The latest OS X update (10.8.2) from Apple on 9/19 came with one surprise. CodeWeaver reported that Windows applications in CrossOver that use 3D graphics no longer work.
I decided to see of any of the applications I use would still work. I did the test on my MacBook Pro (8GB RAM, 2.8 GHz) running OS X 10.8.2.
When I started CrossOver, it wanted to do an update. So I let it.
After the update, CrossOver said that the Windows applications now needed to be converted. So I let it. It did the conversion quickly.
Then I started the most memory intensive application I had: SkyTools 3 Pro. It took a very long time to come up. And then it wanted to be updated. So I let it.
I quit the app and started another one, less memory intensive: Quicken 2010. It also took a very long time to come up.
Then I tried another one: LibreOffice. It also took a very long time to come up.
Another thing to note is that the apps didn't quit right away. The app window disappears immediately, but there are vestiges of the app still around for quite a few seconds as noted by the icon sticking in the Dock. Quicken quit in 5 seconds the second time around. That's slow.
So then I wanted to see if those apps would come up faster the second time. First, Quicken 2010. It took 2 minutes and 20 seconds to come up and show the first evidence of a window, and another 20 seconds before the default data file showed in the window. Now the question is, how responsive is it? Well, when attempting to open a different file, it took a little while for the file browser to come up. Then, switching from one folder to another took a few seconds each. But when I finally opened a QDF file, it opened quickly enough.
Next, SkyTools 3 again. This time it took 3 minutes and 10 seconds to come up.
Finally, when quitting CrossOver, it needs to shut down all the active applications (even though they're not running - what gives with that?) And that took a long time. I gave up waiting for a normal shutdown and did a force shutdown.
Now for a final test. I set the option to keep the Quicken icon in the Dock and I closed all applications on the Mac (except Mail, so I could write this as the results showed up - I know, I could have used TextEdit). Then I clicked on the Quicken icon in the Dock and Quicken came up in about 15 seconds. And everything shut down normally and quick.
Now for SkyTools 3 again. 50 seconds this time. And it quit immediately.
Then I got to wondering ... was it CrossOver, the Mac, or was it me?
I noticed that when I start a program under Crossover by clicking on the Windows app icon in the Dock, the icon would bounce in the Dock. I waited. When I clicked a second time on the icon in the Dock, the application popped right up - no matter how many Mac applications were running.
More experimenting showed me that if I have a Windows app icon in the Dock and CrossOver is already running, double-clicking on the icon brought the application up immediately (around 5 seconds). If CrossOver wasn't already running, starting any application has to wait until CrossOver is completely launched, and sometimes I found that things can get messed up that way so I make a practice to start CrossOver first, then launch the Windows app.
Even if the Windows app isn't in the Dock, I now find that starting a Windows app from Programs (in the CrossOver menu bar) that the app comes right up. Maybe all my tinkering healed something in CrossOver or in OS X, but it is still necessary to double-click on the Dock icon if I start the Windows app from there - and CrossOver should already be running.
