Running Windows on Your Mac

One question Macintosh Support London specialists hear often is “how can I run Windows on my Mac?” The answer is relatively simple, though it sounds somewhat complicated. If you want to run Windows on a Mac that is based on Intel, you need to create a virtual machine for the secondary OS. In computing terms, virtualisation means creating a seemingly real version of something like an Operating System, hardware platform or storage device. You Mac is a subjectively and objectively physical and real machine. A virtual copy of your Mac would seem very much like the real thing from a subjective point of view, but would actually be a set of files and programs running on your actual machine.

The IT industry is trending toward solutions that allow systems and environments to be more self-managing (autonomic computing) and that allow clients to pay for computer processing as they need it (utility computing). Virtualisation allows multiple Operating Systems to be run in parallel on one CPU, increasing the efficiency of administrative tasks and cutting down on overhead.

Hardware or platform virtualisation means creating a virtual machine that behaves like an actual machine with an OS. Software used on such a virtual system is separate from the core hardware resources and must be accessed through the virtual machine. So, your Mac that runs some version of Mac OS X can host a virtual machine with Windows installed on it. To accomplish this you will need virtualisation software.

As your Apple Mac Support  technician could tell you, Boot Camp, Parallels and Fusion are the three main applications for running Windows on a Mac. They’re all pretty user-friendly and effective, which can make the choice difficult. Ultimately, your choice depends on personal preference and what you want to use Windows for.

Boot Camp has the advantage of being nearly free, as it is supplied with OS X 10.5 (Leopard) and up. If you’re running 10.5 or higher, Boot Camp is probably already installed. Boot Camp’s other major advantage over the others is speed. It runs at the core hardware’s native speed, making it a good option for gamers and other users interested in performance. Boot Camp doesn’t run Mac OS X and Windows simultaneously. You have to restart your Mac to shift between the two.

Parallels is capable of running multiple OSes concurrently, so you can have OS X and Windows (or Linux) going at the same time and share data between them. Parallels is slower than Boot camp, but you won’t see much difference when running Microsoft Office and similar programs. For graphic-design or gaming applications, the lag will be noticeable.

VMware Fusion can also run multiple Operating Systems at the same time, sharing data between them. In addition, it supports multiple processors, which Parallels does not. This allows Fusion to be faster than Parallels, though still not as quick as Boot Camp. Fusion also offers an interface more familiar to Mac users and better graphics drivers. It doesn’t support so many USB devices as Parallels, though. 

What’s The Story on Gatekeeper?

Introduced with OS X Mountain Lion, Gatekeeper is generating a lot of questions for Apple Mac Support London. Here’s a quick overview of what Gatekeeper does and why it’s so helpful.

Gatekeeper is designed to prevent the installation of malware onto your Mac. It’s Apple support solution to the trouble Trojan apps are causing for users on most operating systems. iPhones and iPads are safe from Trojan apps because iOS limits installation to apps from the Apple App store. Since Mac users can download and install apps from all over the internet, not just the App Store, they are more at risk of accidentally installing malicious software. Once installed, most Trojan apps are very hard to get rid of and usually require the services of a Macintosh Support London specialist.

Apple has developed Gatekeeper for OS X 10.8 to help users protect themselves. Gatekeeper operates in the background, only alerting you when something is wrong. How often you receive these alerts depends on your setup.

In the Security and Privacy segment of System Preferences are three “allow applications downloaded from” settings.
• The Mac App Store choice will only allow installation of software from the App Store. This is the safest and most limiting choice.
• Choosing Mac Support Store and identified developers enables the installation of software from the App store and from the web, so long as the developer is registered with Apple. This is Mountain Lion’s default setting.
• Selecting Anywhere will let you install any software, from any source. This option grants the most freedom and no protection.

Apple urges developers who want to dispense software from outside of the App Store to register with Apple and get a certificate to use in identifying their apps. If someone tampers with the software code before you download it, this certificate will be broken and installation will be denied. At the same time, Apple can ban developers who dispense malware on purpose, thus preventing Mountain Lion from installing that developer’s apps. This does not guarantee that malicious developers can’t get an Apple certificate; it just means Mac users are protected if those developers are later found to be distributing Trojan apps.

Though the Anywhere option might seem good because it allows the most freedom, it is not necessarily the wisest choice. With this setting, it is very easy to install Trojan software by accident, potentially causing damage to your system and necessitating a call to Mac Support London specialists. The default Mac App Store and identified developers provides a happy medium between top security and no security at all.

If you want to download apps from developers without an Apple certificate, it is pretty simple to override Gatekeeper for specific apps. You can do this by right-clicking or control+clicking the app in question and choosing Open in the menu. A Gatekeeper warning will pop up, but you will have the choice to ignore it and install the app. After that, Gatekeeper won’t worry about that app. It’s an easy solution all ‘round.

Why Macs Win the Cost vs. Benefit Challenge

Choosing a computer is as much about cost versus benefit as anything else. While a new Mac can cost more to purchase than some Windows PCs, a PC that is nearly comparable with an iMac will probably cost just about as much, if not more than the iMac. In addition, Macs include more features and offer superior usability, graphics, sound and customer support. This article explores a few of the reasons Mac users are almost fanatically brand loyal.
Customer support is a big deal when it comes to electronics. You can go into any Apple store and get help with any Mac Support or Apple question. Going into a store isn’t even necessary, though. One call to Apple Mac Support London can get you answers for any Apple hardware or software dilemma. The same can hardly be said for PCs. Most Windows users find that the hardware manufacturer cannot offer support for preinstalled software, which generally includes Windows. Apple Support London technicians are also more accurate with their diagnoses than most PC technicians.
The computing world moves very fast; a computer that is state-of-the-art today might be nearly obsolete next year. Macs have more staying power than PCs and have been shown to have a 25 per cent longer lifespan than comparable PCs. Your new Mac will still be running fine and quickly when your neighbour is replacing his PC desktop or laptop.
If you use your computer for business, reliability is not only a matter of convenience, but also an absolute necessity for your productivity. Macs have been proven on many occasions to be more dependable and problem free than their PC counterparts. While your colleagues are placing calls to the IT department or waiting on hold for Macintosh support, you’ll be getting your work done quickly and efficiently.
Backwards compatibility has always been an issue for Windows users. Software that ran great with Vista or Windows 7 may not work well in Windows 8 or may require a hunt for new drivers to make it work. Macs have no such problems and have always provided exceptional software backwards compatibility. PC users, on the other hand, find themselves involved in an endless quest to keep their software up-to-date and working with the latest version of Windows.
Macs typically require less hardware to perform the same tasks as a Windows PC. Vista is a known memory hog, requiring that newer PCs come with more RAM simply to keep up with the demands of the software. The extra memory does not make the PC faster, as shown by a straight-across comparison of an iMac and a Gateway all-in-one PC. Even with the PC’s extra RAM, the iMac booted up, installed programs and launched applications faster than the PC in almost every instance.
In a head-to-head challenge with PCs, Macs come out the clear winner in performance, usability, customer support, and of course, aesthetics. Macs offer top quality at competitive prices and are more fun to look at and use than their PC counterparts.

Mac vs. PC - Multimedia Superiority

Macs are often praised for the quality of their graphics and multimedia advantages. As the first computer to feature a graphical interface, it is appropriate that Macintosh should continue to lead in the visual and multimedia fields. Ask any Macintosh Support London professional and they will probably tell you Macs outperform Windows PCs for the following reasons.

QuickTime is a built-in feature of the Mac OS. QuickTime allows you to play digital video files and movie DVDs. It includes authoring tools for creating closed-captions, inserting texts and dividing videos into chapters. For musical applications, QuickTime is fully MIDI compatible and includes many voices with QuickTime Musical Instruments. Quick Time video can also be used in Quick Time VR.

Apple Support users have been raving about the superior graphics abilities of Macs for years, and with good reason. With QuickDraw 3D, workstation-level 3D graphics are a standard feature of the Mac. QuickDraw 3D’s intuitive interface makes drawing, editing, shading, texture mapping and lighting of three-dimensional graphics easy. The program’s cross-platform file format also makes it easy to share 3D drawings with other computers.

Apple includes its virtual-reality software, QuickTime VR with every Mac. With QuickTime VR, users can make 360-degree panoramic movies with digital photos or CGI (computer generated images). The software allows users to pan left, right, up and down, move forward or backward and zoom in for 360-degree close-ups. Graphics accelerator cards or additional hardware are not needed to take advantage of QuickTime VR’s capabilities.

Photographers, developers and designers love the colour-matching abilities of ColorSync, Apple’s colour-matching software. This technology keeps colour display consistent between the input devices, monitor and output device. ColorSync is the unofficial industry standard due to the large number of third-party printers, scanners, monitors and apps that support it. Such Colour-matching software is not included in Windows.

Mac OS has been leading the industry in speech synthesis capabilities for years. With Apple’s “text-to-speech” technology, the Mac can read text aloud as it appears on the screen. The software has several reading voices to choose from. You can make you Mac responsive to voice commands by adding the PlainTalk speech recognition software and moving an alias of any item into the Speakable Items folder.

Graphics and multimedia formats are more standardised on the Mac than they are on PCs, making it easier to work on an image or video in multiple applications. It is fairly simple to cut and paste data from application into another on the Mac. This even works with three-dimensional objects and videos, thanks to QuickTime Media Layer. Windows users are much more likely to run into snags caused by a multiplicity of graphics and multimedia file formats.

From the start, Macs have outperformed their Windows PC counterparts in graphics and multimedia applications. This has definitely been a contributing factor in the continued popularity of Apple Mac computers with graphic and design professionals as well as ordinary users. If you have technical questions regarding the multimedia capabilities of a particular Mac, you should consult an Apple Support London expert.