Roy, If I could add to the other comments you received, I have been using FH on my iMac since Dec last year and it has worked perfectly - in fact possibly a little faster than my oldish PC. FH just behaves as if it was running on a PC and all the functions I have tried work on the iMac (although sometimes with different key combinations). Also Ancestral Sources works as well and it updated normally when Nick issued a new version earlier this year. In fact as far as I can tell any Windows software should work normally under Parallels. The first time you use FH or AS under Parallels you need to point it to the new file/project location - the file path will look something like: \\psf\Home\Documents\Family Historian Projects\My Family\My Family.fh_data\ I purchased "Parallels Desktop 6 Switch to Mac Edition". This comes with a cable to link the PC and Mac and Parallels copies over the entire Windows operating system and all your files. The Windows OS (I have XP like others that have replied) needs the Security Key before it is installed on the Mac - Parallels prompts for this as far as I can recall. Otherwise the transfer is quite painless and reasonably quick - 2-3 hours I think but I had a lot of files - particularly graphics. I don't think the flavour of internet browser makes a lot of difference to your vulnerability to viruses. If you are working in Windows under Parallels the Windows OS is still vulnerable and it is recommended that you use Windows Anti-Virus and Internet Security Software - I use Norton 360 (Having tried various different free and paid packages I went back to Norton - I find they all tend to slow down the computer but this version of Norton less so - but it may depend what sort of PC you are using.) Yes, Macs are still vulnerable but it is a mater of choice whether or not you choose to buy Mac Anti-Virus Software - it is just that the Mac OS has not hitherto been the target of much virus software. I have chosen not to use separate Mac Anti-Virus software and just to be very careful about opening suspicious emails etc. If the writers of viruses turn their attention to Macs in the future then everyone will need to purchase Mac Anti-Virus software. The FH software update should work normally - I have just tested it and I get a message that the software is up to date (as there haven't been any updates since I bought my Mac). If you download an update for any Windows program Parallels knows it is Windows software and not Mac software and so opens it under Windows. If you have an old printer you may find it a bit of a struggle to get it to work with the Mac - I have a 10 year old colour laser printer and it took quite a lot of research to get it working - but the Internet is a wonderful source of information! If you put "mac pinter" and the name of your printer into your favourite search engine you will almost certainly come up with a lot of hits and hopefully a resolution. There is a list of supported printers on the Apple web site. Scanners seem to be less of a problem as Mac supports Twain/Sane which most scanners use. Just take the plunge - plenty of others have and have not been disappointed! And I see you have an ac.uk address so don't forget to get your educational discount on your Mac! Best wishes and let us know how you get on. If there is a general move towards Macs in the FH community then it might become worthwhile for Calico Pie to produce a Mac version, although I realise this is not a trivial programming issue. Gerry On 3 Aug 2011, at 18:14, family-historian-users-request@rootsweb.com wrote: > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Questions about FH on Apple Mac with Parallels? (Davies, Roy) > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Wed, 3 Aug 2011 08:51:24 +0100 > From: "Davies, Roy" <Roy.Davies@exeter.ac.uk> > Subject: [FHU] Questions about FH on Apple Mac with Parallels? > To: "family-historian-users@rootsweb.com" > <family-historian-users@rootsweb.com> > Message-ID: > <CCE6D2ECAE42B249A656C6D6A825AEFD82D5A6A919@EXCHMBS06.isad.isadroot.ex.ac.uk> > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > Earlier this year there was a thread on this list about using Family Historian on an Apple Mac which I found very informative. I will probably buy a Mac soon and get Parallels so I can continue to use Family Historian. However I still have a few questions. > > 1) If I buy parallels (or any other rival software for running Windows applications) will I still need to buy and install Windows or is that already included in Parallels? > > 2) If I connect to the Internet using Safari (or any other Apple program) and then start up Family Historian using Parallels would that make the Mac potentially vulnerable to viruses or would it still be safe because the Internet connection had been made by Apple software? > > 3) Would the "check for updates" function in Family Historian still work or would I have to go to the FH website from time to time to see if there had been any updates. > > 4) My last question is related to the second and third ones. If the check for updates function did still work then wouldn't using it mean that you were making an internet connection using Windows and hence risking virus infections? > > These questions probably seem rather naive to those of you who already use Macs, or have considered the possiblilty, so please excuse my ignorance! > > Roy