Virtualization

When it comes to running Microsoft Windows on a Mac, there has never been a better time to do so. Ever since Apple switched to the Intel architecture the desire for running Windows on a Mac has come to full (virtual) reality. Now more then ever this happens with great ease, speed and power. This is not to say that it comes without issues and growing pains, it simply means that it actually finally works. Which enables people to only buy one computer and have the best of both worlds, the PC for business and the Mac for everything else.

Back in ’06, when Apple made the switch in processors to Intel, people were very excited that running Windows on a Mac could happen. So much so that there was a contest launched by OnMac.net to see who could come up with a way to do it. By March 26th, 2006 the contest was over, and we all were the winners. It was through this win that Apple unleashed Boot Camp which allows you to restart your Mac into either OSX or WIndows. This was fantastic although limited as you had to chose which operating system you wanted to use and you could only choose Windows as your second operating system.

That’s when things really took off. The next big thing to happen was the ability to run Windows on a Mac right from your Mac’s desktop, which treats Windows (or any other operating system you might want to use) as another application without having to restart into your chosen second operating system. This was a GIGANTIC breakthrough. Thanks to companies like Parallels or VMware you can now have two operating systems running at the same time on one Mac.

My preferred choice in software makers ended up being Parallels. Their product was very strong and worked very well. They also managed to bring great updates to their software to allow for some truly remarkable features, such as “coherence mode” which allows you to have the Windows Task Bar and Mac’s Menu Bar running on the same desktop seamlessly. I have sworn up and down on how great the company is and has been to all of my consultancy clients. I am not saying here that there is anything wrong with VMware’s Fusion which essentially is the same thing, I just have preferred Parallels.

Unfortunately I do believe that I am changing my preferences. Parallels just released version 4 of their Desktop For Mac software a few months back. I must say that at first I was very excited about it, they made the interface very Mac-ish, finally, and it is beautiful to look at. The problem comes when you actually run the software. It was so highly unstable that it froze every hour and interupted one of my best client’s work so often that I had to roll it back to version 3. Not that there is anything wrong with version 3, I was just extremely disappointed that Parallels released version 4 in such an awful state. It was simply not ready for prime time and they should have waited to release it until it was.

So for now I will have to recommend Fusion’s VMware for people who are looking to get started running Windows on your Mac.I do believe that Fusion has a very nicely designed piece of software, and it has always had a more Mac-ish look and feel. The one thing that really makes it stand out for me is that Fusion has support for split screen work, in other words across two monitors. It does appear to at least be more stable than Parallels version 4, yet I am not thoroughly convinced that Fusion is more stable than Parallels version 3.  As I said before though, Fusion and Parallels are very similar products and do essentially the same thing: enable you to run Windows (or any other operating system) on your Mac as though it were another application.

The next great leap for me in this multiple operating system on one computer idea would be if both Apple and Microsoft could somehow see past their egos and do what would be best for all of us, combine forces. This would enable the fine grained control one gets with Windows and the ease of use and fun of OS X. I may be far from reality on that thought, but it certainly would be dream of a computer platform. Imagine being able to install any application you want on one computer without the hassle of restarting into a different operating system or running virtualization software to make it happen. Ahhh to dream.

UPDATE: During my nromal morning scouring of my favorite mac news sites I stumbled upon this article from Macworld .com:    Opinon: Which is better for your business, a Mac or a PC? This guy has his own take on the economic times we are in and how his choice of computer helped his company.