My Mac Switch

Many people fear switching to Mac from PC because “I have to have Windows for this one program.” I know the feeling. I must use Windows XP for my Express Digital software. This software is what I use to publish photos to the web, receive orders, proof orders, then submit them to the lab for printing. There are other ways of doing this, but none as seamless as using Express Digital Darkroom. You would think that with as many photographers as there are out there, Express Digital would get with the program and release a Mac version of their software.

For those of you in the same boat as me, you have several options of using Windows XP or Vista (if you must) on your Mac. For all options, you must supply your own legal copy of Windows. If you are installing Windows XP, it must be SP2 or later.

The first option for running Windows on your Mac is using Boot Camp, which comes as a feature of OS X Leopard. Installation could not be easier. Simply start the Boot Camp Assistant (in Finder>Applications>Utilities>Boot Camp Assistant), print the directions in case the installation does not complete, set your Boot Camp Partition size and choose FAT32 or NTFS. If you choose FAT32, you can read/write from OS X Leopard without buying additional software. After taking these steps, place the Windows CD in the drive and install Windows. Starting Windows XP is as easy as restarting the computer and holding the option key until it asks which operating system you wish to start. This is how I installed Windows on my Macbook.

The second option is using software called VMware Fusion. I currently have the 30 day trial software on my Macbook Black and I like it. If you have installed Windows on your Mac using Boot Camp, Fusion will automatically import your Boot Camp installation. The advantages of using Fusion are that you do not need to restart to boot Windows. Open VMware Fusion and select “Start up guest.” Windows will now start at the same time you are running OS X. You have the ability to use printers that are already installed on OS X Leopard and not have to reinstall them. You can use the common Mac keyboard shortcuts because Windows is running inside of OS. I have not tried it yet, but Fusion has the ability to let you run native Windows applications such as Media Player and Internet Explorer in OS X. As I said before, I have been trying this software for about two weeks, and I am thinking seriously about buying it.

Another option is software called Parallels. Parallels is another Virtual Machine software for running Windows, like fusion. I have had no experience with Parallels, but many people use it and love it. From what I understand, Parallels was the leader in running Windows on Macs. Only recently have viable alternatives emerged. If you have any experience with Parallels, leave a comment on what you like and why to use it. I am just listing that it is an option.

You do not need to be afraid of switching for fear that you will not be able to run your old programs, or visit an Internet Explorer only website. I was a little hesitant to switch to Mac base on one website that I must use requiring only IE and my photo ordering software only running on Windows XP (the lab that I use has a huge request on their site urging people to not use Vista because of problems). I have been looking at alternatives to the photo software, but the website is run by the State of Ohio for submitting EMS Data (I am a Paramedic) and I have tried using Firefox with user agent switching, Opera, Safari, and Chrome browsers, none of them work, so IE is my only option. Fortunately, I am able to run Windows on my Macbook without any trouble to use these two items. As soon as I am done with these, I shut down Windows and do not need it for weeks again.

Do you use another program to run Windows on a Mac? Let me know what you use and why. What do you like and dislike? I love computers, and I only recently switched to Mac. I write on this blog with mostly questions that I had at one time, or questions that some friends who switched ask me.

Boot Camp Website

Fusion Website

Parallels Website

When I bought my Mac, I had to ask this question. I had to ask myself the very same question. Windows Mobile will only sync with a Windows PC running Windows Vista or Activesync with earlier versions of Windows.

Luckily for those of us who have made the switch to Mac, there is a product called The Missing Sync for Windows Mobile. I am now able to sync my Sprint Mogul (ppc-6800) over bluetooth to my Macbook. All of my contacts, appointments, and even my photos I take on my phone are synchronized with no trouble.

Missing Sync for Windows Mobile can sync much more than I have it doing. One thing that it will do is sync your music library with iTunes. They have Missing Sync for Palm OS, Missing Sync for PSP, Missing Sync for iPhone, Missing Sync for Nokia, and Missing Sync for Blackberry available.

The Missing Sync for Windows Mobile is available for download at http://www.markspace.com/ .  Missing Sync for Windows Mobile costs $39.95, but it is money well spent if you need to sync your phone with your computer.

If you are considering switching to Mac or you have recently switched, you may find yourself in the market for a productivity software suite. You could spent outrageous fortunes on Microsoft Office for Mac, but why would you want to do that. Unless you have a really good reason that you MUST stay with Microsoft Office, switch to iWork.

iWork is a great collection of productivity software. It includes Pages, Keynote, and Numbers. For the new Mac owner, that is the equivalent of Word, Powerpoint, and Excel. iWork is available for a single install at the price of $79.00 or for a “Family Pack” which allows it to be installed on four Macs for the price of $99.

iWork can open any Microsoft Office files and can save files as Office files. Recently, my boss upgraded to the Office ‘07 and I was the only employee who could open her files for about one week. Everybody who had Office needed to download a compatibility patch. iWork can even export files to PDF natively. On my PC with Windows XP, I had to use Adobe Professional to do the same.

“I use Outlook to keep track of my appointments” you may say. With the iLife software that comes on your Mac you can do the same. When somebody mails me an email that says, lets say “Saturday” or “Next Saturday” I can click on the word (or a date of they send a date) and the date will show in iCal. If the email includes a time listed with the day or date, iCal will even fill in the time in the appointment. Apple calls this ability “Data Detectors.” Names, addresses and phone numbers all have the same abilities, except they will open in Address Book.

I have used Microsoft Office for many years, even using Outlook to sync to my Windows Mobile PDA phone. I have had no issues with the switch to iWork. I actually prefer Pages and Keynote to Word and Powerpoint 2007. I do not even use Outlook to sync my PDA anymore, more on that in another post.

Have you recently switched to Mac and tried iWork? How do you like it, and is there anything you could not do with it that you need