End of Virtual PC on the Mac?

your_ad_hereyour_ad_here
Posted:
in Mac Software edited January 2014
I was browsing amazon for mac software and found this...



http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...tware&n=229652



Has anyone seen this before? Does it mean the end of virtual pc for mac os? I know when Microsoft bought this product there were rumors that we'd see a change of direction with this software but I didn't think we'd see it this soon!



Also pretty weird that I linked to this from the apple site on amazon...\
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 49
    der kopfder kopf Posts: 2,275member
    Why would this mean the end of Virtual PC for Mac?



    Granted, I know what you're getting at, but you're wrong. Connectix always had a development branch of Virtual PC devoted to PCs, and Connectix was never the only one offering PC emulation for PCs either. Strange though you may find it, a Virtual PC on a PC is often quite handy (e.g. in learning situations, when students are thought the specifics of setting up Windows/Linux servers).
  • Reply 2 of 49
    rara Posts: 623member
    Don't worry. That's just a different product.
  • Reply 3 of 49
    your_ad_hereyour_ad_here Posts: 112member
    Ok, well that shows my lack of knowledge on pc software I'd just heard rumors that now Microsoft had bought this software from Connectix we'd probably never see another virtual pc for the mac. Guess that shows the reliability of rumors on here right



    On another note, seeing as you guys know so much about mac software, does anyone have any info on how the student version of Office X for Mac works? I just bought an emac for someone and contacted apple to see if it was possible to get office student edition for them, but was told that you had to be in an educational institute and over 18 (she's currently 16). However looking in amazon it seems to be available. How do they check? Or is it a case of having to register the product/recieve the software etc. once you have the box and fill in the forms (as in my experience with office for pc's.)
  • Reply 4 of 49
    rokrok Posts: 3,519member
    the pc version of VPC actually existed pre-microsoft buyout, and was probably the main technology that microsoft really wanted. i seem to recall the virtual server and network abilities of VPC were especially intriguing to them (plus, if they can find a way to sell you MULTIPLE windows licenses for a single computer, i guarantee they'll do it). my hope is that they will actually decrease the cost of VPC, as connectix won't have to actually buy a software key for every unit and pass the cost along to the end user. i assume MS will simply eat some of the cost of a windows license to get people to buy it.



    re: the student version of office, check microsoft's website. i believe the student version is also available to high school students, but they do want to avoid parents just getting the cheap version because they have a student in house who may never even use the software.



    otherwise, the student version is EXACTLY the same as the standard version, minus some cost and different packaging, and it will probably not have a discount upgrade to the next version -- you'll probably have to shell out for the entire cost of the student version again... i believe adobe does this, to avoid people just getting the educational version over and over again. in the long term, it costs you more because you never get a really, really cheap upgrade path until you start investing in the commercial version.



    the only difference between the student/standard versions of office and the pro version is the inclusion of VPC, which as of this writing, doesn't work on a G5.
  • Reply 5 of 49
    your_ad_hereyour_ad_here Posts: 112member
    Rok,



    Thanks for the info! Ya have to love the mac community!
  • Reply 6 of 49
    dmband0026dmband0026 Posts: 2,345member
    From the link:

    Quote:

    Re-architected to ensure that it meets Microsoft's most stringent security standards



    One word for that:
  • Reply 7 of 49
    mmmpiemmmpie Posts: 628member
    Some of the analysts looking at Windows Server 2003 believe that MS bought connectix so that companies currently running NT 4 installations would be able to run 2003. The problem being that 2003 dropped a lot of backwards compatibility, and that is stopping a lot of shops from upgrading.



    I think MS could care less about VPC for Mac, it might get as much attention as other MS products - which I think are all being wound down.
  • Reply 8 of 49
    mr. memr. me Posts: 3,221member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by mmmpie

    Some of the analysts looking at Windows Server 2003 believe that MS bought connectix so that companies currently running NT 4 installations would be able to run 2003. The problem being that 2003 dropped a lot of backwards compatibility, and that is stopping a lot of shops from upgrading.



    I think MS could care less about VPC for Mac, it might get as much attention as other MS products - which I think are all being wound down.



    "What of the the analysts ... believe" is in fact a real and growing problem for M$. Its customers don't trust its products. It is standard practice for M$ shops to lag one to two generations behind the Redmond company's most recent version of its software.



    M$ bought Connectix for Virtual Server, which IIRC is still in beta. VS, the thinking goes, will allow enterprise customers to deploy M$'s latest products on virtual machines hosted by the veteran OSes that the customers trust.



    All of the catawauling that M$ bought Connectix to kill VPC is paranoid nonsense from children who have no knowledge of business. The one thing that M$ likes more than control is money, $$$. VPC is a profitable shipping product. Most of M$'s businesses don't make a profit. Among these are the Xbox which will never make a profit. To top it off, M$ is trying to expand into markets, such as online music, where its profit potential is slim. In order to initiate new unprofitable operations, M$ must subsidize them from its profitable ventures. M$ dropped the standalone version of IE because it generates no revenue, but costs money to maintain and develop. On the other hand, VPC and Office:mac are profitable and will be around a long time.
  • Reply 9 of 49
    bigbluebigblue Posts: 341member
    I read there was an open source (beta) VPC around wich already worked on a G5. Anyone heard about it ? Or is it just a hoax ?
  • Reply 10 of 49
    your_ad_hereyour_ad_here Posts: 112member
    Mr. Me, Not sure if the 'children' dig was aimed at me but I will happily admit that I know very little of Microsoft's business practices. \ (Only just found out that Santa wasn't real; I'm not quite ready to deal with the 'real world' issues of M$ business practices just yet...)



    Saying that your insight was very reassuring! I think it's a very paranoid nature of this site to forget that M$ are all about profits, instead running with the market domination aspect (Ok, no wait, they do that too...)



    Long live VPC for all of us that, am much as we try, still depend on M$ to some degree in our everyday lives.
  • Reply 11 of 49
    pbpb Posts: 4,255member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by BigBlue

    I read there was an open source (beta) VPC around wich already worked on a G5. Anyone heard about it ? Or is it just a hoax ?



    You talk probably about Bochs. It is an open source emulator that can run on a G5 but it is... VERY SLOW. I mean, unusably slow. If Microsoft don't update VPC for the G5 (very unlikely, since it sells not only the emulation software but Windows licenses too), then there will be not a viable emulation solution for the G5 in the foreseeable future. And if Apple was not so secretive about future hardware releases, probably VPC for the G5 would be ready now or some time ago...
  • Reply 12 of 49
    your_ad_hereyour_ad_here Posts: 112member
    PB, you make a good point about Apple's secrecy policy. If Apple are in fact that secret, then they're only shooting themselves in the foot in terms of having new hardware specific software on the market as soon after release as possible (Yes, i know hthis has been discussed before but it's slightly relevant...ish). Surely they give the hardware to software companies before public release right? Get them to sign a contract of secrecy or something. That is unless the time between hardware shipping and shipping is too short to allow for that.
  • Reply 13 of 49
    pbpb Posts: 4,255member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by your_ad_here

    Surely they give the hardware to software companies before public release right? Get them to sign a contract of secrecy or something.



    Didn't recently (October or November) a Microsoft employee got fired since he photographed the newly arrived G5s in Microsoft's campus? May I assume they were the first G5s used to redesign VPC for G5? Maybe not, but one never knows. What worries me actually is the lack of competition, MS is alone and the only one in the field now. Wouldn't Apple develop its own Windows emulator (for G4/G5)?
  • Reply 14 of 49
    der kopfder kopf Posts: 2,275member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by PB

    May I assume they were the first G5s used to redesign VPC for G5?



    You may not. Not because it's not true, but just because you are forgetting all the other apps Microsoft makes for Macintosh. An unverified list of Macintosh products from Microsoft:



    Quote:

    For Macintosh



    Audio

    _Taggerwocky



    Business

    _Microsoft Word X

    _Microsoft PowerPoint 98 Viewer

    _Microsoft PowerPoint X

    _Microsoft Office 98

    _Microsoft Excel

    _Microsoft Query X

    _Microsoft Office v.X

    _Microsoft Office v.X Test Drive

    _Microsoft Excel X

    _Microsoft Visual FoxPro

    _Microsoft VBA Converter for Excel X

    _Microsoft Office 2001



    Developer Tools

    _Date Format OSAX



    Drivers

    _Microsoft SideWinder 3D Pro

    _Microsoft IntelliPoint (MacOS)

    _Microsoft IntelliPoint (MacOSX)

    _Microsoft IntelliType (MacOSX)

    _Microsoft IntelliType (MacOS)



    HTML Tools

    _Microsoft FrontPage



    Internet Utilities

    _Microsoft Internet Explorer X

    _MSN Messenger (MacOS)

    _Microsoft Entourage

    _MSN

    _Microsoft Outlook Express

    _Microsoft Entourage X

    _MSN Messenger (MacOSX)

    _Microsoft Internet Explorer



    Some apps outdated, some apps not even there (Virtual PC). I still don't get why the delivery of Macintoshes to one of the Mac's largest developers has stirred so much fuss.
  • Reply 15 of 49
    bartobarto Posts: 2,246member
    Not to mention the fact that Microsoft does its graphic design on Macs, for which they certainly they have a good reason for a lot of G5s.



    Quote:

    Originally posted by der Kopf

    I still don't get why the delivery of Macintoshes to one of the Mac's largest developers has stirred so much fuss.



    It wasn't the Macs that got him into trouble. It was the fact that it was a photo of inside Microsoft HQ, which was considered a security breach.



    Apple would probably fire an employee who took a photo of a bunch of G5s at the Apple campus and posted it on the internet.



    Barto
  • Reply 16 of 49
    pbpb Posts: 4,255member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by der Kopf

    You may not. Not because it's not true, but just because you are forgetting all the other apps Microsoft makes for Macintosh.



    No, I am not forgetting the other MS applications for the Macintosh. Simply, I would be surprised to learn that the the non-empty intersection G4{\\cap}G5, is not sufficient for the other "higher level" MS apps to work without tweaking. On the other hand, I would be equally or even more surprised to learn that Microsoft had no access to the G5 well before the June release.
  • Reply 17 of 49
    mr. memr. me Posts: 3,221member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by PB

    No, I am not forgetting the other MS applications for the Macintosh. Simply, I would be surprised to learn that the the non-empty intersection G4{\\cap}G5, is not sufficient for the other "higher level" MS apps to work without tweaking. On the other hand, I would be equally or even more surprised to learn that Microsoft had no access to the G5 well before the June release.



    IIRC, there was no information that those Macs were headed for M$ developers of Mac software. The Redmond monopoly has thousands of employees, many of whom use Macintoshes. From what I have seen of M$, its employees have the best tools to perform their jobs. Their customers ... well, that's another story.
  • Reply 18 of 49
    pbpb Posts: 4,255member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Mr. Me

    IIRC, there was no information that those Macs were headed for M$ developers of Mac software.



    Of course, all I am saying on that is pure and wild speculation. I am wondering however, if it is worth for Apple to develop its own emulator for Windows. Apple having 100% control on hardware-software integration, is in a position to offer a really competitive product and put the fire in MS feet to accelerate the development. I don't think MS would abandon VPC for Macintosh if Apple did this, since it would still be a profitable product. Unless Apple is able to give a good kick in emulator performance through lower level hardware access (exploiting for example the graphics hardware) and further improve the integration of the emulator with OS X. It is not simple to answer such a question.
  • Reply 19 of 49
    pbpb Posts: 4,255member
    Well, I just found this xlr8yourmac thread making clear that MS started (at least officially) testing VPC for G5 in August. If true, then indeed we have some problem with Apple's secrecy.



    If I remember correctly, there was once some kind of PC card(?) allowing to run Windows in hardware on a Macintosh. Does anyone remember what exactly it was and if re-introduction of a similar product makes sense today?
  • Reply 20 of 49
    aquaticaquatic Posts: 5,602member
    It would make a lot of sense for desktop users. I don't see why Orange stopped making PC cards. However there is still a market for VPC for people with laptops like me. I will be very pissed if Micro$$$$ cancels VPC.
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