About 2 years ago I dropped windows from my home PC and switched 100% to linux (fedora, then ubuntu) - The missus wasn't too happy but she got used to it and learned a thing or two. Then about 6 months ago I got myself a shiny new Macbook and since moving to OSX have never looked back; Unfortunately I've not been successful in getting my employer to buy me one for work (and I can't be carrying mine back and forth) so I have to "put up" with windows.
I started out with windows over 8 years ago so I have a really good understanding of how it works and have done my fair share of Win32/MFC/.NET development.
My question is; Who else has to use a windows box at work (and have a mac at home) And how do you cope - what windows apps/configurations do they use that let them work in a similar fashion to OSX? - I was just thinking how cool it would be if I could get some sort of keymapping app that re-mapped my windows keys to the OSX variants (Apple+W, Apple+Q, Apple+Left, Apple+Right, etc etc).
I miss expose (TopDesk is nice but not free)...
I miss the simplicity of finder...
I miss the nice smooth dialogs and windows and shadows (YzShadow can juuuuust cope)
I miss the underlying unix framework (I run andLinux at work)
I miss OSX :(
Unfortunately 90% of our clients use IE so windows is a must; They also can't justify the expense of a mac for a developer; Especially a Mac Pro :-p
Ah well.
Operating System is just a tool, if you are building cross platform applications (or web applications[it depends only your target web browser]) and you can use whatever operating system you like , you can install windows xp in virtual machine on your osx for using IE for example, but if your company forces you to login on their domain controller, using outlook for email and task management that project manager assigns to you, this is different story. As you mentioned multiple operating systems at work and home, personally I use Linux at home but I use Windows at work because in my day to day job I write a lot of C# .NET code but at home I spend time by programming with open source technologies and I use it because I've used Linux since October 2001. So try to get used to it.
Might I suggest if you like life on the command line that you try PowerShell as a replacement for cmd on the windows box. It has aided me tremendously in my transistion from a Unix Server environment.You have a profile and the ability to create aliases and modify things. Now I never have to worry about using one of my trusted Unix commands, and if I find one that wasn't already taken care of by the PowerSHell team I just create it and add it to my profile. ls, process grep, top, and find for the the win!!
I think the single best thing I've done to maximize productivity is to standardize my text editor across platforms. Personally I use vim as mush as possible. I use viemu to integrate into visual studio on windows, have replaced notepad with gvim, and I use vim on mac and linux alike.
You could remap shortcuts, but the simple ones are the same anyhow. Personally I dont have a problem remembering both. I do go through a mental exercise every few minutes to look for OS specific landmarks to remind me Im on Vista or OS X, which helps me to stay focused.
I'd also look into Powershell if you're a fan of Linux scripting, its the coolest shell going IMNSHO. Failing that there is always Interix
I don't have a lot of pain switching from one to the other on a daily basis. At the end, I spent the most of my time either in Eclipse, which is quite plateform independant, and Opera web browser.
For the rest, I use launchy to poorly mimic quicksilver and e as a replacement for Textmate.
In the end, I'm more statisfied of my mac, not because of the software it provide, but rather for the software it don't provide, such as Toad or IE that I'm force to use for my work.
Although there are many ways to skin Windows to look like OS X, none of the solutions deliver the real OS X experience. Not in terms of OS Features, that'd be impossible, but the look and feel is always different. I remember skinning for the sake of pleasure, my Windows XP box (like 5 years ago) and used Windows Blind plus a lot of tools (YZDock!) to have a "WS X" ;)
It never felt the same.
You could try a "hackintosh", if your hardware is "ok" with OS X. Then run VMWare/Parallels.
Or else, you just do like me:
Cry a river. Build a Bridge and get over it. :)
I use OS X (Mac Pro) but I code in C#, so I'm 90% of the day in Windows VIsta in Full Screen in one of the many Spaces; the advantage is that VMWare (and Parallels) let you map your keys so I can cmd-c/v inside Windows.
I understand your frustration :S
Unfortunately 90% of our clients use IE so windows is a must
IE6 works under OS X without Windows (fonts aren't quite right, but it's enough for everyday testing), and you can get it 100% perfect under virtualisation (Parallels, VMWare, VirtualBox).
As a software developer I pretty much live in my text editor and shell. In the jobs where I've been forced to use windows I install emacs and cygwin and I'm off to the races.
I don't focus on the periphery -- control panels, window managers, etc -- I focus on what I really use 90+% of the time and don't sweat the rest.
A little bit of cygwin to take the pain out of windows. Any virtual environment will work. A mac can run parallels hosting windows with the enforced outlook requirements.
If it's not a financial burden and your company allows it, just get yourself a macbook. I bring my macbook to home and work everyday. I have external 24" screen at work, and it's no difference to working on a windows box. I run parallels when I need to use windows/IE, otherwise, all my time are spent on the mac.
Another important item in this arrangement is an external harddrive for backup at work. Time machine hourly backup + windows work file sync and you're all set. This way, you don't have to worried about losing your work if you get robbed or get into an accident.
I was in the same situation - Mac at home, Windows at work. There isn't really any way to bring the Mac experience to Windows without something breaking or a badly-written program misbehaving. You just have to get used to adjusting between the two.
The only three things that constantly caught me out were hitting Shift-2 for the "#" sign in Windows (I have a UK keyboard, but the Mac uses the American key position), trying to use two fingers and a mouse click on the Windows laptop trackpad for a right-click, and hitting F9 for Expose. Swapping between Command-C and Ctrl-C didn't really bother me.
I use Windows XP at work and Mac OS X and Linux at home.
Windows XP frustrates me everyday. If I only used it I would get used to the limitations, but being exposed to them daily (and the plethora of awful software for it, from the dire Checkpoint VPN client, to the clunkiness of Outlook) and then experiencing decent software in the evening just underlines XP's limitations (and to be fair, XP is venerable these days).
However making the switch on a daily basis isn't a problem, #/" issue aside.
The only thing I ever did to make the Mac more "windows-like" was install Office for Mac. I've never had a problem with files I couldn't read or write, and the "student edition" is pretty cheap. Recently, for dealing with IE6 I used bootcamp bought and an MSDN copy of XP to install XP on partition on my Macbook. No problems.
I regularly use OSX, Windows and Linux and the only times I get confused is when I'm running XP under VMWare on my Macbook. For some reason, when my fingers are on the Mac keyboard, I have a lot of trouble using Windows key strokes.
Otherwise, no real problems.
I don't have much of an issue. I can do most of my development work in OSX, eclipse works, Coda is an awesome web development tool, but when I need to use Visual Studio, I can, either by running in Fusion, or booting into windows via bootcamp.
Having the luxury of a windows install on bootcamp means I can also run games better than most of the Windows PC's i've owned!
Related
This may already have a question somewhere, but I am at a loss as to how to debug IE11 on my Mac.
I currently run a full Win10 instance in a Virtual Box, but it is so bloated that it is nearly impossible to move nimbly between coding and debugging. IE dev-tools are also inaccessible using this method because it just cripples the VM, so I am flying blind with coding.
I have looked up tutorials as to how to run IE on a Mac direct using Wine/Remote Desktop, but these instructions are out of date or the supporting software does not work as intended. Also, Microsoft (being the evil empire that they are) discontinued support for debugging with Azure so that is another option off the table.
If there is anything that actually works without having to shell out $$$ please let me know as it is so painful currently to debug the worst browser that will never die.
From your description, I can see that you had already try to use the Windows 10 VM but it get hangs.
You can try to go to Windows Features on or off inside Control Panel-> Programs-> Programs and Features and try to turn off the features that you are not using may help to reduce the load.
It is possible that you are running your VM in a very less memory that downs the performance of the OS.
If possible for you than try to install a VM with some more memory.
Otherwise you can try to install Windows 7 in your VM and upgrade to IE 11 in that.
It can help you to solve your issue with the OS and you can debug the code on IE 11.
Below are some helpful references that may give you some additional information.
How to test your website with Internet Explorer on a Mac
How to Debug in IE on a Mac
I'm trying to learn to code in Objective C, but I am not ready to commit to purchasing a Mac for just this purpose, seeing as I have a good Dell laptop. My computer has VMware installed on it, but I do not know how to actually go through the steps, and I do not know what I need to install or purchase(if absolutely necessary). Eventually, I hope to get a Mac, so this won't be needed, but until then, I want to find a way to compile Objective C so I can actually learn how to use it. Thanks.
While it is technically possible, I'll tell you from experience:
To run Xcode and the iOS Simulator, you will need to have MacOS running. Oficially it only runs on Apple Hardware, buuut, you can always use virtualizers and Hackintosh. There are plenty of good tutorials online if you choose this method.
My advice: DON'T do it!
When I started to develop iOS apps, I had a Windows PC, but after trying lots of different approaches to virtualize MacOS, with none I had great results. I bought a MacBook on a sale, and it's just a better iOS development experience overall. It's priceless not to have to deal with driver searching and compatibility issues.
First virtualize MacOS X, inside then iOS with XCode. See http://www.macbreaker.com/2012/07/mountain-lion-virtualbox.html
Yes you can, you need to virtualize OSX inside you Windows, and then use XCode as the other stated, however it doesen't work with nearly all AMD CPU's but i think Dell uses mostly Intel. And a Mac costs alot. For example i don't have money for one, the cheapest one costs $1,600 where i come from, but if you are going to get a Mac, i would wait for that.
But they really are expensive, and i only need a Macbook for debugging.
[Assuming you already have the mac installation image or vmware file]
Sadly Vmware does not include support for mac in it's latest versions
So you'll have to patch(aka Vmware Unlocker for OS X) it.
Follow this link http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/files/file/20-vmware-unlocker-for-os-x/ (you'll be required to set up an account)
Or alternatively you can download the VirtualBox(https://www.virtualbox.org/)
Happy Coding
Use virtualbox instead of VMWare. If it does'nt work, install the extension pack for virtualbox.
Someone smart who I know just mentioned that the idea of downloading Internet Explorer onto a Mac seems counterintuitive, even though it might make sense to do since Safari seems to have problems on a certain site for a project we're working on. I'm just wondering why this is and would greatly appreciate any clarification. In summary:
Why does it not make sense to download Internet Explorer onto a Mac?
Much thanks in advance!
If you're looking for a serious answer:
The best way to test something with IE7 for Windows is to use IE7 for Windows. Just because you have a Mac doesn't mean you can't do that. You can run Windows through BootCamp. Or buy a used $99 Windows box and borrow the Mac's keyboard/mouse/etc. Of course it's much more convenient, and almost certainly good enough, to run Windows in a VM under OS X via Parallels, VMware, etc. Wine will mostly work, but it can be fiddly to configure, and may crash and/or have visual glitches that don't happen with real Windows; if you really want to get serious about that you may want to look at Crossover.
But the next best way to test IE7 for Windows is actually Opera. Of course in the case of bugs and quirks that are still present in later versions of IE, they'll do a perfect job of emulating IE7, but for bugs that were fixed, that's not a particularly important focus. Opera, on the other hand, works hard to be able to emulate the quirks of all of the important browsers. Make sure to enable IE quirks mode, and set the user agent to pretend to be IE7 for Windows, and you should be golden.
But for the question you actually asked, there is no blanket answer to this that could possibly be correct. There are many reasons it may not make sense to download Internet Explorer onto a Mac, and also many reasons why it might.
You can't run IE for Mac on any modern Mac.
If you have an ancient Mac, and it's running 10.2 or 10.3 rather than 10.4, it already has IE (and if you want to reinstall it, it's part of the OS X install), so there's no reason to download IE.
You also can't legally download IE for Mac from anywhere anymore (except as part of old versions of OS X).
And IE for Mac is actually far less like IE7 for Windows than any modern browser is.
You can't run IE for Windows (or Pocket IE for Windows Mobile) on Mac OS X.
But you can run it under wine.
And you can run it in a virtual machine running Windows.
Except that Windows comes with Internet Explorer, so there's no reason to download it.
Unless your Windows comes with an older version and you want to update it.
And a Mac can run Windows instead of OS X if you want (e.g., via BootCamp).
Same caveats as with a VM.
And there may be other reasons to download it other than running it.
If your Mac has access to a fast internet connection and your Windows box doesn't, you might want to download the installer on the Mac to copy it locally to Windows.
Sometimes you just want to use up internet bandwidth.
Maybe you're testing your download speeds.
Maybe you're about to dump your boyfriend, and first you want to run him $300 over his monthly bandwidth limits.
Someone at Microsoft might find it entertaining when they notice in the logs that you've downloaded IE on a Mac, and it's always nice to bring a smile to a stranger's face.
The last version of Internet Explorer for Macintosh was 5.2, out in 2003. It wouldn't even run on a modern machine. The build is just not compatible.
If you want to try a different browser, both Chrome and Firefox run on OSX.
To run internet explorer on the Mac, you'd need to use some sort virtualization, running Windows either through Boot Camp or Parallels.
I had to do it because I'm developing software and the client wants to have it styled for IE 7 (the version they have on all their machines).
If I had my druthers, I'd run it under virtualization (e.g., VMWare), but I've misplaced my old XP CDs, so I settled for Wine (which works 'okay', but crashes from time-to-time).
I suggest using VirtualBox which would enable you to run MSIE on your Mac directly:
https://www.virtualbox.org/
...and here are the VMs for MSIE 6, 7, 8 and 9:
https://github.com/xdissent/ievms
Good luck!
It's definitely not a good idea to install Internet Explorer for Mac. It simply doesn't work properly as it was discontinued by Microsoft in 2005. However, if you have to use it to view certain websites that will only work in IE, this is the easiest way to download and install it for Mac: http://machow2.com/download-internet-explorer-for-mac/
This question already has answers here:
Is there a IE tester for mac? [closed]
(7 answers)
Closed 10 years ago.
I'm a webmaster that use mac platform to develop. Can someone suggest me the best way to test my website with IExplorer using a Mac? There're some virtualizer such as parallel, crossover, wine and so on, can someone suggest me the best for this purpose?
Or some other workaround is appreciated (i really don't need an entire copy of windows, only to test my websites on IE6 and IE7 using my mac)
First: Look at the question linked to in the comments. If you just need to see what a site looks like, browsershots.org will do the trick. But if you need to fully test and debug, you need Windows. But that can be done too:
Purchase Parallels Desktop
Download free Windows virtual machines directly from Microsoft made specifically for this purpose. You can rename the .exe self-extracting archives .rar instead, and unpack with anything that can extract RAR files
Import the resulting virtual machine image into Parallels, and you're done
Just know that many of the Windows images are huge. You'll need something like 40GB free to download, unpack and convert the Windows Vista and Windows 7 images (once you're done, you can of course toss a bunch of stuff out again)
Edit: Oh, yeah, forgot to mention: The Windows images last about 3 months at a time before they lock down completely, and you have to download a fresh copy. Microsoft obviously isn't giving away fully-fledged Windows copies for free :)
One option is to join MSDN (Microsoft Developer Network subscription) to get access to all Windows versions in all languages etc. You can install those you need in separate Parallels virtual machines (VMWare and virtualbox would work as well).
This allows you to install the exact version some customer happens to have, e.g. certain old Windows Server with certain IE version, etc to replicate the environment for testing and regression testing.
I would say that virtual machine installations are a must so you get the exact complete real thing.
MSDN has different options, "OS only" would be probably enough for this need (I had other needs for Windows development tools as well so got the full MSDN). MSDN has a cost (on the order of $1k/year) but was worth it to get access to everything for development and testing purposes.
PS. The only fun thing was that as a Mac-based UNIX developer I had many versions of Windows and many versions of Linux installed on my MacBook, but only one installation of OSX ;-) Some people also thought it was fun to see a "Mac developer" with "MSDN subscription", but whatever gets the work done, is the way to go.
I need to test a site with a dynamic menu in Mac Firefox, but I'm running in Windows. A simple browsershot.com test won't help; I need to actually use the site.
How can I acquire a method of doing Mac emulation without physically having a Mac? Is there some kind of remote VM product out there?
We use BrowserCam for exactly that.
I realize that the original question asked for a virtual solution, however, as of this time there isn't a legal way to emulate a Mac on non-Apple hardware.
A service like BrowserCam is the best bet if you are entirely opposed to purchasing a Mac. Remote access from BrowserCam is about $400 a year and they have cheaper packages that may suit.
Depending on how often (and on what browsers/platforms) you need to test, you may want to consider purchasing a Mac Mini. A refurbished Mini runs between $500 and $600 and may be cheaper over the long run.
If cross-platform testing is central to your company's business, a full size Intel-based Mac running both OS X and Windows (with Parallels, BootCamp or VMWare) for testing may be a better option.
Check out the OSx86 Project. I've used this before, it works quite well and is pretty easy to understand.