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[Paul Wetter is a certified orchid judge with the American Orchid Society. At our
request, he agreed to do the following review for the benefit of those orchid
lovers who like himself are Mac users.]
“Fans of OrchidWiz and Mac can now have the best of both worlds. OrchidWiz
has worked well on older PowerPC Macs with software called Virtual PC.
Virtual PC is simulation software that can run the Windows operating system,
when needed for OrchidWiz. Virtual PC requires enough RAM memory and
processor speed. At least 500mb RAM and 500Mhz processor speed. It is slower
than on a PC, but works well.
The really exciting news for Mac users and people thinking of switching to
Apple is that new Macs from Apple are using Intel processors and can run
OrchidWiz, using software called Parallels Desktop. I have been using
OrchidWiz on a Mac Intel laptop for over six months. I have Parallels Desktop
running Windows XP when needed for OrchidWiz. It is fast and flawless. A new
version of Parallels Desktop that I have been testing can even eliminate the
PC screen look. Now Apple and OrchidWiz fans can have the best of both.
I can have all the wonderful features of a Mac, including storing my
orchid pictures in iPhoto, as well as OrchidWiz and
other PC programs. How great is that!
Best Regards,
Paul Wetter”
[Iris Cohen is an orchid grower from North Syracuse
and an active member of the Central New York
Orchid Society. She runs OrchidWiz on
a Mac using Virtual PC. Iris kindly offered to share her notes with
other Mac users.]
A note for all the Mac users who
are complaining bitterly because OrchidWiz is not Mac compatible: Being the
nomenclature and show registration authority for our club, I wanted to get
Wildcatt when it came out. I was warned by the cognoscenti that Virtual PC
was slow and unreliable, so I had to wait. Then Virtual PC 6 appeared, which was a great improvement. I now have Windows XP Home
running on Virtual PC 7. I can only report on how OrchidWiz works on an iMac.
Our machine has OS X version 10.3.9 (Panther). Virtual PC with Windows is not
terribly expensive. The upgrade to version 7 was $49.
I would not hesitate to recommend OrchidWiz for that combination. When
everything is installed, there is a Start button in your dock which launches
Windows. Then you have to click on OrchidWiz. This process is a bit slow, but
you are loading a very complex program on top of Windows. The most wonderful
feature is that OrchidWiz occupies about 1/4 of your desktop. While it is
open, you can skate back and forth into the Mac system, update your Mac
files, and even go online. I would never connect Windows directly to the
Internet, but it's not necessary.
One warning about Virtual PC 7: There is no free technical support for new
purchases. If you want to call Microsoft & ask a question, they will
charge you $35. The program is pretty user-friendly, and there is a support
site.
There are two precautions you must know about. When you go to install
OrchidWiz, Windows must be up and running first. OrchidWiz installs
automatically. As soon as you put the CD in the disk drive, it looks for
Windows. If it isn't there, OrchidWiz will have a fit and get stuck. You will
have to take it out and start over.
The other problem occurs if you upgrade from Virtual PC 6 to 7. There may be
some trash left over from version 6. This will keep the cursor from traveling
into the Mac desktop unless you press the Command key. To fix this, go to the
above support site. Find the line:
The mouse pointer and the
keyboard do not work as expected after you import a virtual machine into
Virtual PC for Mac Version 7
Follow their instructions to fix the glitch. It is fairly simple.
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