About eighteen months ago, Steve Jobs shocked the Mac world by announcing that, by 2007, Apple would transition its entire computer line to Intel processors, ending a long (and sometimes painful) alliance with IBM and Motorola. The relationship was painful in that IBM couldn’t deliver their very capable PowerPC G5 processors at higher clock speeds and control the cooling requirements. When it became obvious that a G5 couldn’t efficiently power a PowerBook, and seeing Intel’s aggressive roadmap for the future, Apple made the switch.

It’s looking more and more like a brilliant move. Intel’s new dual-core processors deliver excellent performance-per-watt. This lets Apple and other computer makers place processors in smaller enclosures (like the iMac) and increase battery life in portables.

Another benefit to Apple’s Intel transition (completed six months ahead of schedule, by the way) is the ability for Mac users to run Windows if they wish. Apple developed software (called Boot Camp) to make all Intel Macs dual-bootable, either into Mac OS X or into Windows.

Another method of running Windows on a Mac made more efficient by the transition to Intel processors is called “virtualization”. A small company quickly developed Parallels Desktop, a way to run Windows alongside and within the Mac OS. Basically, it’s “Windows in a window”. It’s not as fast as a Mac booted directly into Windows, as the virtualized Windows environment shares resources with the Mac OS, but it’s plenty fast enough. For everyday XP computing (excluding high-end games requiring powerful graphics), the speed is equivalent to a mid-range PC.

Parallels has been hard at work updating Desktop. The most recent version (a free beta for now and a free upgrade later for registered users) adds some nice new features.
Older versions of Parallels required “Shared Folders” for moving files between the two operating systems. Now you can just drag-and-drop files back-and-forth between the Windows window and the Mac desktop. The new Parallels can also use an existing Boot Camp Windows installation instead of creating its own.

The really exciting new Parallels feature is called “Coherence”. Coherence makes the Windows desktop image and icons transparent, places the Windows Task Bar at the bottom of the Mac’s desktop where it’s always in view, and displays open Windows program and file system windows right alongside open Mac program windows. Kinda freaky, but effective!

© 2006 Peter F. Zimowski