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by Mark H. Anbinder mha@tidbits.com
On 18-Dec-02, Connectix Corporation released a new version of Virtual
PC, the company's PC emulation software. Virtual PC 6 focuses on improving
the integration between Macintosh and Windows operating systems, and
on boosting performance, especially under Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar.
http://www.connectix.com/products/vpc6m.html
Dockworkers Unite
Mac OS X users can take advantage of Virtual PC 6's most obvious features:
several ways of interacting with the Dock. In addition to the Virtual
PC application icon itself appearing when the program's running (like
any other), icons for each Windows application you launch also appear
in the Dock. Windows application icons may be kept in the Dock for ease
of launching Virtual PC when it's not running. Best of all is a separate
icon for the Windows Start menu, which appears in the Dock whether or
not Virtual PC is running. This icon gives you access to everything
in your Start menu, such as Windows applications, documents, settings,
and whatever else you've got in there. (And yes, you can turn these
Dock integration features off.)
Our immediate thought, upon seeing the new Dock integration features,
was that a future version of Virtual PC should take the next step and
run individual Windows applications in their own windows, just as individual
Classic applications run in their own windows with their own distinctive
menu bars. (A good intermediate step would be for the Dock icons to
let you change which application is frontmost within VPC's Windows environment,
which doesn't work now.) Obviously, there are times when it makes more
sense to emulate the full Windows environment, but for those Virtual
PC users who use a single Windows application, it could be far more
convenient to avoid using Windows entirely. Such a change would require
a significant development effort from Connectix, so if you would find
such a feature helpful in your use of Virtual PC, make sure to let them
know.
Connectix says the overall performance of Virtual PC 6 is about 25 percent
faster, thanks partly to changes Apple made in Jaguar. (The speed boost
requires Mac OS X 10.2.3.)
We're delighted to see the return of the capability to mount Virtual
PC drive images in the Finder. However, it's unfortunate that drives
cannot be mounted if they are part of either an active or saved PC environment.
The "save state" feature of Virtual PC, which lets you pause
your Windows environment at any time and return to it later without
having to wait for Windows to start up all over again, is one of its
strongest capabilities - discouraging users from the habit of saving
their PC's state every time they're ready to quit Virtual PC seems a
shame. (To mount a drive image that's part of a saved state, the user
must first restore the PC from its saved state, and shut down Windows.)
TidBITS readers often remind us that, while the vast majority of new
product announcements focus on Mac OS X compatibility, there's still
a large installed base of Mac OS 9 users. Such folks will be happy to
note that Virtual PC still supports Mac OS 9. The capability to use
the same PC configuration, drive images, and even saved states, whether
you're in Mac OS 9 or Mac OS X at any given moment, is a wonderful boon
to those who often switch their computers between the two operating
systems. (At least Virtual PC won't be the application forcing you to
switch!)
Lastly, Virtual PC is famous for supporting many more monitor resolutions
than that of average video card drivers, including the wide-format screens
of the PowerBook G4 with its 1280 by 854 LCD. Virtual PC 6 adds support
for newer displays like the Apple 23- inch HD Cinema Display, at 1920
by 1200 pixels.
Buying and Upgrading
Virtual PC 6 costs $130 for the PC DOS edition, $220 for the Windows
XP Home or Windows 98 editions, $250 for the Windows 2000 and Windows
XP Pro editions, or $100 for an upgrade-only package (with no DOS or
Windows OS included). The upgrade and DOS editions are available immediately;
packages with various Windows operating systems should be starting to
reach resellers soon.
Virtual PC users who purchased Virtual PC 5.0 on 01-Nov-02 or later
(through 31-Mar-03) are eligible for a discounted upgrade upon faxing
or mailing an eligibility form along with appropriate documentation.
The upgrade costs $5 for an electronic download, $10 for physical shipment
within the U.S. or Canada, or $20 for shipment to other parts of the
world.
http://www.connectix.com/products/vpc6m_specialupgrade.html
Reprinted with permission from TidBITS. TidBITS has offered more than
ten years of thoughtful commentary on Macintosh and Internet topics.
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