Mac+Win = Awesomeness

I was a PC guy for a long time but I started using a Mac at work in late 2012 because I have customers that use them. I figured it would be a good way to learn something new and add another skill set to my toolbox.

Once you fall into the Apple Matrix you have some amazing tools. My iPad, Macbook, and iPhone are all in sync with each other. I can leave my phone in my pocket or bag and send/receive text messages and even make phone calls from the laptop. Gotta love technology and this stuff just keeps getting better!

I’m on the fence about the Apple Watch. Probably going to wait until version 2 comes out before giving it any serious thought.  I love watches but having one that will be obsolete in a few years is weird.  Maybe I’m looking at it wrong.

I continue to be really impressed with the MacBook Pro and the Parallels application that allows you to run a virtual install of Windows in the Mac environment.  It allows you to run both operating systems at once seamlessly.

Nerd Alert, the following is a little geeky…

You can actually run just about any Operating System, in Parallels (Linux, Server, etc.). It takes a bit of setup but once done you get the best of both worlds.  Mac applications run in the Mac environment and Windows applications run in the Windows virtual environment.  The only way to tell what is what is a pair of vertical bars on the icon.

Setup requires a full install of Windows (I started with Win7 and have moved to Win10) and all the normal licensing of applications.  You can pay a little extra to get a special cable to migrate an existing Windows machine but in my experience it didn’t work that well so I started with a clean install.

The entire Windows virtual machine resides in one (large) file which makes it easier to backup (Parallels performs regular snapshots too).  You can have several virtual machine instances for testing too.  Performance and stability are impressive with just a minor hit to overall battery life.  In other words this is a totally usable system that has very little impact on how your Mac functions.

If you’re a Windows user that’s been wanting to try a Mac or if you’re a Mac user who misses some of your favorite Windows applications this setup is worth checking out.

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