Apple Boot Camp
Boot Camp News: Up-to-Date Information
Boot Camp Alternatives: Parallels 2.1
Posted July 17, 2006 11:41 AM by Greg Wallingford, Staff Writer
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Although Apple Boot Camp has been getting a lot of press for its easy dual booting options, one noticeable alternative already exists. Called Parallels Workstation 2.1, it is a virtualization software, meaning that it allows Mac users to run Windows as an app within OS X.
Parallels.com says this:
Virtualization software enables users to run multiple operating systems, like Linux or Windows, in isolated "virtual machines" directly on a Mac OS X desktop, giving users the ability to run programs that are only available on those operating systems, without having to give up the usability and functionality of their Mac OS X machine . Each virtual machine operates exactly like a stand-alone computer and contains its virtual hardware, including RAM, hard disk, processor, I/O ports, and CD/DVD-drives."
Although Parallels is currently in beta stage, a full-functioning 30 day trial is available for download now.
So you may be wondering what the pros and cons of Boot Camp are versus Parallels 2.1. Here's what I have figured out.
Running Windows XP under Parallels has some advantages, but accessing hardware and getting actual native speed are not among them. If you need to run an office or business app infrequently, Parallels is an excellent choice. But if you prefer performance for games or other processor-heavy applications, running Windows XP natively through Boot Camp is the best choice.
Parallels also has compatibility problems with certain hardware. For example, Parallels will not recognize device peripherals that Windows XP (through Boot Camp) will recognize and install, such as printers and mice. And video games are not even possible since the emulation doesnt support DirectX.
Additionally, users in Apple's discussion forums have reported that if you use Bonjour to share your printers, you will have problems using Parallels for printer sharing. You will not have these errors when you run Windows XP natively via Boot Camp.
That said, Parallels does have many advantages over Boot Camp when running simple Windows XP applications. The first and biggest advantage is that you can simultaneously run OS X and Windows XP (or Linux) without having to choose only one when you boot up. Secondly, there is easy file sharing between the OS X partitions. And the partitions are larger than the FAT32 maximum of 32 GB. Also, because it runs in OS X, much of the Mac hardware such as the trackpad and ctrl+click work extremely well. Lastly, you are able to copy and paste between Windows XP and OS X.
People who love parallels and proclaim the death of Apple Boot Camp fail to take into consideration the needs of accessing the hardware and not having enough processsing power within the emulation to run a particular application very well.
I quote WTS from Apple's discussion forums:
I think the answer is somewhere in between, and it depends on what apps you plan on running on the Windows side. If the apps are not RAM or system resource intensive, then parallels will probably do just fine for you. If you plan on using apps that are resource hogs, then parallels would not be my choice. I too have had a chance to evaluate both, and dual booting (IMO) is the only way to go with resource intensive PC apps (like video editing/video encoding/large data base manipulation/etc). Simple spreadsheets, powerpoint, word, etc would run just fine in parallels, but going beyond that (at least with the version available to trial now) are IMO not the way to go.
Perhaps the deciding factor for the public will be this: Parallels costs money to use, while Boot Camp is free.
