With Virtualization Software you can run Windows inside Mac OS X
Virtualization Software as the alternative? You may have heard you can run Windows on a Mac. This is true, you can run it through Boot Camp for example. This way you will have to reboot your computer and start it up with Windows XP or Windows Vista every time you need to use Windows.
However there is another way too, you can use virtualization software for Mac OS X, then you install Windows in this software. This way you can have Windows running inside Mac OS X, without having to restart your computer. And it works really well too! I have tried it myself.
So if you are in a situation where you absolutely need some kind of Windows software but you still want to switch to Mac OS X and not reboot your computer every time this is your ultimate solution. Now I will inform you of the two most known applications in this segment and where you can get it.
VMware Fusion 2
You can:
Seamlessly run Windows applications alongside Mac applications with the Unity features in VMware Fusion. Find and launch Windows applications quickly with the VMware Fusion launcher. Switch between Windows and Mac applications quickly with Exposé. Minimize Windows applications to the Mac OS X Dock.
Play Windows games on your Mac. Create powerful multi-core virtual machines and run 32- and 64-bit operating systems with ease. Use your iSight camera in Windows and gain access to Windows-only USB 2.0 devices.
VMware Fusion makes it easy to install Windows as a virtual machine on your Intel-based Mac, and makes a perfect complement to Apple Boot Camp. Use your existing Boot Camp partition as a virtual machine if you want, or use the built-in Windows Easy Install to install a fresh copy of Windows on a new virtual machine.
Use Snapshots to save the state of your virtual machine, and revert back to that state if your PC crashes or becomes corrupted.
VMware Fusion - Official Site
Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac
Run Windows on your Mac without rebooting. Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac makes it easy to run Windows, Linux, and more side-by-side with Mac OS X without rebooting. With Parallels' award winning virtualization technology, you can run Mac OS X and critical Windows applications such as Outlook, Access, QuickBooks, Internet Explorer and more, all at the same time.
This new release of Parallels Desktop for Mac comes packed with 50+ new features and enhancements including the ability to drag-and-drop files between desktops, run Windows programs like native Mac applications and migrate your existing PC to your Mac. And with the Installation Wizard to help you get started, you'll be up and running in just three clicks of the mouse.
Compatible with Windows (Vista, XP, 2003, NT, 2000, Me, 98, 95, 3.11, and 3.1), any Linux distribution, FreeBSD, Solaris, OS/2, eComStation or MS-DOS. Minimum System Requirements Intel-based Mac 1 GB of RAM (2GB recommended to run Windows Vista) 450 MB of hard drive space for Parallels Desktop installation, plus space to allocate to your virtual machine. Mac OS X 10.4.6 or later, Internet connection required for online updates. Requires Windows or other operating system (not included)
Parallels - Official Site
Who of these two virtualization software do I recommend?
I have tried both of them and when it comes to features I really liked the USB feature of VMware Fusion. I had to update a mobile phone once that didn't support Mac OS X. No problem, i just started up VMware fusion, connected the phone via USB and the computer asked me if I wanted to give Mac OS X access to the USB device or VMware Fusion. That was a neat feature.
To be honest it doesn't matter so much what virtualization software you select. Both of these software packages enables you to run windows on a mac and does it really good too. You are safe with both.
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