Yesterday, thanks to Jeremy Swan, I was able to test Protein Explorer on a MacBook (Intel CPU), in Windows, using Parallels Desktop for Mac (parallels.com, $80) to support the Windows virtual machine. It worked flawlessly. This means that all websites employing MDL Chime should work in this mode. Because the Intel CPU is native for Windows, Mozilla Firefox, and MDL Chime, they run as fast (or faster) than on comparable PC hardware. This solution enables full Protein Explorer functionality (when used in Mozilla Firefox), including development of MolSlides in Chime or Jmol (see http://molslides.proteinexplorer.org). This is in contrast to Mac PPC's, where Protein Explorer works only in Classic, in Netscape 4.8 -- in this configuration, all functions of Protein Explorer work reliably except for MolSlide development (not supported in Mac PPC's). Windows can be used either in a Mac window, or full-screen. When used in a Mac window, it is like any other Mac application (can be minimized, or in back of other app windows). Switching between the Mac desktop and a full-screen Windows desktop was easy, and took only a few seconds in either direction. Files can be shared between the host Mac and the guest Windows machine using designated folders (tho I did not test this). This solution requires a license for Windows, in addition to a license for Parallels Desktop for Mac. Later in the year, a solution may emerge that does not require any Microsoft software (Crossover Mac, Beta out soon, from codeweavers.com). Installation of Parallels Desktop for Mac, and of Windows XP Pro within it, went smoothly and quickly. Internet connectivity in Windows was enabled automatically. I tested the current full release of Parallels Desktop for Mac, not the enhanced Beta (which appeared on their site today, I think). There were a few limitations in the Windows virtual machine that did not affect Protein Explorer or Chime sites. Currently, Parallels specs state that you cannot play audio CD's, burn CD's or DVD's from Windows, and there was no Firewire device. There was USB 1 support (a two-button USB mouse worked automatically) but no USB 2 support (so I could not use an external USB 2 hard disk). I have not yet had an opportunity to test Windows, booted via Bootcamp, on an Intel Mac. This would be an alternate boot, so the Mac desktop would not be available until a reboot. This is in contrast to Parallels, where you can work on the Mac, switching to Windows in a couple of seconds only when needed (e.g. for Protein Explorer, Chime, or other Windows apps), and then switching back to Mac in a couple of seconds. The MacBook I tested had 2 gigabytes of memory. We allocated 512 megabytes to Windows XP, leaving 1.5 gigabytes for the Mac. -Eric /* - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Eric Martz, Professor Emeritus, Dept Microbiology U Mass, Amherst -- http://www.umass.edu/molvis/martz Biochem 3D Education Resources http://MolviZ.org See 3D Molecules, Install Nothing! - http://firstglance.jmol.org Protein Explorer - 3D Visualization: http://proteinexplorer.org Workshops: http://workshops.proteinexplorer.org World Index of Molecular Visualization Resources: http://molvisindex.org ConSurf - Find Conserved Patches in Proteins: http://consurf.tau.ac.il Atlas of Macromolecules: http://atlas.proteinexplorer.org PDB Lite Macromolecule Finder: http://pdblite.org Molecular Visualization EMail List (molvis-list): http://bioinformatics.org/mailman/listinfo/molvis-list - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - */