I must say that Mac OS is totally awesome and the graphics are so cool. ‘Drag and drop’ to install or uninstall programs is so much more convenient. Best of all, the start up and shut down time are greatly reduced compared to Windows. Mac OS is so simple and straight forward that even Mac newbie like me have no problem getting around. In fact, I find myself using Dell Mac 9 more than my dull old windowed Dell 6400.
Reality kicks in when I realized that Dell Mac 9 could not function what it was bought for, which is to enable me to trade while I am on the move. I am currently using Interbank FX’s Meta Trader 4 to monitor Forex and CMC Marketmaker to trade. Sad to say, both of these platforms are exclusive to Windows only. Heck, do brokers assumed all Mac users to be designers and none of us trade?
I learned from some traders that Mac users could install CrossOver Mac to run Meta Trader 4. However, this program does not function on my DM9 despite numerous tries. Undeterred, I googled for solution and found a godsend software call Parallel Desktop. This brilliant software enables Windows OS to run within Mac OS environment. Within hours, I am finally able to have Windows XP, Meta Trader and Marketmaker functioning in DM9. Yeah!
But again, my joy was short lived. Both Meta Trader and Marketmaker load and update so slowly that is beyond my acceptability. The candles are moving so slowly in Meta Trader that it was a pain to watch. Marketmaker takes a long time to start up and when it does, the price updates does not seems to happen at all and I missed a few entry opportunities. Windows have just given me a sucker punch when I was singing praises of Mac.
Not wanting to throw in the towel, I headed back to MyDellMini forums and found a perfect how-to Dual Boot guide to fix my problem. Within hours, my DM9 is capable of dual booting either to Mac OS X or Windows XP. Having the best of both worlds, I am now able to surf internet and do other stuffs with the gorgeous Mac OS X or trading on the move with Windows XP. Cheers!