OFF TOPIC virtualize windows on mac

[Mark Schonewille]

Richard,

VirtualBox was mentioned at least 3 times. I like Parallels too, but I like VirtualBox just as much feature-wise and it beats Parallels because of the price.

I agree that a PC might be a better solution, but it isn't always possible to fit a PC in your backpack :-)

--
Best regards,

Mark Schonewille

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On 3 jan 2012, at 18:59, Richard Gaskin wrote:

> jvalle wrote:
>> starting with an old Macbook would like to know your expert opinion about what
>> is the best virtualization solution to run Windows on Mac, from a developer
>> point of view.
> 
> With any VM the key is RAM.  The more the merrier.  Anything less than 2GB will make VMs really difficult to work with.
> 
> I'm surprised no one here has mentioned VirtualBox:
> <https://www.virtualbox.org/>
> 
> I'd used Parallels for years, even met the devs at a MacTech conference and have been very impressed.  But then Mark Wieder suggested I try VirtualBox, and in my experience it loads VMs from a saved state so much faster than Parallels that I've switched all my VMs to it.
> 
> Extra bonus points:  it's free an open source, so you can try it out at no cost, and if it doesn't do what you need you'll lose nothing.
> 
> But I'd be surprised if you weren't impressed with it.  VirtualBox may not have all of the features of Parallels, but with the shared Clipboard, shared folders, and so many other useful options I've found it very satisfying.  And the performance has been pretty much unmatched on the three machines I use it on (Mac Mini, MacBook Pro, and Dell laptop).
> 
> Since this is an older Mac, if RAM is scarce you might consider picking up a used PC from Craig's List or Ebay.  I've bought quite a few computers through each, and have saved a great deal of money.
> 
> And if you've been curious about learning more on the hardware side of things, building your own PC can save you even more.
> 
> Consider this DIY rig from NewEgg:
> <http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.752616>
> 
> A Sandy Bridge CPU in an expandable case for just $188.  Add a hard drive and you're good to go with a fairly nice little system.
> 
> Heck, that's pretty much the cost of Parallels, and you get an whole computer instead. :)