Re: Virtual PC vs. SoftWindows - PC Emulators for the MAC

[Mike Pfaiffer <pfaiffer@mbnet.mb.ca>]

Dulce Isler wrote:
> 
> Hi;
> 
>         I am a PC person who is seriously considering switching
> systems to the IMAC DV Special Edition.  I have been told by Apple
> Tech Support that Virtual PC will execute Windows 95 apps on the MAC
> seemlessly without problems as long as there is atleast 128Mg RAM on
> teh MAC.

	I know little about virtual PC. I only know what I've heard from people
who run it. Before I get into the nitty gritty of what people tell me
I'll make a couple suggestions you will find useful. First, this is not
a Macintosh group. You should be looking in the comp.sys.mac hierarchy
rather than the Apple// hierarchy. Second, if set up properly a Mac is
far more stable than any PC you will find (I own a few older machines of
several types). The architecture of the machines differs quite a bit
with the Mac architecture being about 10 years newer. Third, You should
get the best Mac you can afford (it will be obsolete in six weeks anyhow
so at least it will remain reasonable for a little while longer). In
this case I think the best Mac out there is a G4 rather than the IMac.

>         Has anyone used VIrtual PC and if so, what are the pitfalls
> and what are the benefits?

	It's an emulator. With a couple of exceptions emulators generally run
software slower than native mode applications. In short get the Mac
version where ever possible. You WILL be impressed. To make this posting
relevant to this group I should also mention something brought up at our
user group. Some people find running an Apple// emulator on their Mac is
the exception to the generality of emulators slowing things down. The
software for the Apple// has to be optimized to run on a 1 or 2MHz
machine. Most Mac or PC software have no such optimization. Therefore
the Apple// version of the software may run faster than the same
software native to a Mac or PC.

	Another pitfall is you are running PC software under Windoze. If you
want a stable PC stay away from Micro$oft. Even if it is an emulator.
Linux, Solaris, OS/2, DRDOS, and other operating systems may be a
cheaper alternative.

>         Has anyone used Softwindows and if so, what are the pitfalls
> and what are the benefits?

	A benefit is if you are emulating Windoze and the virtual machine
crashes, you do not have to restart your computer. Simply restart your
virtual machine. Windoze seems to be the only "modern" operating system
which does not have something similar built in.
 
>         I would appreciate it if you could email me at diny@erols.com
> 
> Thanks alot,
> Dulce Isler

				Later
				Mike




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