrade of the OS or VPC that made the speed in increase?" Well, I didn't do any controlled experiments, but it feels like it was the upgrade. Your unpleasant, but neccesary results may vary.
On a related note, Microsofts purchase of Virtual PC was a predictably smart and evil business move. Does anyone actually believe that Microsoft, will make this a better program? I'm glad that VPC6 was a relatively nice upgrade, I don't expect to see another useful emulator until Bochs on OSX devaporizes...
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Yes, but most people don't seem to know how to do it. Connectix supports using MS Loopback Adapter for the Windows version of Virtual PC, but for some reason doesn't have a Mac equivalent.
You can make your own by mapping some IP (say, 192.168.111.1) to 127.0.0.1. Just do this in the terminal:
sudo ifconfig lo0 alias 192.168.111.1
Then you add this to the ethernet port as well:
sudo ifconfig en0 alias 192.168.111.1
Now anytime VPC tries to get to that IP address, it will be like going to localhost.
Now if you just set the Windows side to a static IP like 192.168.111.2 with the gateway 192.168.111.1, the two machines can talk, even if you are not hooked up to any network.
Oh, and make sure you set the Windows side to "Virtual Switch" in VPC... the default is "Shared Networking".
(To get rid of those customizations, just execute this command: sudo ifconfig lo0 -alias 192.168.111.1, and then the same with with en0).
If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe. -- Carl Sagan
They went missing sooner than that. Try, the day (or maybe the day after) Microsoft bought Connectix. A Mac friend of mine wanted to get ahold of them when he heard that news...and found no sign on their website that they had ever supported Linux.
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I for one don't want VPC to have accelerated 3D video. Follow my logic. VPC gets accelerated video. Game start to be playable on it (not fast, but playable). Mac users start buying Windows games that didn't get ported to Mac OS proper. Game developers start saying "hey, why bother doing an expensive port when we are already selling them the Windows version?"
And that leads to the end of the Mac game market. All you have left is emulation. Like Linux. And for the record, Linux is in quite a corner, too. It's primarily because all Linux people who care about games are dual booting Windows. So developers are asking themselves why they should port to Linux when they're already selling them the Windows version. Answer: they have no reason to.
You like your Macintosh better than me, don't you Dave? Dave? Can you hear me Dave?
1) Because carrying two computers is impractical if you have a laptop, and PC work is impossible without VPC if you are a mobile Mac.
2) Because transferring data between Macs and PCs, despite Mac OS X, can still be a pain. VPC makes it easy to read files without great pains if you have the software.
3) Because some people need an environment where they can test matters without forking over additional cash.
4) Cables suck. KVMs work, but suck. Multiple keyboards suck. Multiple anything with computers generally suck.
5) VPC is a true clone. Every single copy is identical. It's a perfect environment for general testing. You can't get that from any store-bought or homebrew PC. Each will have slightly different parts.
6) VPC is the best way to connect to Windows resources and applications that are steadfastly Windows-only.
7) Respectfully speaking, most people that use VPC don't do the same things you do.
I use VPC to connect to my company's VPN. Quick, I don't have to expend extra effort or make more room on my desk, and can move documents back and forth as I need to.
Better--I can copy my HD with XP as a disk image and move it around, changing it for use with my home and with a company net; in effect, two instances of XP from a single registration. Try THAT with your single-user copy of XP on a real PC.
Microsoft bought VPC and the other VM technologies because they work. Microsoft is many things, but business-wise they are far from stupid or they wouldn't be a rich company. As for ethics, well...
Vos teneo officium eram periculosus ut vos recipero is.
Connectix/Microsoft can't readd video card support because of endian issues.
Nvidia about the time they started making Mac video cards said that adding endian support is *trivial*.
Specifically they were talking about BI-endian support.
Kind of shot ATI in the foot (and themselves) when PC video cards sell for 70 bucks and the Mac equivalent sells for 300 bucks.
The reason the early voodoo cards were supported is because they were 3d only. If another 3d only card came on the market it could be done.
Uhh, not quite...the real reason was that the voodoo2 could be flashed to add the endian support for macs...irony struck when it could only be done on a PC. {chuckle}
Now, IIRC, there is a Mac flash program for 3dfx cards and for Nvidia/ATI cards.
Takes some digging to find, on occasion.
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Have you read the moderator guidelines? Well, have you, PUNK? (and I want a Karma: Gnarly option)
I actually went out and bought version 5. While it WORKED, I was somewhat disappointed in it's performace (specifically, the lack thereof). The mouse was SLOW, disk access was REALLY slow (a samba share to the OS X box was the best way to achieve reasonable disk access), etc. It was PAINFULL.
Enter the VPC 6 upgrade.
WOW.
Let me say that again...
WOW!
Now, to put it into perspective, I have a TiBook 800 with a Gig of RAM. I'm CTO of a software development company (Intellinger), and we develop performance monitoring software. Our entire shop uses OSX for our development (Java). We need to test and demo our product on/with Win32 OS's.
We use VPC for demos as well as testing on different platforms.
VPC6 boots faster on my TiBook than it does on my 2 year old Toshiba Satelite Pro. The mouse is THERE, if you know what I mean... no more "VNC" like responses, and the local folder sharing RULES.
I personally use it for a number of things...
Demos: We pull into a (potential) client site with our OSX laptops, launch our app on OSX, and then fire up VPC with the appropriate Win32 or Linux OS, and proceed to run our app against it. VPC allows the Win32/Linux session to look (over the network) like a totally separate machine. (VPC allows NAT-like network access or a totally independent IP address/access). The clients are totally amazed, and for the most part we have to keep them focused on our app and "stop asking questions about VPC!". The resounding feedback from the techies we present to is "wow... that's COOL! What are you selling again?".
Testing: We have a dual processor OSX box, running VPC, with 23 separate installations of different Win32 and Linux installs in various stages of configurations. We've found that this works amazingly well in testing installation, configuration, and operation issues. We can duplicate an entire configuration, do what we want with it, and then blow it away when we're done. Disposable installs. Way cool.
Visio: Omnigraffle is a great program for OSX, but it still is lacking the serious "stencil" support that Visio has when it comes to designing co-lo racks, etc. As well, most of the network techs I know still use Visio for the most part, so I need to be able to exchange Visio docs with them. I run Visio in VPC when I have to, and it feels "natural", native, whatever you want to call it. Awesome response.
Adobe Acrobat: Acrobat support SUCKS for OSX. (Adobe, you listening? Get your shit together!). I do a lot of reports in Word, and the PDFMaker macro in the Win32 version of Acrobat is amazing... it creates a really nicely formatted PDF document with the nice bookmarks, etc. That just doesn't exist in the OSX world. (If someone knows how to do this, PLEASE let me know!). So, to get around this, I have acrobat/Word installed on VPC, so when I have to generate the final docs, I use it to generate the output.
TOAD: I do a lot of Oracle development, and have yet to find a replacement for TOAD. It doesn't run in OSX. But it runs VERY well in VPC. The only issue is trying to find a minimal sql*net client install without installing / unzipping a DB install. Joy. That being said, I can launch VPC with Win98, create a port-forwarded SSH session to a remote Oracle box, and do anything I have to with TOAD. For that matter, I can also use TOAD in VPC to develop against the Oracle 9i DB running in OSX on the same box.
Those are just some of my experiences, and that's not to say that everything is golden...
There are the occasional freezes, usually the result of me using LiteSwitch X to switch between apps too quickly while it's working away on something, and there are some "weird" errors that pop up (every time I close TOAD, for instance, I always get a "illegal operation" error pop up). But you know, that's the minority of the time... the exception rather than the rule.
I highly recommend VPC6 for that "last mile" when moving from Win32 to OSX.
$0.02 (CDN)