Comments on: Inside CNET Labs: Windows virtual machine performance on the Mac

CNET Labs compares the Windows application performance on an Intel Mac of three different virtualization applications.

[thisismybliss]

Thank you!

Thank you so very much for making the comparison because like some mentioned, transitioning from the pc to a mac and getting all new software can be costly. Especially when the software we may work with can cost up to 6k to replace. Again, thank you for the extremely helpful information that aided in my decision-making. Please continue offering this great info and support; some of us appreciate it.

[mimot13]

Thanks a lot for your test

Yes, sometimes you need windows environment, some Softs are ONLY available
on this platform ! Not only solitaire, but Audiograbber, SonicStage for Sony's
MP3 reader (absolutely necessary) aso.. This test could be a good indication to
know what to choose for people like me who are coming from MS Windows OS
and "switch" to MAC. I particularly appreciate test with PS CS3, thanks a lot. The
only thing which can bring a difficulty is the fact that none of this virtual
machines supports FW.. in addition with Mediafour Macdrive, it would be fine ?

[dsirh]

In response to your question about using VMs with windows volumes, Macdrive works great, I use it with Boot camp and both Parallels and Fusion.

[Wisdomdakini]

There are some programs that will not run on a Mac because they exist for a very narrow market, e.g. tibetan language word processing. So some of us need to run a Windows emulation program. I've been using Macs since the mid '80s and have always been happy with the intuitively based user interface, along with the ease of maintenance, not to mention superior customer support. Check out Consumer Reports to see the ratings.

Looking to run Act 2000, Excel and Word 2002 integrating ACT and word, I have lists and contact data on ACT that I would like to keep and it is hard to find contact programs for MAC. Considering crossover but not exactly sure how their pricing works also considering VM fusion. Have an older Microsoft Digital Software Photo program that is not listed at Crossover so not sure if I start with Crossover I think it is $39 for standard and they come out with code for the microsoft program do I need to repurchase crossover which will put me at around $80 or do I go with trying to find new XP OS for VM fusion and then have a long term solution. Not sure what I can pick up a new XP OS but trying to weigh my options. Can you tell me which one works better? also the netflix movie streaming you mentioned will not work on VM fusion is that correct? Do you know if I buy crossover will ACT 2000 and Word 2002 work and integrate to be able to write letters and will I need to pay anything else to Crossover? Also can I pull files from the my MAC folders or would I need to keep the files seperate? Please give me your recommendation?.

[bozhong]

Having tried both fusion and parallels 3 and 4, for basic stuff like excel, word, web surfing, plus some unique stuff [updating using a usb device for datacards], speed is not noticeable between the two [maybe fusion is a bit faster]. However, usb connectivity is *much* better with fusion; parallels seems always to have some problem with peripherals. BUT what makes fusion *much better* is customer support?parallels customer support is non-existent! You have to purchase each upgrade, and pay *again* if you malware or whatever crashes your machine and corrupts the program. as well, several emails to support went totally unanswered--completely unacceptable..
So performance-wise, advantage to fusion, particularly if you use usb peripherals; with respect to customer service, parallels gets an F.

[s300m]

LAST!!!!!