‘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
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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.
