• Registered: 2009-02-05
  • Posts: 45

Topic: going to buy a mac

My dell computer is starting to fade and I have been considering getting a mac for a while now.

I was going to go to the apple store tomorrow and see what they had.

I have read a bit on vfusion and parallels (sp?). What is the best way to view IE with a mac?  I will not need it to run any windows programs I just want to be able to view a website that I am working on in IE. I could use my pc to view IE but it would be easier to be able to see it on the mac. I have heard of crossover i think it is called, but it says that it does not render IE7 or 8 correctly.

So any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your help,

Corinne

  • Gender: Male
  • From: Chico/Sacramento, CA
  • Registered: 2008-12-19
  • Posts: 2,343

Re: going to buy a mac

If you are going to buy Apple, I'd suggest buying a refurbished model (http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/s … NzcwNjg0Ng) rather than something absolutely brand new. The quality is the same, and it will either allow you to save some money, or get a nicer computer for the same amount of money. I've done that in the past, and it's worked well for me. I'm not sure what age you are, but also check out the academic pricing if you are a student (though that doesn't apply to refurbished models).

As for VMWare and Parallels, yes, they are really useful. I have used both. I tend to like VMware a bit better, it has a more "mac like" feel, but it's just a personal preference thing. I'd suggest not buying either at the store tomorrow -- once you have your mac, download the demo versions of both and play around with them and see which you like better. Be aware though -- just having VMware or Parallels won't let you run Windows immediately -- you will also need a Windows license (either new, or transferred from a previous computer if that is possible.)

  • Eric
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  • Gender: Male
  • From: Carlsbad, CA
  • Registered: 2008-12-19
  • Posts: 2,038

Re: going to buy a mac

I want to get a mac too. But if I don't, that would be the main reason - lack of testing support. This may work on a mac http://spoon.net/browsers/ I don't think the ie tester does though.

  • Gender: Male
  • From: Chico/Sacramento, CA
  • Registered: 2008-12-19
  • Posts: 2,343

Re: going to buy a mac

Eric wrote:

I want to get a mac too. But if I don't, that would be the main reason - lack of testing support. This may work on a mac http://spoon.net/browsers/ I don't think the ie tester does though.

Well, yeah, if you want to do browser testing, you will need VMWare or Parallels. The way I think of it though, I can test on two operating systems with my mac (or three if I chose to install Linux via VMWare), compared to just being able to test on one with a Windows-based machine. And VMWare/Parallels makes it pretty convenient, since I can run Windows and the Mac OS at the same time.

  • Registered: 2009-02-05
  • Posts: 45

Re: going to buy a mac

Thanks Ben and Eric!!

I have been going back and forth on getting a mac or not for the last few months.

That sounds like a good idea, I will look at the refurbished models and I never thought about down loading a trial version of VMWare or Parallels I will also do that before buying one of them.

Corinne

  • Gender: Male
  • From: Chico/Sacramento, CA
  • Registered: 2008-12-19
  • Posts: 2,343

Re: going to buy a mac

"That sounds like a good idea, I will look at the refurbished models"

Depends on the model, but you can save from $200 to about $500ish off.

  • From: Florida
  • Registered: 2008-12-19
  • Posts: 2,593

Re: going to buy a mac

Just make sure you don't end up with an old hard drive or else you will end up replacing it in a few short years or sooner.