Using Your Favorite Windows Applications on Your Mac
Just a few years ago, it was impossible to run Windows applications on a Mac. Even if you wanted the Mac experience, you still had to stick with Windows to use your favorite Windows applications and games.
But those days are over now. Today you enjoy the features that attracted you to the Mac AND can easily run almost all of your favorite Windows applications without even needing to reboot your computer to switch your operating system from Mac OS X to Windows.
Advantages of using Mac OS
The Apple Macintosh offers the following benefits to current Windows users:
- Macintosh computers are stable. They do not slow down over time like Windows systems do. There is no need to constantly repair your system.
- The operating system is intuitive and consistent.
- Whilst there is less software, it is generally well designed and simple to use.
- Mac OS is Unix compliant, and Unix offers rock solid reliability. Unix also gives you access to some useful command line tools not found in Windows.
- Mac OS is far less vulnerable to viruses and malware.
- Macs offer stylish, well designed hardware
On the other side, there is a huge range of Windows applications, and Windows offers excellent integration with corporate email systems, use of mobile devices such as Blackberry and mobile telephones and lots of games.
Running Windows applications on a Mac
With the help of Parallels 5.0 software, and a genuine copy of Windows you can easily use Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7 on your Mac and can run your favorite games, smart phone or even important business applications. The whole installation process is fast and simple, and you can be up and running in minutes.
When Windows is installed in your system, it runs in a virtual machine. You can launch Windows using an icon and run both Mac and Windows simultaneously. You can even copy and paste between the two operating systems. When Windows crashes, it will not crash the rest of your Mac.
System requirements
To properly use your favorite Windows applications on your Mac, your Mac should meet the following requirements:
- Mac operating system should be version OS X 10.4.6 later.
- Minimum 768 MB of RAM (the more, the better).
- Intel CPU (not PowerPC)
- Sufficient hard drive for the swap file, Windows and applications. The virtual machine that will run the Windows applications will require 15 GB disc space. You will need more to install Windows application and data.
- At least 200 MB free in the boot volume in order to install the Parallels software.
- A copy of Windows XP or Vista (for Vista, the license agreement does not allow Vista Home Basic or Home Premium to be run in a virtual machine, so you’ll need a higher version) or Windows 7
When your machine meets these requirements, running Windows programs on your Mac simply involves installing the Parallels software and the Windows operating system.
Remember, that once you install Windows, it will be vulnerable to viruses and malware (even if your Mac is not). You need to ensure that your firewall is properly secured and that you have anti-virus software installed.
Also, running two operating systems can be resource intensive. Your computer will slow down a bit when you have both Windows and OS X running at the same time, especially if you are running CPU intensive tasks on both. The latest version of Parallels offers much better performance than previous versions.
Conclusion
The good thing is that you can download the trial version of Parallels software to help you can make up your mind about using it on your Mac before buying the full version.
Using Parallels together with Windows will definitely increase the flexibility of your Mac and you can run all your favorite Windows games and other applications which you couldn’t do before, all on your Mac desktop.
