Note: this is an annex of the main article.
This is the first text-only screen we’ve ever seen on a Mac. True, it was generated by OpenGL calls to the Mac’s Quartz rendering engine, but that is mere obfuscation through accuracy. ASCII text on a Mac!
Parallels defaults to a virtual volume size of eight gigabytes (this can be altered). In this picture, the Windows installer has discovered the partition and offers to use it.
The installer merrily “formats” the partition and then copies files to it. This takes a while.
Windows offers a choice of languages and regions. Were the installation process not so long and arduous, we would have experimented, but haven’t yet.
Windows XP has an exciting new look! Sort of like, well, Mac OS X!
Aside from viruses, worms, spyware and break-ins, the most common complaint of Windows users is lack of support for hardware. Yes, it has drivers for almost everything, either on the install disk or from vendor’s Web sites. But the drivers frequently battle with each other. You can tell a Windows “power user” by their basement full of hardware they can’t get working.
From Mac OS X 10.4’s Dictionary: “easy (of an object of attack or criticism) having no defense; vulnerable.” Yep, that sounds right.
“Be assured of greater accessibility.” Yes, thanks to Windows, more people have access to your bank records, dental records, credit card numbers and other personal data than ever before.
Yes, it is more reliable than Windows 2000, Windows 98, Windows 95. Talk about fainting with praised damn.
This claim, alas, is an outright fiction. Millions of infected Windows XP machines conduct billions of attacks on other computers every day.
When you think of Windows, do you think of music? Is the music a dirge?
How about photos? Do you think of Windows and photos? How about sketches? Crude drawings? Gestures?
Agreed: any time you use Windows, it is work. Though frequently it doesn't work, in which case it doesn't matter where you are.
Another outright fiction. While Windows XP SP (Service Pack) 2 is safer, and more secure than the initial release, if you want safety, security and privacy, Windows XP – or any prior version – is not the answer.
Wait a minute! Didn’t earlier screens claim Windows was safe, reliable, secure and easy? You mean it needs protection? Alas, yes, it most definitely does.
This message, appearing in a Parallels window on a Mac OS X desktop, was unexpectedly funny. Maybe you had to be there.
Return to Windows on a Mac: A Parallel View.