Virtual PC 7.0 delayed into October
Microsoft has delayed the release of Virtual PC 7.0 until October at the earliest, citing a rolling Windows XP SP2 time-line that is now directly affecting the product launch. In an e-mail to publications today, Microsoft said:
"We wanted to touch base regarding the timing of Virtual PC for Mac Version 7. As you may know, Virtual PC 7 ships with Windows XP both in a box by itself as well as in the Office 2004 for Mac Professional Edition. We are waiting for the release of Windows XP SP2 in order to offer the most recent, most secure version of Windows XP to our Virtual PC for Mac customers. Windows XP SP2 release has moved to August, which has impacted our schedule. Based on this, we anticipate that Virtual PC 7 with Win XP Professional and Home will release to manufacturing in September and be on store shelves by early October. Virtual PC 7 with Windows 2000 and the Standalone and Upgrade versions will be available a few months after this debut. Should the Windows XP SP2 release date change the Virtual PC 7 availability date will change accordingly".
Virtual PC 7.0 was first announced in January of 2004, and was scheduled to ship by the Spring. However, in May, word leaked that Virtual PC 7.0 remained unstable, despite its impressive feature set.
"We wanted to touch base regarding the timing of Virtual PC for Mac Version 7. As you may know, Virtual PC 7 ships with Windows XP both in a box by itself as well as in the Office 2004 for Mac Professional Edition. We are waiting for the release of Windows XP SP2 in order to offer the most recent, most secure version of Windows XP to our Virtual PC for Mac customers. Windows XP SP2 release has moved to August, which has impacted our schedule. Based on this, we anticipate that Virtual PC 7 with Win XP Professional and Home will release to manufacturing in September and be on store shelves by early October. Virtual PC 7 with Windows 2000 and the Standalone and Upgrade versions will be available a few months after this debut. Should the Windows XP SP2 release date change the Virtual PC 7 availability date will change accordingly".
Virtual PC 7.0 was first announced in January of 2004, and was scheduled to ship by the Spring. However, in May, word leaked that Virtual PC 7.0 remained unstable, despite its impressive feature set.
Comments
Originally posted by Flippant Funbags
"effecting"
Who cares about Kasper's grammar. What I want to know is how Microfuck can do this to everyone...especially G5 owners. I hope Apple buys Adobe one day and kills the PC port but pretends like there's an update on the way..."when 10.6 is released, we promise...*whisper* hehe, that'll shut them up." HAHAHAHAHAH!
"Microsoft's Statment" =in our testing we have found that V.P.C. when running on the G5 is still outperforming X86 machines, therefore we need more time to Hinder the performance and hence it will not be released until October.
Originally posted by Playmaker
I don't know who said it here first but I'll repeat it...
"Microsoft's Statment" =in our testing we have found that V.P.C. when running on the G5 is still outperforming X86 machines, therefore we need more time to Hinder the performance and hence it will not be released until October.
Yeah...I think that was me.
http://forums.appleinsider.com/showt...ht=kim+virtual
Performance of VPC does have to improve and I think that MBU has put a lot of thought into it - just like they have for the Office versions they have developed. The key area for improvement in the G4 area is in memory allocation. There is a limit as to how much you can assign in terms of specifying MB - even when you have 1+GB. VPC really needs to be able to consume as much as can be made available (Maximize Memory option), returning it when the user switches to other programs.
Since I use a PB it would also be very nice if VPC could capture the card slot that Apple so generously included. That feature should not be that difficult to include.
In terms of the delay - i can live with it. Far more important that MS gets out SP2 for XP *before* finalizing VPC. It will add stability and avoid having to install SP2 later. When it is released I will be one of the first to order as it will let me get rid of the Dull that has problems working half a day without a serious error.
PS. XP on a Mac is more stable than on a PC. Go figure.
Originally posted by kenaustus
PS. XP on a Mac is more stable than on a PC. Go figure.
That's one aspect of emulation that I like. Since the emulator is emulating a set of hardware, the emulation can be tweaked to remove most if not all instability...or in MS' case, the software (SP2) could be tweaked to be incredibly stable in VPC since MS only has to work with one set of emulated hardware.
With all the PC hardware out there, it's no wonder Windows can be unstable. Everyone's got a different hardware set. Macs are more stable not only because Mac OS X is stable but also the fact that Apple keeps tight reigns on the hardware set. Apple can control both variables.
The same can be said about PC emulation when we're talking about VPC now that MS has gotten ahold of it. MS can easily control both (emulated) hardware and software now.
Crashes under VPC should be nonexistent once VPC7 hits the streets.
?Virtual PC 7 with Windows 2000 and the Standalone and Upgrade versions will be available a few months after this debut.?
So, those of us who have already purchased Office 2004 will have to wait months to purchase the standalone version? Another Microshaft!
Originally posted by Flippant Funbags
"effecting"
No.
I havn't used VPC since it was on the old G4 Powermacs, and it was *painfully* slow to boot up (I was in an apple centre at the time) so I didn't even get time to check it out.
I was wondering what speculation of the speed of VPC7 over previous versions when run on the Dual (and hopefully single *cough* iMac *cough*) G5's and as opposed to a stock standard 1.5 - 2Ghz-ish clone PC running the full blown version of XP. I think it could be an interesting concept seeing apple acknoledge VPC a little more with 'switchers' in easing their fears of perhaps loosing windows all together (small steps, small steps...)
Anyway, enough rambling,
LukeyD
and where is the DOJ, what about the whole forced bundleing and integration thing, what about anti-competetive practices against. oh say red hat, Debien, Mandrakesoft, and all other OS makers on the x86 platform...
Originally posted by Flippant Funbags
"effecting"
Wrong. Affecting is correct here. This will affect the delivery date. The effect on MS is incalculable.
My other pet peeve is ensure versus insure.
You insure a car against theft. You ensure that something gets done.
(OK, back to the topic...)
Originally posted by yuba
Thanks, detayls. It bugs me to no end to see the "affect/effect" and "insure/ensure" (mis)use by otherwise intelligent and well-educated people.
(OK, back to the topic...)
<lapse back off topic> The original article had "effecting". It was tacitly corrected after those posts above were made.</lapse back off topic>
Originally posted by Tidris
Why pay more for a PC simulation when the real thing is much faster and costs less?
Space?
but what applications are worth it, having a pc-emulator on your Mac? Word etc is allready on Native Mac Os.
Also keeping in mind the biggest reasons ppl buy a Mac, i can't see a killer application worth using V-PC
It's for all the stupid little PC programs that you need to access weird hardware, outdated file formats or that your company requires you to use.