Comments on: What happens when the OS doesn’t matter? http://www.mathewingram.com/work/2006/12/03/what-happens-when-the-os-doesnt-matter/ ... at the intersection of media, technology, business and the web Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:42:12 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: When the OS Doesn t Matter http://www.mathewingram.com/work/2006/12/03/what-happens-when-the-os-doesnt-matter/#comment-111125 When the OS Doesn t Matter Sun, 17 Dec 2006 14:29:52 +0000 http://www.mathewingram.com/work/2006/12/03/what-happens-when-the-os-doesnt-matter/#comment-111125 <!--%kramer-ref-pre%-->[...] When The OS Doesn't Matter By Mathew Ingram Expert Author Article Date: 2006-12-04 What happens when the operating system you use doesn't really matter any more? It started with dual-booting Windows and Linux, and using things like Crossover Office to run Windows apps under Linux (which is balky at best), and then things like Virtual PC for Mac, and now we have Apples with Intel chips that can dual-boot Windows and Mac OS-X with Boot Camp. But dual-booting is a pain, because you have to close everything and restart your computer. Virtualization is where it's at - running two operating systems side-by-side, so you can flip back and forth. I've never used it, but Parallels looks like a truly amazing experience. Windows XP and Mac OS-X running right next to each other, and the latest upgrade allows you to move Windows apps outside the Parallels window and drag and copy things from one OS to the other. Very cool. Michael Verdi has a screencast here. There has been talk that Apple would include some form of virtualization in Leopard, the next upgrade to the Mac OS, but Apple executives recently quashed that speculation, saying the company is happy with Boot Camp and that Parallels involves "performance degradation." By which they mean it causes your system to run a lot slower. Some Parallels users have said the same, but others have said for most normal computing tasks it runs fine (in other words, no video games or other graphics-hogging apps). If you can run Mac OS and Windows on the same machine and use whichever program you want, and drag data back and forth at will between the two, what does an operating system mean? In a sense, it just becomes a visual preference rather than a system or standards choice. And if you spend most of your time using Web apps, the operating system means even less. We're not quite there yet, of course, but would such a world help Apple or Windows more? Comments Add to Del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit | Furl Bookmark WebProNews: About the Author:Mathew Ingram [note only one "t" in Mathew] is a technology writer and blogger for the Globe and Mail, a national newspaper based in Toronto, and also writes about the Web and media at www.mathewingram.com/work and www.mathewingram.com/media. Newsletter Archive | Article Archive | Submit Article | Advertising Information | Resources | About Us | Contact MacProNews is an iEntry, Inc. ® publication - 1998-2006 All Rights Reserved Privacy Policy and Legal [...]<!--%kramer-ref-post%--> [...] When The OS Doesn’t Matter By Mathew Ingram Expert Author Article Date: 2006-12-04 What happens when the operating system you use doesn’t really matter any more? It started with dual-booting Windows and Linux, and using things like Crossover Office to run Windows apps under Linux (which is balky at best), and then things like Virtual PC for Mac, and now we have Apples with Intel chips that can dual-boot Windows and Mac OS-X with Boot Camp. But dual-booting is a pain, because you have to close everything and restart your computer. Virtualization is where it’s at - running two operating systems side-by-side, so you can flip back and forth. I’ve never used it, but Parallels looks like a truly amazing experience. Windows XP and Mac OS-X running right next to each other, and the latest upgrade allows you to move Windows apps outside the Parallels window and drag and copy things from one OS to the other. Very cool. Michael Verdi has a screencast here. There has been talk that Apple would include some form of virtualization in Leopard, the next upgrade to the Mac OS, but Apple executives recently quashed that speculation, saying the company is happy with Boot Camp and that Parallels involves “performance degradation.” By which they mean it causes your system to run a lot slower. Some Parallels users have said the same, but others have said for most normal computing tasks it runs fine (in other words, no video games or other graphics-hogging apps). If you can run Mac OS and Windows on the same machine and use whichever program you want, and drag data back and forth at will between the two, what does an operating system mean? In a sense, it just becomes a visual preference rather than a system or standards choice. And if you spend most of your time using Web apps, the operating system means even less. We’re not quite there yet, of course, but would such a world help Apple or Windows more? Comments Add to Del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit | Furl Bookmark WebProNews: About the Author:Mathew Ingram [note only one "t" in Mathew] is a technology writer and blogger for the Globe and Mail, a national newspaper based in Toronto, and also writes about the Web and media at http://www.mathewingram.com/work and http://www.mathewingram.com/media. Newsletter Archive | Article Archive | Submit Article | Advertising Information | Resources | About Us | Contact MacProNews is an iEntry, Inc. ® publication - 1998-2006 All Rights Reserved Privacy Policy and Legal [...]

]]> By: Toby http://www.mathewingram.com/work/2006/12/03/what-happens-when-the-os-doesnt-matter/#comment-96721 Toby Tue, 05 Dec 2006 17:06:08 +0000 http://www.mathewingram.com/work/2006/12/03/what-happens-when-the-os-doesnt-matter/#comment-96721 On the one hand, the trend toward OS mashups seems great (and I've been impressed with Parallels 2.5.3036 - especially given that it's a beta). But practically, while it means transparent use of Win32 apps, it also means maintaining two different OSes - and one of them is Windows! Admittedly, the VM makes some of that easier, since it's easy to back up the guest OS at moment in time when it was relatively healthy, but it's hard to see the bulk of regular users wanting to deal with the care and feeding of two operating systems without a very good reason (some legacy app, say). On the one hand, the trend toward OS mashups seems great (and I’ve been impressed with Parallels 2.5.3036 - especially given that it’s a beta). But practically, while it means transparent use of Win32 apps, it also means maintaining two different OSes - and one of them is Windows! Admittedly, the VM makes some of that easier, since it’s easy to back up the guest OS at moment in time when it was relatively healthy, but it’s hard to see the bulk of regular users wanting to deal with the care and feeding of two operating systems without a very good reason (some legacy app, say).

]]> By: tech decentral » links for 2006-12-04 http://www.mathewingram.com/work/2006/12/03/what-happens-when-the-os-doesnt-matter/#comment-96493 tech decentral » links for 2006-12-04 Mon, 04 Dec 2006 23:36:31 +0000 http://www.mathewingram.com/work/2006/12/03/what-happens-when-the-os-doesnt-matter/#comment-96493 [...] What happens when the OS doesn’t matter? » Mathew Ingram: mathewingram.com/work Some sort of convergence happening here… Mathew Ingram, my source for all things media, on virtualization. (tags: virtualization bootcamp parallels mac) [...] [...] What happens when the OS doesn’t matter? » Mathew Ingram: mathewingram.com/work Some sort of convergence happening here… Mathew Ingram, my source for all things media, on virtualization. (tags: virtualization bootcamp parallels mac) [...]

]]> By: Brian http://www.mathewingram.com/work/2006/12/03/what-happens-when-the-os-doesnt-matter/#comment-96468 Brian Mon, 04 Dec 2006 21:38:53 +0000 http://www.mathewingram.com/work/2006/12/03/what-happens-when-the-os-doesnt-matter/#comment-96468 I have Parallels on my Mac - it's pretty nifty. Sadly it does not task switch from Mac to the guest OS very quickly - it feels a lot like changing gears on a large truck. There is a shift, a lot of metal groaning as the gears clank and crash down below, your speed drops and then mmm-rrrrrrrrrRRRRR your speed picks up. I'm sure a great deal of this is attributed to my 'only' having 1 GB of RAM. I think Rob has a point. The OS killer a few years ago was the web browser - ask George Gilder! He wrote an entire BOOK about the telecosm and Microsoft's imminent irrelevance. I have Parallels on my Mac - it’s pretty nifty. Sadly it does not task switch from Mac to the guest OS very quickly - it feels a lot like changing gears on a large truck. There is a shift, a lot of metal groaning as the gears clank and crash down below, your speed drops and then mmm-rrrrrrrrrRRRRR your speed picks up.

I’m sure a great deal of this is attributed to my ‘only’ having 1 GB of RAM.

I think Rob has a point. The OS killer a few years ago was the web browser - ask George Gilder! He wrote an entire BOOK about the telecosm and Microsoft’s imminent irrelevance.

]]> By: MyAppleMenu : Mac news for Mac people http://www.mathewingram.com/work/2006/12/03/what-happens-when-the-os-doesnt-matter/#comment-96434 MyAppleMenu : Mac news for Mac people Mon, 04 Dec 2006 19:07:14 +0000 http://www.mathewingram.com/work/2006/12/03/what-happens-when-the-os-doesnt-matter/#comment-96434 <!--%kramer-ref-pre%-->[...] What Happens When The OS Doesn't Matter?by Mathew IngramWe're not quite there yet, of course, but would such a world help Apple or Windows more? [...]<!--%kramer-ref-post%--> [...] What Happens When The OS Doesn’t Matter?by Mathew IngramWe’re not quite there yet, of course, but would such a world help Apple or Windows more? [...]

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