Speaking of Virtual PC, there’s some competition out there for Microsoft.
This really isn’t news, as there have always been alternatives to Virtual PC, even when it was owned by Connectix. There was SoftPC/SoftWindows and RealPC, now defunct; still in existence is the WINE Project, which is technically not an emulator; finally, still alive and well, although limited and/or difficult to use, are DOSBox and MacBOCHS, products of the open source community and Apple’s open acceptance of that community.
But now there is GuestPC. Weighing in at $69, it appears to be the cheapest alternative that does not sacrifice ease of use. Compared to Virtual PC’s $129 price tag, depending on how well this alternative emulator operates, it just may be a great choice.
I think this is the greatest thing ever! It is obviously undisputed that Windows machines are by far the most vulnerable machines in the world, but it is much more satisfying when a branch of Microsoft openly acknowledges this as well!
Check out the Top 10 Questions About Virtual PC from Microsoft, then scroll down to Question #10, “Does Virtual PC make my Mac more vulnerable to computer viruses?”
Indeed, in the answer, Microsoft openly acknowledges that Mac users are obviously exposed to the same vulnerabilities of a PC while they are running Virtual PC. Obviously–thankfully–these viruses will not be able to operate while any virtual machines running Windows are deactivated, and even if viruses do propagate to a Mac volume (by means of shared folders, for instance), they will not be able to run under the Mac environment. Nevertheless, the door is open for Mac volumes to be littered with virus files if a virtual machine running Windows is infected on Virtual PC. Indeed, this happened to me a few years ago, and it was a pain, because the virtual machine running Windows littered my Mac with virus files.
Microsoft is certainly forced to make such acknowledgments, and it is oh so sweet!
This is just a quick note that Virtual PC 7 for the Mac has finally arrived.
I found out about it here: eWeek: Microsoft Releases Virtual PC 7.
It is very nice to read that Microsoft managed to eek out between 10%-30% more speed in this version, making it an upgrade worth considering. I’m sure the upper end of that percentage range is reserved for G5’s, since VPC 7 is now optimized for G5. Nevertheless, any speed improvement is welcome.
This is particularly exciting since Microsoft will be making Virtual PC 7 part of the Microsoft Office Suite, Professional Edition, as indicated in eWeek’s article, Office 2004 for Mac Hits Store Shelves.
