One
question Macintosh Support London specialists hear often is “how can I run
Windows on my Mac?” The answer is relatively simple, though it sounds somewhat
complicated. If you want to run Windows on a Mac that is based on Intel, you
need to create a virtual machine for the secondary OS. In computing terms,
virtualisation means creating a seemingly real version of something like an
Operating System, hardware platform or storage device. You Mac is a
subjectively and objectively physical and real machine. A virtual copy of your
Mac would seem very much like the real thing from a subjective point of view,
but would actually be a set of files and programs running on your actual
machine.
The IT industry is trending toward solutions that allow systems and environments to be more self-managing (autonomic computing) and that allow clients to pay for computer processing as they need it (utility computing). Virtualisation allows multiple Operating Systems to be run in parallel on one CPU, increasing the efficiency of administrative tasks and cutting down on overhead.
Hardware or platform virtualisation means creating a virtual machine that behaves like an actual machine with an OS. Software used on such a virtual system is separate from the core hardware resources and must be accessed through the virtual machine. So, your Mac that runs some version of Mac OS X can host a virtual machine with Windows installed on it. To accomplish this you will need virtualisation software.
As your Apple Mac Support technician could tell you, Boot Camp, Parallels and Fusion are the three main applications for running Windows on a Mac. They’re all pretty user-friendly and effective, which can make the choice difficult. Ultimately, your choice depends on personal preference and what you want to use Windows for.
Boot Camp has the advantage of being nearly free, as it is supplied with OS X 10.5 (Leopard) and up. If you’re running 10.5 or higher, Boot Camp is probably already installed. Boot Camp’s other major advantage over the others is speed. It runs at the core hardware’s native speed, making it a good option for gamers and other users interested in performance. Boot Camp doesn’t run Mac OS X and Windows simultaneously. You have to restart your Mac to shift between the two.
Parallels is capable of running multiple OSes concurrently, so you can have OS X and Windows (or Linux) going at the same time and share data between them. Parallels is slower than Boot camp, but you won’t see much difference when running Microsoft Office and similar programs. For graphic-design or gaming applications, the lag will be noticeable.
VMware Fusion can also run multiple Operating Systems at the same time, sharing data between them. In addition, it supports multiple processors, which Parallels does not. This allows Fusion to be faster than Parallels, though still not as quick as Boot Camp. Fusion also offers an interface more familiar to Mac users and better graphics drivers. It doesn’t support so many USB devices as Parallels, though.
The IT industry is trending toward solutions that allow systems and environments to be more self-managing (autonomic computing) and that allow clients to pay for computer processing as they need it (utility computing). Virtualisation allows multiple Operating Systems to be run in parallel on one CPU, increasing the efficiency of administrative tasks and cutting down on overhead.
Hardware or platform virtualisation means creating a virtual machine that behaves like an actual machine with an OS. Software used on such a virtual system is separate from the core hardware resources and must be accessed through the virtual machine. So, your Mac that runs some version of Mac OS X can host a virtual machine with Windows installed on it. To accomplish this you will need virtualisation software.
As your Apple Mac Support technician could tell you, Boot Camp, Parallels and Fusion are the three main applications for running Windows on a Mac. They’re all pretty user-friendly and effective, which can make the choice difficult. Ultimately, your choice depends on personal preference and what you want to use Windows for.
Boot Camp has the advantage of being nearly free, as it is supplied with OS X 10.5 (Leopard) and up. If you’re running 10.5 or higher, Boot Camp is probably already installed. Boot Camp’s other major advantage over the others is speed. It runs at the core hardware’s native speed, making it a good option for gamers and other users interested in performance. Boot Camp doesn’t run Mac OS X and Windows simultaneously. You have to restart your Mac to shift between the two.
Parallels is capable of running multiple OSes concurrently, so you can have OS X and Windows (or Linux) going at the same time and share data between them. Parallels is slower than Boot camp, but you won’t see much difference when running Microsoft Office and similar programs. For graphic-design or gaming applications, the lag will be noticeable.
VMware Fusion can also run multiple Operating Systems at the same time, sharing data between them. In addition, it supports multiple processors, which Parallels does not. This allows Fusion to be faster than Parallels, though still not as quick as Boot Camp. Fusion also offers an interface more familiar to Mac users and better graphics drivers. It doesn’t support so many USB devices as Parallels, though.
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