Fusing Windows into The Mac

by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger

In my usual disclaimer I have to say that I am very partial to Macs. Their superior operating system and easy of use just make Macs a great machine. More and more people are starting to agree with me, as sales of the Mac are growing by leaps and bounds. Mac computers are still only a small percentage of all PC sales, though, and I think that may partially be due to the fact that the majority of software out in the world is written for Windows-based machines. Sure, there are some Mac versions of popular software, mostly in the educational arena, but there is still definitely a gap in the offerings.

But now that may all change.

A company called VMWare has taken on the challenge of giving Macs the opportunity to run Windows-based software easily and efficiently, without any lose of functionality, features or speed. Now, companies have been trying to do this for quite some time, now. Remember "Soft" Windows" of the 1990s? But so far, no one has done it quite as seamlessly as needed. Many of the previous solutions relied on switching back and forth between operating systems and pseudo operating systems. Running these virtual programs also took up lots of resources and caused slow downs, crashes and other problems that rarely made them worth running.

But VMWare is promising to change all of those bad memories into positive excitement.

It's Fusion product is based on a virtualization model that allows the Mac to run multiple programs, both Mac and windows based simultaneously, each in its own window. Early tests have generated positive reviews, with no slowdowns reported.

Currently, there are two other programs that give Mac users the option to run Windows-based software. Parallels Desktop which is a virtualization program much like Fusion, and Apple's Bootcamp, which requires switching back and forth between operating systems by restarting your machine. Parallels offers more features that Fusion, but Fusion seems to come ahead when it comes to putting less strain on your Mac.

Fusion will retail for $80; the same retail cost as Parallels.

Mary Ann Romans also writes for the Frugal Living Blog here at Families.com, where she shares money saving tips for today's families.

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Learn more about Mary Ann Romans

Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, online content manager, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania in the middle of the woods but close enough to Target and Home Depot.

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