Crossovers and parallels

Fri Dec 9 00:45:51 UTC 2011

For those that might be a little lost about what this thread is about,  
essentially Toolbox and many other Linguistics oriented programs run  
only Windows (XP, 7 etc), and there are people out there on Apple  
computers or running a Linux based operating system who would like to  
be able to run these programs. However, if you're running a linux  
based operating system, I suspect you're technically savvy enough not  
to need to read this email.

If you're on a Mac, and you're confused about the options then read on.

To run Toolbox and potentially other Windows only programs, broadly  
speaking there are 3 possible solutions:

	(1) get a separate computer running a windows based operating system  
(or use "Boot Camp" if you're on an Intel based mac (ie relatively  
recent mac)).
	(2) run a "virtual" computer inside your computer and install Windows  
on this.
	(3) emulate windows and run your applications through that, using  
Crossover or Wine.

Solution (1) requires that you buy or find a separate computer, but  
this is at least reasonably straight forward. If you're not tech savvy  
but you're okay using a Windows PC then this is often the easiest  
solution. But the cost of this solution is the cost of the new  
computer (or find a second hand one - Toolbox does not need the latest  
and greatest computer). Consider getting a cheap netbook if this  
solution appeals. A major disadvantage for this solution is that your  
files will be spread across two computers. But you could always store  
them on a USB flash drive and then plug that into the computer you  
want to use.

Solution (1a) is "Boot Camp". Boot Camp (http://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/ 
) is an alternative for the moderately tech savvy mac users. It allows  
you to install Windows straight onto your mac, but will mean you have  
to restart your computer every time you want to use Toolbox, and you  
cannot simultaneously use Toolbox with your regular Apple programs.  
The costs associated with this solution are the purchase a of Windows  
license. There are academic versions available, and some academic  
institutions may have a site license which means you don't have to pay  
at all.

Solution (2) is technically harder than solution (1). There are three  
possible contenders: Parallels and VMWare Fusion, and VirtualBox. The  
first two are commercial products with various degrees of technical  
support available, the third is free, with community based support.  
Again if you are not tech savvy, I would lean towards the commercial  
solutions. And so the costs would be both the cost of the software  
_and_ a windows license. Advantages to this solution are that you can  
run Mac and (any) Windows programs side by side. Some confusing points  
can be locating your files, cutting a pasting between programs, and  
managing a "virtual" computer inside your actual computer. But the  
advantages are many - everything is (pretty much) in the one location,  
the windows programs run very robustly, and especially with the  
commercial software, the tightness of integration means you may not  
even be aware of the difference between Toolbox and any other  
application on your mac.

Solution (3) is also technically harder than (1), and while Toolbox  
runs reasonably well, I have failed to run many other SIL Linguistics  
programs. The cost is lower however - you only need to purchase  
Codeweaver's Crossover, and there are academic versions available. The  
software is updated frequently, but their business model is to make  
you pay for support (and major updates) on an ongoing basis (but you  
don't have to update if everything works!). Integration between  
regular Mac programs and windows programs is reasonably tight, but at  
times confusing - for instance when it comes to closing/quitting  
Toolbox. Keyman does not work, and I have yet to come up with a  
reasonable solution to typing in non-standard characters. Key  
combinations can also be a little confusing. Cutting and pasting  
between documents can be a little buggy. The major advantage is that  
this is the cheapest solution to get Toolbox running on your mac.

Crossover is actually a commercial repackaging of the freely available  
and open source "Wine" software. If you know how to install Wine then  
this email is not for you. But FYI it is the only legal free solution  
that does not require the purchase of a windows license (actually,  
technically in some cases you are required to own a windows license  
but you don't need to use it).

So here is how I would break it down based on different user's  
scenarios:

"Argh, it's all too hard... I want an easy solution!": use a separate  
Windows PC computer with a thumb drive to store your files. Of course  
lugging around two computers may actually be harder in some cases!

"I'm not afraid to try something trickier. I want to run Toolbox only  
and I want the cheapest (legal) solution": run Wine, or if you don't  
know how to do that, run Codeweaver's Crossover. VirtualBox is  
potentially a better cheap option if you can get ahold of a windows  
license for free (ie through work etc).

"I'm not afraid to try something trickier. I want convenience. I don't  
care what it costs": run Parallels or VMWare Fusion (where the  
integration is more transparent), or if on a budget, run VirtualBox.  
Of course, VirtualBox will be the cheapest if you can get ahold of a  
windows license for free.

None of these solutions are perfect. So in addition, consider writing  
a friendly email to the SIL Toolbox/Fieldworks team praising them on  
their excellent software (a bargain at that price too if I may say  
so!), and saying how nice it would be if they could produce a genuine  
cross-platform solution.

Cheers,
Tom

On 08/12/2011, at 11:33 AM, Xavier Barker wrote:

> You don't even need to be booting the VM everytime you use it.  You  
> can pause it (or save state) and just reload it in a ready state  
> every time you need it, which is a great option if you're seriously  
> so time poor you can't wait a few minutes for the VM to load.   
> You'll find a lot of software is dependent on a fair bit of backend  
> stuff happening in Windows (like Keyman) which is why they don't  
> work as expected under emulated conditions.
>
> On 08/12/2011, at 11:24 AM, Aidan Wilson wrote:
>
>> Given how many programs you intend to use, I argue again that a  
>> virtual machine is the best approach. I agree that crossover allows  
>> you to easily open a project without booting the machine, but the  
>> ram and cpu usage is higher when you have crossover and a virtual  
>> machine running. It's best to have everything in one VM.
>>
>> -- 
>> Aidan Wilson
>>
>> PhD Candidate in Linguistics
>> School of Languages and Linguistics
>> The University of Melbourne
>>
>> +61428 458 969
>> aidan.wilson at unimelb.edu.au
>> @aidanbwilson
>>
>> On Thu, 8 Dec 2011, Margaret Carew wrote:
>>
>>> Sorry about that, I can’t get it to work either
>>> I’ve had the LP/crossovers download sitting here – I just tried  
>>> running it, but it won’t load my database.
>>> MC
>>> On 8/12/11 9:25 AM, "Claire Bowern" <claire.bowern at yale.edu> wrote:
>>>
>>>     I've had no luck getting Lexique to work on Crossover - what  
>>> settings did you use?
>>>     Claire
>>>
>>>
>>>     On Wednesday, December 7, 2011 at 6:52 PM, Margaret Carew wrote:
>>>
>>>           Crossovers and parallels Thanks for all the input on  
>>> Crossovers and parallels for toolbox.
>>>
>>>           After my own couple of weeks of testing I’ve decided to  
>>> use both – I’m going with a parellels virtual
>>>           machine, mainly so I can use Miromaa, running under  
>>> windows 7.
>>>
>>>           However, I like crossovers for toolbox because you go  
>>> straight to it (the crossovers/Toolbox icon) and
>>>           start up from there. If I need to I can also use it in  
>>> Parallels, accessing the same files etc, but it
>>>           seems to run a bit slower (also has the whole windows  
>>> start up routine which is boring).
>>>
>>>           And I think Lexique pro works the same way through  
>>> crossovers.
>>>
>>>           The cost wasn’t exhorbitant, paid $70 for parellels (on  
>>> special last week!) and about $40 for
>>>           crossovers. (and have access to licences for the big  
>>> ticket software through work).
>>>
>>>           cheers
>>> --
>>> Margaret Carew
>>> Arandic Endangered Languages Project
>>> Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education
>>> Alice Springs NT 0870
>>> 08 8951 8344 / 0422 418 559
>>> margaret.carew at batchelor.edu.au
>>>
>

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