Apple Mac - installing files like Firefox etc

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hollisterb

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Oct 18, 2008
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Ok I've got an Apple iMAC - Havn't opened it yet, will do when I am more free, maybe on the weekend

Now I've always been a Windows user

I have a few questions -

Can you run .exe files on an Apple iMAC? I'm aware that some files that run on Windows don't run on macs

Like let's say for example I download...Dreamweaver...can I run it on a MAC the same way I do on a Windows? I'm not talking about purchasing it and doing it through a CD..I mean downloading

Things like that - is there a difference?

Coz I downloaded Firefox at my cousins place on his Mac and the way it runs/saves the file seems to be like something called a .DMG or something
 


Although I haven't used a mac for a long time, no you can't run an exe without the use of WINE - which is a windows emulation program.

However most software in the design sector like Dreamweaver or Photoshop have a mac version, which are just as easy to find. It's best to get the mac version if you can.
 
Intel-powered Mac can run Windows if you install an Apple utility called Bootcamp. You can then install your Windows and it runs natively on your Macintosh, as well as .exe stuff.

Firefox can be downloaded, and installed in the same manner as a Windows computer. You start the program by putting an icon in the dock.

I belong to a Mac users' online group that you can join and get support: macunplugged@yahoogroups.com.

I have been using Macintosh since the early 1990s and recently began using a Toshiba laptop because of business needs. Mac is more intuitive and easier to run and add peripherals, but there's a lot of similarity between Windows and Mac these days.
 
hollisterb said:
Ok I've got an Apple iMAC - Havn't opened it yet, will do when I am more free, maybe on the weekend

Now I've always been a Windows user

I have a few questions -

Can you run .exe files on an Apple iMAC? I'm aware that some files that run on Windows don't run on macs

Like let's say for example I download...Dreamweaver...can I run it on a MAC the same way I do on a Windows? I'm not talking about purchasing it and doing it through a CD..I mean downloading

Things like that - is there a difference?

Coz I downloaded Firefox at my cousins place on his Mac and the way it runs/saves the file seems to be like something called a .DMG or something
Click to expand...

A dmg is a disk image, and that's how mac apps usually come. You simply double click the dmg, then you drag the application into your applications folder to install it. To uninstall, you just drag it out of there into the trash. For 99% of apps, it isn't like Windows where you need to run an installer/uninstaller.

Think of a disk image like the CD the app would have come on. It shows up as a drive in finder and then you can eject it just like a drive in finder.
 
I'm on a MacBook Pro and like stated above, if you got an intel processor, just install windows using bootcamp. I have both operating systems installed since I require windows every once in a while and it works like a charm. To answer your question though, no, Macs cant run .exe using its operating system.
 
Yeah what they said.

The dmg file is a disk image, just double click it and it auto mounts like a cd. Your application is going to just be 1 icon but its actually a folder with all of the programs parts grouped together. To install you just drag the icon wherever you want it and double click it to run.

Some programs like adobe still have installers but still come as a dmg file. Just mount it and run the installer. If you are planing on downloading abode (which I don't recomend) you are also going to need a program called little snitch. Which is basicly a firewall that can block adobe from calling home.

Enjoy your new mac and make enough money to support the software developers.
 
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