Apple’s Boot Camp and Parallels Desktop for Mac are applications allowing you to install Windows on your Mac. The big difference? Parallels Desktop for Mac is the world’s top-rated, bestselling and most trusted solution. Here are just a few of the reasons why you should choose Parallels Desktop over Boot Camp. No rebooting required! Aug 15, 2007 Once Boot Camp and Windows are installed successfully, you can boot in to Mac OS X and install Parallels or VMWare Fusion. Either provide the option on startup to launch the 'virtual machine' running on the Boot Camp Partition.
Running Windows on a Mac was once a process fraught with tribulation, though now it's a common operation that should be painless. With continued Mac performance gains, Boot Camp improvements, and two capable virtual machine (VM) technologies in VMware Fusion and Parallels Desktop for Mac, Apple professionals have multiple options to reliably power Windows installations on Macs. The only trick is knowing which option—Boot Camp or a VM—works best for your intended Windows purposes. Here are recommendations for common scenarios.
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Single proprietary Windows app
Likely the most common Windows-on-a-Mac need, many Apple professionals also require Windows due to the need to run one critical proprietary, often industry-specific, Windows application. Despite cloud-computing and web-based trends, some applications continue only providing full functionality when run within a dedicated Windows environment.
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I possess such first-hand experience; an industry-specific professional services automation application powers my business' daily operations. While possessing mobile and web-based options, the program only provides full functionality—such as financial and accounting features—when run natively within Windows.
Unless the sole proprietary program possesses intensive processing requirements, such as is commonly true for video editing and three-dimensional drafting, running Windows within a VMware or Parallels VM typically proves most convenient. Tasks commonly completed using OS X continue to prove immediately available, while the single Windows application is just a few clicks away and behaves as if it's just another application needing to be opened within OS X. No reboot is required. No OS X applications or functions are sacrificed.
Recommendation: VMware or Parallels VM
Multiple proprietary Windows apps
Some Apple professionals must run multiple Windows applications simultaneously. An example is a Mac user who frequently manages workflow processes using a Windows-based industry-specific application and often enters customer-related information within a Windows-specific tool.
Such a scenario is trickier. A single universal recommendation is more difficult, but not out of the question.
Assuming the Windows applications don't require intensive system resources, running Windows within a VMware or Parallels VM will again prove most convenient for the same reasons a VM is advantageous when running a single Windows-dependent program, as described above.
But, if the Windows programs require considerable graphics and processor power, or if all the computer's memory is required to provide proper performance, Boot Camp may be required to deliver the most reliable operation. However, it's more likely that, if the proper Mac model is selected and possesses the correct video performance capacity and corresponding CPU and memory upgrades, a VMware or Parallels VM will prove best.
Most multiple proprietary Windows app needs I encounter require either a combination of Windows-specific browser plug-ins and the Windows OS or low-level resources but the Windows OS, meaning these applications can usually be capably accommodated using a VMware or a Parallels VM.
Recommendation: VMware or Parallels VM, with some rare exceptions as noted
Frequent and intensive Windows operation
Occasionally, some Mac users must run demanding Windows applications. Video editing, audio mixing, three-dimensional drafting, development testing, animation, production lighting, scientific and architectural applications can all stress even powerfully configured Macs. When such circumstances arise, Mac users are typically best served running Windows within its own environment using Boot Camp.
In such situations, Boot Camp helps ensure most all system resources are dedicated to the Windows installation. Many common functions—including less-demanding tasks such as internet access, email, printing, and file share access—can still be accessed from within the Windows environment for convenience sake, while the demanding Windows-dependent programs receive the benefit of additional CPU and memory resources, in particular.
Recommendation: Boot Camp
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- Three things to know about Parallels Desktop for Mac (TechRepublic)
- Tips for configuring Boot Camp partitions for business users (TechRepublic)
- Five ways you can run Windows programs on a Mac (ZDNet)
- These 20 essential applications let you move easily between Windows and a Mac (ZDNet)
- Mac tips, tricks and shortcuts: Here's your master list (CNET)
- Research: Apple's Growing Role in the Enterprise (Tech Pro Research)
I haven't used either one, but Parallels would have to be the best choice by far. Boot Camp allows you to use Mac OS OR Windows, while Parallels lets you use both simultaneously.
With Boot Camp, you could start your computer in Mac OS mode and work on a graphics program, for example. If you wanted to use a Windows spreadsheet, you would then have to restart your computer in Windows mode. With Parallels, you would simply click the Windows window/icon and open a Windows spreadsheet.
Like you, I use Dreamweaver and Photoshop a lot. I want to install Parallels so I can use both programs on my Mac. After upgrades designed for the new MacIntel computers come out, I'll go Mac all the way. Perhaps the only program that will still require me to retain a link to M$ is my spreadsheet. I have yet to find a spreadsheet as nice as Microsoft's. But superior versions of most other programs are made by Apple or the open source community.
With Boot Camp, you could start your computer in Mac OS mode and work on a graphics program, for example. If you wanted to use a Windows spreadsheet, you would then have to restart your computer in Windows mode. With Parallels, you would simply click the Windows window/icon and open a Windows spreadsheet.
Like you, I use Dreamweaver and Photoshop a lot. I want to install Parallels so I can use both programs on my Mac. After upgrades designed for the new MacIntel computers come out, I'll go Mac all the way. Perhaps the only program that will still require me to retain a link to M$ is my spreadsheet. I have yet to find a spreadsheet as nice as Microsoft's. But superior versions of most other programs are made by Apple or the open source community.