I was frustrated recently trying to find some software for a hobby of mine. I use the Mac and I use Linux, yet nearly every solution I found was written specifically for Windows. One company has some long writeups on how you can use Parallels or VMWare Fusion to run their software on a Mac (and of course in Linux you can use a number of products as well), and in the end I found it a little annoying.
When I wrote them asking if they were going to release a Mac version, I got a longer spiel about how to run Windows software on a Mac. I responded with this letter, which I feel is polite and factual without being fangirlish, because I do try to avoid obnoxious fangirl behavior. I thought I’d share it in case other people might find this text of use. If you have additional, solid reasons to add to my list, let me know.
Identifying names removed:
I’m writing you about this not to be a jerk, but to give you a data point to hand to whoever makes these decisions at your company. I chose to purchase ________ instead of your product because ______ does what I need to do and offers a real Mac version.
Having to run things like Parallels or VMWare Fusion:
Adds an extra financial burden on your customers because they have to purchase additional software.
Adds an extra financial burden on your customers because they have to purchase Windows.
Adds an extra burden on your customers’ computers because emulation frameworks like Parallels and VMWare take up a lot of system resources. In some cases, your customers may find that they can barely run your software because they’re using older machines that don’t have hardware that can handle the extra load.
Requires additional tech savvy of your customers as they have to find their way through products like Parallels and managing their data inside a virtual machine, etc.
It’s just a general pain in the butt and when I have an alternative (and I almost always do) I will choose a program written for my operating system over something I have to run in emulation.
If your software was brand new I’d cut you folks some slack, but you’ve been around for years. Given how popular Macs among people in the arts, I suspect if you surveyed your customers and potential buyers you’d find it was worthwhile to have an OS X programmer port your Windows version to the Mac.
A letter to companies who only offer Windows versions of their software
Posted by deeleb on November 20, 2009
I was frustrated recently trying to find some software for a hobby of mine. I use the Mac and I use Linux, yet nearly every solution I found was written specifically for Windows. One company has some long writeups on how you can use Parallels or VMWare Fusion to run their software on a Mac (and of course in Linux you can use a number of products as well), and in the end I found it a little annoying.
When I wrote them asking if they were going to release a Mac version, I got a longer spiel about how to run Windows software on a Mac. I responded with this letter, which I feel is polite and factual without being fangirlish, because I do try to avoid obnoxious fangirl behavior. I thought I’d share it in case other people might find this text of use. If you have additional, solid reasons to add to my list, let me know.
Identifying names removed:
I’m writing you about this not to be a jerk, but to give you a data point to hand to whoever makes these decisions at your company. I chose to purchase ________ instead of your product because ______ does what I need to do and offers a real Mac version.
Having to run things like Parallels or VMWare Fusion:
It’s just a general pain in the butt and when I have an alternative (and I almost always do) I will choose a program written for my operating system over something I have to run in emulation.
If your software was brand new I’d cut you folks some slack, but you’ve been around for years. Given how popular Macs among people in the arts, I suspect if you surveyed your customers and potential buyers you’d find it was worthwhile to have an OS X programmer port your Windows version to the Mac.
This entry was posted on November 20, 2009 at 6:42 PM and is filed under Commentary. Tagged: emulation, Mac, Parallels, software, VMWare, Windows. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.