Google gives Windows the boot and opts for Mac and Linux

With Apples market share growth increasing you really dont see a lot of companies moving from Windows-based computers to Macs. Sure, you will find mixed environments, with Macs predominantly in the creative departments. But, you dont typically see a complete departure from Windows. Well, Google is making the move from Windows based computers to Macs and Linux based computers.
Google is tired of security issues with Windows, and this is what they are doing about it:

Were not doing any more Windows. It is a security effort, said one Google employee. Many people have been moved away from [Windows] PCs, mostly towards Mac OS, following the China hacking attacks, said another. New hires are now given the option of using Apples Mac computers or PCs running the Linux operating system. Linux is open source and we feel good about it, said one employee. Microsoft we dont feel so good about.

More companies need to look at what Google is doing, and really look at what the costs are for security prevention versus switching to a more secure platform. Yes, at first the costs will be high, because not only are you replacing the hardware, you will be replacing software as well. One way to look at software replacement costs is this way: when you have to upgrade your company from one version of Office to another, a large cost is incurred. Well, instead of upgrading from one version of Office to another, you take that cost and apply it to the Mac version of Office.

Inevitably you will run into some software that is only made for Windows and not for Macs or Linux. When this happens you, can always look into Crossover for Mac or Linux. These are emulators that allow you to run Windows based applications in OS X or Linux. The application acts as a translation layer between the Windows application and the non-Windows operating system.

I like how Google is giving their employees a choice of which computer they would like to use – a Mac or a Linux-based computer. This is definitely a bold move on Google’s part. They are taking the status quo and turning it on its side by doing this. My only question is when Googles Chrome Operating System is ready for prime time, will they be making the same kind of move, or will they still give their employees a choice? Only time will tell.

 

CodeWeavers Crossover Come To The Light Sale

Codeweavers offers downloads of its Crossover Games for $39.95 and Crossover Professional for $69.95 If you apply coupon code "ComeToTheLight" this will drop CrossOver Games to $29.96 And Crossover Professional to $52.46 That's 20% off and the lowest total price we've seen since a 1-day sale in October 2009. CrossOver enables you to install Windows applications and games on Intel-based Macs and Linux.

Update 01/27/2023 : The ComeToTheLight dealcode has expired, you can now use "TOM23" as your dealcode and save 20% off CrossOver for Mac and Linux.

The new and improved CodeWeavers CrossOver version 9 was recently released, So if you need a Windows Application or Games to run on Linux or Mac OS X this is your chance to get it at 20% off the normal selling price.

CrossOver 9.0 contains many fixes to existing applications, and just generally makes the product better. As of this writing CrossOver has been merged with Wine 1.1.34 and contains many improvements for Internet Explorer, Microsoft Office, Quicken, PhotoShop and many other supported and none supported applications.

Second, the folks at CodeWeavers have re-written the entire user interface from scratch, and have created what they feel is a more intuitive installation process and user experience. The new user interface is written in GTK and the look and feel is much more intuitive then the older Tcl/TK UI that was used before this upcoming release.

Third, and perhaps most important, the CrossOver installer will now be directly linked to their online Compatibility database and allow people to install unsupported software via (recipes) contained on the Compatibility Center.

Keep in mind this sale is for a limited time only, and may be discontinued at any time.

 

Moving from Windows 7 to Mac OS Snow Leopard

I was in the market for a new Laptop, given that mine is at least 3 years old and starting to show its age with non-working USB ports, one blown power supply, and failing batteries. My requirements are slightly above the average:
Any laptop must be able to run the following at the same time within a hosted virtualization solution such as VMware Workstation or Fusion.

• VMware vSphere ESX 4
• VMware vSphere ESX 4i
• VMware vCenter Server on Windows 2008
• Virtual Storage Appliance (I use OpenFiler at the moment)
• Firewall
• Development Environment for my security script

Now I have all this running on my older Duo Core laptop within 8GBs of memory and multiple USB disks and let me tell you, it runs SLOWLY but it will run. I was in the market for something much faster and perhaps with more memory.
So I was in essence looking at a 16GB i7 laptop, but I settled for an 8GB i7 laptop with a 512GB SSD that “Just Works.” I was all set to plunk down cash on a Windows 7 based laptop when I went on the Gestalt IT Tech Field Day and found out that my camera would not stream video and required me to reboot several times in the midst of the briefings. This was just too many reboots during a critical time. I do not believe that ‘fixing’ a problem should require a reboot. A reboot just covers up the problems. My First attempt at a fix was to purchase a Microsoft HD Life Camera, but the video quality was worse than my Logitech HD camera all in all not very satisfactory.
I really agonized over this decision, I had to make sure my applications were all available on the Mac. Most if not all were, and after talking to my friend who was a long-time Mac owner, I switched back to a Mac (actually my first every computer purchase was a Mac IIsi followed soon by the MacBook Duo and up until last year I owned a Mac G4). I knew my VMs would run within 8GBs as they already did, so extra memory was not a huge issue. The big issue was to invest in SSD over standard drives. Now that was a great decision. So soon I was the proud owner of a 15″ MackBook Pro i7 with 8GBs of RAM and a 512GB SSD.
Now what did I install on this MacBook Pro?
Paid Applications:

• VMware Fusion 3.0 which now runs in Unity mode my two applications I already owned for Microsoft Windows and use quite often: Visio 2007 and QuickBooks 2010.
• Codeweavers CrossOver Office (in which I could run Visio 2007 but choose not to do so). I do run IE6 within CrossOver office however, only way to talk to my very old Tape Library.
• Codeweavers CrossOver Games (still need to install those games but that should not be difficult seeing as I have already done this for Linux.)
• Microsoft Office Mac (I already owned a copy)
• Final Cut Express (Pre-installed)
• Belkin F5L009 – (USB over Ethernet) to access my Printer
• Livescribe Desktop – I already owned the Pulse Smart Pen
• FlipShare – I need access to my Flip Videos
• Little Snitch – An application based port filtering firewall as I really wanted to know what was going on. Thanks to Scott Lowe for pointing me to this little gem.
• Trillian – I own an professional account on this service for all my IM Needs
• Emailchemy – I had to switch my mail from Outlook to my Mac mail application, first I tried Entourage but that was a bust so I now use the Mac Mail.app even with its quirks
• Transmit – So I can upload those book files easier (I have not paid for this yet, I may switch to Cyberduck, but I still need to test with the file server.)

Now for the Free Applications

• Skype – gotta keep in touch. I actually can use the Windows Beta with multiple video streams inside Fusion but it has a few issues with echos
• Remote Desktop Connection – Still the best way to reach Windows boxes necessary for VMware management
• FireFox – I prefer this to Safari and Chrome actually, but use all to test websites.
• SnagIt Beta – I use SnagIt on Windows and wish to continue to use SnagIt on Mac to capture images. It is what I know and has a powerful image editor.
• Tweetie – for all those tweets. I tried twhirl but my friend said it drains battery being an Air App
• DropBox – For File sharing
• Chicken of the VNC – So that I can access all those Linux desktops not using XRDP
• Tunnelblick – For my OpenVPN connection
• Xcode and X11 – I do develop code so why not!
• Adobe Air – while it does drain battery, I have need for this for an upcoming product from a friend of mine for whom I do some beta work
• Windows Media Components for QuickTime – Gotta view those WMVs everyone posts.

Now for the Extras as in Hardware

• Speck Clear Hard Case (While at EMC World I noticed quite a few of these on MacBooks and I liked the look and feel of the case. The MBP needs a little extra protection).
• 85w MagSafe Power Supply (I picked up a second one so I could have one for travel.)
• USB to PS/2 connector (My laptop hooks to my PS/2 KVMs and the second one I bought works on Linux but not the MBP. The one I bought YEARS ago for the Mac G4 works great with the MBP.)
• Griffen iMic (I have a very good wand Mic that is best for using Skype, etc. as it is unidirectional and it is not amplified so need a tool that would do that for me.)

There you go. Now I have a laptop that “Just Works”, boots quickly, and plays all my music with no major issues.

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Macworld 2010 - CrossOver Mac

Jack Phinney from CodeWeavers demonstrates CrossOver Mac, which allows Mac users to run Windows apps (such as Internet Explorer or Microsoft Outlook) without having to install Windows.

Review Codeweavers Crossover Mac 9.0

When you absolutely must run a Windows application on your Mac, you've got three options. Boot Camp will get you up and running with a proper full Windows installation, supplying all the raw power your hardware can muster and giving your programs 100% compatibility, at least in theory. This is Windows were talking about, after all.
Next comes virtualisation – using applications such as Parallels Desktop and VMWare Fusion – which enables you to run your Windows installation on top of OS X, sacrificing a little grunt for the convenience of running everything in one bordered desktop.

And then theres Crossover. Its basically a Mac port of Linuxs Wine, a compatibility layer for Windows apps; its so close, in fact, that it maintains Wine's terminology, employing Bottles to contain virtual system settings and instructions pertaining to your individual installed apps.
Unlike the other two options, Crossover doesnt need a full copy of Windows or the expensive licence that goes with it. It employs intricate emulators of all of Windows key functions to run apps completely independently of Microsofts operating system.
Still a way to go

 
Crossover has had its detractors over the years, and for good reason; here we are at version 9, and its only just catching up with some of the more major Windows applications on the market.
Theres a huge list of programs – 700 or so – that CodeWeavers rates as Gold, and even this designation merely signifies that the application mostly runs as expected. This number does cover many of the applications that make it most useful.

Internet Explorer is there, for instance, which makes testing web designs with the worlds most popular browser relatively straightforward. Legacy versions of Media Player are also supported, which is a cheeky way of playing WMV video.
 

Windows Media Player works well enough in Crossover.

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