Apple Computers and CAT Software

8/12/10

By Scott Friend

A few years ago Apple began using Intel processors in their laptops instead of their traditional "home grown" processors.  The Apple processor and the architecture surrounding it have always been the reason that you could not run Windows on an Apple computer; however that has now changed since Apple began working with Intel.  While you still cannot currently run your CAT Software natively (within the MAC Operating System), you can use certain pieces of software to install Windows on a MAC computer, and then load your CAT Software on that Windows platform within the MAC.  This may sound a little strange; however there have been a growing number of frustrated PC users who have been switching over to Apple products because of their notorious reliability.  If you are one of those people who want to use a MAC for everything (email, word processing, internet,  etc.) but don't want to carry around 2 laptops (one for CAT Software and another for everything else), an Apple laptop with Windows installed alongside it may just be what your searching for.

Currently there are 2 methods of installing Windows on an Apple based computer 

The first is called a Virtual Operating System which uses a special piece of software installed on your MAC to run a different operating system (in this case Windows) alongside your MAC operating system.  The most popular software for this use is called Parallels.  Essentially you would use Parallels to create this virtual area and then install Windows and your programs into it.  An icon on your MAC desktop would launch this virtual environment from which you would run your CAT Software.  You can even switch back and forth between your Windows environment and your MAC operating system freely without having to reboot your computer; just minimize your Windows system and resume working with the MAC side of things.  The down side to this approach is that running 2 operating systems at the same time is very resource intensive and may slow down your computer or even cause crashes or problems.  While this is still a great solution for some people, others like to be a little more cautious and proceed with option 2 below.

The second option uses a program called BOOTCAMP, which essentially splits your hard drive into 2 virtual hard drives; one for your existing MAC operating system and then another one for use with Windows.  Once the Bootcamp software partitions the drive you can load your copy of Windows into the newly created EMPTY partition and then install your programs, including your CAT Software.  This is a much more stable approach as the Apple laptop does not run the operating systems at the same time but rather one at a time, which reduces stress and complications on the system.  The down side of course is that you cannot access the Apple side while in the Windows side and vice versa; meaning you would need to reboot your computer to change operating system.  However, in our experience the stability of using Bootcamp and running the operating systems separate outweighs the conveniences and possible side effects of running them at the same time.

In the near future we expect the major CAT Software companies to change their software, allowing full access and use of their features without the need for Windows at all, meaning the software will run natively on the MAC Operating System.  Until that day comes, the best options Apple lovers and enthusiasts can hope for are the ones described above.

So, armed with that information, we should also mention that we can provide this service to you.  If you decide you want to switch to a MAC, but don't feel comfortable doing these things yourself, you can send it into us and we can configure your new Apple to run with your CAT Software.  All you'll pay is labor plus the cost of whichever software you choose above.  If you would like more information about this service just click the CONTACT US button at the top of any page on our site and fill out a request.

Category: Computer Configurations

Tags: cat software laptops.apple mac