I recently purchased my first Apple computer, a used Macbook Pro. I'm learning, and will be for awhile! I am employed in the IT field, but it's all Windows PCs and Windows software, so I feel like a noob in a way. My Macbook is an A1286 early 2011 version. I was able to buy it cheap as it needed some work. I replaced the battery (which was most of its original problem), and I upgraded the RAM to 16GB and installed a 512GB SSD. With the i7 CPU, this thing rocks!
There is one Windows program I need to use. I tried Wine as the emulator, but it wouldn't install one of the required prerequisite programs correctly (.NET Framework 4.0). After searching online, I discovered Crossover. That worked perfectly. It has a 14 day trial which I am partway through right now, but I have about 10 days to decide what I'm going to use as a long term solution.
My question is this: is Crossover a good option for me? I was hoping for something less costly, but yet I don't have a big problem with it. It is certainly user friendly, and it works!
What other Windows emulator programs are available? Using Crossover could not have been simpler, but for me it doesn't have to be a software designed for beginners as I am tech savvy. Another thing that helps me is that I am familiar with Linux, and there seems to be a good bit of similarity between Mac OS X and Linux.
If I do end up using Crossover, is paying the maintenance fee necessary? I'm assuming there's no support if the purchased support expires and you do not renew. Is it only the tech support that drops, or would I not get updates if I let the support expire?
Are there better options: more user-friendly, cheaper, more capabilities? What do you more experienced Mac users recommend?
There is one Windows program I need to use. I tried Wine as the emulator, but it wouldn't install one of the required prerequisite programs correctly (.NET Framework 4.0). After searching online, I discovered Crossover. That worked perfectly. It has a 14 day trial which I am partway through right now, but I have about 10 days to decide what I'm going to use as a long term solution.
My question is this: is Crossover a good option for me? I was hoping for something less costly, but yet I don't have a big problem with it. It is certainly user friendly, and it works!
What other Windows emulator programs are available? Using Crossover could not have been simpler, but for me it doesn't have to be a software designed for beginners as I am tech savvy. Another thing that helps me is that I am familiar with Linux, and there seems to be a good bit of similarity between Mac OS X and Linux.
If I do end up using Crossover, is paying the maintenance fee necessary? I'm assuming there's no support if the purchased support expires and you do not renew. Is it only the tech support that drops, or would I not get updates if I let the support expire?
Are there better options: more user-friendly, cheaper, more capabilities? What do you more experienced Mac users recommend?