MadCap Software Forums

Hi all,

I recently started a new position and want to implement Flare, but my company is a Mac shop. I know there is a subset of users running Flare through a VM or virtual desktop solution like Amazon WorkSpaces, but unfortunately the latter option is out. So, I'm looking into hardware requirements for a VM. I'm limited to mid-range Macbook Pros.

Questions follow, in case someone in this fine community has experience with similar hardware.

- Is 8 GB of memory dedicated to the VM enough for a small to medium project?
- Are two 1.7 GHz CPU cores dedicated to the VM sufficient?
- Alternately, has anyone begun using Flare on Apple silicon with Parallels? VMWare doesn't support that yet.

Thanks!
Ben

The ram specs should work. I run flare via a Mac Pro with parallels and have no problem, but I have an intel chip. If I did not have so many Mac programs, I would never pick an Apple computer. My last two have had terrible reliability and spent weeks in repairs. My Mac Pro is a little over a year old and required replacement of the logic board, graphics card, keyboard, speaker, and other components. I don't think either the hardware or operating system are as reliable as just a few years ago, but you can run Flare. It doesn't sound like you have much choice though.

If you are curious, check the better business complaints and Yelp reviews for Apple headquarters.

benb wrote:- Alternately, has anyone begun using Flare on Apple silicon with Parallels? VMWare doesn't support that yet.

I haven't tried it but from what I've read it's not supported on any officially-released version of Windows yet. From Endgaget:

AAs of today, the only versions of Windows that Parallels can run on an M1 Mac are the Insider Previews for Windows 10 and Windows 11 — because those versions of the OS are able to run on ARM-based hardware. But, Parallels unequivocally says that when the full version of Windows 11 is released to the public, it'll run on Parallels 17.

Brian