Running Windows Applications on a Mac using CrossOver

Up until now, I have been running my few remaining Windows applications using VMware Fusion version 2 on my Mac, with Windows Vista.  With Lion, I now have to boot into 32-bit Kernel mode in order to use it.  I was faced with doing something different, either upgrading VMware and installing Windows 7, or maybe going to VirtualBox.

I decided that I was tired of installing all of this stuff, and dealing with the excessive memory and performance impact, and the fact that Apple's Time Machine sees every little change to the VM image as an opportunity for a full, many GB backup.  I decided to give Wine a shot.  Wine is not an emulator (as the acronym implies), and it doesn't require that you get Windows either, because it just maps (actually, it is a major miracle) the Windows API to the Mac API.  No virtual machine, no windows, no resource hog, no backup problem.  However, instead of installing Wine, I splurged and bought Codeweaver's CrossOver for Mac, which takes the Wine project and wraps it with installation usability.

I am running CrossOver with my genealogy program, RootsMagic 4, and I would call it "OK", installation was incredibly simple to initiate, given their application-specific scripts.  I had, however, to attempt the install twice because the first failed with an error.  RootsMagic runs fairly well, but the window ordering often gets confused, and I have to look behind windows or click on the program icon in the dock to get back to the active window.  In fairness, Codeweaver's compatability page gives RootsMagic a Silver rating, so they set expectations appropriately.

Overall, Crossover is good enough that I paid for it after the evaluation period.  A tip: don't but it right away and you will get an offer for 25% off the list price of $39.99.  RootsMagic gives the same discount too.