[Hands0n]

Ok, now why would anyone want to do this? Run XP or another M$ operating system on a Mac? Well, some folk do, and some pay loadsamoney to do so - Bootcamp and Parallels are but two that spring to mind. So why not give Virtual PC for the Mac a go if you really are desperate to sully that nice shiny new Mac of yours....... But if you're migrating from one to the other it may make a lot of sense to be able to "guest" in Windows XP while you adjust to the Mac OS X (Tiger now, Leopard soon).

Link to the homepage for Virtual PC for the Mac is here http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/virtualpc/virtualpc.aspx?pid=virtualpc


Edit: Its not free!

[miffed]

I have tried Parallels & Bootcamp

Although parallels was fun to start with - it had a few problems ( it seemed to run really slowly on 512k - so badly that sometimes I had to remove the battery from my Macbook as everything would just freeze up ( I do realise it was a windows emulator - but that it ridiculous ! :p )
OK so it may be a different story now I have a decent amount of RAM - but in the meantime I installed Bootcamp (which , incidently , is free ) and thiis is A LOT better - it is just like running Windows on any other PC , there are only a couple of downsides

1) you need a 15GB minimum Partition , and on the Macbook I only have 60 to start with ! - this isn't a huge problem as I store most of my stuff on my other computer anyway

2) No Vista support on the free beta ( I suspect Apple will have sorted this on the full version on leopard ) ... Not ony is there no Vista support , but you are tied to use a retail version of Windows XP SP2 - NOTHING ELSE !! no pre- sp1 version , no MCE , - it HAS to be an SP2 Disc , whereas Parallels suppurts ALL versions of Windows , Linux , you name it

Boot Camp seems the best idea IMO - if you wait and upgrade to Leopard .. it's all built in !

This is anpther trait that would carry over to other areas of industry rather well !

.... I am going to approach Lexus with my patented "Virtual Reliant" adaptor ( Which involves some pieces of plastic and taking a wheel off)

OR the for the TV market "Virtual 12" Black & white portable " - where you put your 42" Plasma in a big cardboard box with a 12" whole cut in the front of it ...

OR you could buy the "Virtual Jade Goody" .. which is basically a Pig mask for your wife

The possiblities are endless !

[Ben]

Just to add: Virtual PC is not compatible with Intel Mac's.

[Hands0n]

I'm still struggling with the concept of why anyone would buy a Mac and then load Windows XP or Vista on it :D

[Ben]

I guess it really is reserved for people who have Windows-only applications. I use a few, major ones, some big companies are just that short sighted.

I'm lucky enough to have dedicated machines I can just VNC to for what I need to access. For a lot of people I guess that really isn't an option.

And hey, when people splash out on that new Mac sometimes they just like to have a safety net - I know I couldn't have deployed without it!