Re: Help reqd for PC legacy software to Mac
From: John McGhie (john_at_mcghie.name)
Date: 02/06/05
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Date: Sun, 06 Feb 2005 20:45:10 +1100
Hi Craig:
What you suggest is perfectly do-able, however it would not be my preferred
approach.
I am assuming you are using this POS application for some kind of retail
activity? Does it *have* to be "portable"? The reason I ask is that for
cost/performance reasons by far your cheapest solution is a Wintel desktop
PC and Windows XP. If this were to be an entirely logical ³business²
decision, you can get a Wintel PC for about the same price as just the
memory you need to make VPC go well on a cheap Apple.
On the other hand, if you really would prefer to run an Apple but you just
have to find a way to run that software, then VPC and a desktop Mac is a
fine alternative. Of course it will be slightly more expensive, but what
the hey? :-) Running VPC on a laptop requires great patience: but if you
have plenty well I run VPC on an iBook. Yes, it is slow: but if that is a
problem to me I have a PC workstation in the office for the big jobs.
{Ah hem} ³The Office² is the other corner of this room: it is equipped with
a dual 3.6 GHz Pentium Zeon with 4GB of memory. Thatıs the serious Wintel
box I keep around for earning a living. ³The Sofa² in ³this² corner of the
room is where I do everything else, with an iBook on my lap :-)
The Mac Mini will produce about the same VPC performance as the iBook I am
running. Itıs slow, but it is functional. You would need to expand the
memory to 1GB to get useable results in VPC.
For cheap PCs, have a look here:
http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/outrageous_desktops?c
=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd
The Dimension 3000 will set you back $360.00 a hundred dollars more if you
want a flat panel screen. Thatıs less than you will pay for the memory you
would need to make a Mac Mini run VPC. If you would like small and
beautiful, check these guys out: http://sys.us.shuttle.com/Models.aspx I
assume you donıt need information on buying Macs :-)
Your choice of operating system is next.
That depends on what hardware you are running on. If you are going to run
in VPC, I would certainly stick with Windows 98SE. Itıs going to be two or
three times faster (up to ten times faster...) and you already own a copy.
Windows 98 was designed for the level of hardware VPC provides: it is fast
and efficient on a slow processor with low memory. If you install Windows
98SE on your Virtual PC, donıt forget to apply ALL the service packs! To do
this, you will need to run Windows Update MULTIPLE times, because each time,
it will offer you only the updates compatible with your current state. Keep
at it until it offers you nothing more.
If you are running on WinTel hardware, I would choose Windows XP. The
³Home² version may be all you need, and itıs cheaper than the ³Pro² version.
However, if you want to connect to an office network, you will need the Pro
version.
Keeping Windows 98 safe and secure on the Internet is a serious challenge:
the pre-Windows XP operating systems are not ³hardened² against Internet
Nasties like XP is. Windows XP can be set to emulate any previous flavour
of Windows, or any flavour of DOS, so you will be able to run your POS
software in Windows XP. You may not even need ³compatibility mode²: most
well-designed Windows 98 programs will run without change in Windows XP.
You will not need Virtual PC 2004: thatıs designed to enable you to run
multiple operating systems on a WinTel box. You don't want to do that, you
only want to run one.
Now, transferring your POS application may be a challenge. If itıs a ³Win
16² application, thereıs no problem at all. Copy the folder it is in to the
new PC or virtual PC, double-click the Icon and away it will go. If itıs a
Win32 application, it may be just as simple. Thereıs only one way to find
out: try it. However, if they have added copy protection to the program, it
wonıt run when you put it on the new machine until you ³officially move² it.
To do this, I would use Alohabob PC Relocator:
http://www.alohabob.com/products/pc_relocator/index.asp
The standard version costs $30.00. The Pro version offers more control, but
I wouldnıt bother: simply allow the standard version to transfer
³everything² and then uninstall the programs you donıt want :-)
I strongly recommend that you download the trial version and try the
relocation. If it doesnıt work, then you don't have to pay for Relocator
:-) The reason I say this, is that some programs simply ³wonıt² relocate,
because they have copy-protection mechanisms that ensures that they will run
only on the machine they were licensed on.
Hope this helps
On 4/2/05 12:46 AM, in article OuS7MbfCFHA.3436@TK2MSFTNGP12.phx.gbl, "Craig
Dalgleish" <craigdalgleish@hotmail.com> wrote:
> I'm an apple fan since way back (dating from Power PC Performa ) but Im now
> faced with a dilemma. I have a WIN 98SE O/S Point of sale (POS ) laptop type
> machine which has hardware stability problems but has legacy software in it
> which I would dearly love to keep with all corresponding existing data. I
> don't have the original discs or CD for this POS software, and was hoping to
> do one of following or better option if can be suggested.
>
> 1. Remove HD from existing laptop and mount in external / internal caddy &
> connect to new Mac. Run Virtual PC for Mac, load WIN 98SE ....fingers
> crossed this will run POS application software. I think this may also
> require Virtual PC for Mac 6.1 as V7 wont run WIN 98SE ???
>
> 2.. Or same as above except non preferred option to stay in PC domain with
> Wintel hardware XP O/S and remove HD from existing laptop and mount in
> external / internal caddy, but probably need to run with Microsoft Virtual
> PC 2004 which will allow to run WIN 98SE and POS application software.
>
> The other consideration is footprint and I must say I love the look of the
> Mac mini. Maybe as last option try to network from PC to Mac mini???
>
> As you may have gathered Im not very technical. Any suggestions would be
> greatfully received.
>
>
-- Please reply to the newsgroup to maintain the thread. Please do not email me unless I ask you to. John McGhie <john@mcghie.name> Consultant Technical Writer Sydney, Australia +61 4 1209 1410
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