I've had the opportunity to run just about every Windows-based qualitative data analysis program currently out (as well as a number that are no longer distributed) on a Mac using Parallels to run WinXP. Every program ran just about as well as it does on a good Windows machine, with just a slight decrease in speed sometimes noticeable.
For those of you interested in the details, the testbed is an iMac purchased in Oct 2010, with a 3.6GHZ Core i5 processor and 4GB of RAM, running the "Snow Leopard" release of OSX. In other words, a relatively new, but not top of the line Mac.
-Eben
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Eben A. Weitzman, Ph.D.
Chair, Department of Conflict Resolution, Human Security, and Global Governance
Director, Graduate Programs in Conflict Resolution
John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies
University of Massachusetts Boston
(617) 287-7238
[log in to unmask]
http://www.conflict.umb.edu/weitzman.php
-----Original Message-----
From: qual-software [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Mike Mellody
Sent: Friday, August 05, 2011 3:57 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: using MAXQDA on MAC computer with Parallels software
On Fri, Aug 5, 2011 at 7:47 PM, Thomas Muhr <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I would kindly ask not to spread any unproven and cursory
> assumptions about the compatibility and operability of software
> especially when being uttered by someone who is also in "the
> business". ... All in all, if Windows is running correctly, and the
> virtual machine has been configured to offer reasonable resources, any
> well-programmed Windows software will run fine, including ATLAS.ti and MaxQDA.
Perhaps this is the nub of the problem. Many of us don't enjoy the luxury of a perfectly set up machine, with a perfect installation of Windows. The problem is exacerbated when one is using a hardware emulation virtualization system like Parallels.
I'm records manager for a group with 41 adequate but variable computers (all Windows-based), scattered all over Southern Africa. The group chose to use MAXQDA over two other programs because it was the only one of the three which worked on all 41 machines without serious problems. Some programs are more "'tolerant" than others; for example they work adequately if not optimally under conditions which would cause less 'tolerant' software to crash.
I myself struggled for weeks to get NVivo to work reliably on a high-end machine which ran ArcInfo and similarly demanding programs without any problem. Eventually I dumped it for Atlas.ti which worked without difficulty. The support person for NVivo brought up the old 'it's your machine/operating system' argument that I've been hearing from software support personnel since I started using software in 1964 on the old IBM 1620 computer.
Mike
Michael Mellody
Ecclesia Knowledge Management
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