I'm a university researcher, and an unrepentant Mac user in a Windows XP-based department. My desktop computer is a Mac running Snow Leopard, and I have Windows XP installed in a BootCamp partition. I'm thinking of requesting a copy of Parallels 6 (or buying it myself) because I have occasional tasks that absolutely require Windows. All of my own files (applications, data sets, word processing, other documents, images, personal) are kept on the Mac side, but I occasionally have to use Microsoft applications, like Access and Sharepoint, that are either incompatible or hobbled on the Mac. The slightly slower response of a VM is much less of a problem for me than the annoyance of rebooting. And from my experience with trial copies, Parallels meets my needs better than VMWare Fusion. Our department is going to upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7 within the next few months. I do try to keep all of my basic, department-supported Windows applications current as well; it makes life easier for my co-workers and the IT folks if we're all on the same page. However, it would not inconvenience me one bit if our IT department had to wipe out my entire Windows system and replace it -- I really don't keep any important local copies of apps or documents there. So -- Will I have to go through any special steps to upgrade when the operating systems change? Or, since I really don't care about porting over local content on the Windows side, will I just have to delete my old Windows XP VM, set up a new VM for Windows 7, and re-install Transporter? Thanks, -- DrJulieBug
