‘Virtual PC’ still slow but more user friendly
Posted by Dennis Sellers 
Mar 30, 2005 at 12:02am
I sometimes get criticized when I give kudos to Microsoft’s Macintosh Business Unit, but the MacBU makes good products. However, I admit that I had more than a little trepidation when Microsoft bought Virtual PC from Connectix in 2003. I just couldn’t see the practicality (from the Big M’s viewpoint) in enhancing an application that lets you run Windows and Windows apps on a Mac. But they did enhance the product, and did a pretty good job of it.
I’ve been test-driving the version of Virtual PC that comes with Windows XP Professional. I’ve tested it on an iMac G5/1.8GHz system and a dual processor/2GHz Power Mac. The results have been slightly better than I anticipated. My son has even been running Windows games on the iMac with performance that he deems acceptable if nothing more – though there’s no 3D support so some games won’t run at all.
Before we get down to the nuts and bolts, let’s look at the changes in the first Microsoft-tweaked version of Virtual PC. A new assistant guides you through the installation process, something that might be a little daunting for those not familiar with Windows. Support has been added for the G5 processor and there are some (very slight) speed enhancements. For Mac OS X 10.3 (“Panther”) users, the update eliminates the need to download special printer drivers. You can just click “Print” and use the printer drivers in Mac OS X.
Virtual PC 7 is also user-friendlier. Now you can shut down your virtual PC (Virtual PC creates a virtual Windows machine inside your Mac) in open step, then relaunch it right where you left off. How? VPC 7 goes to “sleep” when you return to Mac OS X. You can now cut and paste between platforms because Virtual PC 7 and your Mac share the same clipboard. What’s more, you can share folders and other media between platforms. For example, you can save files in a folder on your Mac and retrieve them from within Windows.
Virtual PC 7 seems a little faster than previous versions, based on my gut reaction while using Windows versions of WordPerfect and Office – and watching my son experiment with games. Redraws and launching apps feel a bit swifter, but we’re talking an incremental change, not a major one. There’s no use buying Virtual PC for speed. Fast it isn’t, slow it is.
Virtual PC 7 is for Mac folks who want or need to run an occasional Windows app. It costs US$249 with Windows XP Pro and $129 without XP Pro. Upgrades from VPC 5 or 6 are $99. If you have to run lots of Windows-only apps (and I’m sorry for you), you’ll be better off with a PeeCee sitting alongside your Mac.
System requirements: Mac OS X 10.2.8 or higher (Mac OS X 10.3 required for use with a G5 processor); a Power Mac G4 or G5 running at 700MHz or faster; 512MB of RAM: and 3GB of free hard disk space.
Macsimum rating: 6 out of 10
Have a product you’d like us to review? Write me at dsellers@macsimumnews.com
loosecanon Says:
I am mostly concerned about printing options. I use Thursby’s DAVE on a Windows-based LAN and can mount volumes and access files w/o a problem. But my major issue is printing. I have to print to a copier on the LAN that uses a non-PS driver, but unfortunately the only Mac-OS driver available for this copier (a Lanier) is for PS printing. As a consequence, I can’t use the printer, which simply spews out pages and pages of code, gibberish and blank pages for a 50-word paragraph.
My question: with VPC am I condemned to using Mac drivers, or can VPC make use of Windows drivers if I download them? This printer issue threatens to knock the value out of my VPC purchase.
Posted on March 30, 2005
wdlee123 Says:
6 out of 10 good review. Although just an iBook user I’ve run VPC7 on my nephews dual 1.8 G5 Power Mac. Slow it is and proof positive Microsoft is not interested in working with Macs.
Posted on March 30, 2005
ken Says:
Ooooops - a bug has appeared.
I use a Keyspan USB to Serial cable to download data from a piece of medical equipment (an autopap) and while this worked well under VPC7 with XP it doesn’t under XP SP2. Got the wonderful message of a missing or corrupt file for \Windows\system32\config\system.
I believe the problem is in SP2 so I wold caution anyone using a USB/Serial cable.
Me - I’m going to install 2000.
Posted on April 05, 2005
George Hobart Says:
I work for an engineering research company that will only use Macs in the office. However, we do use PC’s in the laboratories to hook up to control equipment. The choices for engineering software are limited for the Mac so we use the VPC. I am very concerned about the automatic install of the printer drivers to the VPC to the Mac. Is there a way to set up the Windows drivers in the VPC 7?
Posted on January 13, 2006
Article Information
Comment on this Article Print this Article Email this Article Digg This
Contributor
Dennis Sellers
Dennis has been a newspaper editor/reporter (seven years) and teacher (seven years). He has over 4,000 magazine, newspaper and online articles to his credit. He has also covered the Mac and tech industries for over a decade for such online publications as MacCentral, MacMinute and now MacsimumNews.
ken Says:
I’m using VPC for two small apps that I need to have - and one requires Access installed.
There are two significant issues that MS failed to address with VPC7 and I hope they do so soon.
The first is the 512 RAM limit - which I thinks slows VPC down a lot. If I’m sitting on a Mac with a gig+ of RAM VPC should be able to take advantage of as much as possible - automatically. That would provide a speed bump that we need.
The other thing is the lack of support for the PCMCIA slot on the PBs. It’s there and it should not be too hard to have VPC capture it. I think this would be a priority for MS as it would target the business traveler.
Overall I have been happy with VPC. The one rule I have with it, however, is that it will not be connected to the internet. Keeping it off the internet is the only way to keep it as “safe” as a Mac.
Posted on March 30, 2005