Demo version would be useful - tommmyboy_sf

Yeah, you're very smart to not pony up the $25. You can read all about this company and this product's descent into the marketplace starting here http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/18545&mode=feedback and then just keep toggling the version no. of each release until you can read no more of how misleading these people are. I hate to so aggressively relay such negative information about someone or a company, but I truly find their company's business practices heinous, despicable, and entirely unethical, starting from the get go by luring you in with a somewhat convincing promise of that thing that a few people still haven't given up looking for yet: the miracle of Windows virtualization on an Intel Macintosh at a processing rate just a little less than you'd get on hardware on an average everyday Windows box WITHOUT even offering a demo, but very smartly pricing it at a mere $25 so people will hesitantly forgo the demo because after all its just $25 right? Here's the deal with this company: the implicit, if not explicit, foundation of some of the OpenSource philosophy goals is to allow freedom of development to everyone, let everyone have a say, if they have an improvement to add or change to make that adds or improves functionality for someone, somewhere, then they should by all means to do so in an effort to make technology open and easy to use for everyone. So as part of certain licensing, to encourage this freedom of development, they basically, in a nutshell, just give up about all rights associated with the code of their software, trusting people won't exploit it. I've seen people take OpenSource before and build it into something else and market/sell it - but it's a substantially improved product they have developed and usually sold as shareware or pittance of $5 to $10.

This company has done nothing but really package up someone else's software - an open source emulator called Qemu written by Fabrice Bellard, you could probably search for it here, a new version just came out - all nice and pretty and said here, give me $25. I mean, that might even be ok in terms of how it relates to the OpenSource ideal.

But this company makes claims that are simply and so deceptively misleading. Let's start with the worst and make our way forward. I have an iMac PPC 1.8Ghz G5 that's been upgraded from stock 512mb ram to 1Gb. I've used various iterations of Qemu - the most popular and much more ethical Q by Mike Kronenberg (probably also on here) - and you'll NEVER get XP running, I didn't even try. It's common sense. I could barely configure x-86 versions of different Linux distros - a much much lighter OS by leaps and bounds to run than Windows - to run. The only one that did was Damn Small Linux, and it is so damn small it fits on a floppy! So that tells you something.

Now, if I could barely emulate the smallest Linux distro in the world almost on my set up, it wouldn't be possible for someone with a G4 to do anything USABLE - like not having to wait a minute between keystrokes - with OpenOSX Wintel BASED ON QEMU, not because of any limitation of Qemu but because the G4 simply can't do it. And although they recommend a G5, OpenOSX claims G4 will work. It will work, but again not in a usable way.

I could keep tearing these people apart but it's late and I gotta do more work so lemme try to get us to the Intel Mac area here... They say now, and as they have always said, they can run XP on a 2.66 Ghz Intel Mac with 512mb RAM in a usable fashion. Well, I don't know how "useable" it is, but I do know that Leopard sucks up close to 400mb right off the bat to run the operating system - THAT'S BEFORE YOU EVEN LAUNCH A PROGRAM! Even the most basic install of XP will scream if it doesn't have 512mb RAM available. So how does this all add up here when you use their product? Well, what happens is is a huge glob of virtual memory gets used which slows everything down and in the long run really shortens the life of your hard disk, not to mention your patience as the spinning wheel of death (Apple likes to call it a beach ball, NOT ME!) circles about processing virtual memory.

And telling people to use Windows 98 and 95?????? Stuffs 11 years+ old. I think MS has deprecated those and there is no useful software available for them. Such a joke.

THERE IS stuff that works to virtualize Windows on Intel Macs and it does it rather successfully and nicely. I also have a Macbook 3,1 - 2.0 Ghz Intel 2 Dual Core (or whatever it's called, I'm on the iMac right now) with 1 Gb of RAM and I wanted to use the Netflix on demand feature when it was intro'ed a few years ago but the plugin was Windows only. I had used M$ Virtual PC years ago, pre-OSX, and it worked alright enough tot gibve me hope that something was out there now and i found VirtualBox (you can search for it on here - it's opensource and free) and it just BARELY made XP usable with a standard install... once I ripped out all the guts sucking up precious bits of my coverted 1 Gb RAM, I finally finagled it to stream in a way that was choppy due to memory and processor limits but still ok to watch. I'd recommend it for specific specialized uses - it did me good until Mac got Silverlight. To use virtualized XP as an everyday environment in coexistance with OS X isn't usable unless you're running a super duper high speed Mac Pro Tower with like 8 Gb of RAm and ungodly processor speeds I can only wish to afford.

And look at Open OSX "return policy" this is straight from their website: "RETURN & REFUND POLICY
If you are not satisfied with your OpenOSX purchase, please contact Customer Service for a Return Material Authorization (RMA) request within 10 business days of the receipt of the product. If the item is returned unopened in the original shrink wrapped packaging, we will exchange it or offer you a refund based on your original method of payment.The product must be returned to OpenOSX within 10 business days of the issuance of the RMA. All products must be packed in the original, unmarked packaging including any accessories, manuals, documentation and registration that shipped with the product. A base fee of US Five dollar plus ten percent restocking fee will be assessed on all returns.

Please note that OpenOSX does not permit the return of or offer refunds for opened software."

Well, how do you know you're satisfied until you open it and use it? Uh duh. They really take advantage of people who are really, almost desperately, looking for a way to have OSX and Windows co-exist.

And it's all legal - they aren't breaking any laws with licensing or not giving you a demo or offering no refunds on open, used software. It's sickening. Oh and it's so sad to see they are my neighbors here in San Francisco. How embarrassing.

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Monday, June 15 2009 @ 12:09 AM PDT