[Framers] Bootcamp vs. Parallels or VM, WAS: FrameMaker and Salesforce

[Scott Prentice]

I've been running Windows on a Mac for the past 7 years, using VMware 
Fusion. I'll never go back to the "old" world. If I just wanted to run 
Windows, stand-alone, I might consider using Bootcamp, but I find the 
ability to run multiple OSes simultaneously on the same system a huge 
bonus. I often run two instances of Windows along with the Mac OS, and 
switch between them for various tasks. All of my general computer tasks 
are done on the Mac side (email, web browsing, image management, non-FM 
content, XML coding and other development tasks), while FM (many 
versions) and Windows-specific development are all done in Windows.

I've got VMs for XP, Vista, Win7, Win8, Win10, as well as a few Linux 
variants and a DOS VM just for kicks. I've got separate VMs for certain 
clients who may have special needs and I don't want to taint my 
development system with their stuff. I can run a server VM and connect 
to it from another VM to test CMS integration and development.

Most of the "data" on the VMs actually resides on the Mac side of the 
system, and is accessed as a mounted drive from the VM .. so I can 
access the same data from each VM as needed. Also, this makes it easy 
for the data to get backed up through the Time Machine application 
running on the Mac OS.

This is the most productive and flexible computer system I've ever used. 
I'm sure a similar setup could be done with Parallels, I just locked 
into Fusion when I started because that's what a client used at the 
time. They seem to go back and forth through the years as to which is 
"better", but I think it's probably a bit of a toss-up.

My use of a computer is probably a little different than most, since I 
do development, and it's really nice to have easy access to so many 
Windows OSes, but I still think it's  a great way to work, if you need 
Windows. When (not if, but when) Windows crashes, it's easy to just 
restart the VM, and I haven't lost my general computer functionality. 
And I think that Windows starts faster as a VM than otherwise.

Anyway .. that's my story. YMMV.

Cheers,
...scott
On 3/9/16 12:51 PM, Pat Christenson wrote:
> Hi, John -
>
> I've run FrameMaker under both Parallels and VMware Fusion but have only used in on a Windows platform for the last several years. I may soon be in a position to use a Mac again. I'm curious about your preference for Bootcamp (which I've never used). I would also love to hear from other Framers on this topic.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Pat Christenson
>
> ------------------------------------------------
>
> John Sgammato wrote:
>
> In other news, we are also a Mac house. Over three years of trial-and-error, we have determined that our best setup is Bootcamp on the Mac, not Parallels and not VirtualMachine.
>
>
> On Wed, Mar 9, 2016 at 3:26 PM, Robyn Chittister <rchittister at vlocity.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Hello,
>>
>> Does anyone use FrameMaker and then integrate that documentation with
>> Salesforce?
>>
>> I'm 1 of 1-1/2 technical writers at a start up that creates cloud apps
>> for Salesforce. We are currently using Salesforce Knowledge to create
>> and deliver our documentation. Knowledge is possibly the worst
>> documentation tool I have ever used. We've been looking at various
>> single-sourcing solutions, and we're down to MadCap Flare and FrameMaker.
>>
>> I'm a FrameMaker user from way back - I started with FM+SGML 5.5 in
>> 1999. I developed templates and tools for FM+SGML and FM+XML from
>> 1999-2005. I've used FM 12 in an unstructured environment, and am
>> happy to see the improvements. I'm not sure how many improvements
>> there have been in the structured environment, however. I've tried to
>> contact Adobe, and have gotten a human being to say he'll give my
>> questions to a solutions specialist to answer. Knowing Adobe, I'm not going to hold my breath.
>>
>> My questions are:
>>
>>     - Is anyone here writing doc for Salesforce or Salesforce apps? If so,
>>     what tools do you use?
>>     - Is there a good comparison of the most recent versions of Flare v. FM?
>>     The only ones I've been able to find are from several years ago.
>>     - Is anyone here using FM+XML (either v12 or 2015) who could answer some
>>     specific questions I have about it?
>>
>>
>> We're a Mac house, so I can't just download the trial versions. We
>> understand that we will need to get me set up with a VM and Windows to
>> use the software we choose.
>>
>> Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.
>>
>> ~Robyn
>>
>> --
>>
>>
>> *Robyn Chittister  |  Senior Technical Writer*
>>
>> E: rchittister at vlocity.com  |  P: 925.695.5710 |  W: www.vlocity.com
>> <http://www.vlocity.com/>
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>