On Apr 18, 2007, at 3:01 PM, Michael Chan wrote: > On Wed, 2007-04-18 at 22:22 +0100, Bob W wrote: >> The children of one of my friends want a laptop, and more >> particularly >> they want a MacBook. My friend knows nothing about computers, but she >> needs to be able to run Windows software for a course she'll be >> taking >> later this year. >> >> What extras are required to be able to run Windows software on a Mac, >> and what is the performance of Windows software like when run this >> way? > > There are three options to run Windows on an Intel-based Mac. Each > option requires a valid Windows 2000/XP/Vista install disk and license > which is a separate purchase from the software listed below. > > 1) BootCamp http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/ > > 2) Parallels www.parallels.com > > 3) VMWare Fusion http://www.vmware.com/products/beta/fusion/ > > Bootcamp boots straight into windows or into OSX from cold start. > Parallels/VMWare run Windows in a virtual machine within OSX. > Performance does not take too much of a hit when virtualized; in > any of > the options it's mostly based on the hardware in the MacBook and > will be > comparable to a non-Apple hardware macine of similar > specifications, but > you will want to have a lot of memory in any case; 1 Gig at least; 2 > Gigs would be better. > > Apple currently doesn't charge for BootCamp. Parallels costs money. > VMWare currently doesn't charge for Fusion but probably will once it > comes out of beta. > > I've seen all three in action. Parallels is my favorite solution > currently.
Michael covered all the options. Several of my clients bought MacBooks specifically so they could work in both Mac OS X and Windows as a part of their business needs. Parallels worked best for them when they needed simultaneous access to both environments, Boot Camp proves to give the best performance (better screen/graphics adaption) and is more compatible with some Windows devices and applications. I have no experience with VMWare Fusion. Godfrey -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
