Windows (on the Mac) - a review

I have been running Windows on my Mac since I first got my Macbook back in May 2006.

AMD IT requires me to use Windows and Internet Explorer for a number of critical functions (expense reporting/Ariba purchasing manager) and access to our internal IT helpdesk. I rarely need IT help, but I do love having my expenses paid.



Apple Bootcamp
Apple released this as Beta software last year in time for the Macbook launch. With Bootcamp you create a partition on your HD and boot into _either_ Mac OSX _or_ Windows.

I find this to be the less optimal solution only because I am using a Mac to enjoy Mac OSX. This also means that I have to move between OS environments in a pretty painful way should I need something that's Mac-bound.



VMWare Fusion for the Mac
This is my preferred environment for running Windows on my Mac. I actually have it installed on my Macbook Pro and it runs awesome. I must admit that I have "worked from home" a couple days simply because I enjoy using my Macbook Pro so much and having it able to run an AMD version of Windows makes it the best of both worlds.

After VMWare announced pricing on Monday I went ahead and "pre-ordered" a copy. After working in software as long as I have, I usually know better than to pre-order. For VMWare Fusion I want to make an exception! $39.99 is a steal for technology as good as VMWare pumps out.

I am not sure if VMWare is yet using the Intel VT virtualization technology thats enabled in hardware. If it is indeed using hardware enabled virtualization then the performance hit from running a simultaneous copy of Windows/Mac OSX should be very minor.


Parallels
I have not yet run Parallels product for the Mac but from what I hear its pretty competitive to VMWare. That being said I don't know anyone at Parallels currently and the VMWare guys are on a pretty good roll with Fusion.

The one thing I can say in support of Parallels is that they are indeed using the hardware enabled virtualization at the processor level. As processor level enhancements for virtualization improve the world may come down to how well you take advantage of the hardware enhancements provided to you.


Steve Jobs: please consider letting us users CHOOSE to use AMD processors for our solutions.
That is a totally selfish request because I would like to use my Mac all the time! You set Safari free to exist among multiple platforms, let your OS do the same!