Balling
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Registered: 7th Apr 04
Location: Denmark
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quote:
Originally posted by ed
http://uk.transcend-info.com/apple/jetdrive/
£250 for 480 GB of storage. Ouch!
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evilrob
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Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
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I use Parallels Desktop 10 to virtualise Windows 8 and run the proper windows version of Office 2013 because Office for Mac is shite.
It is not cheap and is a little bit of work to set it all up, but gives you the best of both worlds in my opinion.
Video I did last year demonstrating how easy it is to fire up an instance of Windows and some Office applications from within OS X:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxQ2MleRLnU
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dan_m1les
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Registered: 8th May 06
Location: Burnham, Buckinghamshire
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£64.99 for the license by the looks of it?
Does it come with word etc already on it?
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by dan_m1les
£64.99 for the license by the looks of it?
Does it come with word etc already on it?
For Office 2011 (Mac)? Where's that from? Seems cheap though.
Edit - Rob's answered that.
[Edited on 31-10-2014 by Dom]
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evilrob
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Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by dan_m1les
£64.99 for the license by the looks of it?
Does it come with word etc already on it?
No. That's £64.99 just for the Parallels Desktop software which enables you to run Windows on a Mac without rebooting into it natively.
You still need to buy Windows and Office on top of that.
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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quote:
Originally posted by evilrob
That's £64.99 just for the Parallels Desktop software ....
Any reason to use Parallels over Virtualbox (does seamless virtualisation as well) which is free?
Even though there are plenty of annoyances with Office 2011, it still seems a bit of a faff to virtualise another OS and Office just because of that 
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evilrob
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Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by Dom
Any reason to use Parallels over Virtualbox (does seamless virtualisation as well) which is free?
Performance - it's absolutely the best virtualised 'Windows on a Mac' experience bar none; I've been using Parallels since v1 came out in 2006, flirting with VMWare Fusion and Virtualbox along the way.
Virtualbox is a distant third to Parallels or VMWare Fusion. But it is free - if you only need to write a letter now and again, you'd probably be alright running Office on it. That said, if you only need to do the odd letter or basic spreadsheet, you might as well use the free web based Office Online suite:
https://office.live.com/start/default.aspx
quote:
Originally posted by Dom
Even though there are plenty of annoyances with Office 2011, it still seems a bit of a faff to virtualise another OS and Office just because of that
Have you ever actually tried to use Office 2011 for real paid work with deadlines, Dom? It's a fucking piece of shit.
I also need Visio and Access, and I have a load of macro-laden Excel models with forms and stuff that don't work properly in 2011.
[Edited on 31-10-2014 by evilrob]
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AlunJ
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Registered: 3rd Apr 07
Location: Newport
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Office for Mac is available from the friendly download store, tbh though I use open office and get by just fine.
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by evilrob
quote:
Originally posted by Dom
Even though there are plenty of annoyances with Office 2011, it still seems a bit of a faff to virtualise another OS and Office just because of that
Have you ever actually tried to use Office 2011 for real paid work with deadlines, Dom? It's a fucking piece of shit.
Yes Rob, my daily job is supporting Mac clients using Office 2011 hence the "even though there are plenty of annoyances with Office 2011" comment
However, i've yet come across anything that is a real show stopper although i understand if you need Access, Visio or macro support but then i'd question why the hell you're using OSX and not Windows 
[Edited on 03-11-2014 by Dom]
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evilrob
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Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
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quote:
Originally posted by Dom
Yes Rob, my daily job is supporting Mac clients using Office 2011 hence the "even though there are plenty of annoyances with Office 2011" comment
Oh, I see - you're fully aware of what a joke it is but can't criticise it too much cos it, in part, helps to keep you employed.
quote:
Originally posted by Dom
However, i've yet come across anything that is a real show stopper although i understand if you need Access, Visio or macro support but then i'd question why the hell you're using OSX and not Windows
I have a number of OS X applications I use on a daily basis for which I have not yet found a decent Windows alternative, otherwise I'd use my Surface Pro full time - OmniFocus* (this application pretty much runs my life), Alfred**, ScreenFlow***, TextExpander****, and 1Password***** for example - there are some things I find better in OS X and pretty much only Office I find better in Windows (but unfortunately Office is kind of ubiquitous in the business world so I have to have it); virtualising Windows at near-native speeds under OS X gives me the best of everything.
Some applications run perfectly on both, with feature parity but I just prefer the OS X version - Photoshop CC, Sublime Text and Wunderlist are three examples.
I understand why you and John are so against encouraging people to virtualise Windows because you spend all day dealing with retards; a user with access to two operating systems is going to have twice the opportunity to do spasticky things - I get that.
For anyone who actually understands how to use a computer, though, it's wonderful being able to drop into full Windows from within OS X at the drop of a hat.
That said, wherever possible I try to use the Surface Pro because it's so fucking cool and you don't get written off as just another Apple wanker who doesn't know any better.
* I use 2Day on Windows; it does the job, OmniFocus is way more powerful though - haven't found anything that comes close on Windows
** I use AutoHotKey on Windows but it's not as elegant as Alfred with Powerpack
*** I use Camtasia on Windows; not as good as Screenflow by a long shot
**** I use the alternative Breevy on Windows and sync my snippets via Dropbox; it's not as good as TextExpander though
***** There is a Windows version of 1Password which I use; but again, it's not as good as the OS X version
[Edited on 03-11-2014 by evilrob]
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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quote:
Originally posted by evilrob
Oh, I see - you're fully aware of what a joke it is but can't criticise it too much cos it, in part, helps to keep you employed.
Don't get me wrong, 2011 is a bit headache all round but i'm quite lucky in that i genuinely don't see too many issues (touch wood ) with the entire suite, rather it's just Outlook 2011 and its utter wank implementation of handling Exchange accounts and data (still vastly superior to Mac Mail though!) that makes me want to plant my fist through the screen and cry.
Hopefully the next version of Mac Office will be closer to the Windows variant but then again, i doubt Microsoft really want to give Mac users the same experience as they're in the OS business as well.
quote:
Originally posted by evilrob
I understand why you and John are so against encouraging people to virtualise Windows...
You're just asking for trouble getting a PEBCAK to deal with two OS's at the same time.
But tbf, i'm against the use of Mac's/OSX in businesses* in general unless there is a real/specific reason for needing one, ie - needing to use OSX only software like Final Cut, Logic etc or iOS dev, as it tends to bring a world of headaches especially using them in dominantly Microsoft environments.
* From my experience over the last few years, businesses/clients seem to only buy them because 'they look nice' 
Anyway, we're rail roading this thread massively
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evilrob
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Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
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quote:
Originally posted by Dom
You're just asking for trouble getting a PEBCAK to deal with two OS's at the same time.
I can appreciate that entirely.
quote:
Originally posted by Dom
But tbf, i'm against the use of Mac's/OSX in businesses* in general unless there is a real/specific reason for needing one, ie - needing to use OSX only software like Final Cut, Logic etc or iOS dev, as it tends to bring a world of headaches especially using them in dominantly Microsoft environments.
* From my experience over the last few years, businesses/clients seem to only buy them because 'they look nice'
I agree. I see it all the time too, particularly with it being the 'in' thing to have a BYOD policy these days. People sat in front of their shiny new Macbook Pro on the phone to IT because they can't use any web app that requires an ActiveX plugin (Siebel, SAP etc.)
That said, I work in a consultative capacity so I'm my own IT support; meaning I can use whatever the fuck I like, and I do - having found the perfect combination of software, spanning two OSes, that enables me to work faster and more efficiently than the next guy.
I'm a fan of both platforms; I've invested time in evaluating the best software each has to offer and that's how I've ended up virtualising Windows on a Mac (albeit behind closed doors).
I am aware it is somewhat cutting off my nose to spite my face in terms of efficiency to deliberately bust out the Surface Pro precisely to avoid being tarred with the "oh, you have a Mac - do you even know why you bought that?" brush, because anything I can do on the Surface Pro (bar the touchscreen / pen stuff) I can do on my Mac with virtualised Windows, with a longer battery life and faster processor (Core i7 Mac vs. Core i5 Surface Pro) to boot.
It's just not worth the derision you get pulling a Macbook out of your bag in a client meeting. A Surface Pro says, "I do actually know what I'm doing" way more than a Macbook! People are still excited to see a Surface Pro - "WTF is that? Looks awesome!"; with a Macbook at best you'll get a "here we go" roll of the eyes.
quote:
Originally posted by Dom
Anyway, we're rail roading this thread massively
Oops.. oh yeah, sorry OP! 
[Edited on 03-11-2014 by evilrob]
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dan_m1les
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Registered: 8th May 06
Location: Burnham, Buckinghamshire
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Lol don't worry, I bought a MacBook air 13" this morning, 6 months old for £550 which I didn't think was too bad!
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evilrob
Premium Member
Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
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quote:
Originally posted by dan_m1les
Lol don't worry, I bought a MacBook air 13" this morning, 6 months old for £550 which I didn't think was too bad!
Ruddy bargain! 
Just don't take it to work.
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dan_m1les
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Registered: 8th May 06
Location: Burnham, Buckinghamshire
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Good old Monday morning ebay!
Got to wait for it to turn up now however! 'Mint' and my version of mint might turn out to be slightly different!
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Rob_Quads
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Registered: 29th Mar 01
Location: southampton
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Thats a bloody good price. I was looking on eBay the other day and my 2011 model goes for around 450 normally.
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