Question Mac OS and MS Access

[Ammarhm]

Hi everyone
I guess this issue has already been up for discussion before.
Microsoft has done a great job in developing VBA, but the worst thing Microsoft ever done is unfortunately "Windows", the whole thing sucks and is not comrable to the great performance of Mac OS
Anyhow, the biggest drawback is that I cant find any MS Access for Mac OS. In the new version of MS Office 2011 for Mac OS, Microsoft has re-introduced VBA which can be used with Excel and Word on Mac OS (great news!)
I dont want to run Parallels /Boot Camp on my Mac OS (ie Virtual Machine to run Windows). I wonder if anyone out there has found a solution to this problem?
Best Regards

 

[Galaxiom]

There were versions of MS Office including Access until Apple decided to completely dump their previous "incredibly superior operating system" in favour of a Linux based kernel. Funny they did that since it was so superior to anything else.

Microsoft has obliged by redeveloping Office for OSX but unsurprisingly they haven't bothered with Access for the tiny market represented by Mac users that would want work with Access.

Like any Macophile you have to settle for what it will run and be happy with that. You will also need to be content with the crippled VBA capabilities since I am sure Microsoft would not have developed the ability to integrate with the Operating System as does in Windows.

Personally I think those who denigrate Windows are fools, especially when they lament the lack of applications for the Mac. Live with your "superior" choice.

 

[Ammarhm]

Watch your language! using words like "fools" is unacceptable and impolite

 

[Banana]

I believe Galaxiom is misinformed - there was never ever an Mac client for Access since Access 1.0. I also think he missed out on the crucial point that Office 2011 re-introduced VBA. Back prior to Office 2008 release, they announced, "No VBA" and I thought "Oh well. That's it."

I was wrong - there was such uproar due to many Excel and Word macros being broken that Microsoft reversed and put VBA back in. They went one further and developed Outlook. That'd be very strange response if it was that insignificant market.

Anyway.... Ammarhm - an alternative to using virtual machines is to use Terminal Server - They do have native RDP client for Mac OS X so you could log in to your terminal server and use Access in an Windows environment without the overhead of a virtual machine.

I also hope you'll write to MacBU & Access team requesting for a Mac client on Access. I can't say they will oblige, but telling them so is better than them thinking there's nobody wanting it.

 

[Alansidman]

I have some MAC oriented friends who swear by File Maker Pro. I have not had the privlege of working in that environment. But it is an option.

 

[Simon_MT]

There are many developers in the PC environment that would love to get their hands on a MAC with Access but are precluded in doing so. I agree,with Alan, I pointedly go into the Apple Store and badger the BU about Access. They claim that MS have not ported it!

Simon

 

[Banana]

Yeah, that's one more option. Last time I fiddled with FMP, though, I wasn't really impressed - it felt more like an electronic rolodex than a platform to build a line-of-business application on. I know in recent versions, FMP has been doing more developer-centric stuff but also expect you to buy a developer kit. To make it even more worse, their product matrix is quite confusing, IMHO. For example, last time I researched FMP's web capability, I am still not all that certain what exact product/version/edition I would need to have.

That was maybe two years ago, though, and if FMP has improved, great! Access needs more competition, anyway.


<nitpick>MAC ≠ Mac</nitpick>

 

[sxschech]

Haven't had time to try it yet, but have heard that open office (www.openoffice.org) has a database which uses sql, and has coding capabilities and it is free.