You are looking at a modern miracle. In the upper left hand corner is the ubiquitous Apple Computer symbol. This is a 17″ Macbook computer running Windows and Mac programs at the same time.
We are using a program called Fusion to run the Windows part of the show. With Fusion we made a disc image of our communications PC. This is an exact copy, including our engineering and CAD design programs along with communications and navigation software. We knew from our recent trip to New Zealand that the engineering software worked, but were dubious about the Fusion’s ability to connect to the Iridium sat phone, Icom SSB radio, and Pactor modem.
Yesterday afternoon with the last of our chores completed we plugged in the USB connection which leads from the Edgeport serial/USB converter. We clicked on an icon at the bottom of the Fusion Windows box which connected the Edgeport, and began testing.
The Nav software was first with an automatic connection to the GPS. We then tried SailMail and were connected to both Icom SSB and Pactor modem, and thence to the SailMail station in Belgium. The final test was using UUPlus software to dial the Iridium sat phone. It worked as well.
Had we started with a new PC, and had to make all these connections manually, we would have spent half a day or more. These ease with which we were able to clone the old PC and then install it on the Mac was worth the extra cost of the Apple hardware.
You may be wondering why even bother with the Mac? In our case, we need it for high definition video editing (Final Cut Pro) and prefer it for photos (Photoshop CS5 + Light Room). It is also much easier to network the Macs than we have found with PCs (which may be a sign of our computer illiteracy).
Posted by Steve Dashew (May 25, 2010)
May 25th, 2010 at 1:49 pm
I use Fusion for genetic risk (windows) programs on my Macs with excellent results. Good to know also works on the boat. Your Dashew 64 is Mac friendly. Icing on the cake. Carlos
May 26th, 2010 at 2:29 am
Steve,
Another important advantage of virtualization is that now that you have your virtual Microsoft Windows machine it’s even easier to copy it onto another host (Mac in your case), or to create a local copy. You can use such copies to create a temporary play area where you test new software to see whether it functions properly and that you like it.
I personally have, on my MacBookPro, a “work” system that I use for developing Windows software and a “play” system that I use to test out software applications. This way I have no fear that I’m introducing instability to the “work” side, and can roll back to a snapshot with a few clicks of the mouse if the installed software is not satisfactory.
Note that replacing your hard disk drive (HDD) with a SSD (Solid State Drive) will make your virtual machines fly, in particular starting and stopping. They also give you the added peace of mind that your system is now much less susceptible to vibration and heat — both very welcome on a yacht.
And a final note — you don’t need a Mac to get virtualization on your desktop! The MS Windows versions of, amongst others, VMWare Workstation/Player and VirtualBox (which is open source, but has less developed USB capabilities in the free version) are capable of doing this as well. I happen to think a Mac is a much better system than a PC for almost everybody, but Windows-on-Windows shouldn’t be overlooked. This is especially true if your computer hardware budget is limited, Macs just don’t reach down to $300-$500.
May 27th, 2010 at 1:01 am
Hello Steve,
I use a navigation program called Passage Plus (from Wind Vector) on a MacBook Air, which is great and in New Zealand the raster charts are free and updated every month. Being purely a Mac program is great. However the charts are only available in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, I could follow your example and use Fusion. Alas I cannot make out from your screen shot the make of your “windows” navigation software. Would you share the secret….. please?
The articles on the FPB 64’s have been fascinating, thank you.
Gordon.
May 27th, 2010 at 2:18 am
Hi Gordon:
The nav program is called Coastal Explorer by Rose Point Navigation. It is a clean, simple, and elegant solution and we like it a lot.
May 27th, 2010 at 3:38 am
Hi Steve,
we use the virtualisation software Parallels on a 17″ MacBook Pro with a SSD to run MaxSea Software and connect it to Furuno’s NavNet3D and it works just perfectly. We used to navigate with MacENC, a Mac program, but having upgraded to NavNet3D, we switched to MaxSea.
Furthermore, connecting to our FFB250 is just as easy. As you state, connecting a Mac is much easier than a PC and with a virtualisation software, the emulated PC is just placed into this network environment. We often connect the Mac and then use a “shared” network connection with the PC. So the configuration can be done with the Mac, easier and more transparant.
I can more than agree with Kees, that the SSD makes the system fly. It was one of the best upgrades we invested in!
Daniel
August 25th, 2011 at 2:27 pm
I’ve put “parallels” on my MacBook and have been happy so far. I’m upgrading my nav station with a Furuno MFD12. MaxSea says it does not support parallels. Does Coastal Explorer have any issues running parallels and has the support you have recieved from them been good?
Thanks
Daryl
August 25th, 2011 at 3:29 pm
Hi Daryl:
We have used both Parallels and Fusion with CE.