This article, “Guide for Choosing Boot Camp or Parallels to Run Windows on an Apple MacBook” at NotebookReview.com, looks like a thorough and useful discussion about Apple users’ options for running MS Windows, either BootCamp or a software product called “Parallels.” Interesting article with lots of details.
Actually, what might be more interesting if you can wait (as I’ve written about here before, a new MacBook is about a year or so away for me at least) is what will happen with OS 10.5. Among other things (including some very interesting collaboration tools), rumor has it that the new operating system will have “virtualization” built into it. In fact, I’ve heard (again, just a rumor) that the goal is to have an Apple OS where you can just install and use .exe MS Windows apps.
I think I am basically the “ideal user” for these kinds of solutions, both at work and at home. At work, I do 99% of of my work on the Mac exclusively with no problems; but there are some Windows-only software products that might be nice to be able to use (I’m thinking especially of some database software they use at EMU for admissions and such), and it would also be nice to show a confused student how to do something in my office with a computer running Windows.
And at home, the reason why I’d want to do this is probably obvious: games. I don’t play many of them, but to me, it’d be worth the cost of MS Windows to play the few games that I do play.
Of course, if I can run apps designed for MS Windows without having to mess with installing a new OS (and this is what I understand may be on the horizon with 10.5), then that’d be better.