[X4U] Parallels Desktop

[Zane H. Healy]

> >A. Needs to be *simple* and no possibility of confusion (yes, I know 
> >leaving Windows out would be best, but as you can see from the 
> >following that's not an option)
> 
> Not sure what type of confusion you are talking about.

Neither am I, but trust me, these two people can get confused :^)

> >B. Geneology Software, including the possibility of having to run 
> >some under Virtual PC (Win95)
> 
> If you are wanting to use Virtual PC, then that has nothing to do 
> with either BootCamp or Parallels.

I'd meant the possibility of running the Windows version of Virtual PC under
WinXP.  I've not yet checked how well it handles things such as CD-ROM
access (something the Mac/PPC version is horrible at).

> Win95 can only run under Parallels.

I'd not realized that, I just checked thier list of supported OS's.  Very
nice.  Does Parallels emulate some common type of video adapter?  How does
it handle the video drivers for all of those OS's?

> >C. Drive a Microfilm scanner that is "Windows Only", and later will 
> >likely also need to talk to a Microfiche scanner
> 
> How does the scanner connect to the computer? If it is SCSI, then 
> you'll need then you'll need to add that interface and it may not be 
> supported by either.

As I understand it, it's USB.

> >D. Interface with a fancy sewing machine
> 
> Fancy sewing machines typically use some type of copy protection 
> dongle and you won't know if it will work till you try it (and it may 
> even use the serial port for the dongle.)

Fancy sewing machines are just plain a major pain in the neck if a Mac is
involved.  The best we managed with an iBook running Mac OS 9 and VPC 2 & 3,
talking via a USB-to-Serial converter was for it to mostly work.

At this point the important piece of hardware to have working is the
Microfilm scanner.

		Zane