PC Software on a Mac

Evan Kleiman - 2001.01.24

Q. It seems that more and more every day more really cool and useful programs are being introduced for the PC, and most times there is little or no chance of a Mac version being put out. I've heard that there are ways to be able to use these applications on my Mac. Can you tell me what they are and which ones are the best options for me? Thanks!

A. It does seem true that more and more cool programs come out for the PC, but not for the Mac. Most of the times, either the program won't ever be ported to the Mac - ever - or the program will be coming to the Macintosh "shortly," which in most times can mean never (such as AOL 6.0, it's still not even out in beta for us. . . c'mon AOL, where are you guys??).

But there is a way to give into your PC envy (shame on you!) without giving away your Mac. This first is probably the best and most cost efficient one: Virtual PC 4. This program, made by Connectix. This program lets you totally emulate a PC, so you can run any operating system you want (you have your choices of DOS 6.2, Windows 98, or Windows ME, but you can install any other OS you happen to have laying around from an older PC).

Virtual PC offers support for many things, such as multiple OSes (run Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, and more at one time on the same Mac), MMX support (basically better multimedia), and better internet support for AOL and the such than previous versions.

However, Virtual PC does have some down sides. For one, it's rather costly (up to $200, not because of the program, but in order to run Windows 98, you need to have Windows 98, and Microsoft charges a lot for it) and another big problem is most "low end" older Macs won't even come close to running it. The minimum requirement for the DOS version is Mac OS 8.5, 20-32 MB of free RAM, and 260 MB of free hard drive space. For the Windows 98 or ME versions, the requirements are even steeper.

What if you don't have a snazzy, new iMac, G3, or G4? There are some other options. You can also still buy Virtual PC 3 (which you can get for a substantially lower price with lower requirements). Or, you can go with a cheaper program. Some of them aren't supported as well as others, but they'll still do what you need.

Blue Label Power Emulator, or, BLPE for short, is made by Lismore Software Systems. It does have some advantages over VPC4, such as a much smaller price ($19.95, much less than VPC4, unfortunately, you need to provide your own OS, but it';s still about 10 times as cheap). Also, it only requires a 66 MHz PPC 603 or better, so you can use it on more computers, and instead of a minimum of Mac OS 8.5 (8 for VPC3), it only requires a minimum of Mac OS 7.6.

In the end, while it's not a real PC, Virtual PC and Blue Label Power Emulator can still satisfy your PC-Envy hunger. (Another pair of alternatives is available from FWB Software: SoftWindows98 and RealPC. ed.)

Evan Kleiman has been writing for Low End Mac since January 1999. He also runs his own site, Evansite. Evan uses an iMac, along with some vintage hardware. You can read more about his computing experience in The Many Macs of Evan Kleiman.