Windows Full Speed Ahead On Macs
Posted by Daniel Butler Thu, 15 Jun 2006 21:28:00 GMT
This Windows virtual machine, i.e., an installation of Windows that runs cluelessly within the operation system of your choice, is running 98% of full speed on an Intel-based iMac. Check this out:
c|net Writes:
Duff-McCracken compared applications in Parallels with the same ones running directly in Windows via Boot Camp. The performance in Parallels was within 1 to 2 percent of the other, he said. And both Mac-based options were faster than some recently acquired Dell machines the school had.
"It's running this sophisticated software at native speeds," he said.
While Boot Camp is essentially a tool for letting a Mac run either Windows or the Mac OS, Parallels makes both operating systems available at the same time. To do this, Windows runs as what is known as a virtual machine--essentially acting as if it was a separate PC.
This single application may spell trouble for the OS powers that be, because OS X is and will be better architected than Microsoft Vista, and Apple hardware, while more expensive, is designed and built well. And now that OS X contains the ability to run all Mac Power PC Binaries, Mac Intel Binaries, Unix, and Windows software, what's next for Apple?
