As much as am a huge fan of Apple products and the operating system, not all software companies are so interested in developing with mac users in mind. For years I remember having to return to a sluggish abandoned Windows Pc to do any accounts work in Sage. Sometimes you can get by with Mac alternatives like pages or numbers for your basic word and excel needs. Bootcamp and Parallels have shown as an alternative to owning two laptops just to keep you covered with both operating systems.
Why have one when you can have two
As much as am a huge fan of Apple products and the operating system, not all software companies are so interested in developing with mac users in mind. For years I remember having to return to a sluggish abandoned Windows Pc to do any accounts work in Sage. Sometimes you can get by with Mac alternatives like pages or numbers for your basic word and excel needs. Bootcamp and Parallels have shown as an alternative to owning two laptops just to keep you covered with both operating systems. Before writing this article I remembered last year reading about the Macbook Pro being declared “the best performing windows laptop”, it’s not quite as clear cut as that sounds. After reading it, I did wonder if my years of strife with Windows and PC’s in general could be solved by simply running it on a Mac.
Bootcamp
Bootcamp gets off to a great start by being free. Yes that’s right the kind folks at apple included a built in feature which lets you install and run windows on your mac provided you already own a licensed copy of Microsoft Windows. Installation is an absolute breeze as you are guided through the familiar mac assistant screens. After installation every time you turn on your mac you will be given the option to boot up in either Windows or Apple OS. If your hoping for some pretty interface to pick your OS your in for a real let down. Maybe the Apple design team took a day off.
The main negative regarding Bootcamp is that you have to reboot every time you wish to switch between Windows and Mac OS. One problem some users may face is if you have already partitioned your hard drive. Bootcamp requires that you have only one volume in a Extended (Journaled) format prior to getting started. During installation I recommend having a blank cd or usb stick to hand as it creates a copy of all the necessary Windows ISO and support software for Windows which you will need to use bootcamp.
If you have a fast mac in most cases you’ll have a pretty speedy experience too when your running Windows as it works at the native speed of your computer. It’s also worth mentioning if your doing something particularly resource intensive Bootcamp will give you better performance compared with Parallels as it is not having to split resources between two simultaneously running operating systems.
Requirements
Intel Mac
Mac OS X v10.5
Licensed copy of Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional,
Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows 8, or Windows 8 Pro
Recommend minimum of 2 GB of RAM
Parallels
Even on the Apple store Parallels gets rave reviews about being the most seamless and fastest way to run Windows OS alongside Mac OS and thats exactly why it’s gained such a lead in the market. Where as with bootcamp you need to reboot to switch between your OS choice, Parallels sits running alongside for whenever you need some Windows specific software. That might seem insignificant but believe me I could rant on how annoying having the spent time perfecting a Mac office doc only for someone to open it on their Windows system and my document bare little layout resemblance. Not only are you able to operate Windows on your Mac you are able to crossover into somewhat unexpected things like Facetime and Mission control all while using Windows applications.
While Parallels offers you more connivence than Bootcamp it also leads you to sacrifice more. How exactly does that work? Well the main thing is your taking up more space on your mac for one thing having a second OS installed plus the software. At $79.99 it may seem a bit pricey but once again it depends on how often you plan to use Windows, thankfully you can use the free 14 day trial to take it for a test run.
Requirements
Intel Mac
Mac OS X v10.5
Licensed copy of Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional,
Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows 8, or Windows 8 Pro
Recommend minimum of 2 GB of RAM
When one just isn’t enough
For me if I wanted to run Windows software a lot I’d buy a PC, if that’s your situation too why bothering switching to Mac in the first place? If it’s all about the looks check out the new LG offering, remind you of anything? You could have been sucked in by clever Apple marketing and the ever growing number of Mac fanboys. If your like me you’ll probably spend more time with your OS than you spend with your partner and if you have to switch between two different ones repeatedly ( Operating Systems not partners) that’s gonna be a whole world of hassle also just remember not to get their names mixed up. For me my pick has to be Bootcamp. It’s free and personally only very rarely do I require anything that Mac OS doesn’t provide a solution or alternative software for. If however your in the situation of using both systems regularly and don’t want to carry two laptops to trail home every day or short on space for a two desktops, Parallels without doubt offers you the best of both operating systems with one solution.
