Parallel's Workstation on OS X.
Posted on 05/15/2006 2:18:42 AM PDT by Swordmaker
We tried three Windows-on-Mac approaches and came to a realization: If PC makers like Dell, Sony and HP aren't worried, they should be. Who's going to want a PC when there's such a slick Mac solution?
Until recently, you faced a stark choice when picking a home computer: you bought either a Windows PC or a Macintosh. The popular PCs guarantee you will have access to a vast software library, but the computers' antiquated Windows XP operating system is infamous for its security failings. The PCs offered by top makers wouldn't win sexiness awards, either. Apple Computer's (Nasdaq: AAPL) Macs, by comparison, are attractive machines with a state-of-the-art operating system and slick software for mainstream tasks -- but Apple's meager market share has meant slim software pickings elsewhere.
Now, you no longer have to choose. Just buy a Macintosh.
In what may be prove to be a key chapter in personal computing, the latest Macs are able to run XP and Windows software as quickly and effortlessly as they handle the Mac operating system and Mac programs.
A current-model Mac is essentially two machines in one. Newer Macs -- the iMac, the Mac mini and MacBook laptops -- now use Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) processors, the same ones that serve as PCs' physical brains. Mac users now can "dual boot," or start up in either OS X or XP, courtesy of Apple software called Boot Camp. If users really want to get tricky, they can run both operating systems at once by booting into OS X and activating Windows in a window. This "virtualization" trick comes courtesy of a company called Parallels. A third Windows-on-Mac option is being developed at a St. Paul, Minn., firm dubbed CodeWeavers, and it may be the best one yet. CrossOver Mac software, once perfected, will allow Macs to run almost any Windows program without Windows XP -- which the other approaches require. This will save users a mint, because XP costs between US$200 and $300.
We tried all three approaches and came to a realization: If PC makers like Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) , Sony (NYSE: SNE) and HP (NYSE: HPQ) aren't worried, they should be. Who's going to want a PC with such a slick Mac solution? Plus, Apple won't allow its prized OS X to run on Intel-based machines other than Macs.
Here's what you need to know about running Windows XP and Windows programs on a Mac:
What is it? The best way, so far, to do Windows on a Macintosh. Apple's Boot Camp software turns any Intel-based Mac into a dual-booting dynamo.
How it works. The software, in a nutshell, lets you partition your hard drive so that OS X will reside on one section of the drive with XP on the other. This entails firing up Boot Camp in OS X, divvying up the drive resources with a handy on-screen slider control, then installing and configuring Windows in its own partition.
The details are a bit more involved but hardly rocket science.
Switching between OS X and XP is a breeze, too. Reboot the Mac while pressing down the "alt" key, which will produce a visual menu with the two operating-system choices, shown as drive icons. Pick one and go.
Windows on a Mac works just as it would on a PC. On a Mac mini with one of Intel's Core Duo processors, it roars.
Ready for prime time? Not quite. Apple warns that its Boot Camp software remains in beta, or test form. This is shorthand for "use at your own risk until we work out the bugs." Our trials proved so painless, though, we would recommend this approach for any Mac buyer with a taste for adventure. Chances are, you'll be fine.
Cost. It's a bit steep. Boot Camp costs nothing, and its features will be built into the upcoming version of OS X, code-named Leopard, at no extra cost. However, as we mentioned, you have to buy a full install version of XP because one of those cheapo Windows-upgrade discs won't work.
The bottom line: Not for everyone -- yet -- but it will be soon.
What is it? An alternate method for doing Windows on Mac. The software lets you run XP or other operating systems within its own window on the OS X desktop.
How it works. Download and install Parallels Workstation for Mac -- a free offering in its current beta form. You then use the program to set up a virtual machine -- a kind of computer within a computer -- and install XP on the VM. This isn't rocket science, either, but just geeky enough to be intimidating for average users.
Before starting, print out the Quick Start Guide and the Installation Guide found at the Parallels Web site.
Using XP in its own window is straightforward, aside from a few quirks. You need to master a key combo to toggle between XP and OS X. Also, you should be prepared for slightly diminished performance -- though hardly the hit you'd see with Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) creaky Virtual PC software on a pre-Intel Mac.
Ready for prime time? Not quite, but Parallels is releasing updated betas at a furious pace with the goal of making a final version available within weeks. Even then, users should keep their expectations in check. This isn't a way to play 3D-intensive PC games, for instance. Still, for casual access to Windows software, it works fine.
Cost. Steeper than Boot Camp because you'll need to buy Parallels' software -- $50 when finalized, with $10 off on pre-orders -- along with XP. That said, this is a bargain for Virtual PC users who own XP but can't use it anymore -- Microsoft's emulation software won't work on Intel Macs.
The bottom line: An appealing option for dual-boot detesters.
What is it? The Windows-on-Mac dream scenario because it won't require the purchase of XP to run Windows software in OS X.
How it works. Installing CrossOver Mac gives Intel Macs the ability to run Windows applications as if they were Macintosh programs but preserves a Windows "look and feel" that includes PC-style pull-down menus and the like.
CrossOver Mac is still in development, but CodeWeavers gave us a copy so we could install Microsoft Office XP -- an older version of the popular suite -- on a Mac mini. We were able to use Excel, Word and Outlook with little trouble.
In demonstrations, CodeWeavers head Jeremy White also used CrossOver to run Microsoft Project --that app and Microsoft's Visio are top priorities, he says -- and Windows versions of Internet Explorer and the "WarCraft III" game.
Ready for prime time? No. Installing Windows apps with CrossOver Mac remains a crapshoot, which is why a public beta isn't available. CodeWeavers hopes to release one in coming weeks. While Office XP works reasonably well, for instance, the newer Office 2003 didn't.
For a sense of CrossOver's potential, look at a more-polished version available for the Linux operating system. It runs an impressive selection of top Windows programs with varying -- but generally high -- degrees of reliability.
Cost. White expects versions of CrossOver Mac to cost between $40 and $70.
The bottom line: This is a technology to watch. White calls it the Windows-on-Mac "Holy Grail," and we agree.
If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.
If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.
oh boy, what a marketing campaign.... you no longer have to think, we will do that for you(Apple Marketing)
Buy our overproved hardware and WindowsXP.... sheesh.
overpriced* even
Will it do Vista when it releases??
By the time Vista releases, Everyone will have switched to Macs anyway.
I prefer Apple's marketing approaches to the promise of killer whales floating through my living room and little children flying past my office building if I run a PC with Windows.
Hahaha...How many times have I heard that line before? "Extra Extra read all about it. Macs will soon rule world! Bill Gates and Michael Dell tremble in their flip-flops!". Maybe this time... maybe this time. I am still waiting for Linux to take over the desktop.
Hey... I would be happy to buy Mac OSX if I could choose the hardware it runs on. Now you can get OSX to work under VMWare on most hardware but not LEGALLY. Why? Because Apple's EULA won't allow you to. That is funny Apple... what an open minded company you are. So I can run XP inside the Mac legally but not OSX running in a VM under XP legally. Glad I got Linux cause Apple and Microsoft are the flip side of the same coin no matter what you say.
Sorry but I just don't like being forced to buy Apple's hardware. Sure it looks pretty but who cares? With a computer the beauty really is what's inside.
As for Vista I still want to know if it will work. It barely works in VMWare and there are articles on how to get it to work in Virtual PC.
Part of the reason that OSX is such an attractive system is that it is made to go hand-in-hand with a specific hardware set. Because Windows and, to a greater extent, Linux, are designed to work across a wider variety of platforms, they have to sacrifice some of the things that make OSX a much more complete software suite.
For those reasons, Apple will probably never dominate the market, but it will certainly always have a loyal and respectable following for as long as it keeps putting out a solid product.
MACs, ya gotta luv 'em ! They're cute and cuddly, nice graphics, pretty monitors, sounds like my busty divorced blonde neighbor ! And about as smart.
The options of Linux, Free BSD, and custom made equipment was not discussed nor thought out. Perhaps in the US of A, Linux has not entered the market, or has it ? In the rest of the world Linux is often the O/S of choice. Note (MAC's) O/S X is a UNIX derivative, very similiar to LINUX, but not "OPEN SOURCE", and not as safe.
In the past this is why I never touched a Mac. Being able to pick and choose from hardware vendors who compete against each other has very big advantages.
Because Windows and, to a greater extent, Linux, are designed to work across a wider variety of platforms, they have to sacrifice some of the things that make OSX a much more complete software suite.
Um... ok I will bite... what makes OSX a "much more complete software suite"?
Bookmark for my new 17" ;yet to be purchased
to replace my 1Ghz 17"
OSX is not a derivative it *is* UNIX, at least more so than Linux. As for safety; on what basis do you consider Linux more safe and secure than OSX?
You're right. I did not mean for that to be a leading statement. I should have clarified that in my initial post. OSX contains features that go beyond "operating system" basics, mostly for the personal and prosumer level user, like a photo management utility, DVD and video editing software, powerful search utility, and so on. These features are integrated much more smoothly when a software designer knows what kind of system it's going to be used with, and Apple takes advantage of that.
OSX also cures many fatal illnesses, allows you to stop the sun for five minutes at a time, and eliminates waxy yellow buildup, but those are often glossed over in the manual.
Learn something about Mac OS X
This looks like a consumer market deal. Show me a Dell that costs enough less than the iMac to really matter. Try to get somewhere near the Mac's performance, small form factor, software and features. Having a superior OS and low power consumption would be a plus.
I gotta get me some of that.
if you want a computer with limited upgrade ability.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.