Looking to run Windows or other operating systems on a Mac but don’t know which software is the best fit for your needs? Then you have come to the right place. Best Reviews can help you decide on the most suitable software. Read our reviews written by Mac experts who compare the best available solutions, then grab the software of your choice at a huge discount by using our exclusive coupons.
If your time is shared almost equally between macOS and Windows, then Parallels Desktop 13 is a welcome addition to your workflow. Alongside eliminating the need to reboot into the desired operating system, it’s also speedy enough to launch, suspend, and resume Windows and its apps without ever interfering with your activities. All that for as low as $6.66 per month, which includes a handy toolset and remote access to the computer desktop. In addition to the 14-day trial, a Parallels purchase is protected by the company’s 30-day money-back guarantee.
The company behind Parallels Desktop is Washington-based Parallels Inc., creators of cross-platform software enabling businesses and individuals to use their favorite devices and technology on any number of platforms, covering everything from Windows, Mac and mobile to Linux, Raspberry Pi or the cloud. It does so by delivering virtual desktops and applications to any device, running Windows on a Mac, Mac management with Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM), remote access to PC and Mac computers from any device, as well as simplifying common computing tasks on both PC and Mac computers.
Mac users seeking to run multiple desktop operating systems without the need for a new computer have only one option: virtual machines. VMware Fusion 10 is one of the best solutions for this specific purpose on the market, both for home and business users. Its clean and Mac-friendly user interface and great performance make it a great tool for everyday use. Skeptics can try the software for free for 30 days and, if they like it, buy a VMware Fusion license that can be used on multiple Macs for as low as $79.99.
The company behind VMware Fusion for Mac is VMware, Inc., a subsidiary of Dell Technologies, focusing on cloud computing and platform virtualization software and services. VMware, Inc. provides a wide variety of services mainly for enterprise users, such as its data center and cloud infrastructure vSphere, networking and security tools, cloud management platforms, and desktop and application virtualization. VMware Fusion is part of VMware’s personal desktop offerings, which includes extra software such as Horizon FLEX and Workstation Player.
Picking a preference out of virtual machine software is a hard decision when there are two or more similarly priced solutions. Free software, however, simplifies things, and this is precisely how VirtualBox helps users to get their job done: namely, running multiple operating systems at the same time without the cost of a whole new computer or the hassle of a Boot Camp reboot. Although having the software match the highest expectations will require a few extra steps and further reading of how-tos and the user manual, VirtualBox is worth the time investment because the result is a safe and solid environment where it is easy to perform any desired task in the selected operating system. Behind VirtualBox is the Oracle Corporation, a well-known American technology corporation based in Redwood Shores, California. Oracle specializes in developing services for software, platforms, infrastructure and data – which all come together with VirtualBox to help make it a very intriguing prospect.
Virtual machines, or hypervisors as they’re also known, allow users to emulate additional operating systems called a “guest operating system” in separate app window on their existing computer. A guest OS runs on top of the existing operating system, which is called the “host”. What makes virtual machines appealing is that they can bridge the technological barriers imposed by the limited platform support of a specific piece of software. The beauty of this is that you don’t even need to restart your Mac to run, for example, a specific version of Windows, Chrome OS, Linux, Solaris, or any other operating system. They can all be run in their own app windows and – depending on your Mac’s hardware – multiple VMs can be run at once.
While some operating systems require an active license key (such as Windows), others are available free of charge. VMs save users the monetary cost of investing in additional computers and the time loss of switching computers; everything you need is right there on your Mac when you need it. Whether you want to play a game only available on Windows or need to solve a task that requires special software, a hypervisor is your best option.
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