Final Resolution: Back to XP for the in-laws

Thanks to all who tried to help.

My wife and I finally got IEs4Linux installed on the Mac Mini, to no avail. Even though IE itself worked, the website my mother-in-law uses was a no-go. The worst part—even though the site does work with IEs4Linux on Ubuntu, it doesn’t have all the features she wants (ones supported by only IE 7).

We tried to install IE 7 on Windows and realized their copy of Windows wasn’t “genuine.” So they’re going to buy a genuine copy of Windows… all for a badly coded IE-only website. That one website prevented migrations to Mac and/or Ubuntu. That one website. So they’re going to keep the Mac Mini and do just about everything (music, pictures, most internet, email) on it, and then have a fresh Windows install… for one website. This is a sad day.

Edit: My mother-in-law is not alone, apparently. Check out Mac Marginalization: Real Estate and the MLXchange FAQ:

Can MLXchange be used on a Macintosh Computer?
With PC emulators like Virtual PC, MLXchange can be made to work on a Mac. However, Macs are not supported by Interealty.

Here’s a weird link, where a Fedora user couldn’t get the website working under IEs4Linux without a workaround. As far as I could tell, IEs4Linux was working with the site… but not with the full functionality and all the fancy features, though.

Glad I’m not a realtor.

6 comments

  1. Why do not you try virtualization? Try running IE in VMWare or Virtualbox virtual installation of XP under Mac or Ubuntu. I’m sure it’ll work. There would be no need for a separate Windows installation either! ;-)

  2. I actually did try virtualization. I installed Windows using VMPlayer in Ubuntu. Didn’t do the trick.

    And, yes, I agree with Aleajandro–not a single website I’d buy an expensive license for, but then again… I’m not my mother-in-law.

  3. Thats too bad. Even if my comments with the download link for IE for Mac native had posted, it wouldn’t have worked: (it was version 5.2.3).

    Darn MLS! convenience for some, frustration for others!

    Did you write a strongly worded letter to the webmaster?

    “That one website prevented migrations to Mac and/or Ubuntu.” “The worst part—even though the site does work with IEs4Linux on Ubuntu…”

    I am confused. If the site works in IEs4Linux on Ubuntu, why couldn’t they use Ubuntu, on the Mini or other hardware?

  4. Ubuntucat- I sure hope that you have sent a nasty email to the website author. I would have. That’s just flat out ridiculous that a single website could create just a vendor lock-in.

  5. Well, it technically worked with Ubuntu and IEs4Linux, but it didn’t have the full functionality that the webmaster intended (which occurs with IE 7, not IE 6).

    I may write a nasty email to the webmaster. It’d be better, of course, if I had some kind of leverage, though.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *