Web Developers are getting really excited about how easy it now is to develop across browsers thanks to Apple’s Intel chip switch. For those of you out there looking to get Internet Explorer up and running on your shiny new Intel Mac, I’ve gathered all the options I could find to bring Microsoft’s favorite bad boy to your favorite development environment.
IE6 via XP
Boot Camp - If you like to turn things on and off for a change, Boot Camp is Apple’s beta software to help make your switch to a mac feel comfortable and safe. You’ll need a copy of XP for this one and it’ll probably be the smoothest XP installation you’ll ever experience.
Parallels - While dual booting is great for getting the most out of Half Life 2, Virtualization might be a bit more convenient for developers looking to see if their CSS is going to hold up in IE without having to restart their computer everytime. Be sure to check out Dave Shea’s virtual machine tips to make your Parallels experience the highlight of your day.
VMware announced on the heels of all the Parallels ferver, the folks at VMware are working on their own baby to run Windows and other operating systems on Intel-based Macs. Sign up for Beta release of VMware for Mac here
Q - Is the open-source answer to Parallels and VMware. Based on QEMU, the open source processor emulator, Q is a feature packed cocoa application that’s in Alpha right now, but a very promising alternative for the Mac community.
IE6 Solo
IE6 on OS X - “It took some work, but I was able to get a working (if a bit buggy) version of IE6 running on OS X via WINE.” Words that got everyone jumping at the chance to run JUST IE6 on their Mac and not all this other Microsoft rigamarole.
Darwine - For those that want to skip the crazy technical discussion and troubleshooting in the forum mentioned above to run just IE6 on your computer, the open-source Darwine project intends to port and develop WINE as well as other supporting tools that will allow Darwin and Mac OS X users to run Windows Applications a whole lot easier.
CrossOver Mac - And if you prefer to pay for convenience, CodeWeavers’ latest Windows-compatability product is on its way. Intended for Intel Mac OS X machines, CrossOver Mac will allow Mac users to run their favorite Windows applications seamlessly on their Mac, without the need for a Windows OS license of any kind. They’re in beta right now, but they’re full. Expected price: $59.95 for a single copy (which is better than buying Parallels AND an XP license.)
Once again, PPC users left out in the cold
I own a macbook, it’s a great computer, I like the OSX but can’t stand it in the long run. I tried, really. It’s a toy for me, still not usable for a lot of work I do. Looks like I’m a windowsian so far. I run my XP as a virtual machine through parallels.
I was thinking.. Is there an option to run OSX as a Windows’ virtual machine on my mac? This should be legal, it is a mac after all.. Standalone Safari, maybe?..
stephen, you are a dumb ass.
Stephen: I think Q exists for PPC as well and you have the option of Virtual PC and OpenOSX WinTel (Qemu or Bochs) .
thanks kevin. it’s about time someone rounded out the options.
Everyone needs a hug.
CrossOver will be by far the easiest and best option to run IE6 on your Intel Mac once it’s released. As a bonus it will also run Office XP, Visio, Project, etc… so you’re getting quite a bit for the $59. Plus the “drag-n-drop” install is priceless…
“I was thinking.. Is there an option to run OSX as a Windows’ virtual machine on my mac?”
You’re asking if you can run OS X as a guest OS inside some virtualization software like VMWare. Er, no you cannot now (nor are you likely to be able to in the future) for a couple of reasons:
One, it’s expressly forbidden by your OS X license. You may not run OS X on anything but Apple hardware—virtualization is also expressly forbidden. If you think about it, Apple ain’t going to allow this kind of liscense long as they remain..wait for it..a hardware manufacturer.
And two, it’s damn hard, though possible through some fiendish hacking; it’s not really even a state you could reliably do browser-testing in. There’s a great thread here that covers some of the legal and technical issues: http://forum.parallels.com/thread1053.html
Stephen, use Virtual PC and don’t complain about how slow it is.
I’m looking forward to buying a new MBP when core2duo arrives. I would much rather have an outdated powerbook and the option to buy a computer that is 2 or 5 or whatever times faster than be looking back in 2 years time and complaining because my PPC chip doesn’t compare to all the PC’s on the market.
I have been thinking about getting my first mac for a while, and after checking out CrossOver Mac, I think its about time I did it. I am a frontend developer, and as I am constantly having to test (and usually refine)my work in IE6, I have been hesitant to purchase a Mac. CrossOver Mac sounds like it could encourage me to finally give Apple a try.
eh….I’m a Firefox fan - and even owning a PC I still wouldn’t reccommend IE6. Likewise I wouldn’t reccommend Safari. However, I find the new Mac’s with Intel processors amuzing…maybe finally after all these years there will be true compatibility. I’m fine with Intel + Mac + Microsoft. I’m sure companies like Dell aren’t. However, I like to build my own anyway - and boy it’s gonna stink if Mac starts turning into a major seller of computers…they are overpriced! But I digress… This is nonetheless very useful information and as a graphic designer it makes me more inclined to get a Mac. Who’da thunk it?
I have a MacBook and it is great. I don’t think I will ever put XP on to it though. That would mean adding firewalls, virus scanners and anti-spyware software. Admittedly it would be nice to play games on here sometimes, although I use my Windows desktop PC for that, my MacBook is mainly used for work and when I am on the move.
After playing around with my MacBook, it is really tempting to get an iMac 20”, maybe then I would use boot camp to dual boot, because I much prefer OSX 10.4 to Windows XP. I haven’t tried Vista yet though. Only complaint I have about the Mac is web browsers. They are marginally more expensive, although the other day I built a similar spec Dell to my MacBook and the Dell costs more, so prices of Macs are not really an issue anymore, plus these Intel chips really are quite amazing. Never owned a laptop so fast.
internet explorer is shit