Running Windows on Mac

Running Windows on Mac is frustrating for two reasons. One, Windows itself is inherently frustrating if you are a Mac user. Two, the emulation software (Parallels, Fusion, Virtual Box) is slow.

Don't forget that in order to run Windows on a Mac, you must pay for the emulation software, and you must also pay for a legal copy of Windows. For the same price, you may be able to buy an inexpensive Windows laptop.

Which is more frustrating? Running Windows on a Mac, or running Windows on an inexpensive and possibly underpowered machine? Only you can decide. But be aware that you do have options.

If you use Windows relatively infrequently, running it on you Mac may be more economical.

Here are some reasons why I have Windows installed on my Mac:

• To test my web sites on Internet Explorer.
• To use Excel and PowerPoint functions that are not available in the Mac versions.
• To compile C# code on Visual Studio.
• To help my students who are running Visual Studio or WAMP on their Windows computers.

Here is some software you can run without actually installing Windows:

• The Mac versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
• MAMP (the Mac equivalent of WAMP).
• Eclipse or ADT for compiling Java programs and Android apps.
• Mono for running C# code from the shell.