TECH: Parallels Desktop - Windows on your Mac

WHAT: Alright, so running Windows on a Mac computer is a little bit old news now; at least, the "concept" of it is. Apple had the "Boot Camp" beta program out shortly after launching the Intel chip Macs, but to get it running, you had to have a degree in computer science. No longer. Parallels Desktop runs on your Mac like any other program: once it's all installed - you install the program, then within the program, you install your own copy of Windows XP, you simply have to double-click the icon and launch Windows - without having to re-boot your computer everytime.

Or any other operating system that you have installed in the program, for example: Linux.

WHY: "So what," you say? "I got a Mac so that I wouldn't have to $#%&#@$ with Windows anymore." I hear you.

However, there are times you need Windows, like it or not. After I purchased a Mac (after a 10 year hiatus, during which I became a bit of a PC mechanic - out of necessity), I tried to install my Garmin MapSource software on my Mac. Whoops!

Seems Garmin only makes their software for the PC (and in my humble opinion, it's a rather archaic piece of software, at that). After running second PC only to handle the GPS software, it was taking up huge amounts of space - and being a bit of a pain switching between the two computers. Parallels Desktop helped solve my dilemma. I installed the Garmin program in the Parallels Windows XP environment on my Mac, hooked up the GPS unit with the USB cable, and bingo!

Parallels helps with other problems, too: if you're a Netflix subscriber, you can't watch the 3000 plus films on demand available to you from the website. It's a PC-only thing. But, launch Windows XP in Parallels on your Mac, open Internet Explorer and visit Netflix, and - bingo again - you've got your video on demand experience right on your Mac.

A final note: it's pretty darn fast. Last week I saw a USC student running Bioshock - a huge, graphics-intensive PC game - in Windows on Parallels Desktop. And it ran good. Until you don't need Windows any longer, it's a great, low-cost alternative to having two computers.

http://www.parallels.com/