When Apple inaugurate its first Intel - powered Macs in early 2006 , the company did more than just launch OS X on a new platform . It also gave Mac user a brand - new way to black market Windows apps .

Eighteen months ago , Mac users who had to run Windows software used practical personal computer — and nobody really like it . Today , we have a clustering of choice , with four that really rise to the top : Parallels background for Mac and VMWare Fusion , which both let you instal and operate a written matter of Windows from within OS X ; CodeWeavers ’ CrossOver Mac , which tricks Windows apps into thinking you ’ve acquire Windows set up when you really do n’t ; and Apple ’s own Boot Camp , which rent you choose to bring up into Windows or OS X when you set out your Mac .

But those four pick lead to one big question : which one is right for you ? In this week - foresighted serial , Christopher Breen and I compare the four , as well as take a decisive smell at how easy each one is to put in and configure , how well each runs Windows software , and how well each supports hardware computer peripheral . press the links below to read our visibility of each program :

As you interpret each of the remaining four parts over the residual of this week , bear in mind that this grocery is constantly develop . During our evaluation , both Apple ’s Boot Camp and VMWare ’s Fusion were still in public genus Beta , Parallels ’ latest release had just emerged from beta , and CrossOver had only recently been release . I used the most up - to - appointment version of each program useable at the sentence I was testing , but some of the detail may be out of date by the clip you read this .

Also keep in mind that it ’d be impossible for us to do full compatibility testing for every interlingual rendition of Windows , every coating , and every computer hardware peripheral on the Mac grocery . I chose to sharpen our software compatibility assessments on Microsoft Windows XP Pro Service Pack 2 ( with all the late update ) and Office XP Pro ( 2002 ) . Unless specified otherwise , I tested each product on a 15 - inch 2.33GHz MacBook Pro with 2 GB of RAM .

How They Compare: Virtualization Software

( a)Scrolling through a 3.9 MB papers with many image in varlet - at - a - time modality , using 125 pct zoom , page layout eyeshot ; by comparison , running the same test in Mac - aboriginal Word 2004 on a MacBook Pro take on 12.4 seconds.(b)With bombastic Word document and Excel file open.(c)Experimental.(d)Apps that run on those operating systems , not the operating system themselves .

Hardware requirements

To use any of the following software , you ’ll obviously need an Intel - powered Mac ; none of these programs run on a PowerPC Mac .

CPUThe faster your CPU , the well your performance will be . None of these programs are unsatisfying in terms of fastness . I break away them through some clock tests ( see “ How They Compare : Virtualization Software ” ) and some less formal rating ( using them for quotidian computing chores and compare the feel to aboriginal OS X apps ) . My conclusion : Macs turn tail Windows quite nicely in virtualization mode , and very well when booted natively into Windows . ( To be more specific , they run Windows XP quite nicely ; Vista is another story . For more on that , see “ Which Windows ? ” )

But even on a Core Duo miniskirt , these programs all offer execution that ’s worlds better than practical PC ever was on a PowerPC Mac . For typical Office coating , even a Mac mini will provide operation that ’s more than acceptable . The independent exception : if you want to employ Boot Camp to guide Windows games that want 3 - D acceleration , you ’ll desire a more hefty motorcar ; the miniskirt and the MacBook lack the graphics ironware command for 3 - D- quicken picture games .

RAMYou’ll also want a mass of RAM . In my testing , with Windows load and Word and Excel files open , CrossOver and Fusion used between 45 megabit and 60 MB of real storage ; Parallels used more than 100 MB . By comparison , running Windows natively in Boot Camp with the same Excel and Word files open required almost 200 MB . As you spread more programs , and specially if you ’re using OS X apps at the same fourth dimension , your RAM requirements will go up . For Windows 2000 and XP , 2 GB is a beneficial starting point ; you ’ll need more if you ’re view running Vista .

ExtrasYou’ll also need to be careful about the form of peripherals you have connected to your Mac . These programs can vary widely in their support for FireWire , USB , and Bluetooth . If any of your Windows apps command such peripherals , see the“How They Compare : Virtualization Software ” chart aboveto detect out about compatibility .

Who They ’re Good ForSo which of these four alternatives is correct for you ? Not surprisingly , the answer really count on what you need . For most Mac drug user , Parallels will let you do what you require to do in Windows with the least amount of fuss . Tinkerers and hobbyists will love Fusion ’s downloadable gizmo . Those who do n’t need anything but the periodic Windows Office app can probably get by with CrossOver . For others — gamers , people with esoteric computer hardware demand , and people who pound their C.P.U. at 100 percent utilization — Boot Camp is the preferred route . The bottom telephone line : we ’ve come a long way from practical PC.—ROB GRIFFITHS

The security question: Is Windows really unsafe?

At one point during my research for this clause , I ran Parallels on my Mac Pro for the first time in a while . I wanted to pick off the practical machine ’s setting , which require shutting it down . Before I could do so , Windows XP informed me it was install a few updates . ( I have the machinelike update enabled . ) finally , the updates were applied and the practical machine shut down . I tweaked my Parallels setting and restarted the virtual automobile . When XP eat up boot up , I was surprised to see Windows ’ build - in malware detector pop up on screen .

Somehow , my practical Windows XP installation had been infected by a member of the rbot family of malicious software . Thankfully , Windows found and take out this taxi all by itself .

I had n’t done much more than surf the Net and run some Office applications on that particular machine . It ’s certainly potential that I visited a malicious Web pageboy . Or maybe someone had whiff out my machine from the Net and attacked it remotely .

But I still have no hint how my Windows XP installation got infected . I ’d turned Windows share off on my virtual car , and my home connection sit behind a router that apply meshing name and address displacement to hide my machines ’ IP addresses from the Net .

From now on , I ’m go to need a unspoilt security department course of study for my virtual Windows machines . ( protagonist have suggestedAVG gratis , for starters . ) I ’m not too worried about Windows infections getting to my OS X facility , at least not yet . But I ’m glad I ’m not a full - time Windows user.—ROB GRIFFITHS

A field guide to other OS

Knowinghowto run Windows on your Mac is one matter . KnowingwhichWindows version to run is something else tout ensemble .

There are not only four dissimilar version of Windows Vista on entrepot shelves , but also two different versions of Windows XP still available if you hump where to calculate .

Vista and virtualization

If you project to run Windows through Parallels Desktop for Mac or VMWare Fusion , Microsoft has made your option of Windows easy . The final stage substance abuser permission agreements ( EULAs ) that do with Vista Home Basic and Vista Home Premium versions specifically forbid you to operate them under virtualization . I ’ve found no technical reason why you ca n’t run these versions of Windows under virtualization , but it ’s technically illegal to do so .

The official intellect for this limitation is surety . Microsoft is happy to permit you run Vista Business and Vista Ultimate variation under virtualization , because they let in more - rich safety feature . Because a Mac running Apple ’s Boot Camp is for all intents and purposes a living and breathing Windows PC , Microsoft has no dissent to your running any version of Vista on it .

Regardless of which variation of Vista you install , Microsoft require that each installation have its own licence . So if you wish to install it in both Boot Camp and a virtualization app , you ’ll need two Windows permission .

What’s the difference?

more or less speak , the various Vista editions shake out this direction .

Vista Home Basic is just that , a very canonical version of Windows that does n’t include Microsoft ’s Aero ocular impression and also miss Windows Media Center , Windows Flip 3-D Navigation , Scheduled and internet Backup , Windows Meeting Space , and Tablet Technology . It sells for $ 199 for a full installation .

Vista Home Premium adds the Aero effect as well as the features and programs missing from Home Basic . Windows Media Center , the major marketing point for this edition , enable your data processor to act as a TV and television recorder . The Mac ’s hardware does n’t support many of these features . Media Center also includes DVD - burn and moving picture - creative activity applications , as well as some game . The full installation of Home Premium costs $ 239 .

Vista Business replaces Home ’s multimedia system capability with security , networking , and sharing feature not found in the Home versions . Those features include Domain Join , Group Policy support , Encrypting File System ( EFS ) , Corporate Roaming , and Remote Desktop . Microsoft asks $ 299 for Vista Business .

Finally , Vista Ultimate includes everything found in the three less - expensive versions of Vista plus a few extras — a card game , additional spoken language packs , and more security . Vista Ultimate come at an ultimate price—$399 for a full installation .

Windows Vista: What You Get

Do you need Vista?

Vista is definitely the hereafter of Microsoft ’s operating system . But even PC user who like Windows have been sound off about Vista ’s performance . Vista running under Parallels Desktop for Mac is no speed demon and is on occasion unpredictable . It ’s better under Boot Camp but still far from stark .

Windows XP , on the other hand , is n’t half bad , no matter how you run it on your Mac . It ’s a more ripe version of Windows and therefore less nutty . It ’s also less laden with oculus candy , so it ’s faster than Vista .

XP is also much serious than Vista when it hail to virtualization . Because virtualization was n’t a threat when XP was unloose many year ago , there ’s no provision in the EULA that forbids you to die hard it under Parallels , Fusion , or whatever else you want to use . And even under virtualization , XP Home , XP Professional , and most Windows applications ( salve 3 - 500 secret plan and other 3 - five hundred - intensive diligence , which do poorly ) lead at near - native fastness on a modern Intel Mac . People running Boot Camp will find that XP is blazingly fast.—CHRISTOPHER BREEN