Posts Tagged ‘mac’

Want Faster Browsing? Google FTW!

Well, Google is at it again. I am now relying on yet another set of Google products..

This week was a big week for non-Windows users waiting for the Chrome browser. Earlier this week they released the beta of Chrome for Linux and Mac. I actually held out a bit on using many of the pre-release version of Chrome on Linux/Mac, mostly because I didn’t have a lot of time on my hands, but also because I didn’t realize just how much faster it really was than the browsers I’d been using. But, it wasn’t just Chrome that has sped up my browsing experience this week either.

Last week Google announced the general availability of its new public DNS service, touting it  as a speed booster(?). DNS typically isn’t something that we give a ton of thought to when chasing after faster browsing speeds, but I was pleasantly surprised by a bit snappier browsing experience. Of course, my download speeds really aren’t any faster, but the initial connection to my favorite websites (and non-favorite I suppose..) has sped up a bit. Just how much faster did this new DNS service make my little network go? Well, I really don’t have any numbers. If you haven’t tried it, it’s definitely worth a shot.

All’s not entirely well in my new Google world since Chrome is still in beta. I have to close the browser on occasion because things start acting up and some of my saved passwords are acting a bit weird, but overall the experience has been great. I still have to rely on a combination of Firefox and Safari for things that Chrome is buggy at (or can’t do like my Zimbra admin :( ), but that’s to be expected with a beta.

If you are running a Mac or Linux machine as a desktop, I’d encourage you to check out the new Chrome beta. I guess even more of my data are now belong to Google..

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Filed under How-Tos / Tips, News : Comments (0) : Dec 10th, 2009

Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac

Parallels recently released the newest version of it’s Mac Desktop virtualization product, version 4.0. After a couple days of ‘hands-on’ with the product, I have to say nice job!  It is ‘world changing’?  I’ll leave that up to you.  My thoughts, after the jump! 

In the past I have struggled running Windows Vista (Businesss) on my MacBook Pro (2 GB of RAM on a Core Duo) along side of Mac OS X Leopard.  To the point that I would not recommend it to clients and friends.  The safe bet, to this point, has been running Windows XP.  With Windows XP fading into the sunset in the next 6 months, I am happy to report that with version 4.0, I am able run Vista while still having a functioning laptop. The claim of a 50% performance increase seems to hold true from my non-scientific tests.

I was also happy to see that Parallels Desktop for Mac also supports up to 8 GB of RAM and 64-bit guest operating systems for those with 64-bit processors in their box.  Coherence has also been improved to provide a more integrated experience, especially with the Windows’s notifications.  On the more technical side of things Parallels has added support for Mac OS X Server along with command line utilities and scripting support. 

The upgrade (from version 3) was quite simple, but you will have to upgrade each of your VM’s.  Start the process and go for coffee. This process does take quite a while but does not take much user interaction. Upgrading my Windows XP installation took approximately 30 minutes.  Note that this is a ‘one-way’ upgrade, so if you are trying out version 4.0, backup your VM’s, which Parallels will prompt you to do. 

Over all, I am very happy with the upgrade thus far. Performance is improved and has ensured a continued spot for Parallels Desktop in my Applications folder.

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Filed under News : Comments (0) : Nov 13th, 2008

Return to Windows?

Since last Tuesday when CrossOver offered their products for free, I’ve been installing all my old Windows games to see if they’d run on my Mac. I plan on reporting my results, but I ran into an interesting situation in one of my tests. It was a battle of wits greater than The Princess Bride.

The game I was experimenting with was one that I’d played thousands of times in my former Windows life. Dirt Track Racing 2 from Infogrames ran beautifully under CrossOver with one small exception. When you hit escape while racing, the menu didn’t display. If I hit the up arrow which would “move” the “cursor” which did not exist to the “quit” button that didn’t exist and hit enter I could still exit the race. Only a minor workaround was required. However, when using the menus to exit the game itself was where it got interesting. I was prompted by this intriguing question:

I came to an impasse. Clearly I can’t choose “Yes”. I can’t in my right mind go back to Windows after seeing the light with Mac and Linux. Of course, even if I wanted, I don’t have Windows installed on this machine. This answer truly went against my deepest convictions and desires of my heart. Yet, if I answer “No” it takes me back to the game menu. So, logically, I can’t answer “No” or I’ll get nowhere. However, if I answer “Yes” then I am admitting that my *NIX diversion was just that: a diversion. It was like I was somehow admitting that I needed to come back to Windows. But still, I can’t answer “No” because then I’m back to where I started and can’t get out of the game. While trying to escape Windows, it had backed me in to a corner. Obviously, Windows wanted me to say yes but I couldn’t in good conscience answer “Yes” to the question “Return to Windows?”!

In the end, I ended up just shutting down the machine to avoid answering the question. I’d rather lose data then go back to the list of troubles I had with Windows. :)

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Filed under Just for Fun : Comments (0) : Nov 5th, 2008

Free Crossover Office, Get It While It’s Hot!

This summer, Codeweavers decided to offer its products for free if some fairly unlikely events were to occur. Whether it was meant as a marketing ploy to get its name and software out there, or if it was a low blow against President Bush (I’m guessing the latter), we’re getting CrossOver for free today. Of the events that CEO Jeremy White said needed to happen, gasoline dropped below $2.79 per gallon. True to their word, Codeweavers is offering its CrossOver products for free to anyone who registers today (10/28/2008). The CrossOver products allow Mac and Linux users to run Windows applications on their machines. You can register for the free software here.

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Filed under News : Comments (1) : Oct 28th, 2008