Best Way to Get Windows Programs

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
What is the best way to get windows programs on my macbook pro? i know of several programs but I am not sure which is the best. Thanks for the help.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 4
    Safari. It works with every online store that I've ever been to.
  • Reply 2 of 4
    I mean so I can get programs that are only for pc on a mac. One example of a program is parallels but I dont know which program is best.
  • Reply 3 of 4
    smaxsmax Posts: 361member
    Depends on what you want to do. If you want to run OSX and a virtual installation of XP/Vista and you don't need too much processing power or graphics acceleration, get Parallels. If you want more power and true acceleration at the cost of only being able to run one OS at a time (it really isn't that much of a drawback), Boot Camp.



    Personally, I do Boot Camp. And keep in mind you'll need a copy of Windows too.
  • Reply 4 of 4
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by smax View Post


    Depends on what you want to do. If you want to run OSX and a virtual installation of XP/Vista and you don't need too much processing power or graphics acceleration, get Parallels. If you want more power and true acceleration at the cost of only being able to run one OS at a time (it really isn't that much of a drawback), Boot Camp.



    Personally, I do Boot Camp. And keep in mind you'll need a copy of Windows too.



    smax has pretty much summarized the two top picks. The decision comes to what you will be using Windows for. If it's for gaming or anything else process intenstive, no question - go Boot Camp. True, you lose access to Mac apps without a restart, but Boot Camp runs Windows natively at full performance.



    If it's for something more mundane like Office, Parallels is probably the best solution. It allows you to drag and drop between Mac and Windows in a unified desktop and runs everything well, given Windows is in an emulated environment.



    A consideration is also that Parallels costs $80. Boot Camp Beta is free and coming with Leopard (although I remember a rumor that Apple would charge something like $20-30 if you wanted the final Boot Camp build on Tiger.)



    Currently I use both. I have XP installed through Boot Camp and Parallels set up to run off the Boot Camp partition. That way I can have the power of Boot Camp and the interoperability of Parallels as my needs dictate.
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