Fastest Mac Ever and Parallels
By Matt@Smalldog.com
Yesterday I finally got my hands on a Mac Pro. It’s a dual 2.66 with two hard drives and 5GB of RAM and it is jaw-droppingly fast. I thought the G5 quad booted up quickly…try 12-15 seconds for the Mac Pro. It’s crazy!
The fastest Mac ever is a great machine to run Windows, too. I tried installing Parallels, the program that allows you to run Windows and Mac OS X simultaneously. It’s like Virtual PC, but there’s no processor emulation, so it’s quite fast on the machines I’ve used. However, Parallels isn’t yet compatible with the Mac Pro: it is unable to find the SuperDrive. On my third try, there was a kernel panic.
A call to Parallels Tech Support department was returned within the hour, and an e-mail even sooner. It looks like we’ll have to wait a few weeks for an updated version.
Meanwhile, Boot Camp was updated to (beta) version 1.1 to support the Mac Pro, so go that route if dual-booting is what you’re after.
A word of advice to all Windows users on any hardware: remember you’re running Windows! Take security precautions to keep yourself safe, like religiously installing Microsoft security updates and keeping the latest virus definitions. Small Dog keeps Symantec AntiVirus for Windows in stock, and if you plan on running Windows, plan on buying AntiVirus or reinstalling Windows regularly! You can get it by clicking here.
By Matt@Smalldog.com
Newton prices seem to vary. I’ve seen MessagePad 2000’s and 2100’s going for over $500, and a few months later, they’re going for a hundred.
If you’re patient, you can get them cheap. I replaced my (bought when new!) MP 2000 with a 2100 I got on eBay for about $150, including a 32 MB flash card. Add a first generation Lucent Silver wifi card and buy the $10 WiFi Newton driver, and you have a handheld internet device, cheap!
Newtons rock. Sadly, mine doesn’t get much use anymore. I haven’t been able to get iSync (Address Book + iCal) working under 10.4 Tiger, which is a deal-breaker. If you get it working, I hope you’ll post a blog with hints or instructions!
I don’t know how I missed the fact that Jimmy posted this. I definitely try to never be without my Newton and was surprised when he actually bought one (guess I’m not so bad at sales after all).
I have BlueTooth, WiFi, and all sorts of other stuff on mine, but I really only use those to get data to/from my MacBook Pro. As Jimmy mentioned, I use it for calendar, to-do, notes, and eBooks. Lately I’ve been tempted to reconfigure it for e-mail for sending quick messages on the road.
There are some new developments on the Newton front which will really help us keep using them with Mac OS X. Simon Bell’s NCX is one of them.
I Too have a newton. These things are still awesome and are the most useful things ever. The handwriting rec. is amazing and the battery life is also. Palm Pilot still has not caught up to these things. Newtons Rock
Very late to the party (heh) but just interested to see if the Newton passed the test of time for you and whether or not you are still using it in 2009?
Hope you were able to get it working on the internet and over a wireless network. It’s not too hard and there are a few how-to guides around.
Cheers
Tony.