Re: UPS Worldship on a Mac

In article
<1177388045.792195.40940@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
jmbamboo@xxxxxxxxx wrote:

After many years with a Windows machine (since MS-DOS days) I'm ready
to change to a Mac. My daughter has a new Mac Book and convinced me.
I have a small business and a UPS account. Found out today UPS
doesn't support Mac OS.

Huh? It does in the USA where I live. What exactly were you told?

I have to admit their website is not exactly clear about this,
but after reading through their notes I am not seeing any
limitations. Here is an example:

UPS CampusShip Getting Started Guide
<http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/bussol/offering/technology/autom
ated_shipping/ecs_start_guide.html>

Prepare To Take Control of Your Shipping
When your UPS Representative agrees that UPS CampusShipTM is right for your
business, you can immediately begin to prepare for the implementation of your
new shipping solution. Your attention to the following points will help
ensure a smooth and timely roll-out.


Step 1
Ensure your existing computer system can support CampusShip. If not, consider
implementing any necessary upgrades. The minimum system requirements for
CampusShip are:

An IBM®-compatible personal computer with an Internet connection running one
of the following operating systems and browsers:

? Microsoft Windows® XP with Microsoft® Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher,
or Netscape® Navigator 7.0 or higher
? Microsoft Windows 2000 with Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher,
or Netscape Navigator 7.0 or higher
? Microsoft Windows 98/Me with Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher
? Microsoft Windows NT with Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5
? An Apple® Macintosh with an Internet connection running Mac® OS X or
higher with Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.2 or Safari 1.0 or higher

If you brush through this step you might think this program only
runs on Windows. But read the very last bulleted line. It clearly
says this is Macintosh supported, and all you need is Safari,
which ships on every Mac sold.

Here is the another reference to Macintosh:

Creating Shipping Labels on UPS.com
<http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/resources/prepare/documents/onli
ne_labels.html>

UPS Internet Shipping
UPS Internet Shipping allows you to prepare domestic and international
shipment labels from the convenience of any computer with Internet access.
You do not have to install shipping software on your computer. A UPS account
number is not required because UPS Internet Shipping can be billed to a
credit card. This service is compatible with Windows® and
Macintosh® operating systems, and its state-of-the-art encryption technology
ensures privacy.

. . .

Minimum System Requirements:

? IBM® or compatible, or Apple® or compatible computer with an Internet
connection
? Windows 98 or NT® 4.0, ME, or XP operating system on IBM compatible
systems
? Apple Macintosh OS® 8.0 or higher on Apple compatible systems

Again, Macintosh compatible.

. . .

Apple MacOS Browsers:

? Safari 1.2
? Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0, 5.1, and 5.2
? Netscape Navigator 6.2
Also, you will need a Hewlett Packard compatible Laser Jet printer, inkjet
printer (acceptable quality output for labels is required), or the UPS
Thermal Printer to allow you to print labels.

And again, Macintosh compatible.

So, check your sources. I think you are going to be just fine
with regards to UPS, which appears to be your deal-breaker.

Clearly you have other software from your Windows box you would
like to run. I highly recommend Parallels. It is a virtualization
program that lets you run your already existing copy of Windows
on the Macintosh at the same time you are running Mac OS X.
Running both operating systems at the same time is remarkably
transparent. You are no longer limited to having Windows just
inside a Window. Thanks to Parallels you are simply working on
the computer, and you don't even notice what OS is being used for
what program apart from the interfaces on each app window. The
speed of virtualization is excellent thanks to Intel having built
their VT-x virtualization technology into all their Core Duo
chips, and the fact that you've got two processor cores, easily
handling two operating systems.

If you want to go the Parallels route I personally recommend
getting extra RAM for the Mac. At a minimum get 1 GB of RAM, but
really for two operating systems running at once I highly
recommend you go for 2 GB. Apple charge a premium for their RAM.
It might be worth it to buy the Mac configured with the minimum
RAM then buy an upgrade from a decent RAM supplier. I buy all my
RAM from Other World Computing these days as I have found them to
be a good all around supplier who support what they sell.

Other World Computing also will give you a rebate if you sent
your old RAM back to them.

<http://www.otherworldcomputing.com/>

Hope that helps!

:-Derek

--
Fortune Magazine 11-29-05: What's your computer setup today?
Frederick Brooks: I happily use a Macintosh. It's not been
equalled for ease of use, and I want my computer to be a tool,
not a challenge.
<http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2005/12/12/8363107/>
[Frederick Brooks is the author of 'The Mythical Man Month'.
He spearheaded the movement to modernize computer software
engineering in 1975.]
.