Imagine someone saying two years ago that people would be arguing over how to boot Windows from a Mac. 🙂
Right now, the contenders are Apple’s Boot Camp, which is a simple multi-boot system, only one at a time, please, or Parallels Workstation 2.1, which will let you run Windows within Mac OS X.
Arguing about which is better is less than useless. They are different products meant for different purposes for different people.
Boot Camp is basically insurance for switchers, and an option for Mac gamers. Parallel Workstations is for those who mainly work in MacOS X and need to use a Windows program occasionally.
Given that Boot Camp is free and PW will cost about $50, this is not an either/or situation. Some will use just the first, some will use just the second, others will use the first, then shift over to the second if they see the light and convert over.
There’s one little element missing from the puzzle that the Parallel (or for that matter, the VirtualPC) folks ought to consider, though. If you can run Windows from MacOS X, why not the opposite? Why not let them try out MacOS X while doing their regular work in their accustomed Windows environment?
Yes, it’s training wheels, but so what? If a $50 app will make some of the more fearful jump, or be more convenient to a Mac gamer, why not? Better to have training wheels for a while than not try riding the bike at all.
Be the first to comment