GRLevel3 on MacOS

[Peter Potvin]

Good afternoon!

Just purchased a MacBook Pro yesterday, and it will be arriving around Tuesday afternoon. I would like to set up GRLevel3 on it once it arrives, but am not sure how I'm supposed to do so.

I've heard that I'd need Parallels Desktop to run it as it's a Windows application. I know that a few chasers here use GRLevelX products on MacOS, so that is why I'm coming to you for assistance. I know that Parallels Desktop costs US$80 for their personal-use license, but the additional cost for it isn't a large problem for me.

Would somebody be willing to assist me and provide some steps that I'd have to follow to get GRLevel3 up and running on Mac OS?

Thanks in advance!

 

[James K]

I don't do apple stuff (only Mac I have is an old iMac gotten basically free at an estate sale), but out of curiosity I did some google'ing, I think this article may be quite helpful for anyone who wants to run windows apps on a Mac...

A free option that might be worth trying is WineBottler or WineSkin

 

[Warren Faidley]

I'm an Apple user but don't use GRLevel3. The problem with Parallels Desktop is that they no longer supply Windows, so you must also buy it separately, so it's cheaper to just buy a used PC laptop. I've read that using Parallels or Wine with some radar products does not work well. I don't use any software where the developer does not support Mac., given Mac is a more stable and secure platform for travel.

 

[Joey Ketcham]

Good afternoon!

Just purchased a MacBook Pro yesterday, and it will be arriving around Tuesday afternoon. I would like to set up GRLevel3 on it once it arrives, but am not sure how I'm supposed to do so.

First and foremost, my deepest sympathy.

With that said, if you have a copy of Windows that you can install then just use Boot Camp that is included with Mac OS and setup your laptop to dual boot and load Windows OS onto it. It's free (given you don't have to buy Windows), easy to do and once it's setup it's a stable environment to run any Windows application you want. If you've never used Boot Camp to setup dual boot on a Mac, it's so easy to do and there's plenty of step-by-step instructions online that walks you through it. If your MacBook doesn't have a DVD drive, then there is a little more involved since you will need to create a bootable USB drive loaded with Windows on it... which is still easy to do.

That would be your best option and would eliminate the need of running a VM or use Parallel Desktop or Wine. I highly dislike Parallel Desktop and Wine, it's simply just a PIA and not even worth it. I found most apps either don't work, or those you can get to load via Wine are buggy AF.

I'm assuming that since you just purchased the MacBook that it's either brand new, or at least a newer model so Boot Camp will work just fine. Once you have dual boot setup, when out chasing you can just boot into Windows to utilize all your Windows application and during your off time just boot into Mac OS and use it.

 

[adlyons]

I'm assuming that since you just purchased the MacBook that it's either brand new, or at least a newer model so Boot Camp will work just fine. Once you have dual boot setup, when out chasing you can just boot into Windows to utilize all your Windows application and during your off time just boot into Mac OS and use it.

Ditto on running a windows partition. Dont fuss with VMs if you dont have to.

 

[Dan Robinson]

Interesting, I didn't realize you could dual-boot configure a MAC. Does that require repartitioning the hard drive if the MAC OS is already taking the full space of the drive, IE, wiping out your current MAC OS install?

 

[Joey Ketcham]

Interesting, I didn't realize you could dual-boot configure a MAC. Does that require repartitioning the hard drive if the MAC OS is already taking the full space of the drive, IE, wiping out your current MAC OS install?

As long as you have the available space, you can use Disk Utility to create a separate partition for Windows OS and then once that's complete proceed with using Boot Camp to setup Windows on that partition. Shouldn't have any ill effects on your partition that has Mac OS installed on it. Then once you have Windows installed, when you startup your Mac just hold the Option key and you can choose to either boot into Mac OS or into your Windows partition.

I first gave Parallel Desktop a try several years back and I absolutely hated it, now I have dual-boot setup on both my MBAir and iMac at work with Windows 10 and runs perfect. It's a million times better than the alternatives (Wine, Parallel Desktop, VM).

I think when Apple began using Intel processors in their Mac's was when the ability to do dual-boot was introduced, but don't quote me on that.

 

[Drew Terril]

The dual boot capability has been around for several years. I believe Joey it's correct in that the capability evolved when apple went with Intel processors. It's just a pain booting back and forth. I'm growing tired of Premiere, largely because I initially learned video editing on Final Cut Pro, so I'll probably be buying a mac of my own in the not so distant future. That said, having to reboot to go from GRL3 to edit video doesn't sit well with me, so I may just keep the existing machine for GRL3 and Baron when I chase.

 

[Mark Blue]

If you have to buy a license for Windows 10 I think you’d qualify for the Education version. Here’s a couple of links to help you get the .iso file if you want to use the removable media option (USB drive)

Download Windows 10 Disc Image (ISO File)

How to Download Official Windows 10 ISO files Using Media Creation Tool or Directly Using your Web Browser

Technical Level : Basic Summary Microsoft has provided instructions how to download the official .ISO files for Windows 10 32 and 64 bit. Read on for instructions how to download ISO media for Windows

answers.microsoft.com

This is kind of mind boggling. They‘re out of W10 Home? I don’t know about Microsoft anymore...

Buy & Download Windows 10 - Microsoft Store

Buy Windows 10, the latest version of Windows for Home, Students, or Business at the official Microsoft Store. Download Windows 10 now for PC or Mac.

www.microsoft.com

 

[Drew Terril]

The downside with 10 Home is it (to my knowledge) doesn't give the option for manual updates. I've always stuck with the Pro version since 80% of my laptop time is not on my home wifi and I'm on a hotspot. One, it won't DL over metered connections, and two, it won't pop up telling me to reboot when I'm in the middle of something.

I do need to keep the edu version in mind though for the future when I start classes back up. Thanks for the reminder on that Mark!

 

[John Wetter]

Many people successfully run GR programs all three ways, through CrossOver, through Parallels, and via BootCamp. All have been available for what seems like forever at this point, since the move to Intel. For native software on MacOS, you certainly have RadarScope.

 

[Joey Ketcham]

Many people successfully run GR programs all three ways, through CrossOver, through Parallels, and via BootCamp. All have been available for what seems like forever at this point, since the move to Intel. For native software on MacOS, you certainly have RadarScope.

How does RadarScope on MacOS compare to GRLevel3? Wasn't sure if you messed with it on a desktop or not I have it on my iPhone and have considered purchasing the desktop version to run on my MBAir.

 

[Drew Terril]

I have the Windows version of RS, which I'm guessing is very similar to the MacOS version. For what it is, it's not bad. It keeps things simple, and doesn't overly clutter the screen like can be done on GRL3 when you have some of the more cluttered placefiles.

The downside is it does not have any ability to input GPS data like the iOS and Android version can, or like GRL3 can for that matter. With that said, you also don't need an AH subscription to get SuperRes data like you do with GRL3.

Generally, I use GRL3 anymore while chasing, but I have used RS and it's not bad by any stretch.

 

[John Wetter]

From a chasing perspective, the main differences are RS for MacOS doesn't have location services, and the street mapping is pretty rudimentary compared to GR. Otherwise, it is a good radar client.

 

[Nathan Parker]

I have pulled off getting GRLevel3 to run on CrossOver for Linux in the past. I could probably do the same on Mac. Only issue I had was it wouldn’t auto refresh until CrossOver support built me a custom launcher with a UTC offset.

I’m also Mac-only at the moment.

I’ve done Windows VMs in the past, but I don’t want to get into that either at the moment. I just don’t want to deal with Windows.

At the moment, I’m using RadarScope on the Mac, and it’s decent. Works great with my AllisonHouse package. Then again, I also have access to the web-based $$$ version of Baron Threat Net, so….