Not really OT: PC emulator for running bike setup software

experiment70 · 10-31-2006, 05:56 PM

I realize this is a computer question, but it's for a motorcycle related endeavor. And I know I could go to a computer forum and ask this, but I'm not geeky enough, and I can't ever understand what the hell anyone tells me in that world. So maybe someone here will take pity on me and help me answer my question in plain language.

I'm in the early stages of designing and building a motorcycle frame, and want to buy some software that helps in deciding on many critical design aspects. However, the program was written for a PC, and I'm on a Mac. The writer (Tony Foale - www.tonyfoale.com), has told me that it will work on a PC emulator. So I did a search for emulators, and got really confused.

I know I can buy one from Microsoft for a pretty penny, but what about all the others? Some are substantially cheaper, some are free - are they any good? Are they user friendly, i.e., will a guy with more interest in fixing old bikes than computers be able to run one?

Thanks for any input,

AugustFalcon · 10-31-2006, 07:57 PM

I have been running Virtual PC on my 12" Powerbook G4 with 768Meg memory and an 875 mhz G4 PPC processor. It is dog slow. I purchased the product while it was owned by Connectrix and did one free upgrade from Microsoft. It only works on a PPC machine. With a faster processor and more memory it might be useable. I thought Microsoft had stopped making and supporting the product and were giving it away, i.e., a free download of the basic version but I could not find it on their site.

I think there are also some VMware products. If you get the plain product you will need a version of windows to load.

It might be better to just run over to Walmart and buy a windows machine... they are only a couple of hundred bucks.

anodyne · 10-31-2006, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by experiment70

I know I can buy one from Microsoft for a pretty penny, but what about all the others? Some are substantially cheaper, some are free - are they any good? Are they user friendly, i.e., will a guy with more interest in fixing old bikes than computers be able to run one?
Thanks for any input,

If you have an Intel Mac you can run Parallels Desktop for Mac:
http://www.parallels.com/en/products/desktop/
It's a great product ... I'm running Windows 2k/2003 Server, XP, Vista RC2, FC6/Ubuntu Linux all on my MacBook Pro. VMWare will also be releasing a product down the road. This is the best way to run Windows/etc on a Mac. Very nice.

If your Mac is PPC, unfortunately your options are limited and performance will most likely be poor. MS Virtual PC was almost unbearable for me. You might give QEMU a try though as the price is right:
http://www.kju-app.org/kju/

Curtis

experiment70 · 10-31-2006, 09:17 PM

Thank you for the replies. Now I have to reveal the depth of my ignorance; how do I know if I have an Intel Mac? Is a PPC a Power PC? And if so, what does that mean?

My love of things mechanical has finally led me to confront my ignorance of things non-mechanical. Stupid irony...

anodyne · 11-01-2006, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by experiment70

Thank you for the replies. Now I have to reveal the depth of my ignorance; how do I know if I have an Intel Mac? Is a PPC a Power PC? And if so, what does that mean?

My love of things mechanical has finally led me to confront my ignorance of things non-mechanical. Stupid irony...

PPC is PowerPC ... good for it's day, but Intel (possibly AMD down the road) is the future of the Macintosh platform. With the release of the Intel Macs they have become much more versatile (i.e run a multitude of OS's at near native speeds). What is the name of the machine? When was it purchased?

Curtis

experiment70 · 11-01-2006, 06:28 PM

It's an iMac G5, a year or two old.

Thanks again for the help.

JR356 · 11-01-2006, 06:39 PM

Hi,

Unless you bought your Mac brand new within the last few months,it's a PPC and not an Intel based Mac.

Click on the Apple logo in the upper left of the screen,then click on about this Mac,it will list the processor.

I think you are going to be very frustrated by trying to run any kind of design/CAD/engineering program using emulation software.
These programs are memory/processor intensive and it will likely either crash frequently or be so slow that you will be ready to kill your computer or yourself!!

Find an inexpensive pentium 4 PC a a garage sale or borrow one from a friend/coworker.
Hate to say this,because I'm a Mac guy myself.

Your only other alternatve is to get a new Intel based Mac and use Parallels.

JR356

anodyne · 11-01-2006, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JR356

Hi,
.....
Find an inexpensive pentium 4 PC a a garage sale or borrow one from a friend/coworker.
Hate to say this,because I'm a Mac guy myself.

Your only other alternatve is to get a new Intel based Mac and use Parallels.

JR356

+1

10-31-2006, 05:56 PM	#1
experiment70 ^OP Gnarly Adventurer Joined: Apr 2004 Location: Boulder, CO Oddometer: 274	Not really OT: PC emulator for running bike setup software I realize this is a computer question, but it's for a motorcycle related endeavor. And I know I could go to a computer forum and ask this, but I'm not geeky enough, and I can't ever understand what the hell anyone tells me in that world. So maybe someone here will take pity on me and help me answer my question in plain language. I'm in the early stages of designing and building a motorcycle frame, and want to buy some software that helps in deciding on many critical design aspects. However, the program was written for a PC, and I'm on a Mac. The writer (Tony Foale - www.tonyfoale.com), has told me that it will work on a PC emulator. So I did a search for emulators, and got really confused. I know I can buy one from Microsoft for a pretty penny, but what about all the others? Some are substantially cheaper, some are free - are they any good? Are they user friendly, i.e., will a guy with more interest in fixing old bikes than computers be able to run one? Thanks for any input, __________________ There are some things which cannot be learned quickly, and time, which is all we have, must be paid heavily for their acquiring. -Hemingway

10-31-2006, 09:17 PM	#4
experiment70 ^OP Gnarly Adventurer Joined: Apr 2004 Location: Boulder, CO Oddometer: 274	Thank you for the replies. Now I have to reveal the depth of my ignorance; how do I know if I have an Intel Mac? Is a PPC a Power PC? And if so, what does that mean? My love of things mechanical has finally led me to confront my ignorance of things non-mechanical. Stupid irony... __________________ There are some things which cannot be learned quickly, and time, which is all we have, must be paid heavily for their acquiring. -Hemingway

11-01-2006, 06:28 PM	#6
experiment70 ^OP Gnarly Adventurer Joined: Apr 2004 Location: Boulder, CO Oddometer: 274	It's an iMac G5, a year or two old. Thanks again for the help. __________________ There are some things which cannot be learned quickly, and time, which is all we have, must be paid heavily for their acquiring. -Hemingway

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10-31-2006, 07:57 PM	#2
AugustFalcon Studly Adventurer Joined: Dec 2004 Location: Waterford, Connecticut U.S.A. Oddometer: 925	I have been running Virtual PC on my 12" Powerbook G4 with 768Meg memory and an 875 mhz G4 PPC processor. It is dog slow. I purchased the product while it was owned by Connectrix and did one free upgrade from Microsoft. It only works on a PPC machine. With a faster processor and more memory it might be useable. I thought Microsoft had stopped making and supporting the product and were giving it away, i.e., a free download of the basic version but I could not find it on their site. I think there are also some VMware products. If you get the plain product you will need a version of windows to load. It might be better to just run over to Walmart and buy a windows machine... they are only a couple of hundred bucks.

11-01-2006, 06:39 PM	#7
JR356 Beastly Adventurer Joined: May 2005 Location: Way out West Oddometer: 3,169	Hi, Unless you bought your Mac brand new within the last few months,it's a PPC and not an Intel based Mac. Click on the Apple logo in the upper left of the screen,then click on about this Mac,it will list the processor. I think you are going to be very frustrated by trying to run any kind of design/CAD/engineering program using emulation software. These programs are memory/processor intensive and it will likely either crash frequently or be so slow that you will be ready to kill your computer or yourself!! Find an inexpensive pentium 4 PC a a garage sale or borrow one from a friend/coworker. Hate to say this,because I'm a Mac guy myself. Your only other alternatve is to get a new Intel based Mac and use Parallels. JR356