Any draft software for MACS?

[pate]

I think so. I would say the majority of my users on Macs, do it on Fusion. And I think it runs it pretty well, because I never get any e-mails for user that can run it on a PC but not with Fusion on a Mac. But I think there are others on this htread that would have more insight.

-Merv

[NICK@HQ]

So the short answer is if I want to run ROTOLAB (which I love) any time soon, I need to bite the bullet on software to run windows on the mac. Any suggestion on a cheap way to do this? (while I appreciate the debate between MAC & PC owners, i have a mac now which I love except on stuff like this AND good financial software).

DoubleJ had the good advice that you can pick up a legit copy of Windows from EBay or the like. I know of no legitimate way around that expense, sadly. After that, Boot Camp on the Mac is free. So the only expense for running Windows on the Mac is Windows if you want to run Boot Camp. The advantage that Fusion and Parallels offer is the ability to run Mac and Windows windows simultaneously and to share information back and forth easily. Boot Camp is an either/or option: you either are running the OS X side or you are running the Windows side, but not simultaneously. It's free, but limited that way. If that doesn't matter to you, the instructions here will help get you started.

[Bill Macey]

I think so. I would say the majority of my users on Macs, do it on Fusion. And I think it runs it pretty well, because I never get any e-mails for user that can run it on a PC but not with Fusion on a Mac. But I think there are others on this htread that would have more insight.

-Merv

I run it on two computers: one computer using Parallels on a mac and the second a PC (XP). No problems either way.

[Stat Boy]

Macs have steadily been increasing market share since the introduction and massive popularity of the iPod and iPhone. I converted from PCs a few years ago and it's the best decision I've ever made. My father, who was a diehard PC fan and even outfitted his office with Dell computers, has become a recent Mac convert.

Will Mac grab the market share of PC? No. But at least in the crowd I travel in, one by one, everyone's been going Mac. It's just easier and works better than PCs. It's a product that truly enhances your life and your work. My life has been significantly more headache free and joyful since I made the switch. Most people you talk to (like me) sound like they've found religion once they go Mac. And, in a way, they sort of have. Every time I have to work on a PC I feel my skin crawl now. The difference is that dramatic.

But back to the Rotolab question...

It works fine on Macs with any of these programs, as well as Virtual PC (if you have an older Mac). I will caution you thought that on Virtual PC, I find the program crashes (or takes numerous tries to open) with a lot of regularity. It's never failed me in a draft (thank God), but it's given me quite a number of scares right before the draft begins.

Bottom line, I love Macs and I love Rotolab. I'd find a way to make it work, since it's the best of both worlds.

[Tom_T]

There's another software package out there called Diamond Draft, but it doesn't support Macs, either.

There's certainly an opportunity for somebody out there to make a little money!

[usualsuspects]

There was a product called Fantasy Edge several years ago that ran on Macs. It was based on FileMaker Pro architecture. It's still on my PowerMac at my folks house, I could possibly copy it to a disc next time I visit them (but, 450 mile trip). The company, run by a friend of mine, didn't sell many and went belly up after a couple years, last thing they sold off was their rights to the name.

If there are a bunch of guys yearning for a Mac specific application, I could approach him about updating it.

[makelele]

On a personal level, I still haven't found one thing the Mac can do that I can't do on Windows.

-Merv

Can you run OS X on a Windows machine?

[pate]

Well, you might as well say the Mac O/S can't wash cars. Running an O/S, in itself, is not something you "need" to run other than allowing you to run the actual software you need to use. But for the nit-pickers out there, let me re-phrase: "On a personal level, I still haven't found one computing task I need to accomplish on the Mac that I can't do on Windows."

-Merv

[makelele]

Well, you might as well say the Mac O/S can't wash cars. Running an O/S, in itself, is not something you "need" to run other than allowing you to run the actual software you need to use. But for the nit-pickers out there, let me re-phrase: "On a personal level, I still haven't found one computing task I need to accomplish on the Mac that I can't do on Windows."

-Merv

The point that you missed is that running two OSs is a "computing task" that many people find very useful, and hardly equivalent to washing cars.

[pate]

The point that you missed is that running two OSs is a "computing task" that many people find very useful, and hardly equivalent to washing cars.

In the Mac world I am sure there are. There is a lot of quality Windows software that users would to love to be able to run that just isn’t available on the Mac. If not, programs like Boot Camp, Fusion, Parallels, Virtual PC, etc.... wouldn't keep popping up. The reserve side of that argument is if there were a lot of software programs that were on the Mac that weren't on available for Windows, you'd see a lot of Mac emulator software for the PC. But you don't, and for good reason, there is no need or market. And that is my argument about washing cars, the Mac needs to be able to wash cars about as much as I need to run Mac software. There are no offerings that I can't find a Windows equivalent. I'm sure there are some out there and I am sure there are some that it can do better than a Windows offering. But from my own personal experience as a programmer for 25 years, I'm not sitting here with an O/S that doesn't have an offering for anything I have needed to do my job. And from the market share numbers, I don't think I'm alone.

-Merv

[NICK@HQ]

you'd see a lot of Mac emulator software for the PC. But you don't, and for good reason, there is no need or market.

There is a market for Mac software on PCs, but there is no need for emulators. All you have to do is run OS X itself on the PC and you've got it. You want to juggle OSes on the PC? I'm sure Virtual PC could handle it. The demand is very much there, but the problem is Apple does not allow it (they are a hardware company, after all). Lots of people wish they would allow it. Andy Ihnatko just wrote a column for the Chicago Sun Times where he described installing OS X on a Dell Mini 9. It's not official. You have to do some shady things to get this done, but the end result is a Mini laptop that runs all his Mac software and is very easy to carry.

Macs and PCs run on identical hardware nowadays. The differentiating factor is now software only. A PC can run OS X, but Apple does not allow it (no hardware sales for them). A Mac can run Windows, and Microsoft does allow it with restrictions (extra software sales for them). We are reaching the point of mix-and-match whatever you want, but first we need to convince the companies to let up their death grip on their products. In time it will happen.

And it is true that there is probably nothing a Mac can do that a PC cannot do. It's merely a question of which way makes the software easier to use and more enjoyable in the process. Mac people tend to be ex-PC people. The reverse is much rarer. We know the difference having spent years with both.

I do think there could be a market in the short term for a RotoLab type of product for the Mac, but right now it doesn't exist. The recommendation is still to run RotoLab under emulation. It's a great product.

[pate]

I certainly didn't mean to get in to another Mac versus the PC discussion, swamped this time of the year. My statement was based my own personal usage and what works for me. To quote Stat Boy my skin crawls when I get on a the Mac, Windows XP is far cleaner and easy to work on, in my opinion. Yeah, the Mac looks sexier on the outside and in the O/S, but when you work on the things for a living, who cares? Give me great tools, a good market and get out of my way. I am sure it is a lot of things (price point, software availability, ubiquity, more outlets, etc...) that has led to the overwhelming success of Windows, but that is the market reality in front of us. It's just very hard as a developer to build something for one market with less than 10% of the share with another market right next to it with an 85% share. Well, back to the code and a Fusion support problem. ;-)

-Merv