Jan
17
(2007)
Parallels wins
Filed under: Uncategorized. Tags: crossover, parallels, windows.
I’d mentioned recently how I’ve been using Crossover to run Internet Explorer for Windows from my MacBook Pro, without having to install Windows. That works rather well, but doesn’t give much flexibility - only a relatively small subset of applications run under Crossover.
Today, I downloaded the MacWorld-announced Parallels Release Candidate, and grabbed a WinXP SP2 install CD. It took about 2 hours to get Windows installed and updated, but once that was done, Parallels is pretty darned cool. Coherence mode is sweet, hiding as much of Windows as possible, and letting the Windows applications’ windows float freely as nearly first-class citizens on my Mac desktop. I installed iTunes and Quicktime to see how they perform - pretty darned well, surprisingly. I then went to install a real testing application - Quake3Arena - only to find that Parallels doesn’t support OpenGL. Yet.
It’s not perfect - I’ve had to let Windows run through a seemingly endless series of updates (now installing update 35 of 65, after 3 reboots). And I still have to see/ignore the offensively ugly and unhelpful Windows UI. The first thing that greeted me when I launched my newly-installed Windows XP was a scary dialog box warning me that I was running unsecurely, and that I should do something about that ASAP. But, I’d just launched it for the first time. Wouldn’t it make more sense to default to a more secure state? Oy.
Alan led me to Parallels. I thought I was being clever by using Crossover. I think I’ll be sticking with a full Windows system, but I’ll try to run it as little as possible. Now, if only they’d hurry up and add OpenGL support so I could, um, do work ‘n stuff…
Anyway, here’s my system, with Mac and Windows apps all singing Kumbaya. 
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4 Responses to “Parallels wins”
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> And I still have to see/ignore the offensively ugly and unhelpful Windows UI …
D’Arcy -
try this. [just "windowsdressing" - still behaves like windows :^( ]
In Windows, download & install WindowBlinds
http://www.stardock.com/products/windowblinds/
($20 if you like it after the trial)
then look over the skins, and find/install the Mac OS X Panther Aqua skin.
Your windows applications will now look at least a little bit like native Mac applicatons.
For Coherence mode, I have the OS X dock at the bottom, and the Windows taskbar in autohide on the left.
pretty snazzy …
Will, thanks for the reminder. I’d used Windowblinds a few years ago when I needed to have a “real” PC for product development (in a previous life). It made things look more Mac-ish, but that’s only about 1% of why Windows is so ugly. It’s not the cosmetics as much as the in-your-face loudness of it. “You moved your mouse. Click this balloon to optimize your mouse settings.” That kind of crap ad nauseum. Frak off already and let me actually USE the thing. Annoying “helpfulness”. Even down to their labelling of apps that walk you through things as “Wizards” - because it’s magic that mere mortals could never understand. Contrast with the Mac Way™, where there are “Assistants” that guide you through things (if you want them to).
I also set the task bar to autohide so I don’t have it showing at the bottom of the screen the whole time.
Ryan - I’ve done that too, but wanted to show the Start menu working in the screenshot. As little Windows chrome as physically possible (which was what drew me to Crossover in the first place - no Windows at all? sign me up…)