[gscott]

Feedback would be appreciated on which windows/mac application for sharing files am a new MBP.

[MylesTaylor]

It completely depends on what you're doing with Windows. For me, I use Windows for support at my work and running a few small apps. A virtual machine works quite well for that. If you are running major applications in Windows, like Adobe Suite or any games, you're going to want to go with Boot Camp. If not, then VM will work quite well for you.

Between Parallels and VMWare Fusion, I prefer Fusion. I used Parallels for about two years and recently switched over to VMWare. I like the options of Fusion better, although the fierce competition between the two is keeping them fairly the same in the feature front. You can import your VM from one to the other so I would recommend downloading the trial version of one and then if you don't like it then try the trial of the other.

[zarmanto]

I'll second the vote for Fusion over Parallels -- though in my case, I decided to stick exclusively with Boot Camp after experimenting with the demos of both virtualizers. (I haven't tried Sun's Virtualbox yet.) Since my primary use for Windows at home is to play video games, a virtualizer just can't really meet my needs.

As for Macdrive... I actually prefer to do data copies while I'm running MacOS X instead of while running Windows, so-as not to potentially risk exposing my Mac partition to the dangers of Windows-based viruses. (I use MacFUSE and NTFS-3G to facilitate read/write access to the NTFS Windows volume.)

[C62008]

Hi,

I am unclear on this and I would appreciate your help. I am about to order a new iMac and i will probably use Boot Camp to run my Windows-based web development/Adobe graphics software. I believe there is some issue regarding the mac's storage format (FAT32 vs NTFS). What is the best way to con figure the hard drive for each OS?



Thanks1

[MylesTaylor]

Hi,

Boot Camp will automatically partition your harddrive to the right type for Windows and you don't have to worry about anything. The Mac will be able to read all the windows formatted files so you shouldn't have a problem. There isn't an issue with partitioning as long as you use Boot Camp and don't do any partitioning manually.

[C62008]

Thanks!. So, I can burn files onto a dvd on my PC and drag them onto Windows in BC? But I can't open Word files in Leopard (assuming I have office for the mac), correct?

[MylesTaylor]

That's right as far as burning your DVD from your PC.

The Mac side will be able to read almost any files created on Windows. You won't necessarily be able to read all Mac files on Windows. You will be able to read Word files on your Mac from your PC. Same goes for Adobe files as long as you have the Mac version of the program.

[C62008]

Thanks, that makes sense.

[zarmanto]

C62008 said:

I believe there is some issue regarding the mac's storage format (FAT32 vs NTFS). What is the best way to con figure the hard drive for each OS?

Just to elaborate on this a bit... the issue that you've heard of is actually MacOS X's inability to write data to NTFS volumes. (Out of the box, MacOS X treats NTFS volumes as read-only.) Thus, Apple's default configuration of BootCamp is to format the Windows partition as a FAT32 volume. There are some very geeky reasons why you might prefer NTFS over FAT32, but for most purposes FAT32 will work just fine. Of course, even if you did decide that you needed to use NTFS for your Windows volume, you could always install the free MacFUSE and NTFS-3G add-ons to gain the ability to write to NTFS volumes from within MacOS X.

(But then, I repeat myself...)

[amilholland]

"Crossover" is still another choice. It runs Windows programs without installing Windows. There is no extra cost for Windows, and no need for extra anti-virus and anti-spyware protection.

There is also a Crossover for games.

I use CrossOver to run several programs, including Quicken98, PSACards (a rolodex-type program), several Bridgebase bridge programs, and even SnagIt.

The question posed reminds me of the media always talking about THE candidates for president, meaning only McCain and Obama. What about Nader (independent) and McKinney (Green Party)? There ARE other choices and positions to know about.

[C62008]

Thanks! In keeping with your politcis metaphor, I guess I've decided not to vote. I bought Adobe Creative suite for the Mac. I really only have one program left - Quickbooks Pro - and I will leave my accounting on my PC.