I sent out the tweet, requesting preference between the two choices, and wasn’t exactly overwhelmed with replies. So, as has become my habit lately, I turned to twitter for advice. Still, they were all I knew, so I figured that in this case I’d probably go with one or the other. Plus, they cost, and I’m broke, so I never used them for any longer than their respective trial periods (I promise, no, really.). I tend to run one of the several versions of “slimmed down” Windows XP, but even then the performance has never been anything more than “tolerable”. I have in the past used Parallels and VMWare Fusion on my MacBook and never been truly happy with either of them. My thoughts turned quickly to virtualization.

Definitely not as grunty, but as I don’t use it very often I didn’t mind.

Unfortunately, being the nice guy I am, I gave away my little low-profile Pentium 4 Compaq to a good cause, and have since had to rely on a little Mini-ATX box I’ve had for years. Non-intrusive, and non-ram-intensive for my low end MacBook. Until a few weeks ago, my reliable method for testing web code on windows had been very simple: RDP to a windows box on my home network reserved for just such a task, and run IE. The discussion about IE CSS coding is a subject for another, much longer, exceedingly vitriolic post - and many hours with a therapist - but the idea of being a web developer who uses a Mac means that without question you’re going to need some method of testing your code on windows (at least until the revolution, when windows will be the first against the wall. I generally don’t mind except when it comes to IE Well, to be more precise, because the intended audience for most of my work as a web developer tends not to have the taste in computers I have, I sometimes need windows.Īs our fearless leader, Josh, put it this morning in a gtalk message: So, even as a wholly dedicated Mac weenie / freak / guru (I prefer the third option, but have often been saddled with the other two) I sometimes need windows.

Free virtualization software for mac