The Mac Lawyer : The Mac Lawyer : Ben Stevens : Using Macs In The Practice Of Law

This month's The Legal Mac column from Law Practice Today, the ABA Law Practice Management Section's webzine, features an excellent discussion of the options available to those Mac-using attorneys who want or need to use Windows programs. I am pleased to present "Using Windows on Your Mac" by David Sparks:

One of the excuses that attorneys give for their reluctance to switch from PCs to Macs is that they "need" Windows for one reason or another. The good news is that Macs can run other operating systems, including Windows, whenever needed.

As a Mac-using attorney, I often raise eyebrows when people look over my shoulder to see Windows on my screen. They are even more surprised when they found out how easy it is to run Windows on a Mac.

In 2006, Apple moved the entire Macintosh line to Intel processors. This is the same hardware used by most PC manufacturers. While there are some small differences, Macs and PCs are all using compatible hardware. Almost immediately after this transition, Apple and third party software developers found ways to run Windows on Apple hardware. There are currently three primary methods:

Apple Boot Camp - One Operating System at a Time

Boot Camp is Apple's own free virtualization application built into every new Macintosh computer. It allows you to make two separate partitions on your hard drive, one for Windows and one for the Apple OS X operating system. Once you enable Boot Camp, you are presented a choice when you boot up, Windows or OS X? You simply click the desired operating system and away it goes.

If you choose Windows, your installed Windows partition will load no differently than if it were a Dell or Lenovo. You can run any Windows application your hardware will support. If you click the button for Apple OS X, your computer boots into the Macintosh operating system. This, in essence, gives you two computers in one.

One of the biggest advantages of Boot Camp is that it allows you to devote the entire resources of your computer to whichever operating system you choose. If you load Windows, the entire processor, memory, and operating components are driving Windows. People who operate graphics intensive video software often prefer to use Boot Camp for this reason.

The fact that Boot Camp only runs one operating system at a time is also its biggest detriment. A lot of Mac users want to have the benefits of Windows and Mac OS X at the same time. That is not possible with Boot Camp. This leads to the second method, third party virtualization solutions.

Third Party Virtualization - Peaceful Coexistence

While Boot Camp provides a free and easy solution to run Windows on your Mac, some users prefer to run both Windows and OS X at the same time. Using virtualization applications such as Parallels or VMWare Fusion, both of which cost $70, you can install Windows (or Linux) to run as its own OS X application. These applications support any version of Windows from Windows 95 up through the recently released Windows 7 beta.

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In his latest "Technology Update," Joe Kashi bemoans the current state of Microsoft's operating systems, noting that Vista is "not hot," Windows 7 is "years away," and XP is "being killed off."  In fact, he sounds like he's "almost" ready to be a Mac convert, when he says

Were I starting over and had no Windows-only legal software constraints, I'd go with the excellent Mac OS 10 or some form of Linux, both of which are based upon the powerful Unix operating systems that have been constantly improved and refined since the late 1960s, an when Bill Gates had not yet dropped out of Harvard. Unfortunately, most legal professionals don't have the luxury of changing operating systems because we are tied to Windows-only legal software.

I'm glad that Mr. Koshi is such a fan of Mac's OS X, but I disagree with his assertion that it's difficult for attorneys who use Windows to switch.  As I've written over the years, there are many excellent legal software options available to Mac users, and through the use of virtualization software, Mac users can also run any necessary Windows-only programs.

Source:  ""Technology Update" by Joe Kashi, published in the ABA Law Practice Management Section's Law Technology Today.

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My good friend, David Swanner, reports that his "tech guy is using Apple iMacs to build a more stable, easier to maintain Windows network."  That's right, even some PC tech guys are starting to come around to the many benefits offered by Macs.

Dave lists the following advantages of running Windows on a Mac:

• Nice Hardware at a Reasonable Price - Chrome and glass, 20" monitor, memory, speed, decent memory all in one box. It works well and is attractive.
• Less Desk Space - The Macs are an all in one and leave a small footprint on your desk. It's just the monitor and the keyboard.
• Ease of Maintenance - The entire Parallels Windows file is a single computer file. That's huge. You can install Windows, tweak it to the way you want, install all of the programs that you want and then all of that information will be in a single Parallels file that can be copied and backed up. If your Windows goes down, you can just copy that file back to your iMac and you're up and running. If your entire iMac goes down, you can copy that file to a different iMac and you're up and running. No worrying about file registries, different hardware signatures. No fuss, no muss.
• Portability - Once you have your Parallels backup file, you can copy that to another machine without any problems. You can't do that (easily) with Windows, because of different hardware configurations and the Windows registry.
• Ease of Installation - Once you have a specific set up that you want, for example, WordPerfect, TimeMatters, CaseMap, TimeMap, Sanction, MicroSoft Office, you can save this as a building block and as a base for every installation. Of course, you need to have a site license for each program. You will also have to switch license codes, but that's a lot easier than starting each machine's installation from scratch.

I urge you to visit Dave's post to get his thoughts.  While you are there, you should check out the rest of his blog, as I believe it's one of the best out there.

Source:  "Using iMacs to Build a Better Windows Network" by David Swanner, published at his South Carolina Trial Law Blog.

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From this week's MacUser blog:

Joining the ranks of Parallels Desktop, VMWare Fusion and CrossOver is a new addition to the Mac virtualization market: VirtualBox. A few days ago, innotek released a Mac beta version of the software, in addition to its existing Windows and Linux editions.

What differentiates VirtualBox from its competitors is its price: $0 for personal use. Not only that, it's completely open-source. It runs various flavors of both Linux and Windows (including Vista). A few notable features include a modular design, Remote Desktop Protocol support, and shared folders. Overall, it sounds like VirtualBox is somewhat on the geeky side.

Judging by the lone Mac screenshot on VirtualBox's site, the product lacks Parallels Desktop's polish, but early user reports sent to MacWindows suggest the speed is impressive. There's price to pay for the "beta" label, though: among other things, expect USB support to be flaky.

Anyone want to try it out and report back? The beta is downloadable from VirtualBox's website.

Source:  "VirtualBox, Yet Another Virtualization Option" by Thomas Gagnon-van Leeuwen, published at the MacUser blog.

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Apple's Boot Camp software has just been updated, and it now officially supports the 32-bit version of Windows Vista. The offical list of improvements includes:

• Support for Windows Vista (32-bit)
• Updated drivers, including but not limited to trackpad, AppleTime (synch), audio, graphics, modem, iSight camera
• Support the Apple Remote (works with iTunes and Windows Media Player)
• A Windows system tray icon for easy access to Boot Camp information and actions
• Improved keyboard support for Korean, Chinese, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Russian, and French Canadian
• Improved Windows driver installation experience
• Updated documentation and Boot Camp on-line help in Windows
• Apple Software Update (for Windows XP and Vista)

The new software can be downloaded HERE.

Source:  "Boot Camp 1.2 Released, Includes Vista Support" by Alex Oughton, published at InsanelyMac.

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To follow up on the issues addressed in Craig Poff's guest post yesterday, the Washington Post published an article last week that takes a look at the similarities and features of the big three virtualization programs:  Apple's BootCamp, Parallels Desktop for Mac, and CodeWeavers' CrossOver Mac.  After its in-depth analysis, the article concludes:  "For somebody who needs to run only one or two Windows programs, CrossOver can be a cheap, simple solution. Otherwise, Parallels easily justifies its higher cost and system requirements."

Better yet, the article concludes by saying that "Many new Mac users, however, may discover they don't need to run Windows programs after all -- for just about any task imaginable, a good Mac program can be found. The greatest feature of software like Parallels and CrossOver may be their existence alone. They constitute a cheap, easily exercised insurance policy that frees people to buy the computer they want without worry."  You can read the whole article by clicking HERE.

Source:  "Playing on Both Sides" by Rob Pegoraro, published in the Washington Post. 

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I am pleased to present the following guest post from Craig Poff, a Mac-using attorney in Beaufort, SC:

I switched to Parallels for Mac last Christmas, and I have enjoyed nothing but smooth sailing.  I downloaded it straight from the company's Web site, it installed easily (luckily I already had a copy of Windows XP Pro, as you need it), I installed Windows XP as my Guest Operating System (although you could install Linux, I am told or even old versions of Windows, if you have the disks) and haven't had a single problem.  So much easier to keep Windows open as merely another open application on Mac, rather than shutting down and rebooting, as  required by Apple's Boot Camp.

Indeed, Boot Camp made your Mac more like a total Windows PC (in terms of running the DVD, CD-ROM, the printer ports, etc.), but I am only using Windows for specialized applications (Bankruptcy and Quicken) and don't try to play movies, run 3D games or even go on line.  Indeed, when Windows is running on your Mac, being a Bill Gates product, it will seek to "take over" control of your printer, USB slots, etc.  If it does so, all you have to do is close Parallels and Mac regains full control of all functions of the computer.

Just a note to say that anybody interested in trying it should take the plunge.  The Web Site offers a free 14 day full-function trial of the software.  I was anxious to put my money down well before the 14 days were up ($80 or so).

Craig Joseph Poff, Esq.
Law Office of Craig Joseph Poff
605 Carteret Street
Beaufort, South Carolina 29901
843-521-0995
843-524-2354 (fax)
craig@craigpoff.com

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Reporter Joe Hutsko conducted an experiment to write a story for anyone considering switching from Mac to PC in the wake of the release of Vista, Microsoft's new operating system.  Mr. Hutsko gave up his 12" PowerBook and began using a 17" HP widescreen notebook running Vista.

In his very thorough article, he describes the following areas in great detail:

• Impressions of Vista's appearance and actions;
• The process of moving his data to the PC;
• Multimedia, mobility, and security aspects of Vista; and
• Miscellaneous other impressions about Vista.

So in the end, which does Mr. Hutsko prefer?  He concludes his article by saying, "For me, [Macs] just works right, without really having to think about it.  So I decided to switch again. From Vista, back to the Mac -- to the brand new, white MacBook on which I told this story."

If you are interested in an honest, first-hand comparison of Vista and OS X, read Mr. Hutsko's article.  It shows what can happen when you go over to the "dark side" (i.e., Windows) only to see the light and come back again.  Seriously though, it is a good read, and you can read the full article by clicking HERE.

Source:  "A Mac User Switches to Vista" by Joe Hutsko, published at MSNBC.com.

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