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June 22 - June 29,2003 |
Virtual PC 5
By Alessandro Cancian
Originally Published: 2002-09-02
Maybe it's a revival, but in the last couple of months about 50 percent of my friends who intended to buy a new computer chose to leave the Windows platform, fascinated by the new machines and OS from Apple.
For some this was a homecoming of sorts, while for others it was a discovery of a pleasant reality that until recently they did not know existed. In effect, the integration between the two most widespread systems resembles wine as it improves with age. Thanks also to the Internet, Apple is living a second youth.
There are, however, still some small glitches, like needing some software packages that are only available for Windows, or opening a classic e-mail message with an .exe attachment that, instead of drawing Santa Claus onto your screen, suddenly erases your HD. A degree of tranquility was devised by Connectix, which some years ago developed a software emulator for any Windows version, running directly onto you new iMac. Now at version 5, Virtual PC runs also under Mac OS X, the new Unix-like OS adopted by Apple.
Upon its release we tested the WinXP version on a spank new 933 MHz G4 machine, and to tell the truth my first impression wasn't favourable. After installing the program scrupulously following the instructions in the user's manual, problems began when I tried to customize the application. Recognition of some USB devices gave me a headache and less-than-encouraging results, with constant system crashes (Kernel Panics). Unthinkable, especially for OS X, which is a crash-proof system.
In regards to performance, it was disappointing, particularly for people accustomed to the previous version under the old operation system. Some advice by Connectix managed to improve the situation somewhat.
After some time and despite some updates that solved a few significant incompatibilities and boosted the speed of Virtual PC, the version of WinXP I had installed still had stability problems; a final update (5.03) did the trick. Finally I could do some serious work.
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