So, I am a cross-platform kinda guy (but its hard to be while mobile). No one wants to lug two or three laptops around. I frequently need to teach Adobe products (such as their video apps) but not all run on a Mac. Toss in my writing duties and I really need to dabble on the other side at least weekly. Most of you probably heard of Boot Camp from Apple, but that wouldn't work for me. Why?
1. It requires you to not have your drive partitioned when starting the install. This doesn't work as I keep my laptops split into 2 or 3 partitions for media management purposes.
2. I really hate having to reboot.
3. Just cause I'm in windows doesn't mean I want to run another email client, give up access to my iCal, etc.
The solution? Its called Parallels Desktop. It functions just like Virtual PC did, allowing you to run windows in, well a window, or go full-screen. Why do I like it?
1. It's FAST. it uses hardware, not software emulation.
2. It's easy to install and tweak.
3. Windows is installed into a virtual machine... if things go 'bad' you can just trash the virtual machine or create a new one. Its just a disk image file.
4. Its affordable. During public beta its only $39. Later it'll go up to $79. (You do need to provide your own legal copy of windows - but it runs nearly all flavors of windows, not just XP).
Download and Evaluate Parallels Desktop Release Candidate 2 for Mac.