Does having VMWare as an additional layer create any inefficiencies or problems ? I think at one time I shyed away from this idea because I was affraid of blowing away the OS that my laptop came with.I had brought my laptop to a linux group a few years ago and they couldn't get linux on my laptop without blowing away the OS and seemed reluctant to try it. At any rate, the perceived complexity of the task made me hesitate to seriously consider it at the time.
I also seemed to have the impression that linux distros where safer with a desktop than a laptop and the only safe distro for laptops was SUSE.Others may have problems with your printer, the wireless card etc The backup of the OS to an external drive I am not familiar with, but I'll have to research it. If I eventually buy a new laptop, I could possibly play around with my old laptop for experimentation purposes perhaps. Right now I have a HP Pavillion DV1000 with about 30 gig drive which I bought brand new in May 2006. The only other stuff I had heard of on Macs is that software companies often loose money in developing for macs and seemed to question if macs will be around for years to come. Also, mouse functionality on macs is allegedly less convenient, maybe there is no right click ? On Dec 27, 12:39 am, "Conrad Taylor" <conra...@gmail.com> wrote: > On Fri, Dec 26, 2008 at 8:20 PM, wbsurf...@yahoo.com > <wbsurf...@gmail.com>wrote: > > > > > Thanks for the advice, > > > Can a mac read an external USB drive that came from a Windows XP > > machine ? > > Yes, it can read FAT32 formatted drives. > > > > > The mac sounds interesting. I like the idea of being able to pop open > > a native shell to the system and do 'ps -ef' and see what is running > > and be able to write a ruby script that does a fork() that works > > correctly etc. > > I use cygwin on windows, but it doesn't feel the same .. > > > I know you can install dual windows/linux using VM-Ware or some such, > > but it sounds complicated to me. I guess I don't like the idea of > > reinstalling windows, but if I am going to stick with windows, I guess > > I need to consider that. I'd be affraid that one of my backup CD's > > would go bad or that I would screw it up somehow. I'm wondering if I > > can backup windows to an external drive and reinstall it that way ? > > Yes, I'm using VMWare where I have xUbuntu, FreeBSD 6.3, and FreeBSD > 7.0 virtual machines (VM) to mimic our deployment servers locally. I simply > double-click the particular VM and it boots because there's no installation > process. > Furthermore, you have the option to configuring the VM by downloading and > installing additional software. > > Next, if you backup your Windows to an external drive, this isn't the same > as > reinstalling the OS because you can be potentially be restoring from > a compromised > backup (i.e. saving virus infected OS). > > Lastly, I use my Macs for many types of development/work including Rails. > Thus, > you invest in something where you can get the most bang for your buck. > Also, I > wouldn't make decisions to buy a system because it has more software. This > is > not very logical as the basis for buying anything. > > Good luck, > > -Conrad > > > > > On Dec 26, 6:14 am, "solithsn...@googlemail.com" > > <solithsn...@googlemail.com> wrote: > > > if u dont worry about the additional 500 bucks, buy the mac. it's so > > > easy and intuitive to work on this OS - u'll love it. > > > try to buy an refurbished mac, you'll get some extra bucks back ! > > > search in the apple store for refurbished products and you safe about > > > 20% ! > > > > dont care about itunes. if u have your lib on a external drive, you > > > could import your music simply. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ruby on Rails: Talk" group. To post to this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rubyonrails-talk?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
