![]() ![]() The first is Fink, and I don't mean that as an epithet.įink ( /) is a software package that can retrieve and install freely available Unix programs with all the settings needed to make them work under Mac OS X.įink itself originally required some facility with the Terminal program, but a new graphical interface that sits on top of Fink, Fink Commander ( finkcommander. It required manual software compilation, which only someone like me, a self-taught, learned-it-on-the-street system administrator, could love.īut now there are two bridges that might extend many Unix software offerings into the general Mac population. Until recently, getting access to freely available and even certain commercial Unix packages was tedious. (There's a distinction between free and open-source that is long-standing and worth reading publications like The Linux Journal, to learn more about.) But Unix offers another huge benefit: access to open-source and free software. The key advantage of Unix for Apple is that it's rock-solid. Unix is complicated, right? Even underneath Mac OS X, where Unix lurks, most users would rather not think about it. Unix simplicity: Put the words "Unix" and "simple" into the same sentence, and anyone with a smidgen of experience with the former would laugh at the latter. I haven't decided if that's good or bad news for Mac users, for Apple or for Microsoft. ![]() It's technologically possible that Virtual PC could recede into the background, like the Classic compatibility mode in Mac OS X, and Windows programs could run seamlessly. Microsoft's Macintosh Business Unit said in a briefing that the Virtual PC for Mac team wouldn't be working in isolation but would be able to offer feedback to the Windows operating system developers, which should result in more interesting integration between Mac and Windows. When I've seen Virtual PC operating on any newer Mac, even a Titanium PowerBook G4, Windows is more than tolerable to use. Running Windows is a painful experience under Mac OS X on my main system.īut I'm running a mid-2000-era G4 Cube, which can't hold a candle to the speed of even the lowest-end current PowerMac G4 tower. I've been using Virtual PC 6 for Mac since its release in December, and although Connectix has managed to improve its performance, Virtual PC is still a slug when used on machines just a couple of years old or with a G3 processor. In fact, I expect that Virtual PC will be given enormous speed boosts through tweaks to Windows itself. 24, analysts think Microsoft sees Virtual PC as another tool for getting more users to run more Microsoft software. As I noted in a Seattle Times business story on Feb. Many users' posts have speculated that Microsoft was buying Virtual PC to kill it, which seems exceedingly unlikely. Virtual PC lets Mac users simulate having an Intel processor to run Windows and Windows-based programs. The top question on the Mac user's mind the past 10 days has been - let's be honest - what's Microsoft up to, anyway?Įven those Mac owners who have no interest in running Windows programs were curious whether Microsoft's acquisition of Virtual PC represented the ultimate form of support for Mac OS or the ultimate subversion. ![]()
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