Hands on: Virtual PC 5.0
by Alan Zisman (c) 2002
First published online by LowEndMac,
4
January,
2002 Mac2Windows column
Many Mac users need to either run the occasional PC
program or connect
to a Windows network to share files or printers. But when they upgraded
to OS X, they were out of luck -- popular programs that provided these
functions (such as Connectix's Virtual PC and Thursby's Dave) simply
did
not work under OS X.
Until now.
This winter, new versions of both Virtual PC and Dave
have been released,
each providing support for both classic Mac OS's and OS X in the same
box.
We'll take a close look at VPC in this article and
cover Dave on Monday.
Virtual PC 5.0
Over the past few years, Connectix's Virtual PC (VPC) has been one
of the more popular pieces of Mac software, allowing Mac owners
(admittedly
Mac owners with fast CPUs, big hard drives, and lots of RAM) to boot
up,
as the name suggests, a virtual PC, running the PC operating system of
their choice -- anything from DOS to Windows to Linux. Once the PC is
booted
up, users can install and run PC programs.
VPC fills the niche for Mac users who need to run a
few PC programs
such as Microsoft Outlook (Mac Office's new Entourage doesn't connect
to
business Outlook servers) or a proprietary database or niche-market
program.
Users can copy and paste between Mac and VPC
clipboards, connect to
a PC home or office network for file and printer sharing, connect to
the
Internet, and run business and game software that may only exist in
versions
for PCs.
Recently, Connectix released Virtual PC 5.0. The big
news is that the
new version includes versions for both OS X and classic OS 9.1 (or
later).
The two versions can share the big files that act as virtual PC hard
drives
and can share settings (though only with a bit of a trick, outlined in
the brief printed documentation -- really, Connectix, couldn't this
have
been made a default feature?).
Earlier versions of VPC don't work under OS X at all
-- not even in
the classic mode. Connectix made a beta OS X version freely available
to
registered VPC 4.0 owners over the summer and fall, but it lacked any
PC
networking support. The new release's OS X version offers all the
features
of the classic version. The OS X version also offers a couple of
features
not available to OS 9 users: multiprocessor support (of course, you
need
a multiprocessor Mac) and a neat Virtual Switch, letting users run more
than one VPC session at a time -- and run a network connecting them.
While
cool, you will need lots of RAM to make use of this feature -- enough
for
OS X plus a reasonable amount for each virtual PC's operating system
and
applications.
Both OS 9 and OS X users will welcome snappier
performance and the ability
to map PC keys to Mac keyboard key combinations, giving me back the
Home
and End keys that are missing on my iBook, for instance.
DVD data discs are supported, though not DVD movies --
but does anyone
really need to watch a movie within an emulator? There's more support
for
removable media devices. An especially nice new feature is the option
to
set a virtual drive image as "undoable." When you do that, changes to
the
drive are written to a separate file, rather than to the drive image
itself.
At the end of the VPC session, you can choose to merge the changes into
the main drive image, toss it, or continue working with the temporary
file.
This is especially handy for computer fiddlers -- add
a questionable
program or driver update, and if it doesn't work as advertised, get rid
of the changes, going back to your pre-installation setup.
Inevitably, the question comes up: How fast is a
virtual PC? How does
it compare to running a real PC? It's hard to get a firm answer on this
-- VPC performance is affected by your CPU speed (and it is
G4-optimized)
and (like real PCs) by how much RAM you can afford to throw at it. It's
also affected by what you're trying to run on the virtual PC. Connectix
does not attempt to emulate 3D graphics instructions in VPC, so
high-end
game performance is especially slow. If that's your goal, I'd recommend
not bothering with VPC.
I installed VPC 5.0 on my iBook 500, installing two PC
operating systems:
Windows 98SE (with 128 MB RAM) and Windows XP (with 196 MB RAM).
Frankly,
Windows XP on this system felt glacially slow -- too slow for me to
want
to use it in real life. Gossip in Windows circles is that the OS
X-wannabee
interface changes can bog down real PCs as well; turning off all these
interface options makes for a much faster, if plainer-looking,
experience.
I found working within the Windows 98 session much
more pleasant; not
like using a top of the line PC or Mac, but certainly perkier than many
PCs or Macs that I've worked with over the years. To try to get some
(more
or less) objective data, I downloaded and installed the free SiSoft
Sandra
reporting and benchmarking tool and ran its CPU Benchmarks in this VPC
session. (Yes, I'm aware of all the limitations of benchmarking
programs.
Take all results with a grain [or more] of salt). On my system the
benchmark's
Dhrystone and Whetstone scores were 604 MIPS and 420 MFlops
respectively.
(For comparison, a Compaq PIII/750 scores 2025 and 1000). Sandra
includes
a collection of realistic-seeming scores from typical real systems. The
VPC session's scores were closest to the scores of a Celeron 266 system
-- no barn-burner, by any stretch of the imagination, but a system that
still can do some useful work.
You'll get better performance it you buy a real,
low-end PC and put
it on your desk, but even with low prices, VPC is cheaper, and doesn't
take a bunch of desk space.
Pricing depends on the operating system you get
bundled with your copy
of VPC -- like computer manufacturers, Connectix has to pay Microsoft
to
include a Windows license. If you already have a copy of a PC operating
system that you want to install, you can buy a copy of VPC with a
minimalist
DOS version for US$99. Copies bundled with Windows 98 or Windows 2000
cost
US$199 and US$249 respectively. Connectix is promising a Windows XP
bundle
soon. The company also sells OS Packs (operating system drive images)
for
Windows 98, Me, and 2000, with more versions promised. Current users of
VPC 3.0 or 4.0 can upgrade to the new version (no OS included, but it
will
support your currently installed OS) for US$79.
The big advantage of getting VPC bundled with an
operating system (or
getting an OS Pack) is a quick and easy installation -- each includes a
drive image with the operating system preconfigured for VPC's virtual
hardware.
You can simply copy the drive image to your hard drive, which is much
quicker
and easier than installing the operating system of your choice from CD.
I've run VPC with Microsoft's Windows for Workgroups,
Windows 95 and
98, 2000 and XP, along with IBM's OS/2 Warp 4 and Red Hat Linux 6.2. I
have not been able to get Corel Linux or BeOS to install.
If you love your Mac but really need a special-purpose
PC application
or two, Virtual PC may keep that big ugly beige box off your
desk.