You asked — What are the programs that people need such virtualization software for other than the games mentioned in the article? The only MS programs I run (Office) have a mac version.
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Yes, Microsoft does put out a Macintosh version of their “Office” package. So, that’s true for that one. But, there have been a few instances of where someone would have something proprietary (some program) which was made only for Windows (usually those aren’t your big packages). It could have been something built for a company for a special purpose, too.
In those instances, Parallels could come in very handy. And, at one time, I remember that NetFlix had their online viewing for Windows only, at first, and then later got the Macintosh version out (which it is now). And then, I’ve seen a few instances of some hardware which a manufacturer would have a “set up” routine what would run in Windows, but after it was set up, the hardware could be used by either Windows or Macintosh (kind of a stupid way for the company to do it, but I’ve seen that on occasion).
So, it’s various isolated instances of this sort of thing.
But, for the overwhelming majority of the average users, they will never need this sort of thing. I don’t have this now, but I would like to have it in the future, just to test out various things on the other platform and see how it functions.
Office, despite having a Mac version, is still a virtualization killer app, just because the Mac version doesn’t include many of the components of the Windows version. No Vizio, no Access, and no Outlook. Well, Outlook is coming next year.
I use it for Web browsers. IE still doesn't render pages properly, and as much as I'l like to give IE the finger on principle, I don't want to kiss off the audience still using it.
Some companies have Windows-only in-house apps; taht can be done better with cross-platform Java or with something like Citrix, but a client-side virtual machine is a way to get Macs in the door and have that fight later.
I run XP on Parellels because my software for my embroidery machine is windows based.