Software Can Put Rivals on Cozier Terms
Felix and Oscar, Dharma and Greg, Macs and PCs--opposites can coexist and even complement each other, at least outside of Washington, D.C. With Macs and PCs, all it takes is some software to put the two camps on speaking terms.
The most common cross-platform chore involves sharing documents--for example, using your iMac to work on a spreadsheet created on your Windows PC at work. All recent Mac OS versions can read PC-format floppy or Zip disks as well as CD-ROMs.
But you also can turn the equation around. With MediaFour’s $49 MacDrive 2000, a Windows computer can read Mac media. Swapping documents is easiest if you standardize on cross-platform programs, such as Microsoft Office. And remember to append Windows’ three-character file extensions--.doc for Word documents, for example--to your Mac file names. Microsoft’s Office 2001 for the Mac does this for you. Just click the Append File Extension check box when saving a file.
With Netopia’s $89 Timbuktu Pro (https://www.timbuktupro.com), you can run distant Macs or Windows machines by remote control. The remote machine appears in a window on your screen.
But even bandwidth-challenged users can benefit from Timbuktu Pro’s file-transfer commands, which let you zap files between platforms without hassling with disks or e-mail attachments. I often use Timbuktu while on the road to retrieve files from my home machines.
If you have both Macs and Windows machines in the same home or office, you can unite them over a network using Miramar Systems’ $199 PC MacLAN (https://www.miramarsys.com). PC MacLAN adds the AppleTalk network protocols to Windows, enabling it to access Mac hard drives and printers. You can also make Windows folders available to the Macs on your network.
Effective as these programs are, they don’t address a common criticism of the Mac: that the selection of software, especially programs aimed at specific business niches, is smaller. The solution? Run Windows on the Mac.
Connectix’s $199 Virtual PC emulates a Pentium II processor and includes Windows 98. Virtual PC 4.0 shipped earlier this month. It adds the ability to run numerous operating systems simultaneously, including Windows ME, NT, 2000 and Linux.
In my tests, Virtual PC 4.0 worked remarkably well. I could run Windows within a window, transferring files between Windows and the Mac OS by dragging them from one desktop to another. In its full-screen mode, Virtual PC took over my Mac’s monitor entirely, hiding the Mac’s menu bar and making my virtual PC look identical to the real thing. (Pressing the Command key restores the Mac’s menu bar.)
Virtual PC also did a great job of working with my existing Internet connection and Mac printer. The program tapped into my Mac’s network settings, enabling me to access the Web without having to grapple with Windows control panels. I was also able to print to my network’s laser printer and even use Windows peripherals plugged into my Mac’s Universal Serial Bus port. Given my past frustrations with getting Windows to perform these feats, I’m tempted to say that the best Windows computer may be a Mac running Virtual PC.
But I’ll resist the urge.
Because emulating a Pentium PC is no easy feat, Virtual PC isn’t nearly as fast as the real thing. On my 400-megahertz G3, Virtual PC feels like a 200-MHz Windows machine. It’s too slow to run fast-paced games. And streaming audio and video playback often stutters. But Microsoft Office runs well, and I even had success with demanding professional-audio programs, such as Sonic Foundry’s Acid music program. You’ll want at least 128 megabytes of memory for good results, and more wouldn’t be overkill.
In all, the platform gap is smaller than ever. No, the two platforms aren’t on perfect terms--differences in fonts and printers can cause formatting woes, for example--but the digital detente created by the programs I’ve described makes it easier to take advantage of each platform’s strengths.
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Jim Heid is a contributing editor of Macworld magazine.
