Quicken Mac 2015: First impressions

I decided to not purchase yet.

The comparison page "indicates" that it's on par with QWin Premier, but the re's a voting page at the bottom for things they haven't yet added. Those items look pretty substantial.

I'm not quite willing to drop Windows, yet. For now I'll be sticking w/ Pa rallels.

I'm actually evaluating CrossOver, which at the moment can be purchased on StackSocial.com for $30. My mom is running Q '14 H&B on a MBAir w/ CrossOv er and I'm running Q '13 H&B on a MBPro. There are a few quirks in using i t, but nothing we can't work around.

Why would you leave Parallels for Crossover? I see it as a much more powerful and flexible program. Crossover requires a reboot, doesn't it?

We're probably reaching over the line from a Q discussion to a Parallels vs . CrossOver discussion, but since this thread is about Q Mac in a group tha t normally deals w/ Q Win...

I'm just getting started w/ CrossOver. v13.2 has not required a reboot, ye t. However, I haven't let my Mac go to sleep several times w/ CrossOver st ill running, either.

The main reason for the "potential" switch is due to a couple of calls from my mom (novice computer user), with a Windows-under-Parallels config, clai ming her MBAir "just won't work". It's hung. She can't even enter a passw ord. When it happens, she can only see what she says is a gray screen or a black one. We've had to reboot the MBAir to get anything to work.

In my own experience, the only times that happens to me (rare) is when I've put the Mac to sleep while the Parallels machine is still either active or idled at the time the Mac goes to sleep. I've told her several times to m ake sure the Windows machine is completely shut down (not idled) before she puts the Mac to sleep, but it's easy to forget. In an ideal world, that s houldn't matter & the Parallels machine should respond w/o issue, but that' s not what we're experiencing. I should probably follow up with Parallels support, but that would cost me a support session fee & I only occasionally have physical access to the MBAir. That, and I've got a day job that's co mplex enough; I don't want to add an unpaid, evening IT job to that. When I explain that she's actually running a Windows machine on her Mac, she kin d of gets it, but kid of doesn't.

I want something easy, reliable, & as unobtrusive as possible.

After a week, she said she's been more pleased with the responsiveness of s tarting Q under the CrossOver config. That makes sense because it doesn't require a start up/wake up of a full, virtual Win machine; CrossOver is onl y firing up a "lite" WINE bottle. I'll be monitoring what happens with it the way she uses the MBAir.

That, and it doesn't require a copy/license of Windows. $30 (StackSocial p rice) & done. That's probably a driver that shouldn't be ignored for those that are budget conscious.

If you need lots of Win applications or at least one App that won't run und er CrossOver/WINE, Parallels is probably the way to go, since it is truly a Windows machine. If all you need is one or two apps & they work under a C rossOver WINE bottle, so far CrossOver appears to be cheaper, simpler, & fa ster.

I have been using VMWare Fusion for about 5 years. The recommendation to go that route came from my oldest son, who tried all alternatives and knows so much about computing that I rarely question his judgement. I have never regretted making the investment.

5 years is a long time in the software world. It evolves rapidly. As I've been scanning the CodeWeavers forums, it sounds like there have been some improvements in CrossOver in the last version (currently 13.2).

VM (either VMWare or Parallels) is certainly a valid & established approach . If it's working for you, I see no reason to change.

I went the Parallels route and use coherence to try to make the experience more "Mac like". So far, I've been pleased. However, Parallels is telling me that I can't upgrade to Yosemite unless I also upgrade Parallels. The Parallels upgrade is $50. I don't know if VMFusionWare will have to be upg raded, but if so, I would expect an equivalent.

I'm not planning to retire my Parallels VM, either. Just looking at option s, mainly to help my mom.

As best I can tell, my CrossOver bottle is about 0.7GB. Admittedly, I've g ot far more than Quicken installed in my Parallels VM, but I think the abso lute minimum recommended partition size for a Windows installation is 20GB & it's recommended that you use >= 30GB. That's quite a footprint differ ence. If you're running a MBPro w/ a big, beefy SSD, like I am, 30GB ain't so much. If you're running a MBAir with a smaller SSD, 30GB may be huge.

if:

1) you don't already have a setup to run Q Win on your Mac 2) you don't need the flexibility to install any Windows app you fancy (i.e . you've just got a few apps) 3) all of those apps run under CrossOver (they've got a list)

I'm thinking CrossOver is worth consideration.