being released for the Mac (to rave reviews), I finally installed it yesterday on our Mac Mini.The process was rather painless: it took all of 20 minutes to do the actual install (from opening the shrink wrap on the software box to hitting the "done" button). The Mac Mini itself acts as our AV center (holds approx 40GB of iTunes songs and acts as our primary DVD player) using the Toshiba 42HP66 as a 42" HD monitor. The Mini has access to the internet via wireless connection through an Apple AirPort Express.
So, Parallels, in "easy install" mode, claimed an 8GB partition (half the remaining free space on the hard drive) for itself, and I successfully installed WinXP in that partition. I'd used the WinXP install CD that came with our dearly departed Gateway PC, and I have 30 days to get a new authorization code to get full functionality. I'd forgotten just how confusing the Windows install could be and am glad I don't have to do that again anytime soon. Given my past difficulties getting Windows to properly install on a PC (or three), I was pleasantly surprised at the error-free install on the Mac!
Why do I bother to run Windows on our Mac? So that we could install Microsoft Money 2006 and manage our finances. I've done some research and it seems true that the available mac osx personal finance software available leaves a lot to be desired, especially if you've been spoiled enough to use either Quicken or Money on a PC. Having Money installed on our Mac Mini will allow both Mel and I to manage our finances (instead of having the files on one of our laptops). Of course, "access to" doesn't mean "regularly uses." But we'll see how well it goes.
Money was a breeze to install, and after 20 minutes of setup, all our accounts had been configured and the last 90 days of transactions had been successfully imported. No hiccups with the Parallels WinXP accessing the internet (which was a worry pre-install). All in all, very pleased with the experience.
Get your copy of Parallels software
on Amazon.
1 comment:
I want to get Parallels for my MacBook Pro. This would allow me to not have to carry both my MacBook and my Dell laptop when I need to do work at home.
I just need to get a larger hard drive. The 300Gb drive should be enough to install Windows and the development environment.
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