Some of you will get this and the rest of you will just have to smile and nod. To the one or two other Mac users that read this blog this entery is for you.
As you should all know by now I have plans to attend BCIT's Geographic information systems diploma program in September. In order to get a head start on things I ordered a couple recommended books from Amazon.com. I did not expect the books to come with demo software, but they did. The crown jewel of that is a 180 day trial licence of ESRI's ArcDeskTop. The full licences is painfully expensive. Do not consern your selfs over what exactly this software does what is important to note is that it is the same environment as is used at BCIT and is common in industry.
This proved to be the first time since I have had my Mac where I have had to admit that OS-X can not do every thing. Non of this software runs on a Mac. Some calls and inquiries were made. I got some wide ranging cost estimates for what it would take to get an Windows Xp copy. I considered the option of forking out the cash for a dirt cheap Acer laptop. In the end I found an Xp service pack 2 disk and thanks to the fact that the computer its running on is now off line due to hardware issues I was able to install the licence with out a hitch.
Okey there was a hitch but that was my own. It resulted in my back tracking and starting from square one. I should point out here that I am not installing Xp as a full on replacement or overprinting of OS-X but as a second OS. I have now what is called a Duel Boot Machine. Which means in english if I hold down a special key when I reboot the computer I get the choice between running windows or OS-X.
Windows Xp complete with warning my system might be at risk
Which leaves with windows right where I want it, safely in a corner where it cant heart any one. So now I can run the demo software in windows, do all my day to day stuff in OS-X and carry all around in a resonably attactive slim peace of white polycarbonate.
It does make me feel unclean just a little. But I know that no mater what Windows does I still have a whole other operating system to keep things running.
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