Feature Articles

Tech Trends'08: Virtualization

By Vijay Anand - 22 Jan 2008

Mixing OS X and Windows - A Virtualization Reality

Mixing OS X and Windows - A Virtualization Reality

How does running multiple operating systems at the same time sound? Take for example the Apple Mac user group. While this community has adequate core applications designed for the Mac platform, there are many a time when a Mac user might want to have a Windows operating system to run other kinds of software or indulge in the larger gaming scene on the Windows platform. Last year, Apple offered the Boot Camp solution to enable users to run any one operating system at a time. While definitely a step forward, switching back and forth operating systems is cumbersome.

Enter the world of virtualization. This year, Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion offered the Mac platform the ability to run Mac OS X along with Windows seamlessly at the same time! These are virtualization software for the Intel-based Macs that virtualizes all the hardware devices and allows for the installation of multiple operating systems as a guest OS over the host operating system (Mac OS X). They are not limited only to Windows but also compatible with other OSes like various Linux distributions, Solaris, OS/2, etc. Taking Windows as the prime example, the ability run it concurrently along with Mac OS X in either separate windows or even unified within the same desktop and run various Mac and Windows applications at the same time is a godsend for many. The reality is that the Mac is cool, friendly, intuitive and consumers love that, but we live in a world dominated by Microsoft's operating system and its associated software circle, so it is hard for the two groups to remain in isolation. Virtualization software from Parallels and VMware has bridged this wide gap and it is a boon for both casual users and developers alike.

Virtualization software have existed for years in the high-end workstation and server space, but Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion have evolved the user interface and integration so far ahead that these are perhaps the most consumer friendly virtualization software yet. Virtualization however is processor and resource intensive and without a reasonably spec'd machine, your virtualization experience can be sluggish. Thankfully, Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion faired reasonably when we first tested it on a basic MacBook model with basic productivity software that casual users stick to. As such, the requirements would certainly get steeper with more powerful design or render based applications for example. This is why you'll need a fairly beefy system to get by with virtualization and this is one of the more substantial usage models to bring justice to all that idle processing power in our multi-core processors these days.

VMware Fusion is a big step towards pushing dual-core Macs to their limits. Seen here is Mac OS X's Expose feature working along with VMware Fusion's Unity mode.

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