Please help a dummy ;)

thargorthargor
Posted:
in Mac Software edited January 2014
I have an new iMac DV SE 500 G3 256RAM

I have always used mac and find the pc incomprehensible and unworkable.



Am starting a new job in a completely new field.



And there's a ton of software that I need to use to source info - of course all of which is designed for the PC.



I live in the UK so all computer stuff here is three times more expensive than the US so there is no cheap option.



I don't want to buy a new pc and wrestle with it only to find I hate the career change



However I don't want to buy Virtual PC 5 at $500 which is what it costs in the UK only to find it won't run the software .....



I just don't know how good it is, how to tell if it will do the job with the relevant software... what to do?



Any help in idiots English for technologically challenged people would be gratefully received and much appreciated.

Anna

[email protected] <img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[No]" />

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 8
    ybotybot Posts: 329member
    Well every version of VirtualPC I've tried (which is versions 4 and 5) have been incredibly slow for me. However, I read somewhere that version 5 of VPC is optimised for Windows 2000 and Windows XP and I was using VPC 5 with Windows 98. So I'm getting a copy of Windows XP to try it with and I'll let you know.



    But I can tell you this: VPC will never be as fast as actually having a PC running windows. On VPC 4 under OS 9 with 384mb of ram, opening Internet Explorer 5.5 took over two minutes. There was no way I could be productive on a computer that slow. But then again that was on a 400mhz G4, not the fastest machine out there.



    But using VPC on a 500mhz G3 might be just as slow since there's no velocity engine on the G3. Personally, I wouldn't recommend it -- especially with the horredously high cost of VPC. I found it useless and ultimately ended up never using it.
  • Reply 2 of 8
    brian j.brian j. Posts: 139member
    You might be able to find a decent used PC for $500 at <a href="http://www.ebay.com/uk"; target="_blank">Ebay's UK Site</a>.



    Anyways, it sucks that you can't demo VPC before you shell out $500 for it. Don't worry though. If/when you've exhausted all of your options, send me a private message, and I'll help you out. There are other "methods".





    EDIT: whoops. bad ebay url.



    [ 01-29-2002: Message edited by: Brian J. ]</p>
  • Reply 3 of 8
    ghost_user_nameghost_user_name Posts: 22,667member
    i have tried VPC4/Win2K on a PBG4/500 with 512 mb ram.



    Basically, it was only useful for KaZaa. Anything else was sluggish on the OSX Public Beta level... ie. untolerable.
  • Reply 4 of 8
    ybotybot Posts: 329member
    Yeah if you aren't adversed to pirating software, you could easily acquire a copy of VPC 5 on any of the usual sources (Carracho, Hotline, Gnutella etc.)



    Note: I myself am not advocating piracy here. I was simply pointing out the obvious that if one were so inclined, one could acquire a copy of the software in question here. Seriously. I wasn't suggesting anyone not pay Connectix for their program. If you use VPC, pay for it.



    However, I don't have any moral issues with pirating-before-you-buy. Trying out the program before you buy it isn't that horrible, is it? With the crazily-high cost of software these days there should be trial versions of all of them. When you're dropping $35k on a car they let you drive it around for 30 minutes, so I don't see why a $1,000 software program that will need to be upgraded and/or replaced in a year is any different.



    Just my twisted version of morality though. I'm sure some of the more ethical people here will have problems with this, but as I said, this is just my opinion and I am not suggesting anyone actually do anything I talked about here.



    [ 01-29-2002: Message edited by: Ybot ]



    [ 01-29-2002: Message edited by: Ybot ]</p>
  • Reply 5 of 8
    brian j.brian j. Posts: 139member
    For the record, I am not an advocate of software piracy either. Heck, I'm trying to start my own software company. But she seems desperate and $500 is alot of money for something that cannot be demoed.



    Thargor, it sounds like VPC is too slow for your (or anyone else's) needs anyways. You should really look into a used PC.
  • Reply 6 of 8
    thargorthargor Posts: 2member
    Just wanted to thank you all for all your advice and taking the time and trouble to respond.

    Anna

    x
  • Reply 7 of 8
    gordygordy Posts: 1,004member
    There is no reason to buy the full bversion of Virtual PC if you have a Windows Installation CD. The DOS version of virtual PC is around $60US. You can install Windows on top of this easily by typing e\setup at the DOS prompt.



    [EDIT]Furthermore, I have no problems with Virtual PC. If you're running simple applications like Spreadsheets, databases, etc., it should work acceptably. Office, in particular, works fine in my iMac DV SE.



    [ 01-31-2002: Message edited by: gordy ]</p>
  • Reply 8 of 8
    ti fighterti fighter Posts: 863member
    years ago i was using virtual pc for win 95 and was using 3d studio max in it to do some 3d projects for school. This was on a Power Computing 210mhz heh, it was insane! Click a button wait 3-10 seconds for it to take effect. But it worked i got the projects done
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