[Ham-Mac] Parallels vs. Boot Camp for operating with an ICOM ID-1 D-Star transceiver

[Richard Rucker]

On May 30, 2006, at 7:18 PM, James Thayer, W5JT, wrote to <ham- 
mac at mailman.qth.net> :

> 	You can download the release candidate Parallels Desktop here:  
> http://www.parallels.com/ and get a free trial. I have been using  
> it in its various incarnations for a month or so. It is FAR faster  
> than VPC to the point of running virtually native speed. It runs  
> only on Intel processors.  A few things are still being finalized  
> but I think you will like it. I have no interest in the company.  
> Just a happy user - so much so that I removed the dual boot into  
> WinXP and just use Parallels.

Keep in mind that Parallels is running as another application on OS  
X, so the only external devices you will have drivers for are those  
provided by Apple or by some 3rd party who has written a driver for  
OS X to connect with some otherwise Windows-exclusive device.

OTOH, if you use Boot Camp to boot into WinXP directly, then you  
should be able to install and use any drivers written for Windows XP  
since now you operating your Mac as a pure Windows machine. No Apple  
software is involved.

Last October, I joined a group purchase of enough ID-1 transceivers  
to qualify for a D-Star "digital repeater" at no extra charge from  
ICOM.  I don't have my rig in full operation yet, in part because I  
don't yet own an adequate machine running Windows.

What I suspect is that if I were to use a currently-available Intel- 
Mac to run ICOM's control application for the ID-1, I would have to  
boot into XP using Boot Camp in order to use the WinXP driver for the  
ID-1 supplied on the CD from ICOM.  ICOM currently provides no ID-1  
drivers for Macs.

BTW, I intend to delay my purchase of a Wintel Mac laptop until one  
can be purchased with the Leopard version of OS X running on the next  
version of the Intel CPU for laptops (I've forgotten the name), plus  
Apple's next rendition of how to run Windows on it.  Boot Camp is  
clearly just Apple's first trial balloon to test the waters.

Comments?

Dick Rucker, KM4ML
Fairfax, VA