Options aplenty to move
data from PCs to Macs
by Alan Zisman (c) 2003 First published
in Business in Vancouver
, Issue #694 February 11-17, 2003 High Tech
Office column
As we
saw last week,
Apple is making moves on Windows users.
Its
stylish
products and TV ads are aimed at home users and its servers and
Unix-based
operating system are gaining respect from corporate IT departments.
But
users
understandably worry whether they will be able to continue to access
their
stored data or the applications they need when they switch to a
different
computer platform.
Several
products
can help make the transition from a PC to a Mac less painful. Detto Technologies
Intellimover has automated the process of moving a user's data from one
Windows PC
to another. And now, its new Move2Mac can help to simplify the
same process for new Mac-users.
Move2Mac
identifies
a user's data stored on the old PC, shuttles it across an included
cable
and stores it in the appropriate locations on the new Mac.
Along
with
saved files, it can move browser favourites and even desktop wallpaper.
While most files transfer automatically, Quicken financial data and
stored
e-mail require extra steps, spelled out in the documentation. Pricing
starts at $90 to transfer data from a single PC.
Moving
your
data may not be enough, however.
PC
Word or
Excel documents open up without problem in the Mac versions of those
applications.
But many users have documents stored in more obscure file formats. Dataviz offers a pair of
products, Conversions Plus for Windows ($105) and MacLink
Plus for Mac ($150), which include file viewers and converters for
a wide range
of word processors, spreadsheets, databases, graphics formats and more.
The
current
MacLink Plus runs happily under both the new OS X and the older classic
Mac operating systems. It lets Mac owners work with many otherwise
unreadable
files, whether created on PCs or older Macs. Files created using
classics
WordStar, WordPerfect, MacWrite or dozens of other applications
continue
to be usable.
Some
users
may find that they rely on one or two Windows programs that simply
don't
have Mac equivalents. The Mac version of Microsoft Office
doesn't
include the Access database program, for example. Many
companies
rely on custom-written applications that may only run under Windows or
even DOS.
For
those
times, a Mac can pretend to be a PC.
This
sort
of magic requires Connectix's
Virtual PC (pricing starts at about $200, varying
if you need operating systems bundled in). An imaginary PC boots up,
reading an imaginary hard
drive all stored as a file on your Mac. You can install pretty much any
PC operating system you choose: DOS, Windows 95 or 98, Windows 2000 or
XP, many flavours of Linux, etc. along with the applications of your
choice.
Your imaginary PC can connect to the Internet or your network, use many
USB devices, and print to shared printers.
VPC's
new
version 6 integrates nicely with Mac OS X. Programs running in Windows
appear in the OS X Dock, for example, and it's easy to copy data to the
Mac clipboard and paste it into a Windows program.
While
the
new version is more efficient than ever, it remains slower than running
a real PC.
Still,
if
there are times when only a PC will do, it sure beats having to keep a
second computer on your desk.
A
Mac may
make a stylish fashion statement on your desk. If you're switching from
Windows, these three applications can help you get your work done as
well.
Buy Move2Mac from Amazon.com
Buy MacLink Plus from Amazon.com
Buy Conversions Plus from Amazon.com
Buy Virtual PC from Amazon.com