I'm Beating Mike H to the Punch!

ID:31143
 
Jun 1 2007, 9:25 am (Edited on Jun 1 2007, 10:10 am)
Parellels 3.0 is soon to be released. Out of the many new features, 3D support for the guest OS is included.



Pretty crazy, when you think about it. They claim it can run any Direct X or OpenGL game. And they claim at almost full speed. No doubt you will take a FPS hit, but how much? If it works as well as we all want, it will allow Macs to become, in almost every way, a better computer than a Windows PC. It will be capable of everything Windows is(Because it will run Windows inside of it) and still have all bad about Windows sandboxed.

I've always thought that a system that had 100% support for would have 100% support for it's flaws too. But sandboxing solves this problem, at least mostly.

I don't own a Mac, but I would love to. The one limit, for people like me, is price. I want one, but to get one I have to A: Get their very weak model or B: Go into the poor house trying to buy a desktop machine that is as powerful as my current one.

[Bonus Content] Another great feature, which I nearly missed, is the ability to attempt to open files on the host OS and have them open in the guest OS instead. So, for example, if you have Parallels with XP and Word installed, and you attempt to open, in OSX, a word file, it will know that that file extension needs to be handled by the guest OS and automatically request the file be opened in the guest OS by it's default program for that file. It's called SmartSelect, and it's brilliant, even if rather simple, when you think about it.

[Double Bonus Content] This will also allow full support of the new OpenGL features coming to BYOND in 4.0. Meaning that Mac OSX users can, if they have the correct setup, run completely on par with Windows users(because they are, in fact, Windows users themselves).

And I would love to see VMWare try to compete. I don't mean that in a "I don't think they can do it" way, but rather "I hope they do it". Why? VMWare supports many OS besides OSX and XP. Linux could, potentially, have fully functional Windows games on it too, supposing that VMWare was able to match Parallels. Or if Parallels brought these features to other OS. Right now, they have a Windows version, but it is strongly falling behind compared to the Mac version.
Jun 1 2007, 9:38 am
Yeah, the price is a hurdle to overcome... but you definitely get what you pay for.

I own a Powerbook G4 that has lasted me for 6 years now, and still does everything that I need it to do (including video editing) without being too slow. I've beat the hell out of the thing, at it hasn't had any problems at all.

My bigger computer is an iMac G5... although I'm dying for one of the new Intel-based setups.
Jun 1 2007, 9:46 am
When I went laptop shopping, I wanted a Mac more than any other laptop. I knew their laptops where quality. But the cheapest one I would be willing to own was at about twice the price of the laptop I got, and statistically almost identical.

I thought about getting a Mac Mini, just to own a Mac. But I have absolutely no use for it. I don't edit videos. I don't use any art programs very much. I already have many slave machines laying around in my room. It would just be one more test machine for me. Which sounds all fine and good, but I would never use it. Although, it might make a great gift for my mother, she has been complaining about her old machine just not cutting it recently.

Still, the value of a Mac increases a lot when they can do everything, and I mean everything, a Windows PC can. Except, maybe, crash and burn due to bugs and design flaws.*

*That's not to say OSX is flawless, but it is far closer to that than any Windows I've been able to toy with.
Jun 1 2007, 10:09 am
Can't you install OSX on an intel proc?
Jun 1 2007, 10:12 am
No legally at least. It requires a Apple branded motherboard to install. You also don't have much driver support for most "PC" parts, as Apple has had their own, so there was no need for third parties to create drivers for an OS that didn't need their product.
Jun 1 2007, 10:13 am
Stay away from the Mac Mini... it hasn't been updated in a long time, and rumor has it that Apple is discontinuing it. Too bad, because I think it's cool.
Jun 1 2007, 4:03 pm
SilkWizard wrote:
Stay away from the Mac Mini... it hasn't been updated in a long time, and rumor has it that Apple is discontinuing it. Too bad, because I think it's cool.

Just today I burned a CD of the Mac OS X 10.4.9 Combo Update or something like that to update my parents' computer (they have dialup), so I assume you mean the hardware architecture hasn't been updated -- and if that's the case it's a shame, because the affordability of the Mac Mini (and my parents' satisfaction with it) has had me seriously considering it as a replacement for my rugged old 1999 NEC Ready 9935. I guess maybe Apple doesn't need my potential Mac money now that they have the iPhone.
Jun 1 2007, 4:42 pm
Sweet. I just signed up for the beta test program. Hopefully they'll let me in.
Jun 1 2007, 9:53 pm
Yeah the Mac Mini hardware hasn't been updated in a loooooong time. At this point, buying a Macbook gives you a lot more bang for your buck at essentially the same price if you factor in the cost of a monitor etc.

I agree that it's a shame... I totally would have bought one sometime this year.