By David Kibbe, M.D., Director of the Center for Health Information Technology
This is not your mother's emulation software!
Parallels, Inc., based in Herndon, Va., offers a product called Parallels Workstation that enables Intel-based Mac users to boot up any Windows operating system version, and to run it simultaneously alongside Mac OS X. It is available free as a beta, and for $49.99 with free upgrades.
The great thing about Parallels' Desktop for Mac is that I can now toggle back and forth between the Mac Os and the Windows OS, while running applications simultaneously on both operating systems. This is quite convenient and offers a big advantage over Boot Camp, which requires a complete re-boot to shift between Mac OS and Windows OS. This feature lets me flip back and forth between Mac OS and Windows OS while standing at a podium during speaking engagements or workshops. It would be similarly helpful to any physician who wanted to run his or her EHR software on Windows, but occasionally check email using Mac Mail or launch iTunes.
Parallels' Desktop costs $79.99, while Boot Camp is free. But it's worth the money. Here are several additional features that, to my mind, make using Parallels the preferred way to run Windows on your MacBookPro (or any of the Intel chip-equipped Apple computers):
- Parallels lets you mount any version of Windows, not just XP (as in BootCamp). It will also let you run Linux, Solaris, or FreeBSD as virtual machines on your Mac. And it's quite easy to set up these virtual machines (see below).
- The Windows OS behaves exactly like a stand-alone computer, accessing the Internet and allowing you to load applications, without having to shut down the computer.
- The configuration software is reasonably easy to use, and the support so far has been excellent.
- It's possible to share files between the two operating systems, and to copy and paste from an application in one OS to an application in the other. Parallels allows you to easily set up a shared folder in the guest Windows OS, and to see the folder's contents from either the Mac OS or the Windows OS environments.
As I write this commentary using Mac Mail, I'm also working on a map routing for a motorcycle trip planned for this fall. My map software is Garmin MapSource, which is running on my Windows XP virtual machine under Parallels. (Garmin doesn't make its software for the Mac -- just Windows). Not only does this arrangement slake my thirst for multi-tasking using a single computer, but it means I can now attach my handheld Garmin GPS unit to my Mac and download the appropriate maps from the MapSource application. Very cool, and a major convenience.
Parallels can be a little tricky when it comes to Internet connectivity for the guest OS. More about that later...