I'm having a bit of an existential Windows vs Mac crisis. Like many others, I use Windows at work and Macs personally. There doesn't seem to be a large constituency here for running programs like ConnectedText, the Windows version of OneNote, MyInfo, etc., on a Mac using CrossOver or Parallels. Is that correct, and if so why? Thanks for sharing your experiences.

As an only occasional Mac user, I may not be really qualified to answer this. But I think the answer is that if you enjoy using that platform, it's jarring to adjust to a Windows program. We tend to lean toward native software compliant with Mac user interface conventions. So people tend to look for data FORMATS (like OPML) and shared storage (Dropbox) that are compatible, so that the tools may change, but the files don't.

Thanks. I wonder if there are many Mac users who happily run a handful or more PDF Windows programs using Parallels or another bridging platform and themselves think this is a great way to use both Tinderbox *and* ConnectedText, etc.

I run Windows 10 in Parallels 11 on my MacBook Air and have for 10+ hours, daily, for years. I usually have both OS's running side by side. It's great. Parallels makes the Mac apps and filesystem structure available in Windows and vice versa. In "coherence" mode Parallels blends all the Windows features into the Mac UI seamlessly. I get the best of both worlds side by side. I prefer the Windows versions of Office products, and I can use Mac apps like DEVONthink and Tinderbox. I can run Windows-only apps like Connected text next to Mac-only apps. I also use a Mac app called DropZone that sits in the Mac menubar. With DropZone running I can drag a file from a DEVONthink database into DropZone and launch Word, etc., on Windows.

One thing: avoid Crossover. It is ugly and clunky anc far less featured than Parallels.

Hi.

Manfred Kühn of http://takingnotenow.blogspot.de/ is running ConnectedText and other Windows apps on a Mac. You may want to contact him. Or maybe he will step in here - I think I saw him post on this forum a few weeks agon.

I used to run 2 virtual Windows machines through Parallels for Microsoft Office 2003 and 2007 (when I worked as an editor-in-chief for a newsletter covering Microsoft Outlook). It never clicked with me. The only software I run on my Macbook now are Mac OS applications.

When you want to know more about ConnectedText and Tinderbox: Steve Zeoli is the man to ask. I am sure he will soon answer to this topic.

Franz

I have a Macbook Pro (13-inch, mid-2012), with 8 gb of RAM. I like to be able to run certain Windows programs (InfoQube, ConnectedText), but the main problem is that running a virtual OS makes my system sluggish. Parallels is a great program, but I'm now using Veertu instead, which seems to be lighter-weight (although less polished and powerful). But unfortunately, as someone who likes to have a lot of programs open at once, I find that even using Veertu slows down my system too much --- the only solution is to quit Chrome (a resource hog), but I prefer to keep Chrome open. So, the real solution, from my perspective, would be to get a Mac with at least 16 gb of RAM.

* Update: This post inspired me to do some tweaking, as I had almost given up on running Windows on my Mac lately. It turns out that, now that I have re-installed the Veertu "guest add-ons" (similar to Parallels Tools), everything seems to be running much more smoothly and quickly. Maybe 8 gigs of RAM is okay afterall.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Franz. Sadly, I haven't used ConnectedText seriously for a few years now. I love the program, but I just couldn't slip it efficiently into my workflow. Not that they are necessarily the same, but TheBrain has become my main info tool.

At one point I did have CT running on my MacBook in VMFusion. It worked okay, but my MacBook was a little underpowered to handle it.

The real go to guy for CT on this forum is Dr Andus, though he runs it on a Window PC.

Steve Z.


Franz Grieser wrote:

Hi.

Manfred Kühn of http://takingnotenow.blogspot.de/ is running
ConnectedText and other Windows apps on a Mac. You may want to contact
him. Or maybe he will step in here - I think I saw him post on this
forum a few weeks agon.

I used to run 2 virtual Windows machines through Parallels for Microsoft
Office 2003 and 2007 (when I worked as an editor-in-chief for a
newsletter covering Microsoft Outlook). It never clicked with me. The
only software I run on my Macbook now are Mac OS applications.

When you want to know more about ConnectedText and Tinderbox: Steve
Zeoli is the man to ask. I am sure he will soon answer to this topic.

Franz

Very helpful, thanks. For those running Windows on a via Parallels, I have two levels of questions. First, do you find it easy and convenient to run CRIMPer programs like ConnectedText and MyInfo on your Mac so that you can seamlessly use those programs on your work Windows computer and at home? Second, does this ease-of-use extend so far that you even run the Windows versions of cross-platform programs like OneNote and Quicken on your Mac because the Windows version is apparently better than the Mac version?

Second question first. I run Windows on my Mac because (a) my clients use Outlook on Windows, and Outlook meeting invites (which I get dozens of each week) are completely incompatible with Mac's Calendar -- running Windows is the only way I can guarantee that the Outlook messages and invites I receive can be read accurately and reacted to appropriately; and (b) because most apps made for Windows have second rate Mac versions -- OneNote, Quicken, MindJet -- or no Mac versions -- ConnectText, SouthBeach Modeler, etc.

First question: running Windows on a Mac, and working seamlessly between a Windows work computer and the Mac/Windows computer is not a motivation, in my case, or out-of-the-box easy in any case. The only way you could work "seamlessly" this way is to either have access via some network-based remote access protocol, or sharing data via OneDrive or some other cloud. In my case, my Windows computer at work is so heavily locked down and fire-walled that there is no ability to share data or access with my Mac/Windows combo. So I email myself a lot of documents -- which is silly but it's the only access available. (My work computer locks out external drives or USB sticks.)

exatty95 wrote:

Very helpful, thanks. For those running Windows on a via Parallels, I
have two levels of questions. First, do you find it easy and convenient
to run CRIMPer programs like ConnectedText and MyInfo on your Mac so
that you can seamlessly use those programs on your work Windows computer
and at home? Second, does this ease-of-use extend so far that you even
run the Windows versions of cross-platform programs like OneNote and
Quicken on your Mac because the Windows version is apparently better
than the Mac version?

Certainly wish the divide of mapping out keyboard actions was dealt with better through parallels. Oh, for a pageup and pagedown/ insert key in mac hardware! Sure, I know there are utilitties to rub this down, but seamless working between the two without a serious amount of fiddling??
Can it be made easy? I want to know!

Well, it's pretty easy to configure keyboard shortcuts to assign key combos on the Mac to Windows keys -- I've configured ⌥I to trigger "Insert" in Windows. It's a one-time setting in the options for a virtual machine. Once-and-done. No fiddling at all LOL -- Google will tell you how.

bigspud wrote:

Certainly wish the divide of mapping out keyboard actions was dealt with
better through parallels. Oh, for a pageup and pagedown/ insert key in
mac hardware! Sure, I know there are utilitties to rub this down, but
seamless working between the two without a serious amount of fiddling??
Can it be made easy? I want to know!

Yes, three or four years ago, there was a period when I ran Windows on my Mac Mini (which is now rather underpowered by the standards of today, but then was fairly sprightly). My main purpose was to use Nuance's Dragon Naturally Speaking, a Windows speech-to-text programme which was then more capable than its Mac equivalent. I used it principally with MS Word for Windows, but also with various other Windows programmes (including, if I remember correctly, a trial version of Connected Text.)

It all worked successfully, but I learnt, or re-learnt, three things. One was that with heavyweight programmes of this sort, plus OSX plus Parallels plus Windows, you really can't have too much RAM. Having established that 8Gb was insufficient for Naturally Speaking and Word to function efficiently, I ended up with 16Gb. (Fortunately, my model of the Mini, unlike more recent ones, allows the user to increase its load of RAM - up to a maximum of 16Gb.) Secondly, launching Parallels plus Windows was quite what my grandmother used to call "a palaver"- in other words a prolonged and tedious fuss - especially when Windows wanted to update. It is an under-statement to say that Parallels plus Windows did not rest lightly on my machine. And lastly - I was confirmed in my close-to-dislike of Windows.

It was with relief that I returned 100 per cent to OSX (even though Dragon for Mac remained and remains significantly less capable than Dragon Naturally Speaking).