The Windows Software You Most Want On Macs


When we asked you to tell us the Windows software you most wanted to see on Mac for a chance to win a copy of Parallels 7, there was a big response. The most popular choice? e-tax.

The lack of an “official” option for running the official ATO software on a Mac is a perennial source of complaint. Right now, the only way to do that is to use a virtualisation option like Parallels to run Windows on your Mac.

The other most commonly requested app was Microsoft Office. While there is, of course, an official Windows version of this, it seems many people don’t see it as measuring up to the Windows equivalent. A frequently mentioned issue was the lack of a Mac version of OneNote, the impressive note-taking suite for Office. (There are now iPhone and iPad versions, so perhaps one day it will happen.)

The winners

Picking five winners was tricky, but we eventually narrowed it down. John was the first commenter to pick nominate e-tax:

As sad as it sounds – e-Tax. The ATO still haven’t got a HTML5/MacOS version of it yet so I keep on having to borrow PCs or take my tax stuff to work.

Ajeya highlighted problems with Foxtel Download:

I am a Foxtel customer and the only way I can watch these are by installing Windows on my Mac. I would love not having to switch my OS just to watch my media content.

Adam had a more practical need:

Definitely mobile device simulators for Android and Blackberry. Being a mobile developer it’s great to be able to do all of your work with one computer.

Kendal moved into the medical realm:

The console for my heart/lung machine is Windows-only, I want to run this on my Macbook Pro because the battery life means in the event of a power outage, the power company would have about 10 hours to save my life or at least bring in a backup generator.

Lots of readers nominated games, but Rad stood out for his honesty:

I can’t live without playing the LEGO title games on Windows. Yes, I actually am a child trapped in a man’s body.

Thanks again everyone for the comments and to Parallels for the prizes. Keep entering in our week of competitions.


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