Virtualization comes to Intel Macs
Parallels has released Parallels Workstation 2.1 for Intel based Macs which allows a user to run any x86 based OS in a separate window. As I have previously posted, this has many advantages to dual booting. For me, the biggest is that I can stay in Mac OS X with the apps I have come to love.
I have downloaded the beta and given it a try--and my first impression is very positive! On my MacBook Pro (2ghz, 1GB RAM), Windows XP runs with virtually no lag. Initial setup was a little confusing, but it only took about an two hours to get up and running with a fully patched version of XP. The only downside I have noticed is that the app is very memory intensive. Even with only 256MB assigned to the virtual machine, the free memory available drops to about 8MB. This causes hard disc thrashing when you open even one other app.
It is very convenient to be able to boot into Window, and the startup time is exponentially faster than using Virtual PC on a PowerMac or PowerBook. A full boot takes about 30-40 seconds to get to the XP login screen. It definitely runs fast enough that I have changed my mind about installing Boot Camp.
The full press release can be found here.
