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- How-To: Support Everyone's OS with VirtualBox
Using a Mac is a treat for many, and after years of living on Window machines, I appreciate the little things OS X provides. There’s no point preaching to the choir here about how OS X is better…most of us already feel that way. But what I’ve realized while working in IT, is that I have to be adaptable since not everybody can run OS X. Perhaps they are scared of the change or have an application that doesn’t have an Mac counterpart. Whatever the reason, not everyone will jump on the bandwagon. This is especially true in a more corporate environment.
So as an IT support technician, I have to be flexible. As much as I hate spending hours removing spyware from users machines using tools like AdAware, HijackThis & Malwarebytes; this is my trade and I need to be proficient in every aspect of it. This is why I need to live in both the Apple and Microsoft world at once. There are many options out there such as VMWare Fusion or Parallels, but Oracle’s VirtualBox offering is different in that it’s free.
Free is always good, especially if you only need to access Windows once in a while. VirtualBox can run all flavors of Windows, Linux, Solaris, OS/2 & BSD. If you need to support some random piece of software that only runs in Windows 3.1, VirtualBox will do it.
For my example below, I will run through installing Windows 7 in VirtualBox.
- Download VirtualBox from Oracle’s site.
- Run throughout the Install.
- Launch VirtualBox for the first time and it will ask if you want to register. It is not required.
- Once the Virtual Machine list comes up, we need to make a new VM.
- This will start the New Virtual Machine wizard. Enter your machine’s name and select the OS you will be installing.
- Set the amount of RAM you want to be available to your VM. I chose 1GB since this will be Windows 7 and I have 4GB to spare.
- We also have to create a new Virtual Hard Disk for the install to run off of.
- Choose whether it’ll be a dynamic or static disk. Dynamic is the default since it saves space until it’s needed.
- Choose your size, save location and your new virtual disk is done.
- Now we can launch our VM and start our OS install.
- The First Run Wizard will start and we need to insert our Windows 7 media so it can be installed.
- The Windows 7 setup process begins. To switch your mouse out of the VM and back to OS X, hit Control + Command.
- The Virtual Hard Disk we created earlier is available for Windows to install to.
- Go grab a bite to eat or a few drinks while you let Windows install. When it’s done, all should be well.
- Now we need to install the VirtualBox Guest Additions. Click on Devices in the VirtualBox menu bar and select Install Guest Additions…
- The install will finish and then let the VM reboot at the end. You no longer need to type Control + Command to switch mouse controls. You can also resize the VM window and the desktop resolution will adapt.
Having VM’s available to you in the support environment is a godsend. I still use Snow Leopard on my iMac, but I have the ability to launch a VM with whatever OS the troubled co-worker is using. People seem to think you must know everything about Microsoft Office since you’re IT. I am constantly reminding people, this is not the case. But I can launch Outlook on my end and walk them through the process.
If there is a Windows app that your job requires you to run then it’s time to use Seamless Mode. This allows you to have a Windows Start Bar on the bottom of your screen and Window applications will float on top of OS X.
We also have used VMware Fusion in the past. But so far, VirtualBox does everything Fusion does in our environment. If you haven’t dabbled in VMs before, give VirtualBox a try.
Переслать - Download VirtualBox from Oracle’s site.
- iPad SDK Mining a Big Tease, But Let's Stay Level-headed
After the rumor-fest surrounding Apple's mystery device was stanched the moment Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad, a new trend has emerged; SDK Mining. This is the art of digging through the iPad's operating system to uncover clues about hitherto-undisclosed functionality.
Since the iPad and iPhone SDKs are so very close in core functionality, SDK Miners have been trying to unearth something (anything!) we didn't already know about the iPad. I suspect most people simply glance over these reports, shrug, and move on without comment. After all, we're a bit tired of tablet rumors by now, right? But looking at some of the comments in the articles (linked below), there are some people who take it all very seriously indeed. And that's probably a mistake, as I'll explain shortly.
Before I do, here's a quick rundown of what we think we know so far from the SDK Mining that has happened in the last five weeks.
January 29
Engadget confirmed that the OS SDK contained support for Video Calling, File Downloads, SMS and even Handwriting input;
We’re told that there are hooks to accept and decline a video conference, flip a video feed (which suggests a front-facing camera) and — most importantly — run the video call in either full screen mode or in just a portion of the screen. That means you’ll be able to chat and do other things at the same time, which could mean there’s at least some type of multitasking going on here.
Engadget's Nilay Patel adds in an update;
…there’s a spell checker with multiple dictionaries and user-added entries (huzzah!), much richer text support for apps, the ability to selectively draw to external displays (using the VGA or component adapters, we’d imagine), location-aware ads in Maps and possibly other programs that use the Maps API, file upload ability in Safari, a modifiable cut / copy / paste menu, and, most interestingly, prototype support for a “handwriting keyboard.” Maybe we’ll see some stylus action on this thing after all.
In all, Patel lists no fewer than 18 new discoveries, though many of them are pretty dry and technical.
After that, things fell quiet for a while, until just this week.
February 20
9to5Mac reported discovering a set of icons in the 3.2 SDK it believes are "pretty definitive evidence" for video calling functionality in a future iPhone or iPad device.
Image by 9to5Mac
It also found strings of code that refer to iChat, too, but didn't speculate further. It did say;
While it is possible that Apple brought code over from its Mac telephony products, it is unlikely that they also built icons and compressed them into the iPad SDK for such a product if it weren’t being built for future release.
February 23
MacRumor's Arnold Kim added to the fresh wave of SDK Mining reports with this graphic of the icons used in the video chat functionality;
Image by MacRumors
Kim writes;
It seems Apple built in API support to test to see if your iPad had a Front Facing Camera, Zoom and a Camera Flash. The front facing camera would, of course, be used for video chat, while Zoom and Camera Flash are often requested features for the iPhone’s camera.
Given the size of these buttons, they were intended for use on the the iPad’s screen rather than the iPhone. We’re not sure why these features were dropped…
And finally, just today, MacNN brings us news of (wait for it) advanced wallpaper options.
Image by MacNN
Well. Be still my beating heart. From MacNN;
In the current iPad simulator, users can now set separate lock- and homescreen wallpapers, reflecting the iPad’s ability to keep wallpaper active while navigating icons. In case the difference doesn’t matter, another button applies the same wallpaper to both screens.
The Disappointment of SDK Mining
While it's fun to poke-around in the code (in the absence of an actual iPad to play with, it's the next best thing!), SDK Mining often leads to disappointment. An operating system — even a 'small' OS like the one found on the iPhone or iPad — is hugely complex. It's the end-product of years of development. In that time, as hardware and software prototypes came-and-went, functionality was added and removed, supported and dropped, many times over. This is common to any OS development process.
We need to be careful when reading breathless reports of "hidden" functionality in the iPad (or iPhone) SDKs. In the reports above, the code references camera features, proving that, at some point, Apple's developers seriously explored that functionality. That doesn't mean a camera is guaranteed to appear on the iPad. (For instance, just because I once learned how to ride a bike, it doesn't guarantee I'll become an avid cyclist.)
So let's enjoy the speculation — but not get too worked-up over what it might mean. After all, it might never happen.
Переслать - Quicken Essentials for Mac
I spent the last week or so playing with a copy of the new Quicken Essentials for Mac from Intuit and I can make this review really short for you. If you’re a die-hard Quicken user, you will hate (I mean really loathe and despise) the new Quicken Essentials product. If you are new to Personal Finance Management (PFM) software, then you will probably really like Quicken Essentials but still feel a little confused about why you have to pay $60 for it.
Quicken Pops a Mint
Quicken 2007 for Mac was released in August of 2006. Since that time, Intuit has struggled to define its Mac strategy and loyal users have felt left behind. Intuit tried an online product that worked with the Mac, but were bewildered when a little startup, created as an anti-Quicken, amassed more subscribers. Last September, Intuit took another look at that startup and acquired Mint.com and placed Mint’s founder, Aaron Patzer at the head of the personal finance group at Intuit. That move appeared to show that Intuit was floundering and was looking for outside help to fix its core PFM business. Understandably, the new Quicken Essentials shows a strong Mint influence.
The Essence of Quicken
To start on the new version, Intuit threw away the code for previous releases and started over to create a Mac native version with a modern look and feel. One of the design goals was to create a financial app that would feel at home as part of the iWork suite and it mostly succeeded. The new version looks great and shows a lot of attention to simplifying the user experience in areas like adding new accounts. People that are new to Quicken will love how easy it is to get started.
The new version had four key features: to see all your accounts one place, to see where your money is going, to stay on top of bills, and to track goals for saving money.
Accounts in One Place
Quicken Essentials will download transactions from about 12,000 banks out of the box (around the same number that Mint.com currently supports) and up to 16,000 financial institutions will be supported in the next few months. This is over 3x the number of FI’s that Quicken for Windows supports. This is a tremendous improvement.
Where is My Money Going?
Quicken Essentials provides a nice looking home page with pie charts to quickly show where you stand. Instead of being buried in reports, this information comes front and center. QEM also supports budgets for tracking spending by category.
Plan for Bills
Quicken Essentials will analyze your previous spending and detect recurring bills to help you anticipate upcoming expenses. Of course, you can enter bills manually as well.
Set Goals for Saving Money
You can set goals and track your progress towards that goal.
The reboot of Quicken for Mac comes at a price in features however. While Intuit was fairly certain that they would cover 80 percent of the users from previous versions, there are going to be a lot of pretty upset users from the other 20 percent.
What’s Missing?
No Bill Pay
There is no Bill Pay feature in this release. Intuit found that less than 10 percent of existing customers were using that feature. Because major banks offer free online bill pay to their customers, this feature was axed as “non-essential.”
No Turbo Tax Link
There is no quick link to export tax prep reports direct to Turbo Tax. Many users would simply run the reports to look at spending by category and then type those numbers in Turbo Tax so, again, Intuit decided that this feature was also “non-essential.”
No Investment Tax Lot Accounting
QEM will track the current value of your investment accounts, but it does not provide any reports on the history of your transactions. Fortunately, all the transaction data is preserved in the underlying data and will be available to future versions that offer more comprehensive investment reporting.
The Future
Banking Services
QEM is one of the first places where you will see the integration between Intuit and Mint. All of the back-end will eventually be the same across Mint, Quicken for Windows and Quicken for Mac. Quicken for Mac will be the first product to get the big connection and then the rest will be ported over.
Parity with Windows
The whispered goal at Intuit is to bring parity to the Mac and Windows versions. This includes file format compatibility between different platforms. There is a clear acknowledgment that customers just want to get access to their financial information on whatever platform is available or convenient and Intuit is interested in being there.
Whither Quicken 2007 for Mac?
Quicken 2007 is still being fully supported. Intuit made it clear that it will provide support for a three-version window to include 2006, 2007 and Quicken Essentials.
iPad
No official statement here, but Intuit did discuss that the iPad is an “at your fingertips” device and financial data is a nice thing to have “at your fingertips.”
TheAppleBlog Recommends
I mentioned at the start that Quicken Essentials for Mac is similar in many ways to Mint. The product is streamlined, simple, visually appealing, and easy to jump into. They are so similar, that it is hard to understand why you should pay $59 for Quicken Essentials when you can use Mint.com for free. That decision comes down to…
- planning future transactions to manage cash flow
- importing historical data
- offline access
If you need any of those features, Quicken Essentials would be a good choice except for the price. For such a limited product (albeit a much cleaner and better designed product) I really think Intuit should have come out with $29 introductory pricing, $19 if you own any other Quicken product.
If you are a hard-core Quicken user and you like to reconcile your bank statements with your own records and you religiously enter all your receipts, you will be disappointed in this product. You might really like the next version that includes tax lot accounting and bill pay, but then hold on to your $60 for a year (yes, I am an optimist and will hope against hope to see another version in a year). For the time being, hold on to Quicken 2007, or even Quicken 2010 for Windows, and see what happens.
Переслать
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