Who loves the “buy one, get a second one free” deal? Everyone, right? How about, “buy one, get 3″? Of course!
So, before you purchase your next computer, consider this: The Apple MacPro!
I know, I know, every one of you is now thinking, “how much is Steve Jobs paying this guy?” Well, the answer is “nothing.” I am not an Apple fanboy, I assure you.
But if any of you are like me and have many computers sitting around the house, each with a different function, this may be the perfect solution. I currently have 7 PCs and a Mac Mini. They all have their own unique function: games, encode video, record video, server, etc. But if I got a MacPro and installed Parallels, I could easily use this one box as 3 computers!
Consider the following: a Mac is a safe operating system to function in: no spyware or viruses. But I have many programs that are PC only that I need to run on a regular basis, such as Office. Yes, I know, there is Office for the Mac. But why spend $400 for it when I already have Office 2003 for Windows? So, I could install an XP virtual machine in Parallels and then I have 2 computers in one box, easily switchable.
As well, for anyone who runs servers from home (email, web, FTP, SSH, etc.), everyone knows that the best (and cheap-as-free) way to do that is using Linux. Here comes Parallels to the rescue again. Another virtual machine and a quick install and bingo!
Finally, what better environment to have an iPod in than a Mac? iTunes is horrible in a Windows environment. It’s leaky and slow and crashes often. So, having the OSX environment available is great, if for no other purpose than that.
And here’s the best part: the virtual machines are simply a handful of files, easily backed up and restored. Say someone hacks my apache server, I can just restore the virtual machine from a backup. Up and running in minutes. Say some new exploit attacks my Windows machine. A few file restores and I’m back in business.
So, if any of you are like me and want many machines running, each doing what they do best, but you don’t want to spend the money to upgrade and maintain all of them, do what I am planning on doing: buy a MacPro, make sure it has oodles of RAM, and have fun!
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good idea man but if you go to this site http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/ download boot camp onto your mac pro and you can do the same thing as parralels but its free…. the only problem is you can only run one os at a time but hey you save money? you mite not hav much after getting the mac pro. trust me….. i dont =( but its great!!!!!!! do it!!!!
Posted July 1st, 2007 at 9:52 pm Michael Swanberg Says:
Yes, BootCamp has always been at the front of my mind with this. But FWIW, I don’t want to reboot to change OSes. Each OS will have its duties (at least the way I do things) which will require it to be on 24/7. The idea I had with the Mac Pro is that I will get 2 machines in 1… BootCamp gives me 2 machines, but only one of which is usable at a time, so it’s still 1 machine.
Posted July 2nd, 2007 at 10:34 am
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