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June 25, 2008

Race Studio 2 on a Mac [Update]

Race Studio 2 in Mac OS X

[This article is an update to the one originally published in March of 2007]

An increasingly common tech support and pre-sales question is "Does your software run on a Mac?" The short answer is Yes, on Intel based Macs. I use it every day, both on my iMac and my MacBook Pro. The long answer is…

...there are a couple ways to run Race Studio 2 on your Intel Mac, both require you to buy a full version of Windows (XP recommended). Buying a full version of Windows XP can be a bummer for your wallet with a retail price of $299 for XP Pro ($269.99 at Amazon). However, I learned a tip before my second XP Pro purchase. That is, buy the Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2C 32-bit for System Builders, which retails for $144.99 at Amazon, that's nearly half the price! The catch is that the licenses are different. The System Builders version is designed for someone building a PC from scratch and the license cannot legally be later transferred to another PC — works for me.

What about Vista? Well, with articles like 'Man gets Windows Vista to work with printer' published just last week, I can't with good conscious, recommend Windows Vista at this time. Though Race Studio 2 is now Vista compatible, all installations are not without some hiccups. I suggest getting a copy of Windows XP before Microsoft yanks it off store shelves.

Bootcamp Icon32 Once you have a license for Windows, there's two possible ways to install it, and a third option that uses both. The first method is made possible by Apple with a piece of software called Boot Camp. Boot Camp was a free beta download with Mac OS X Tiger (10.4), but it's now included in Leopard (10.5). In Leopard you'll find the Boot Camp Assistant in your Applications:Utilities folder. Apple's Boot Camp allows you to partition your hard drive and install Windows XP (or Vista). Boot Camp allows you to then boot in either Mac OS X or Windows. When you boot in Windows, you are using a "real" PC with your Apple hardware, no strings attached.

Parallels Icon32Vmware Icon32 The second installation method takes advantage of a technology called virtualization made possible by Apple's switch to Intel processors. This method requires a additional virtualization software. There are now two players in this space; Parallels Desktop, and VMware Fusion. This happens to be the methods I use, and for a lack of better terms, both Parallels Desktop and VM Ware Fusion rock! These virtualization solutions not only allow you to install Win XP, but about any other OS you'll find. I have Win XP, Vista, Ubuntu Linux, Sun Solaris 10, and Free BSD all installed. The virtualization solutions do not require a reboot to change OS's, the OS opens up within it's own Window in Mac OS X. Better yet, both Parallels and Fusion offer coherence with XP and Vista, which means you can drag and drop between Windows and Mac OS X, copy and paste, mount and unmount CD drives, and more. You can download working demo versions of Parallels and Fusion from their respective sites; Parallels Desktop, and VMWare's Fusion. If you're a long time Mac user like me, you may have been soured by previous VirtualPC experiences, well — prepare to be delighted. Both Parallels and Fusion are fast, snappy, and compatible. I can have Windows resumed and running on my Mac in about 10 seconds, my old PC didn't even resume that fast.

Amazon can save you money on either (both currently $39.99 through promotions):

Have Your Cake and Eat it Too
The third installation method, uses both Boot Camp AND Parallels or Fusion. You'd install Windows under Boot Camp first, then install either Fusion or Parallels - which will allow you to boot from your Boot Camp Windows partition will in Mac OS X. Using both like this is has the greatest benefit. Allowing you to either boot as a "real" PC when needed, and allowing you to boot under virtualization but still access the same Windows installation. This is how I will do any future installations, because the only issue I have ever had under virtualization is with firmware updates. For these rare cases, I will boot under Boot Camp - otherwise I will always use virtualization.

Whatever solution you go with will run Race Studio 2 just fine, and having Windows can be handy for those little apps that will just never make it to our beloved Mac platform. That and those damned web sites, the few that remain, that only work with Internet Explorer (I'm looking at you ADP). It's a no-brainer for web developers testing in different web browsers and OS's.

If you need any help, please call me.

Michael Jaynes
AiM Sports, LLC
(800) 718-9090

Posted by Mike Jaynes at 06:15 PM

June 06, 2008

MyChron4 GPS Lap Timing

GPS automatic lap timing has been enabled in this first public release of new MyChron4 and GPS firmware. You can download the update along with the GPS lap timing manual below. Feedback is appreciated.

Download the new firmware, and well as the MyChron4 GPS lap time manual.

MyChron Mike

Posted by MyChron Mike at 01:46 PM