WINDOWS & MAC OS XThe Best of Both

Virtualization, API wrapping, native booting

THE VIRTUAL MACHINEAllows you to run your operating systems side-by-side

THE VIRTUAL MACHINE

Actually a mix of virtualization, emulation, and dynamic recompilationType-2 “Hypervisor” technology runs above the hardware and controls access from the virtual machine to the computer’s hardware

VMWARE FUSION: OVERVIEW

Borrows technology from VMware’s non-Mac products and built on the company’s history of enterprise virutalizationStarted out focusing on higher performance rather than OS X/Windows integration, bells & whistlesLatest version: 2.0 (build 116369)Price: $79.99 ($39.99 with student discount)http://vmware.com/products/fusion

VMWARE FUSION: FEATURES

Unity view: seamless desktop mode layering Mac & Windows apps togetherDirectX 9 support for video gamesSupports installing both 32-bit and 64-bit operating systemsSnapshots: restore your system to an entirely previous stateExtensive hardware support, including support for multiple CPUs or multicore CPUsCross-compatibility with editions of VMware for other platforms

VMWARE FUSION: FEATURES (CONT.)

Boot Camp partition accessMulti-display support: up to 10 additional displaysVM Converter: convert Parallels & Virtual PC virtual machinesApplication sharing: set default programs between Mac & WindowsMac OS X Leopard Server virtualization support12-month subscription to McAfee VirusScan Plus for Windows VMs

VMWARE FUSION: LIMITATIONS

No OpenGL support, so apps that require it won’t run under VMwareNo FireWire supportPerformance not as good on slower Macs as Parallels

PARALLELS DESKTOP FOR MAC

First to market with Mac virtualizationOriginally named “Parallels Workstation for Mac OS X”, but changed after the Mac community thought it sounded too much like a Windows productLatest version: 3.0 (Build 5608) (version 4.0 coming soon)Price: $79.99 (academic pricing available)http://parallels.com/products/desktop

PARALLELS DESKTOP: FEATURES

Supports DirectX 8.1, OpenGLCoherence: more seamless desktop between Mac & WindowsSmartSelect: open Windows files with Mac apps, vice versaParallels Explorer: browse Windows system files in OS X without booting up virtual machineBoot Camp partition accessParallels Transporter: convert VMware or Virtual PC virtual machines or an existing PC to a Parallels VM

PARALLELS DESKTOP: LIMITATIONS

Can’t run 64-bit operating systems (only 32-bit)No support for multiple CPUs or multicore CPUs within the virtual machineSome issues with Windows reactivation in Boot CampVista’s Aero (glass) UI not supportedNo DirectX 9 support, so some 3D applications won’t runSome Linux distros are limited to only 512MB RAMNo FireWire supportCan’t run Mac OS X Leopard Server in a virtual machine

SUN VIRTUALBOX

Originally developed by German firm innotekRuns on Windows, Mac OS X, Solaris, OS/2 Warp, LinuxAble to run numerous *nix and Windows operating systemsComparable to VMware and Parallels, but not quite as robust and lacking features like 3D support, portable snapshots, etc.Price: Free!

API WRAPPINGThe fancy term for a fully-seamless cross-platform solution

DARWINE

Mac OS X port of the famous WINE (WINE Is Not an Emulator) project for LinuxProvides substitute Windows DLL files and processes instead of the Windows NT kernelWindows API is implemented entirely in user-spaceTook 15 years to reach 1.0 status (in May of 2008) because the Windows APIs were poorly documented by Microsoft

CROSSOVER FOR MAC

CodeWeavers: corporate sponsorship for the WINE project (many WINE developers work on the CrossOver team)Commercial, polished version of WINE (think of it as a WINE fundraiser with a much more friendly user interface)Install Windows applications on your Mac into “bottles,” or separate instances of Windows API filesImprovements to CrossOver are forked back into the WINE projectCost: $39.95 for Standard, $69.95 for Pro (comes with Games build, too)Educational discounts available (roughly $10 off)

NATIVE BOOTINGApple’s Boot Camp technology enables EFI bootloader to start Windows

partitions

BOOT CAMP

Natively boot your Mac back & forth between Windows, Mac OS XSeveral Macs on campus use this technology (Glass Hall, for instance)Free, provided you legally have a full copy of Windows to useRequires your Mac to be running Mac OS X 10.5 “Leopard”Supports Windows XP with at least SP2, or Windows Vista (preferably SP1)Apple has full driver support on Leopard Install DVDBest for if you don’t want to compromise speed, or if you want to run more modern video games

OTHER THINGS TO NOTEFrequently Asked Questions, other software to note

SHARING FILES?

VirtualizationMost apps allow you to drag & drop files from Mac OS to Windows & Linux VMs (Parallels won’t allow it in Linux yet)API WrappingNo need for transferring of files; API-wrapped files will access your files normallyBoot CampAdditional software needed (MacFUSE & NTFS-3G for Mac, or MacDrive for Windows)

VIRUSES? SPYWARE? IS MY MAC AT RISK?

Short answer: noLong answer: if you’re not API wrapping, then INSTALL ANTI-VIRUS and ANTI-SPYWARE softwareYour Windows partition/virtual machine is running Microsoft code and thus susceptible to viruses and spyware like alwaysYour Mac partition should be okay unless you have a virus that likes to delete files in Boot Camp (and has MacDrive installed)Virtual machines (with snapshots) can always be rolled back to a safe state

WOULDN’T API WRAPPING BE THE BEST WAY?

Not necessarilyNot all programs work; very popular ones are maintained and “tweaked” to work with WINESome programs can’t be wrapped due to the way they access the APIsAPI wrapping does work best with some games, though; try it out yourself

SO WHAT IS THE BEST WAY?

Use a combination and tailor it to your needsBoot Camp with virtualizationAPI wrapping with Boot CampVirtualization with API wrappingOr, drop a lot of money and use all three