Hi Shaun,
These days with software like Boot Camp that's not altogether true.
There are ways of having the best of both worlds. It is just that many
Windows users don't know about them so they are afraid to invest in a
Mac or Linux system believing as you do that they have to give up all
their Windows games and favorite applications to go Mac or Linux. While
it is certainly true the majority of software is specifically designed
for Windows with the availability of virtual machines that is more an
annoyance than a serious problem for a Mac or Linux user.
For example, if you were to purchase a brand new Intel based MacBook
with Mac OS 10.6you would get the standard Mac OS operating system
complete with the VoiceOver screen reader, ITunes media player, Safari
web browser, and all the rest of the common Mac applications. If you
then wanted your Windows applications you can install Windows XP on that
machine via Boot Camp and run Windows XP as a virtual machine. That way
you can keep all your games, and other important Windows software too.
Running Windows under a virtual machine is a tad bit slower than running
it natively of course, but it is the best solution available to us
currently. The upside though is you can still use Mac OS as your
primary operating system and boot into Windows to access stuff you would
otherwise not be able to use.
With Linux these days there are multiple solutions to choose from. If
you wanted to try out the base operating system without formatting your
hard drive you can run Ubuntu Linux directly off the cd. It runs slower,
but it does allow someone to run Linux without making any changes to
Windows. Other solutions involve installing it to a USB thumb drive and
booting from that, or you can just stick the Ubuntu cd in your computer
and do a quick and easy multiboot setup from Windows directly. You can
use a third-party solution such as VM Ware which allows you to install
Windows as a virtual machine under Linux. Either way you decide to do it
you can easily run both while not giving up anything in the process.
Bottom line, there are ways to run Windows along side your operating
system of choice to have the best of both worlds. It need not be a one
or the other situation.
Cheers!
shaun everiss wrote:
hmmm i would, but since most stuff is windows based I can't.
---
Gamers mailing list __ [email protected]
If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to [email protected].
You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at
http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org.
All messages are archived and can be searched and read at
http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected].
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list,
please send E-mail to [email protected].
