“Ever since Apple switched to Intel architecture back in 2006, Macs have been able to run Microsoft Windows natively without any kind of emulation software, such as Microsoft Virtual PC,” James Cull reports for Mactuts+.
“Why would you want to use Windows, I hear you scream, when OS X is a perfectly good operating system? Well, you might have some software that only works on Windows (specialist software, for example) or you may just fancy a change from OS X,” Cull reports. “Whatever your reason, let’s see how you can get Windows up and running on your Mac.”
“In short, there are two ways of running Windows on your Mac,” Cull reports. “You can use Apple’s Boot Camp to create a Windows partition on your Mac’s hard drive, allowing you to boot either into OS X or Windows when you start your Mac. You can run Windows side-by-side using a virtualization package such as Parallels Desktop or VMWare Fusion. Both ways have their advantages and disadvantages…”
Advertisement: $30 off Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac when you switch from VMware Fusion
Much more in the full article here.
Related articles:
Macworld review: Parallels Desktop 8 vs. VMware Fusion 5 – September 28, 2012
Macworld UK reviews Parallels Desktop 8.0: – September 20, 2012
Mossberg reviews Parallels Desktop 8: Works well; superior to VMWare Fusion – September 13, 2012
CNET reviews Parallels Desktop 8: New features put it above competitors – September 6, 2012
Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac now available – September 4, 2012
Slow news day, eh…?
1
No, let’s not.
Wow, this is great news!!! Wait, I already knew this back in 2010…and it still sucks
Hold your horses guys.
I got a 2012 iMac 27″ a couple of months ago. One WITH a DVD drive built in. It is just amazing of course! But what to do with my 2010 iMac (also 27″)???? Well I just tossed the PC out (that had a $250 graphics card upgrade) and now use my 2010 iMac with windows 7. Believe it of not it runs everything I had on the PC much faster. Including all my windows games. One nasty PC with a thousand wires now is replaced by one iMac with one power cord. The space occupied by the “Tower” is now…..well, “space”. Loving it.
+1
Don’t forget this is useful for the benefit of former Windows sufferers transferring over to the Mac for the first time.
I am so grateful that I have absolutely no reason to do this.
I hope I am able to sleep tonight. The horror! The horror!
” Well, you might have some software that only works on Windows (specialist software, for example) or you may just fancy a change from OS X,”
Former: yes
Latter: WTF?
Believe it or not, I still require the following:
Visual studio 2008
Windows mobile
Visio
Internet Explorer 6
And a few other “specialist” software packages.
Parallels is great.
‘require’ or want.
Best way to pollute your Mac with Windows?
After leaving the Apple store with your new iPurchase, walk into the M$ Store on your way to your car and rid yourself of any future buyers remorse.
Unfortunately,actually very, very unfortunately we must sometimes run Windows in our law office to run programs that only run on Windows. Most lawyers, law firms, and the companies providing service to these firms are tragically behind the times and don’t understand the need to make their software Mac compatible or at least web-based so the operating system is irrelevant.
Hence our staff must crank up the POS Windows XP in Parallels a few times a week to run a specialty application. Plus, I need to use Windows Quickbooks to do our payroll because the primo doofuses at Intuit haven’t felt the need to upgrade Mac Quickbooks to the level of Windows Quickbooks.
All these A-holes who still think everyone uses Windows PCs better hope I never get a terminal illness.
Those who use windows most likely to be gamers. Mac sux at gaming.
Lots of engineering, FEA, custom apps and math stuff is Windows only and I have to run a bunch of it. No chance to switch because of the libraries of parts in my SolidWorks 3D CAD program.
Win7 is just another OS. Not far removed from OS 10.7.
In reality, I run SolidWorks and don’t interact much with Windows itself, so I couldn’t care less, except for rebooting, which is quick with an SSD in my MacBook Pro.
They left out some other alternatives, but that’s not surprising…
Actually, they didn’t. For all practice purposes those are the only two “commercially viable” products (IMHO)
Others like wine or virtual box are fine for hackers…I have tried many.
And…cough up the 80 bucks. It’s well worth it for those of us that have the 12 or so windows only apps we are required to use in business.
For everyone else…it’s with the hassle-free operation. Don’t waste time with the others.
Again…IMHO… You might love to WINE…or play with VB that only partially works…go for it.
I am a swticher from 2011. And as a switcher I can tell you that the first couple of weeks are the worst but it’s best to do it cold turkey – in other words drop your Windows crutches as soon as possible and as completely as possible. I used Boot Camp for the first month or so but over time as I booted into Windows it looked uglier and uglier – this was Windows 7 which was supposed to be user friendly, not the psychedelic W8.
Anyway, the more I booted into Windows and the longer I was immersed in the Mac OS X world, the more Windows looked like an anachronistic dinosaur operating system with confusing menus and confusingly laid out buttons. Navigating around Internet Explorer 10 which was required for certain websites that wouldn’t work with Safari or Firefox was a special hell in itself.
Eventually I decided that running Windows on a Mac was causing me too much distress – I couldn’t face looking at Windows through a pristine Mac screen – it just felt alien touching the keys on a Mac and manipulating Windows on screen. I then relegated Windows to a netbook and have felt better ever since. I’d rather spend a couple of hundred dollars and use Windows in its own separate cheap hardware than put up with it on my Mac. Windows deserves cheap hardware.
Winduhz IS a big ugly counterproductive Dinosaur. But try to tell that to Hospitals, Law offices, banks, and the companies writing software for them. I complained about software to the company writing for us, they were telling us all these Windows things it needed, so I called the company direct and the IT Help desk guy said to me, and I quote: “What’s OSX?” Heads up their asses, so it’s hard to have any hope for these people. They are happy immersed in a world of UGLY, counterproductive computing. They know nothing else. Thank God most people and businesses can move on from Winduhz but a great majority are mired in this crap for who knows how long.
I will never use Windows again.
I was originally a Windows guy after using DOS before that. Moved to the Mac in 1998 after being sick of the blue screens of death and ENDLESS rebooting after ENDLESS security updates.
I’ve removed the need for Microsoft software altogether. Office has been replaced with Pages and Numbers – perfect for my circumstances.
If you haven’t tried life without Windows, you should give it a go. You really don’t need it.
VirtualPC wasn’t ever ported to intel macs. It was used on PowerPC processor based Macs. At least that is what I remember in my old age. I didn’t care to actually look it up. I used VPC for years just to run a stock screening program. Now I have been using Parallels. Much batter. One good point. Using BootCamp with the new hard drives (SSD, fusion etc.) should be even better and save $$ not having to purchase the virtualization app.
Where I live, don’t even THINK of filing your taxes on anything but windows and IE. Which is why I still have the old Samsung laptop lying under a pile of laundry. Windows is NOT going anywhere near my iMac.