You can’t legally run Mac OS X on any computer, but you can run Windows XP and/or Vista and Linux alongside OS X on a Mac. We show you how to get the best of both worlds.

Ever since Apple switched to mainstream Intel processors for all its computers, they have been able to run Windows and Linux just as well as any PC. Apple offers a simple tool called Boot Camp which allows you to switch between its own OS X environment and the much more popular Windows operating system. This is a great way to run that one brilliant Windows program that you’ve never found an alternative for, while retaining all the usefulness and style of a Mac.

But what if you didn’t have to reboot your machine each time you need to swap operating systems? There is in fact a way to run your Windows programs directly and transparently through OS X. It’s called Parallels Desktop, and it allows you to host a virtual machine running Windows (and thereby, any Windows application) in a small, self-contained shell. What’s more, it has a few tricks up its sleeve, including the fantastic Cohesion mode that makes the boundary between the host and virtualized operating system disappear completely. You can now run OS X and Windows applications right next to each other, drag and drop files between them, and even share your hardware and internet connection. You might never have to know they were never designed to do anything like this!

STEP 1: Download Parallels Desktop for Mac 3.0 from the website www.parallels.com. The software costs $79.99 (approx Rs 3,395), and a trial version is also available. As soon as the DMG package is downloaded to the Mac you want to use it on, run the executable and start the installation process by double-clicking the Install Parallels Desktop icon in the window that pops up. As soon as the installation is done, you’ll be prompted to start creating your virtualized Windows operating system.

STEP 2: The first choice you have is whether you’re installing Windows with specially designed settings (Windows Express), any OS in a typical virtual machine, or any OS in a custom environment that you can define. Choose Windows Express for the purpose of this workshop, and leave all the other settings at their defaults. You’ll be prompted to enter the Windows XP/Vista serial number (you need a genuine copy).

STEP 3: Now you’re faced with the regular Windows install process, except it's all happening inside the virtual machine. Don’t worry about disk partitioning, since the installer can’t tell it’s only affecting its container. No changes are made to your hard drive at all. Even when it says it’s restarting the computer, it will only restart the virtual machine.

STEP 4: Wait while Parallels Tools is automatically installed. This will add a bunch of options to your installation, enabling seamless mouse and keyboard control switching, hardware sharing, and plenty of things you won’t even notice. Your familiar XP or Vista environment is now ready for use! Install your favorite programs or just enjoy Windows’ selection of preinstalled applications. Note that the container window acts just like the virtual machine’s monitor, and will adjust its resolution on the fly if you resize it.

STEP 5: Click the button directly under 'Play' on the Parallels toolbar to switch to full screen mode. (You might have to hold down [Ctrl] and [Alt] together for a second to release your mouse cursor.) You won’t even know you’re running Windows through OS X. Take full control of your Windows desktop and use any program you need to. To switch back, remember the key combination [Alt]+[Enter].

STEP 6: The real magic begins with Cohesion mode. Click the button below the Full Screen mode button to begin. You’ll see all boundaries between the virtual machine and host just melt away. Your Windows programs now run free of their box, mingling with OS X programs as if they were no different (but retaining their Windows layout, buttons and visual style). For the full effect, hide the taskbar using the ‘Applications | Hide Windows Taskbar’ menu command. You can still pull up the Start menu using the [Command] key or clicking the menu item ‘Applications | Start Menu’. A few notification balloons might float strangely in mid air, but the experience is otherwise completely transparent. You can cycle through all open programs using the standard [Command]+[Tab] shortcut, and even Exposé shuffles between any type of window perfectly.

Limitations and advanced features

Parallels Desktop isn’t only for running Windows applications transparently. It can virtualize pretty much any operating system you throw at it, provided you have a licensed copy of course.

Our test machine was a 2.16 GHz Core 2 Duo-based Macbook with 1 GB RAM and onboard graphics. We loaded Windows XP, Vista and Ubuntu 8.04 (although Parallels Tools is available for Linux, it doesn’t install automatically and coherence mode is not supported out of the box). We could boot up and shut down each OS as needed, but couldn’t run more than one at the same time since the host system’s resources get pretty tied up.

Plugging in a pen drive resulted in a popup window asking if we want it to be mounted by the host or the virtualized machine, and Internet sharing worked without a hitch, even with our office proxy. And that's all there is to running Windows and OS X transparently. Check out the options under ‘Edit | Virtual Machine…’ to really customize your environment.