Tuesday 23 March 2021

Mainly about Mac

 Let's be quite clear - it is NOT possible to install The Framers Pricing App on an iPhone or an iPad. 

The operating system for these devices is IOS, which uses a different code to that of Android. Also Apple is very careful (controlling?) about what you are allowed to install on your device. This means from a developer's point-of-view (ie. me) it is not worthwhile to jump through the hoops that Apple set, as well as maintaining 2 sets of code unless the App is for the mass market. (Sorry all you Framers, there just aren't enough of you!)

The solution I recommend is to buy a cheap  Android phone or tablet (have a look on Ebay). It does not need to be connected to a phone network, so no sim card, just connect to the wifi at home so you can download the App from Google Play. You don't need to do anything else, just know how to turn the device on and tap The Framers Pricing app icon. Everything else phone-related, you continue to do on your Apple device. 

Wessex Professional is designed for Windows and will not directly run on an Apple Mac, or MacBook (which use the OSX operating system). It is however possible to to install and run the program on a Mac with some other software. 

In previous posts I have mentioned CrossOverMac as worth looking at. 

There are other alternatives

  • Wine. This is a free alternative to CrossOverMac, but rather more fiddly to set up.
  • Boot Camp. This utility comes built into your Mac. Each time you start the computer you are able to choose between Windows or Mac. The problem is that in order to switch between to two systems you need to restart the computer. Also, you need a copy of Windows 10.
  • The first (restart) problem is solved by using Parallels. You can switch between Mac and Windows without having to reboot the computer. I have seen it working and because Wessex Professional is running under Windows (albeit on a Mac) the program looks exactly as it should. (Wine and Crossover use a different system and the appearance is slightly different). However, you still need a copy of Windows 10 - expensive right? Wrong - have a look at UnitySoft for bargain basement software prices. 
All of these solutions cost less than £100 at the time of writing. 
So, if you like Apple products and you want to use the best framers pricing software, you don't have to choose between the two.