Getting a...

[ibly31]

I'm getting a MacBook Pro, and I was wondering if anyone her has any experience running a virtual machine(windows) on a mac. Something like VMWare fusion.

I know many of the programmers here are PC people, but hey, maybe theres a few Macs out there.

[Innerscope]

I use Parallels, it works like a charm.
You could also try Virtualbox or Q, those are some freeware alternatives.

Lastly, you could even partition your hard drive and dual boot. I'm not going to recommend that though.

[avansc]

you can run windows nativity if you wanted to.

[ibly31]

Is Paralells hard to use? Did you have to buy a whole new copy of windows to make it work?

[avansc]

you can use virtualbox or something like that from sun which is free and pretty good.
but i would suggest just making a windows partition with bootcamp.
all you need is a copy of windows. so if you have a windows cd you are fine.

[Innerscope]

Is Paralells hard to use? Did you have to buy a whole new copy of windows to make it work?

Naw, it's really easy. VMware Fusion is on par with it. I got a free copy of Windows XP, and Vista from school.

you can use virtualbox or something like that from sun which is free and pretty good.
but i would suggest just making a windows partition with bootcamp.
all you need is a copy of windows. so if you have a windows cd you are fine.

Programs like virtualBox and Q aren't as feature rich as Parallels. You should look into those before going with Parallels or VMware, if the limited options aren't going to bother you.
I wouldn't recommend installing Windows XP on any physical piece of hardware. Well, if you have any respect for your box I wouldn't recommend it.

[avansc]

Is Paralells hard to use? Did you have to buy a whole new copy of windows to make it work?

Naw, it's really easy. VMware Fusion is on par with it. I got a free copy of Windows XP, and Vista from school.

you can use virtualbox or something like that from sun which is free and pretty good.
but i would suggest just making a windows partition with bootcamp.
all you need is a copy of windows. so if you have a windows cd you are fine.

Programs like virtualBox and Q aren't as feature rich as Parallels. You should look into those before going with Parallels or VMware, if the limited options aren't going to bother you.
I wouldn't recommend installing Windows XP on any physical piece of hardware. Well, if you have any respect for your box I wouldn't recommend it.

aaaccctttually... fusion is leaps ahead of parallels in Linux support. in conversion and pretty much in every aspect. they both however perform well and the same.
virtual box is actually very good. and for its price tag its infinitely better than any other option.

"I wouldn't recommend installing Windows XP on any physical piece of hardware." that comment right there made your credibility non existent.

[Innerscope]

fusion is leaps ahead of parallels in Linux support.

How so? They both emulate the same hardware Remember there is only one Mac version: VMware Fusion.
Aside from that Parallels seems to perform better. I've run VirtualBox, Q, VMWare fusion, and Parallels on my computer. I ended up buying Parallels.

"I wouldn't recommend installing Windows XP on any physical piece of hardware." that comment right there made your credibility non existent.

Umm, it was a joke. Taken out of context. I said if he had any respect for his machine, he wouldn't do it. I just didn't want his partitioned drive to turn into a jigsaw puzzle.

[hurstshifter]

Lastly, you could even partition your hard drive and dual boot. I'm not going to recommend that though.

Ummm, why?

This is what I would recommend. Especially if you plan on taking full advantage of your hardware.

[Kcirtap1990]

Lastly, you could even partition your hard drive and dual boot. I'm not going to recommend that though.

Ummm, why?

This is what I would recommend. Especially if you plan on taking full advantage of your hardware.

Yeah, I recommend that too. I've always thought dual booting was the best way to go too.

[Innerscope]

Ummm, why?

This is what I would recommend. Especially if you plan on taking full advantage of your hardware.

That's true. I personally like to keep Windows in a virtual machine (that way if I muck something up I can just delete it without effecting the rest of my comp). I don't really do anything in Windows that hits performance wise though. I mainly just test out Games I'm working on, or play other indie games. If you're going to be doing something more processor intensive (like playing Crisis) then your going to want to dual boot.