Which way to run Windoze?

So as not to hijack another thread, what do you guys think is the best windoze emulation software for the Mac? (parallels, bootcamp, fusion, others?)

All I've ever used is Parallels to run Windoze instances. There are many who say WMWare Fusion is better.

I'm currently trying to get an Ubuntu Server instance under Parallels and not having much luck. But I think it's more a matter of ridiculous internal networking setups rather than a Parallels issue.

I use VMWare on Linux, and I use Parallels on OS X. Unless VMWare has some special fancy Mac features that it doesn't have on Linux, I'd say Parallels has much better desktop integration.

I tried to set up BootCamp when I first got this machine, and it &^@^%$ didn't work. I don't think I have the right Windows media (who has Windows XP SP2 on a CD?) Parallels is very happy to run my old copy of Windows 2000.

I use Parallels for testing on Windows. I don't use it that often, but when I do it really bumps the processor and gets my MacBook Pro's fans buzzing.

I've heard that VM Ware might be less of a processor hog, and have long considered switching over to it for that reason, just haven't gotten around to it. And haven't updated to Parallels 3 either. (The update to Parallels 3 and the latest deal on VM Ware Fusion are fairly close in price.)

Originally posted by Bear Bibeault:
All I've ever used is Parallels to run Windoze instances.

I've used both Parallels and BootCamp. BootCamp gives better performance and there are some games that I can only run in BootCamp (not surprising for either).

Originally posted by Bear Bibeault:
There are many who say WMWare Fusion is better.

I've heard that as well, but haven't tried it - Parallels was available before VMWare, so I went with it.

Originally posted by Bear Bibeault:
I'm currently trying to get an Ubuntu Server instance under Parallels and not having much luck. But I think it's more a matter of ridiculous internal networking setups rather than a Parallels issue.

Interesting. I tried to install an Ubuntu desktop on Parallels a few weeks ago, and it just hung. I did not have time to track down the problem though. Fedora Core has always installed without problems.

Best regards, Andrew

These are very informative.

I'd like to know if these emulators are free. And from what sites can they be downloaded? (I made a google search of these emulators and visited them but aren't sure if I came to the right place

).

Thank you very much!

They are not "emulators". The will only run on Macs with Intel processors and run the code natively on the processors. No hardware emulation is necessary.

What they are are virtual machines that create an environment in which the OS can install.

They are not free. Both Parallels Desktop and VMWare Fusion are $80.

And then, of course, you must buy a copy of Windows to run in it (unless you already own a copy or you're thinking of Linux).

Thank you for the links and for the correction

I am a little new to MAC (bought just last October

). Hence I am not yet really that familiar with the environment. It's frustrating not to be able to run some Windows stuffs on them.

So I might give the above-mentioned a try.

Thank you again!

If you already own a Windows instance, BootCamp is the least expensive route.