There are 51 replies in this Thread which has previously been viewed 19,057 times. The latest Post () was by serafina.
I've never tried to game on a Mac, but I have tried on Linux Mint using Wine. When all the configs are out the way, it does work and games run. But it's all the fiddling about that puts me off.
Clearly Windows games just work straight out of the box.
I've never tried to game on a Mac, but I have tried on Linux Mint using Wine. When all the configs are out the way, it does work and games run. But it's all the fiddling about that puts me off.
Clearly Windows games just work straight out of the box.
My husband plays games on Parallels which runs Win7. They work very smoothly. He plays Rome Total War and stuff like that.
Like this?
https://www.parallels.com/prod…g6nvRJwT5gGkaAkm9EALw_wcB
I can't make out if it's a virtual machine or some kind of emulation. 
Like this?
https://www.parallels.com/prod…g6nvRJwT5gGkaAkm9EALw_wcB
I can't make out if it's a virtual machine or some kind of emulation.
Yes, that's the program. It is a virtual machine.
Its main competitor is VRM, which I used for the first year after I acquired my Macbook. However, it had some glitches and tried Parallels, which works okay.
You can read more about these two VR here.
Personally, I adore the coherence mode. It is a virtualization mode that shows each Windows software as running independently, with its icon in the task bar at the bottom of the screen (instead of the icon of Parallels that open on a Windows window where the software is running).
The only downsides I find are:
Aside from that, I am pretty happy with it.
Serafina and Splinter, Have you tried to call Apple Care (1 800 692 7753 in the US) I think they also have So America numbers but not sure. I just use WiFi calling. Sometimes they try to charge you when you are out of warrantee but mostly not, especially if it is a software/OS problem. I just got off an hour and a half call with a second tier specialist trying to figure out why disk 1st aid isn't working properly. We finally sent data to the engineers and she will call me back on Friday with answers. I also asked her about some problems with Photos. My Mac is a 2013 MacBook Air, out of warrantee.
High Sierra was a major change in the OS and knowing the details is way above my pay grade. It did affect how pictures are handled. I think that when doing OS upgrades you do have to do a little research to see if there are any known problems. MacWorld.com and iMore.com are good sites.
Display MoreYes, that's the program. It is a virtual machine.
Its main competitor is VRM, which I used for the first year after I acquired my Macbook. However, it had some glitches and tried Parallels, which works okay.
You can read more about these two VR here.
Personally, I adore the coherence mode. It is a virtualization mode that shows each Windows software as running independently, with its icon in the task bar at the bottom of the screen (instead of the icon of Parallels that open on a Windows window where the software is running).
The only downsides I find are:
- In Parallels there are many key shortcuts which I accidentally hit from time to time and I am no longer able to select accented letter by keeping the key pressed like in MacOS
- The two OSs do not share softwares. I use a translation software where I can get Word preview... but I need a copy of Word for the Windows machine for it to work, as it won't use the copy of Word for Mac installed on the Mac machine.
Aside from that, I am pretty happy with it.
I hate Coherence. I am used enough to the Windows desktop to want to use it on its own terms. I want a fullscreen desktop to which I can flip at will.
And it's absolutely great - make the Windows window full-screen, and you can Ctrl-toggle back and forth. Cut and paste works across the "machines" and that's all the integration .
One problem is that once Parallels is running in its own space, you can't use Ctrl-arrows to run quickly through text. This is solved by adding a bunch of keyboard shortcuts which let me use the Mac shortcut - Option-arrows - in Windows. Like so:
I would never call Apple Care as there are numerous tools and guides available on the Net to allow me to fix most OSX related problems. Besides, I'd need to have an account with Apple for a the particular device I'd be working on.
Addenda serafina:
Most of the keyboard shortcuts you want can be reimplemented in Parallels, except for accented characters.
For those, a quick workaround:
This also works for OSX macOS standard text services (say, make all-caps), in applications that don't provide them.
Say, I'm typing in Google Chrome or the WhatsApp desktop app and have text I want in all caps.
Cut/Copy the text, ⌘-Space to invoke Spotlight, paste, select/right-click, Transformations > Make Upper Case, back to the app and paste.
As well, I greatly prefer using Option keys for accents rather than long press. Example:
Once you get used to it, I believe you'll find it to be faster and more natural.
Some other Option-characters other than accents which are great:
Really, take a few minutes and run through the whole keyboard while holding down Option, and also Option-Shift. You'll be pleasantly surprised.
I learn so much good stuff on this forum! Thanks, all.
Just for the record, due to technical issues with my translation software and the latest Retina screens, I have bought a second hand iMac on Mercadolibre. Prices on imported iMac sold in Argentina have already increased since my last post. Oh, Argentinian miracles! 
FEB '18 - Just checked on iPoint:
iMac 21.5" with LED display ARS32,500, origin: USA 
- APR '18 ARS 32,999
iMac 21.5" with Retina display ARS40,000, origin: China - APR '18 ARS 41,999 that's +100 USD!
MAR '18 On MacStation (stores in Barrio Norte & Las Canitas, and online) the cheapest Retina iMac is about 39k ARS, which is the same RSP of Apple.it. Link here. Also Maxim Store has it for slightly less (link). - APR '18 - The first remained 39k, but Maxim's whopped from less than 39k to 41k! that's +100 USD!
----
I was initially looking for a Retina iMac, but then on the support forum of my main work software I read that for the past two years, their software has been having issues with Retina and UltraHD displays due to resizing. The issue hasn't yet been completely resolved, and the kind of nuisance are overlapping menus, dropdown menu not displayed, etc. Since it was a considerable investment, I did not want to have worse performance than before.
To reply to Splinter 's questions as far as tech specs...
My old MacBook Pro specs:
256 GB SSD HD
My new iMac specs:
1TB SATA HD
The new iMac was bought second hand for 19k and it was in Palermo, so very easy for us to go check it out and bring it back. Today is install-galore day, so I still haven't tested it completely. I do not use my computer for demanding tasks -- the only demanding application is my translation software, as it has to query a 1 GB translation memory (a repository of all the translations I ever did) and this is the only demanding use.
In case the current configuration won't be up to the task, I can still:
And this new purchase also marks my comeback to desktop computers, after 16 years!
For the record, I contacted Josh 'McDaddy' -- he was well aware of the issue and said that also one of his very own computers experienced it, but luckily 'he caught' it while Apple was doing a voluntarily replacement program that ended 2 years ago. Josh suggested to contact MacSoul as he knew they had dealt with the issue before, so we spoke over the phone with them, and they offered to reinforce the faulty capacitor soldering for 1200 ARS, but they also advised that it was just a temporary fix and anything could happen -- the worst case scenario being my computer no longer powering up because something was affected during soldering, the best case scenario being issue-less for another year. It was just kicking the ball forward. [They were also very polite to ask to be paid only if the computer was powering up again and working okay for the next three days.]
Funnily, the guy selling this iMac had bought the unit because his old MacBook Pro (late 2009) had exactly the same issue of my mid-2010.
Still, 943 USD (19k ARS) for a 3+ year old computer seem a lot... probably in the States you can get a new non-Retina iMac for that price, but this is Argentina!
